In the year 1915, World War I was in full swing, women still couldn’t vote in our fine country and Thyphoid Mary was doing her thing. Oh and Station Street opened in Pittsburgh. But considering the place is run by local celeb chef Kevin Sousa, it’s safe to assume the place has changed. In fact, it even seems to have changed recently, adding street food like tacos and bibimbap (both of which probably didn’t exist in the Pittsburgh lexicon in 1915) to its list already extensive list of hot dogs.

I decided to stick with the classics, starting with a Chili Cheese Dog. At Station Street the chili comes from Union Pig and Chicken’s brisket and the cheese is of the curd variety as opposed shreddings or sauce. There’s also onions, but I ordered without. I found the hot dog to have a great snap and the cheese curds were a fantastic addition. The only trouble was the chili itself, which had sizable chunks of tomato that go against my liking, as all my fair readers should know.

But the hot dog wasn’t enough, I I also needed some fries and chose to get those in the form of Poutine. Again, the cheese curds were in full use, in addition to gravy that comes from the same brisket used for the chili. It was a bit on the salty side, but the fries stayed nice and crispy through the whole eating process. Yet, the gravy was tasty and this was easily the closest to real Canadian poutine I’ve had so far.

In all, the Station Street experience treated me well, despite its obvious changes from 1915. It’s like a cool, hipster hot dog spot and is very welcome even in a city with a lot of great dogs.

Just as with the band MGMT, I am never quite sure whether to pronounce BRGR as “B-R-G-R” or as “Burger.” Such is the conundrum of a word without vowels, but in truth pronunciation matters little in such a situation compared to how good the burgers are. To many people, there is a debate as to the merits of BRGR versus Burgatory. Having truly, madly and deeply enjoyed Burgatory, BRGR certainly had its work cut out for it.

BRGR is not a custom burger shop, though. Instead, it has a number of burger options that seem fit for all sorts of people. Many have their vegetables, but some are fit for an unvegan and none moreso than the Button Buster. This burger was topped with white cheddar, short ribs, onions rings and a bearnaise aioli. And, according to my waitress I was not to expect any stray vegetables. This was true for the burger, but not so much the horse it rode in on. Sitting off to the side in my basket of burger was a long pickle spear. Fortunately, the juices had stayed away from the bun, but it was a close one and obviously something I would have rather done without.

With the pickle avoided, I found the burger to be quite good, especially the toppings, which just seemed to work well together. And if it were all about the composition, BRGR would have compared pretty favorably to Burgatory. Yet, the core of the burger is the beef patty and BRGR’s simply wasn’t as good. Sure, it was cooked to an appropriate medium-rare, but the seasoning and flavor didn’t hit the high notes I would have liked. Meanwhile, I also had a side of fries, which were tossed with parmesan and herbs. They were tasty, to be sure, but didn’t stand out in any way.

The truth of the matter is that while BRGR is a really good spot to get a burger, it can’t beat out its rival. Yet, its rival can’t compete in terms of location, so unless I’m willing to make the long drive for Burgatory, BRGR is certainly a good substitute to have around.

Wife won a gift card to Social at Bakery Square a while back and we finally got a chance to use it recently. In fact, we made it a social thing and invited out a couple to join us. As I learned during the meal, the feminine half of the couple has her own food blog, which focuses on nutrition, so I naturally thought we were very similar. That is, until she ordered a salad. Crazy, I know.

As for me, I browsed the mostly salad, sandwich and pizza menu before choosing the Buffalo Chicken Pizza. The friendly waiter assured me it was a good choice, and I couldn’t argue with the simple unvegan ingredients of buffalo sauce, chunks of chicken, “moody bleu” cheese and aged cheddar. I’m not sure if that blue cheese is actually called “moody bleu” or is a reference to a French Moody Blues cover band, but either way it looked good.

And it turned out it was actually pretty good. The ingredients were all up to snuff and the dough wasn’t half bad either. I especially liked the fact that I dd not need to order the pie without vegetables, but wouldn’t have minded a crispier crust. Nonetheless, I ate the whole damn thing in one sitting, which I know isn’t that impressive, but hey I’m getting on in the years here.

Rumor has it the salads were good too, so if you’re into “alternative” nutrition blogs, you might enjoy Social as well. Meanwhile, I’ll stick to pizza.

Down in East Liberty is a barbecue joint that has been infused with a fair amount of hipster twist. It’s called Union Pig & Chicken, and its minimalist tables and whiskey/bourbon oriented bar do a good job of selling that intersection of barbecue and hipsterness. The menu is full of meaty offerings that go beyond the animals known as pig and chicken, but I suppose Union Pig, Chicken and Cow simply didn’t have the same ring to it.

I ended up ordering the Ribs + Pork + Brisket combo for $22, which aside from the obvious brisket, included a half rack of St. Louis ribs and pork shoulder. I figured this would be too much food, but that I would have a healthy dose of leftovers. Plus, we ordered their Meaty Mac as a side, which virtually guaranteed I would need a to-go box. The Meaty Mac, by the way was a great choice. With brisket and a hint of horseradish in it, it was well worth the $7 price tag.

As for the take-home box, I was right that I would need one. The portions were pretty sizable, and certainly made for either splitting or taking home. Each dish in my meaty trifecta was special and delicious. They came with two BBQ sauces, a tomato-based one as well as a vinegary one. The vinegar seemed to go best with the pork shoulder, while the brisket and ribs were best served by the tomato-based.

Of the meats, the brisket came away as my favorite. I was a big fan of its dry rub and how juicy it came out. Next was the pork shoulder, which was crazy-tender, but just couldn’t keep up with the brisket. Finally, the ribs were nothing to complain about, but felt like the lesser of all meats.

I did also get the chance to taste the chicken, which my lovely wife ordered. This helped ensure that I took care of both of the namesake meats. It was good, no doubt, but I was definitely happy my meats were of the mammalian variety.

Overall, Union Pig & Chicken treated me well. It’s a bit fancy for BBQ, but doesn’t deviate from the essence of the deliciousness that BBQ embodies. The prices may be a little bit scary at first, but rest assured that the portions are good and the flavors are all there. I will certainly be back.