One of the best sushi places in Pittsburgh

So like I said before- I. Love. Buggy. Buggy is truly a unique tradition at Carnegie Mellon, but whats more special about it is all the great friends I have made through this activity- in fact I've met all of my closest friends through buggy- even my boyfriend!

There is pretty much nothing I love more than buggy-besides my boyfriend. And sushi. But that's it, promise. Me and my other buggy enthusiast friend Jess (our chairman from this past year) decided that it was time for us to spend some good quality time together and get some sushi. She had never been to Chaya before (which is ridiculous) so I thought I'd take her and show her the magic that is Chaya.

We wanted to go and sit down- but since nobody would take care of the pup (poor Zeus) we decided to get it as a take-out order. I was actually excited to see how good Chaya take-out was- simply because sushi take out is never as good as eating it at the restaurant. Boy was I wrong.

I've been to Chaya more than I can count and it has never failed to satisfy my sushi cravings. The fish is fresh and has wonderful textures and the prices are incredibly reasonable. Jess and I decided to keep it simple this time and ordered a few simple rolls off the menu.

Jess got a California roll (which is great for those who are new to raw fish and want to take baby steps) and an Alaska roll (salmon and crab). I got a shrimp tempura roll (ok, not really sushi- but SO delicious at Chaya) and a simple salmon and avocado roll and a spicy tuna roll. Although I can't speak for Jess (she did say it was delicious however), my rolls were perfect- as always. The fish was fresh and everything was prepared artfully.

California, Alaska Roll

Salmon and Avocado, Shrimp Tempura, Spicy Tuna Roll

Although the take-out was good- I enjoy sitting in at the restaurant a lot better. Located in Squirrel Hill on Murray Avenue, Chaya is very close to the Carnegie Mellon campus and is a great BYOB place! The servers are dressed authentically in Japanese kimonos and the casual setting of the restaurant is very comforting and welcoming. Chaya is one of the best sushi restaurants I've been to in Pittsburgh, and me and Eric LOVE going there to treat ourselves to some great sushi.

Eric's favorite by far is the Spider Roll (Soft shell crab). And I really just love everything there- the toro is amazing btw. I can't really even begin to talk about how tasty the fish at Chaya is- you just need to experience it yourself. Seriously, one of the best sushi places- go.

If I do have something bad to say about Chaya- the language barrier results in poor phone service (Someone yelled at me for calling them when they weren't opened and hung up on me). Oh, and the oyster appetizer is actually very unappetizing- and the awfulness of that appetizer really surprised me- don't get it.

But regardless, if you stick to the sushi- I can say with confidence that you will enjoy it. Make sure to bring some alcohol to make it a party!

Speaking of flavor

I have come to realize that I have lived downtown for almost a year and I really haven't taken advantage of exploring the area or even going to the Strip!

Two weeks ago, a few of my sorority sisters (Pama and Asak) decided to go explore the Strip District on a Saturday morning to get some fresh produce and grab a quick lunch. I personally have only gone a handful of times (to go to the asian market to buy spam musubi ingredients- haha) and really, I should go more often. ITS SO FUN!

After a day of grocery shopping (popcorn eating) and exploring all the different markets in the Strip, we decided to stop at Enrico's for some lunch. Enrico's is a small little hole in the wall restaurant that is actually really easy to miss if you don't look carefully. It's right next to The Enrico's Biscotti Company bakery (duh), and is a great place for lunch!

Eric and I actually tried to go there the one and only time we went to the strip together but it was closed (and then we ended up going to kaya instead). I've only been to Enrico's once before, and I remember the food being so simple yet so delicious.

Located on Penn Avenue, Enrico's has a small, selective menu consisting of a fusion of italian and southern cooking. Ranging from homemade margarita pizza to homestyle grits, Enrico's menu is truly unique. Asak got the margarita pizza while Pama and I decided to explore some southern dishes and try the frogmore stew and the shrimp grits.

Although Asak preferred more cheese on her pizza, she still enjoyed it very much and could tell that the pizza was definitely homemade with fresh tomatoes. The crust was crispy while the sauce and mozzerella cheese was light and full of flavor.

Margarita Pizza

Speaking of flavor, the frogmore stew and grits had plenty of it! I must warn you though that if you don't like spicy foods and/or can't handle the heat- you should probably stick to their pizzas and other italian dishes (I hear the spaghetti and meatballs are also delicious). Me and Pama's dishes were also delicious and hearty and perfect for that rainy day. Pama's grits were creamy and rich and had a kick at the end that hits you by surprise.

