China Star in the North Hills area

I tried China Star for the first time. My last job was close to the restaurant, but I never had the opportunity to go. Now that I've been there, I fully regret not going there during my last job. The Szechuan cuisine was amazing, and I got to try ox tongue. Check out the video.

All in Good Taste Productions

This past friday, my company had their annual Christmas party. Most years they would have it at a restaurant. But this year our president decided to have the party at the Pittsburgh Glass Center. He said he wanted to do something different because he wanted all of us to have an interactive experience at the Glass Center. It was a great idea because I was able to make a kickass glass ornament(Black and Gold of course), and have some great food. All in Good Taste Productions catered that night, and the food was amazing. Below is some of the food that I had.


This is the Petite Winter Salad of Watercress and Shaved Fennel, Dijon Vinaigrette
Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, Sauce Vert. The Watercress gives the dish a nice bright color to it. Sauce vert is a French sauce of mayonnaise that has some crème fraîche and herbs. It gave the crab cake a nice savory kick to it.


This is the Petite Lobster Raviolis, Sauce Americane, Lobster Claw, Braised Fennel with Julienned Snowpeas. Again it was very good. I was tempted to play with my lobster claw, but I'd be getting awkward looks from people. I'll save it for another time if I eat those again.


This is the Roasted Herb Crusted Domestic Lamb Chop, Demi Glace, Celery Root Puree, Sauteed Brussels Sprouts. I thought the lamb chops I made not too long ago were the best. This proved me wrong especially since they cooked it perfectly(medium rare).


This is the Gruyere Cheese Souffle, Mornay Sauce, Marinated French Green Lentils, Caramelized Carrot. I didn't try it, but my friend Katy said it was pretty good.

All in all it was a great experience and great food. I'll leave you guys pictures of me making glass(no dirty thoughts please though now I really know what the side feels)





Website: All in Good Taste Productions

Lidia's Pittsburgh

The day after Thanksgiving, my family and I decided to try Lidia's in the Strip District. Lidia's is an Italian restaurant owned by Lidia Bastianich, who is a well known restauranteur and chef. She owns several restaurants in the U.S., but each restaurant has its own distinct flair to them though there is a Lidia's in Kansas City.

One of the most unique aspects of her restaurant is that while you wait for a table, you can check out and read her cookbooks. Reading her cookbooks just makes you can't wait to eat her food even more. I thought about just taking a picture of her recipes using my camera, but the staff would not like that and I think Lidia would probably ban me from her restaurants for life. I could see that happening.


We get seated, received our drinks, and got some on-the-house bread. I should have asked where the bread came from. But from just tasting it, it was very fresh and I would bet either they made it in house or got them from a local bread company. The spreads that they gave us for the bread were Kalamata olives cannolini beans spread
Hummus basil spread. They were both good on the bread, though I preferred the olive spread a little bit more.

Now on to the appetizers. We ordered Fritto Misto which was fried calamari, shrimp, and vegetables with their tomato marina sauce. The tomato marina sauce was OK. Didn't wow me, but it got the job done at least. I loved the batter for the calamari. It was light and not greasy. The fact there were fried vegetables balanced the fishiness of the appetizer.


Now the main course. I ordered the Stinco d’Agnello Brasato(Lamb Shank Braised in Venetian Spices, Sweet Potato Hash, Oven Roasted Vegetables). The lamb shank was huge thus I could only eat half of it. But the meat was very tender came easily off the bone. I was eating like a king at this point. However, my favorite part of the dish was the sweet potato hash. It was my first time having it, and I got to say it tasted like sweet potatoes in mashed form. It was also good compliment to the lamb shank and the venetian spices from the shank made the potatoes taste even better. Regular mashed potatoes, sorry we are going to have to part ways.

All in all, we had a good experience eating at Lidia's. The service and the food were excellent. If there is any Italian restaurant I would recommend in the city(besides Piccolo Forno), this would be one of them. Expect to pay a lot for dinner, but it's worth it after taking that first bite.