Pittsburgh Restaurants Getting National TV Attention
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pittsburgh is very quickly becoming a "foodie" city and some big-time food experts are taking notice.
The "Ginormous" show on the Food Network features mass quantities otherwise normal menu items. Bakn restaurant in Carnegie was a recent stop, where lunch hour lasts an hour and a half. Chef Randy Tozzie recalls the day the "Ginormous" crew stopped in.
"It was fantastic. Josh Denny came first. Very warm and kind person," he said. "Then the crew came in, and they were setting up tables, the kitchen, like they had been here a thousand times before."
One of their specialties is the "Bakn cake taco." It's normally pretty big, but the producers wanted it to be "ginormous."
Chef Randy says they started with a huge pancake, then added, "a dozen eggs, layer that. A pound of cheddar cheese. And then twelve strips of pepper bacon and twelve strips of applewood bacon."
Another popular food show is Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown" on CNN. The traveling connoisseur stopped at the Squirrel Hill Cafe, where cook Tom Tantlin's cheeseburgers are among the best in town. The staff says Mr. Bourdain enjoyed the burger, just before posing with the night crew. Long-time bartender Janice Cavrak was "visibly" impressed.
"Anthony's a very nice guy," she said. "And he's so good looking. I'm sorry, but he is. He's a good looking man."
Penguins fan Paul Walton of San Diego, taking his dad on a world tour, says he didn't think much of this little tavern until, "Bit into that cheeseburger, and I kid you not. I'm coming back to Pittsburgh."
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