You Need To Eat This: "Cheez-It" Ice Cream
I'm obsessed with one of Pittsburgh's newest eateries.
Grit & Grace downtown (literally where "Taste of Dahntahn" used to be) is the newest restaurant from the people behind BRGR and Spoon – and it's amazing.
It calls itself "American Dim Sum," which to my mouth means unique flavor combinations and lots of deliciousness, but to my brain means "kind of Asian."
If you're looking for a traditional dim sum experience though, this isn't the place. And as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't need to be that place, because what they're doing is perfect.
There are so many unique dishes and drinks at this place, some of which I'll talk about. But the thing I have to mention is the desserts, or, one in particular.
Grit & Grace offers an apple pie with Cheez-It crumbles and Cheez-It ice cream.
And I'm here to tell you that Cheez-It ice cream ain't all that bad. It's very creamy and not overly sweet, as you might imagine – like plain yogurt vs. vanilla yogurt, with a hint of cheese cracker. The Cheez-It flavor is much more prevalent in the crumbles, which are clearly smoked and gives the dish a really earthy, woody flavor.
It's truly unlike any dessert I've ever eaten and not that farfetched, considering it's common practice to slap a slice of cheese on some good old-fashioned apple pie.
The menu in general is exciting to me too, because it's filled with tons of meat. I'm a very carnivorous gal and anytime I can get grub that makes me feel like a lion ripping meat off of a gazelle, I'm happy. (Although I've seen many people there eating in a much more civilized fashion).
At this point, I've just about tried everything on the menu, but the dish that keeps me up at night with food lust is the pork belly bites.
It's from the dim sum menu and served as a bowl of square chunks of tender, fatty pork belly and dribbled with a tangy aioli-type sauce. I mean this as straight forward as it sounds: you don't have to chew this meat, it is that tender.
The dim sum menu itself is small and only has five options, but the thing that's nice about it is if you're impatient, you can grab some things to snack on right away, while you decide what else to order. Then, after you eat that and think you might want more food, there's the dim sum again! It's great for constant eaters, or someone who wants "just a little bit," as my mother always says.
They also have a shared drink that comes in essentially a science class beaker with a spout and you and your buddies pass it around. Kudos if you can get it in your mouth without leaving a booze goatee on your chin, but it's delicious and a lot of fun to share.
Some other favorites are the short ribs with cream cheese biscuit, crispy pig face roulade and the seared flap steak.
Have you been yet? What's your favorite dish?
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If you love food too, be sure to follow Sarah on Twitter: @SarahtheKovash