Shrimp and grits

Frogmore stew

My frogmore stew was also amazing. Unlike the grits, you can see the crushed red peppers in the dish as well as in the spicy sausage so you know the heat is coming! Although it ISN'T as spicy as the grits- it still was packed with lots of heat and the potatoes and shrimp were great additions. I highly recommend the frogmore stew (if you are looking for some spice) and the pizza (if you want to keep it on the safe side).

Although it is not ideal for a fancy date, Enrico's is full of life and is a great place to stop by for a casual lunch. Also make sure to stop by their bakery next door for a yummy dessert!

With Eric being in California, I can't really experience dining in Pittsburgh with him as often but I LOVE going out with my sisters and they are great. I may even like them better than Eric!

Pick your own strawberries!

I am so old. Or at least I feel old. This weekend I went to Kennywood and Soergel's Orchards and just felt completely exhausted and couldn't even start my work for the week. But I did have a lot of fun!

This post is mainly about the great time I had a Soergels Orchards with my friend Risa- and not about my 50th time at Kennywood. I WAS going to write about the cheap pizza I had at Italian Village in Squirrel Hill before we left for Kennywood, but I realized that the pictures I took on my phone are gone (thanks to the rain) and... I don't like pizza unless it's from New York :)

This Sunday was the Strawberry Festival at Soergel's Orchards in Wexford, PA. I never thought I'd have so much fun at a farm, but my 2 hours spent there was awesome and well worth the drive. (The drive actually isn't too long- just around 20 minutes)

The main attraction was the strawberry picking event that day. They provide you with a cardboard box and they have a 'hayride' that takes you to their strawberry bushels where you can pick and taste as many strawberries as you want. After staining my hands (and mouth) pink and collecting as many huge red strawberries as I could, we went back to the farm houses to go check out the rest of the festival.

The place was packed with kids and adults of all ages and there were a lot of activities set up. We went to check out the farm animals and had a nice snack and eventually ended the day by shopping in their market. Their market was quite small but had lots of fresh produce and yummy cider!

Huge hot dog for $2.50!

Risa loving her hot dog!

After shopping around we decided to call it a day as I was still exhausted from Kennywood the day before (go figure). But I do have to say that their fresh produce was GREAT (I cooked some of their squash and zucchini that night) and their apple cider was delicious! My favorite part was of course, the strawberry picking and I am looking forward to making my strawberry rhubarb pie tomorrow!


You can actually pick your own strawberries throughout the week so if you are craving some fresh sweet strawberries or some great apple cider, definitely go check out Soergels Orchards in Wexford, PA! (If you do decide to go down to Soergels Orchards and pick some strawberries you can bring your own tub or tupperware container as they charge you a buck for a cardboard container there)

Enjoy the weather and get drunk

Being a graduate student has its ups and downs. One great thing is that I've met some really great people and really enjoy spending time with them. The WORST thing about being a graduate student over the summer at CMU is the NINE hours of class on Wednesdays- it's killer. Not only does this mean that I have to send my puppy to doggy day care (oh yes, I got a cute little puppy), but I can't go home (or anywhere really) and am forced to eat my meals on campus. (Although that does give me a good opportunity to explore more restaurants!)


This past Wednesday, a few of us decided to go to Union Grill on Craig Street for lunch (picture of interior above). Well we didn't really DECIDE- we sort of just walked by and were too lazy to walk to Quiznos 100 feet away, so we stopped. I've been to Union Grill a number of times during my undergraduate career, and nothing there really impresses me.

Union Grill is a great place to go if you are looking for a semi-nice restaurant (with a bar of course) that is close by with reasonable prices. The food really isn't spectacular, but isn't awful either... just (as Eric would say) 'meh'.

I usually get their crabcake sandwich (sorry, no pictures today). They took it off their menu recently, but to my surprise they had it on their specials lunch menu this Wednesday! The ones I've had in the past were a lot better as the crabcake that day didn't have a lot of flavor and was smaller than usual. The sandwich was plain and dry and I didn't even feel like I was eating crab- isn't that the whole point of a crabcake sandwich?! I got a side of vegetables with my order (instead of fries- Eric should be proud) and really, the vegetables were my favorite. The vegetables (sugar snap peas, red bell peppers and asparagus) were crisp and was cooked in a light butter sauce. I would have liked it to have less buttery grease so I could have felt better about myself- but it was still delicious nonetheless.

Although I was a bit disappointed by my meal, my friends definitely were happy and satisfied with their $10 bottled wine list. Each were able to get one full glass of wine out of the $10 bottle (aka 4 glasses), which I am sure made them very happy (and ready) to go to our next class.

