The True Story of Rally Monday

The beginning of this week has been one to remember. Yes, we potentially have an elected leader, and I've been assured once more that my views and hopes for this country will be taken into consideration in the White House.

We have two items to discuss.

One, is a veeeeery good thing.  The other is quite terrible.

First thing's first.

PGH Dining: Waffalonia

Being the planners that we are, Husband and I decided to squeeze in a visit to Waffalonia before seeing a 10:00AM matinee showing of a movie on a Sunday morning. Perfect, because they open at 9:00AM, and we were there on the dot.

Waffalonia, Leige Waffle Station, is a small, you'll-miss-it-if-you-blink shop in Squirrel Hill. You'll walk in to a skinny shop, with one side of waffle-making accouterment, the other for walking/ordering. P.S. - there's a wall full of peanut butter and nutella. Mmmm.

Waffle Iron in the Window.

Waffalonia's Menu: 

 They also offer ice creams:

 Next time I'm definitely trying cinnamon ice cream with Nutella on a hot waffle.

 After we ordered our waffle {Toppings below!}, we waited at the 'tables' alongside the wall. If you're bringing a group, you may want to get your waffles to go. However, it's perfect for a couple o' lovebirds sharing a waffle.

 Here she is...our sugar waffle, complete with a 1/4 c of Nutella, 3/4 of a banana and a huge dollop of whipped cream. Start the oohing and ahhing now.

We brought our own coffees!

 Behold the beauty. 

 Crunchy-sweet waffle, ripe banana slices, sandwiched between globs of Nutella and whipped cream. {Typical combination, I know, but too hard to pass up!}

Waffalonia was a sweet beginning to our morning. Check it out when you're in the neighborhood for a cozy decadent breakfast or brunch. 

Neighborhood: Squirrel Hill

Good For: Couples Breakfast/Brunch, Out-of-the-Ordinary Dessert

Gems: Ice Cream and Nutella {Expectations, of course}

Drawbacks: Seating Options

PGH Dining: Rita's Italian Ice

Sweets are a must for Husband and I, and we knew we wanted to try Rita's Italian Ice as soon as possible. The weather has turned spring-like, so this want is now a need! We drove to the nearest Rita's, which is in Millvale.  

RIGHT before the line got LONG.

 Rita's features Italian ices, frozen custard and gelati's {which is a mix of the two}.

 This location was hopping on a Tuesday night, and had many types of folks in line. 

 Husband opted for the gelati, in oreo. He loved having the option of eating both the icey part and the thick custard. 

 I chose to get the frozen custard {my favorite} in the chocolate and vanilla combination. 

 Covered in hot fudge, of course.

Glamour shot in the car.

We both got small sizes {a small and a kid's size}, and they were more than enough for a dessert. The prices was on-point for custard, too. We liked the variety of flavors, especially for the ices. We'll be frequenting this local favorite often this summer.

Neighborhood: Millvale {And other locations!}

Good For: Dates, Quick Desserts

Gems: Flavor Choices, Inventive Options

Drawbacks:  - 

PGH Dining: Piccolo Forno

As soon as we arrived to Pittsburgh and found a place to rent in Lawrenceville, we ate dinner at a little spot that looked lively. It was Piccolo Forno. We had a decent dinner, but left thinking it was "just okay." {Truth be told, we ordered 'healthy' dishes like salads and a light pasta because we were shocked at what I'll call our "PGH 15."} 

We moved on, and ate our way through other fabulous places in our new neighborhood. Still, we kept hearing about how incredible Piccolo Forno was from folks who live all over the Pittsburgh Metro Area. In fact, when we told people we were living in Lawrenceville, 85% of people would say, "Oh yeah, that's where Piccolo  Forno is!"

Last weekend Husband and I were out shopping for the final items for our guest room, and what better place to do it than in the self-named Design District of Lawrenceville? We stopped around 1:00pm to take a lunch break, and we were a block away from Piccolo Forno. It was about time we gave it a second chance.

 The place was {of course} packed, and we had to wait for 15 minutes to be seated at the next available table. Fine with us, because we were seated at a table close to the kitchen {Where the lady in the pink shirt is}, which is always a bonus for me. {I like to see how the food is made.} 

Interior of Piccolo Forno.

We ordered iced tea and Pellegrino, which was offered in the large size. Nice. Love me some bubbly water.

 We shared one of their soups of the day, minestrone with kale, to start. 

 The soup had a slow-simmered taste, and the kale was not overcooked. Good appetizer!

 We then moved on to the arugula pizza, with prosciutto and mozzarella hidden underneath. Lovely option for those that still want to eat some greens with their bready pizza. The quality of the prosciutto was excellent and was sliced appropriately. 

