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In Search of Good Taste
A blog about critical thinking (and eating) in the Steel City
WTF should I make for dinner?
via Zack Naylor
Songkran @ Soba
Last Monday, we had a guest visiting from California who was in town to give a lecture at CMU. Feeling the need to have an above average (by Pittsburgh standards) meal, I suggested we check out the Songkran Dinner at Soba.
Songkran was a special chef’s tasting menu running for a few days in celebration of the Thai New Year. Was it really the Thai New Year? Was the food “Thai” food? Not sure, but the menu seemed intriguing. According to the website, it was “inspired by Thai street food”.
I opted for the four course tasting while my dining companions opted for selections from the regular menu. Neither of them had complaints about the food, but had much to say about the ambiance and service (nothing good, I’m afraid).
I was generally underwhelmed by dinner, though the lobster, shrimp, scallops, and mussels, red curry lobster broth) course was amazing. The spice was perfect. The texture was great (sprouts!). I only wish there would have been another scallop.
I really want to like Soba. Their menus always look incredible. The presentation is always good, but the execution…
Was it worth 35$ ?? Yes. The variety of ingredients/tastes/ideas I liked. Will I be back? Yes, probably. I’m not ready to write them off completely. There are some things they do well. Like drinks.
3.5 Stars
Ellsworth Ave, Shadyside
http://www.bigburrito.com/soba/events/2010/04/12-15/index.shtml
(1st course)
(2nd course)
(3rd course)
(4th course)
Andys @ The Fairmont
A state of anger and irritability resulting from being hungry."
Chaya Japanese Cuisine
DB was not in a good mood yesterday. Typically when one of us is in a bad mood, or having a bad day, we get into HEATED debates about dinner. What we should eat, where, when, what groceries we need, etc… I’m not sure what causes this, but when these days occur it’s better for us to just eat out.
Last night (after much back and forth discussion) we headed out for Sushi. DB had never been to Chaya, though I had a couple of years ago in their old location.
The atmosphere I thought was nice, though DB commented after dinner that the “placemats should have been a red flag”. Dinner was underwhelming. The sushi was unattractive and left a lot to be desired in terms of taste. Prices were decent, but not worth a repeat visit.
I usually read yelp/urbanspoon reviews before dining out and I felt confidently about Chaya because there were SO MANY 5 star ratings. I give 3 stars, just because I liked the dining room and the waitresses’ uniforms.
Murray Ave, Squirrel Hill
http://www.chayausa.com/index.html