The common theme around the table were burgers. I've had the burgers myself and what I personally like about them is that you can build your own burger and really put almost anything you want on it. If you want to be healthy like Anupama, you can also order a turkey burger!

I've also tried the french onion soup, caesar salad, fish tacos and cheesesteak from Union Grill. The soup was awful- I think it was the cheese they used- because it smelled like feet. The caesar salad wasn't that great either as the lettuce was soft and lacked that crunch that I love about romaine lettuce. The fish tacos and cheesesteak again was 'meh' but i'd have to say that the fish tacos were very large. That's what she said. (You're welcome, Ryan) My favorite thing I've had at Union Grill has got to be their chicken pot pie. I was looking for it on the menu, but I couldn't find it (sadface). BUT, if you ever do see it on the menu, I highly suggest trying it! It is creamy with huge chunks of chicken and vegetables and the crust is baked until its brown and perfectly flaky! Yummy!

Pragna got the Pittsburgh salad, which is always HUGE (and a common favorite). Although it was a salad- it didn't look quite healthy- but still delicious I'm sure. None of the salads there (or anything on the menu really) is for the health conscious, but aren't you there to get drunk anyway?

In general, Union Grill isn't a place that really prides itself on having gourmet food with excellent quality ingredients. However, I think it IS a great place to grab some lunch with a few friends, enjoy the weather (as it has an outside dining area as well) and get drunk.

What a guy!

Before Eric left for California for the summer, we had a great opportunity to celebrate our anniversary at Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse! Thanks to the bad service Eric got a previous time he went (haha) he got a 20% off voucher for his next visit. We later found out that if you go during a holiday (father's day) you will automatically get a 20% off voucher for the next visit!

I really wrote this post like a month ago, but Eric has failed to give me the pictures (surprise surprise) and I got sick of waiting for him.

Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, like I said, is located at the North Shore right by Heinz Field. It is a GREAT place to celebrate an anniversary or to have a nice dinner with a few of your loved ones. Eric called in ahead of time to make reservations and to let them know that it was our anniversary. Upon arriving, they had a private booth for us and the table was covered with rose petals and candles, beautiful!


The food was good and the atmosphere was wonderful. And thankfully, this time, the service was also spectacular!

To start, we got half a dozen of east coast oysters (they let you choose east coat or west coast). Oysters, again is something Eric has never tried until dating me and now he's hooked! There is one thing about Pittsburgh that I hate- they don't know how to do oysters. Really, any place that I have gone to that has served oysters do NOT know how to chuck the oysters- and always end up leaving bits of the shell inside of the oyster. Not only is it annoying, it shows their lack of expertise and in the end my appeal for oysters in Pittsburgh is slowly dying. Nonetheless, Eric loved them, while I only had two.

6 east coast (blue point, I believe) oysters.

As for the rest of our meal, Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse has a great selection of appetizers and steaks. They also have a 'Sea & Shore' special where you can pick a seafood entree and it comes with a 7 oz filet mignon. This is the option I went with- I'm a fat ass, go figure.

The one thing I really liked about this particular steakhouse is that the steaks are cooked in a variety of different styles. Along with that, they allow you to be flexible and choose the type of cut and then the style- which is great.

So like I said, I got the Sea & Shore special where I got my filet mignon done 'cabernet' style where it was grilled with garlic, black crushed pepper and cabernet butter. As for the 'sea' side, I got the colossal sea scallops but instead of the citrus sauce, I asked for the lemon butter sauce- which wasn't a problem (I love being accommodated to). This special also comes with a choice of a salad and a dessert and so for the salad I got the classic caesar salad which was HUGE (and delicious) and again, being the fat ass that I am, I got an extra thing of lobster bisque which was to die for.

Huge Caesar Salad (anchovies available upon request)

Delicious Lobster Bisque

Oh. my. gosh. The food was so good. The salad was refreshing and crisp and was big enough for two. The lobster bisque was hearty yet not too heavy and was so delicious that I practically licked the bowl clean. The scallops were tender and moist and was cooked in a delicious butter sauce. The steak was done perfectly and the cabernet butter was wonderfully tart yet creamy that complemented the steak perfectly. My meal was great.

Oops!

As for Eric, he got the Steak Dijon which was a HUGE piece of meat wrapped in bacon topped with a hollandaise sauce. According to him, it was also delicious. The piece of steak was so big and tall that it required 3 slices of bacon to wrap around the entire thing!

What I did find strange was that they didn't ask me what I wanted for dessert (it comes with the 3 course meal special), but to my surprise, Eric knew that creme brulee was my favorite and called in ahead of time to order it for me! They brought it out on a nice place wishing us a happy anniversary! What a guy!