 Our waitress told us they offered scoops of imported Italian gelato for dessert, which wasn't too unheard of. The flavors were meyer lemon, coffee/espresso and cinnamon. Husband opted for the meyer lemon, and I asked for the cinnamon. 

Meyer Lemon and Cinnamon Gelatos.

My flavor won, and by a long shot. I was surprised by the complexity of the gelato, because it tasted like many more spices were present besides cinnamon. It's a must-get!

I'm glad we gave Piccolo Forno another try. We were pleased with the pizza, and the cinnamon gelato was a great finish.

PGH Dining: Burgatory Bar

 I'm warning you now, readers, that this will be a somewhat lackluster post. While I loved the greasy goodness of Burgatory, there were several features of the event that weren't stellar.
First, Husband and I had tried to go eat at Burgatory Bar, a spankin' new restaurant in the Waterworks Mall in Aspinwall {across the river from us in UpLa*}, but were unsuccessful because of the TWO HOUR WAIT {in December}. So, this time, we came prepared. We walked in on a Thursday evening, threw our name on the reservations list, and was told it would take about 45 minutes to an hour before we could get any table {they have tall boys as well as booths or chairs}. Fine. Great. Will do. We then proceeded to shop at T.J. Maxx and other smaller stores nearby. After about 50 minutes, Burgatory texted my phone to let me know I had less than 10 minutes to rush my buns over to the restaurant, or I would lose my table. We BOOKED it over, and made it in time to be seated at a two-person table near these puppies:

Flame Sculptures! {Or maybe some sort of space heater?}

Another one.

After taking a breather from our jog to the restaurant, we looked over the menu, which held a bevy of delicious options from chicken chili to salads to custom burgers. Husband didn't end up getting a "Custom Creation," but he HAD filled out the form.

He noticed lettuce wasn't an option. Weird. It IS a burger place, after all. 

We continued to look over the menu {and took in the cutesy posters on the wall, below} before deciding on sharing a burger and a salad, which would follow our appetizer of all appetizers... 

We couldn't pass up the truffled Gorgonzola fries. Could you?

Bucket O' Fries.

 The Gorgonzola stayed mostly in clumps, and stuck to the oiled fries delightfully as you snagged a few for your bite. The green onions added a nice bite to cut through the richness of the cheese and white truffle oil. 

 After eating 85% of that bucket of absolutely delicious fries, we were thankful that we were sharing our entrees. I ordered the Farm House salad, which featured "Baby Lettuces and Arugula tossed with Sunflower Seeds, Shaved Parmesan, Roasted Roma Tomatoes, Sweet Corn, Haystack Onions and Balsamic Vinaigrette".

My portion of the salad.

 I wish I could say I loved this salad. I do. It has every typical item I love to sprinkle onto the salads I make at a salad bar or at home for a light dinner. This salad, however, was RUINED by the incredibly acidic balsamic vinaigrette. Biting. Seriously. Additionally, the 'roasted' roma tomatoes resembled jarred sun-dried leathery bits. The corn was basically nonexistent. Neither of us found more than four kernels. The only redeeming factors of this salad was the crispy onion rings, being super thin and perfectly crunchy, and the pieces of shaved Parmesan for their salty taste.

The salad, as I began to pick through to unsuccessfully find tasty bits.

We were so ashamed at how little of the salad we ate, that we took the rest home to cover our tracks.

On to the burger. That lovely, meaty dish that won our hearts for Burgatory. The meat was cooked well, and the vegetables and condiments were fresh. The bun was a winner, too. It was buttery and airy, without falling apart as soon as we dove into our respected halves. 

Can you tell I was super pleased with the bun?

 Finally, we had some room left in our stomachs, so we indulged in a Campfire S'Mores shake. The shakes, at $6 for a classic and $8 for a hard boozy one, are thankfully served with any extra shake liquid that won't fit in the frosty glass. 

Our shake was a chocolate base with graham crackers blended in. The grainy texture might sound terrible to some {and I thought I'd agree!}, but it went so well with the whipped cream and toasted marshmallow on top for the overall S'More effect. Check plus from these ice cream lovers on that!
Getting into Burgatory was an exhausting feat, but I think it was worth it. I'd give them a solid B+, considering the dishes we ordered, and how typical they'd be for burgers and fries fare. With some extra credit work on the wait time and salad, they'd bring themselves up almost a letter.

*Note: I've deemed our neighborghood, Upper Lawrenceville, as UpLa. I mean, if Lower Lawrenceville gets called LoLa, then we should have something fun, too, right?!