Maybe, it was the special occasion, or the great man I was with, but I very much enjoyed my experience at Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse. The service, food and atmosphere were all wonderful and I will most definitely be returning. Perhaps I will stop by for Father's Day to get that 20% discount for another visit! Maybe next time I will get that 36 oz. 'bone-in' Wagyu beef from Japan steak!!

Bad food is SO good

Why is it that sometimes bad food is SO good?! So in my previous post I made a snide remark about Lulu's bubble tea- but it seems like Eric and I can't get enough of it!

Lulu's noodles on Craig Street near CMU's campus was probably the first restaurant I went to when arriving to Pittsburgh. I came to visit CMU my junior year in high school and naturally, my asian parents went on the hunt for the closest asian restaurant. Someone recommended Lulu's and it obviously did not please my parents. But then again, what can you expect from asian parents from New York City?- nothing is better than new york city.

Although we were unimpressed, and I hadn't returned to Lulu's for months at a time, I decided to take Eric there one day and he fell in love with the bubble tea. At first he was a bit weirded out by the texture and the thought of the bubbles (I even successfully convinced a few of my friend that they were fish eyes) but he soon began to acquire a taste for it and he's now stealing MY bubbles from my drink! The 'bubbles' in the bubble tea is not actually fish eyes- don't worry- it is just large sweetened tapioca balls.



You can get bubble tea in a variety of flavors and types at Lulu's. My favorite has got to be the peach flavored tea- although it really isn't tea and tastes like juice-it's still delicious! The only bad comment I have to make about Lulu's bubble tea is that they don't give you a lot of the tapioca balls- which is always disappointing.

The food at Lulu's isn't very authentic but it sure hits the spot when you are looking for something quick and flavorful. The crab rangoon appetizer is our favorite. Whenever we pass by Lulu's (which is fairly often) we never fail to place an order of crab rangoon- even if its on the go! As for our entree we usually get the classic lo mein, yeung chow fried rice and dr.fu's special. All these dishes aren't necessarily remarkable and I really can't say anything about them besides the fact that it hits the spot.

If you are looking for good service and authentic food- Lulu's is not the place for you (in fact, i haven't found an asian restaurant in Pittsburgh that fits that description). If you are looking for some quick chinese food with some yummy bubble tea- stop by Lulu's for a quick lunch!

There is a korean grandma hiding in the kitchen!

Ok, so I have to admit that I am awful at taking pictures before I eat- but that's usually because the food looks so good!

Me and a few sorority sisters- Pama and Margaret decided to indulge ourselves in some great authentic korean food at Korea Garden in Oakland. We decided to go for lunch although me and Margaret usually go for dinner. I would suggest going to Korea Garden for dinner (although there may be a wait) simply because of the little appetizer dishes you get before your entree.

I've got to say my most favorite thing about going to a korean restaurant is getting the little appetizers before hand! At every korean restaurant you get a few little dishes (for free) after you order your entree and really, it's the best thing ever. They always vary but you can always bet you will get a few dishes of kimchi. At lunch this time, we didn't get as many little dishes and I was a bit disappointed by this. The food both at lunch and dinner is exactly the same (same food and portions), but I really like those little dishes and therefore would opt to go for dinner to get more variety!

Korean food is unique in that it is SUPER filling and hearty. If you don't like spicy food or anything with loads of flavor- you may want to reconsider korean food. But really- it's amazing and I think everyone should at least try it once.

My favorite thing by far is Bi Bim Bap. Bi Bim Bap is a rice dish that is loaded with different korean vegetables, meat and a raw egg on top. You get sauce on the side that is intended to be mixed in to give the dish some flavor- the great part is that you can regulate how much (spicy) sauce you want to add so you can control the amount of spice you want in the dish (if at all). Bi Bim Bap is served in two ways- in a stainless steel bowl or a sizzling bowl (pictured below). Although the sizzling bowl is a bit more expensive it definitely is worth is as it keeps your food hot, cooks your egg, and really- it just tastes better.

I again, apologize for the half eaten entree

We also got chop chae (pictured below) which is a very popular noodle dish in korean cuisine. It has tons of flavor but is also light and not too greasy. This was actually the first time I had it, thanks to Margaret's suggestion, and it was amazing. This is actually a good dish for you if you don't like spicy foods too much as this isn't one bit spicy!


Korea Garden is a great authentic restaurant that I highly recommend. The portions are large and can be great for sharing. I also recommend the various hotpots if you are craving something with more of a soupy base (although it is quite spicy). I went to Sushi Kim in the Strip District recently and the quality of food and service do not compare to that of Korea Garden. The food is home-made and just gives you the feeling that there is a korean grandma hiding in the kitchen!