Category Archive for ‘Pubs/Restaurants’ at MrBaconpants.com

Archive for the 'Pubs/Restaurants' Category

Bacon Night is Back in the Burgh

Published

on April 14, 2008

. 5 Comments

Bacon Night

Last year Pittsburgh’s home for Bacon Lovers, the Harris Grill, had a tragic fire. I wrote a post called, “The Harris Grill Will Be Missed”, as soon as I heard about the bad news. Well today I am happy to report the Harris Grill has risen from the ashes better than before! Their reopening day is today, April 14th, 2008. This means the return of bacon night is April 15th@ 6:30pm!

I hope to see a lot of bacon fans there, and yes I will be wearing the bacon pants. If you don’t know what Bacon Night is just come down and you will be pleasantly surprised. They serve free baskets of freshly cooked bacon to anyone sitting at the bar. It’s always a good time and their selection of beer is pretty good. So you should be able to find something you like. If you’re a bacon lover there really is no reason why you can’t stop down.

In related news the owners were nice enough to invite me to their mock service night last Friday. A mock service is what restaurants do before they open to train their staff. If you watch the food network you will know what I am talking about. I would just like to let everyone know it was a fantastic experience.

I was so impressed I feel they could have opened early, the staff was friendly and the service was fast. From what I could tell it was like this place never closed down. In fact, my food was served so fast my bacon cheese burger was almost too hot to eat.

The only thing I noticed that changed was the menu. It still looks good but a little smaller, which isn’t a bad thing. I’d rather have a restaurant make a few great dishes than a lot of “just ok” ones. For example, my bacon cheese burger was perfect. It was a hand padded burger (which is very important, I hate frozen patties) with 2 strips of crisp bacon (I would have liked to see 3 or 4) and topped with a nice piece of melted cheese. If they keep it up it will turn in to my favorite place to pick up a burger.

I am really happy to be a part of the rebirth of Bacon Night and of the Harris Grill. I look forward to meeting my friends after work on Tuesday nights for a beer and a few baskets of bacon. Mmm… I can smell the bacon already.

April 22nd, 6:30pm The Return of Bacon Night!
Harris Grill, 5747 Ellsworth Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15232 • Phone 412.362.5273

A Hamburger without Bacon is Blasphemy

Published

Jason Mosley

on August 28, 2007

in Pubs/Restaurants

. 6 Comments

Every time I go to a new pub or restaurant, I always look at the burger section of their menu. I look for any burger with the word bacon in the title or description. Sometimes if I am lucky they will have different flavors of bacon to choose from.

After traveling around, I found that some places make a better burger with bacon then others. To create a masterpiece the burger must be cooked to order and be made with good meat. Second, you need to have just the right seasonings and toppings. Then to finish it off, you need to have 4 or more pieces of crispy bacon being held on with a nice slice of cheese.

Here are my top three Burgers with Bacon I have had so far:

1. The Bell in Hand (Boston, MA) –When I was in Boston, I went to this place twice and got something with bacon and a tall Bass draft, both times. The burger was amazing. It was cooked to order, had a just the right seasoning, and the bacon was cooked to perfection. When I go back I am going to have to go there again.
2. Burger Bar (Las Vegas, NV) – I know a place called the Burger Bar would not let me down. They had 4 types (apple smoked, jalapeño, cinnamon, and peper) of bacon that you could get with your burger, so I got all four.
3. The Sharp Edge (Pittsburgh, PA) – Belgium Beer and a Bacon Cheese Burger is what heaven is like for me. I usually get the “Sharp Burger” since it’s cheap and comes with crispy bacon.

Let me know your top three and why you like them. I enjoy reading about new places to visit.

The Chruch Brew Works

Published

Jason Mosley

on August 23, 2007

in Pubs/Restaurants

. 0 Comments

This is my second restaurant review so I am going to try to use the same system I used last time. These are the five things I feel are important for a good restaurant experience: atmosphere, cleanliness, staff, food, and price.

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The second place I am going to review is The Church Brew Works, it’s located on Liberty Avenue. The atmosphere was amazing; it still looked like a church. The pews were gone and replaced by tables, but all the stain glass was still there. Since the place was enormous getting a table was not a problem. The place was spotless, even with it being so big you could tell they kept up with keeping it clean.

The wait staff was NOT impressive; it took a while before being asked what I would like to drink. He barely talked and it seemed like it was a bother when he did. I had to repeat my drink order more then once so his listening skills were also in need of improving. He failed to mention if there were any food specials. My food order also had to be repeated. What was really annoying was seeing that he treated the other tables with respect and was actually nice to them. I don’t know why I deserved bad service.

I was told before I went there that the food was not the great, but when I looked at the prices I felt that it should be. If I am going to pay over $20 for a dinner I expect it to be better then something I could make myself. But when the food finally did come, I was less then impressed. It tasted like something you would find in a bag in the frozen food section at Giant Eagle.

Like is said above the price for food was just a little high for what you get. Their beer was not that bad. For a micro-brew it was priced fairly, only 3.95 for a pint. I had their pale ale and it wasn’t that bad, I just thought it tasted a little watered down. Given my bad experience I think I will go back to give their Wood Fired Pizza a try.

Score: Atmosphere (4.5), Cleanness (4.0), Staff (1.5), Food (2.5),
Price (3.0), Overall (3.1)

Closing Comments: I think I just got a bad waiter this time and I hope when I go back for the Pizza, my experience is a little better.

You can read more reviews about this place at

Note: This post was a review I wrote for the Pittsburgh City Blog @ 451press.com.

The Harris Grill Will Be Missed

Published

Jason Mosley

on August 13, 2007

in Bacon and Pubs/Restaurants

. 8 Comments

Saturday night around 10pm there was a three alarm fire in Pittsburgh, and it took out one of my all-time favorite places, The Harris Grill in Shadyside. You can read it for yourself in the Trib here. The Harris Grill used to have FREE Bacon night every Tuesday night. I wrote a story about it along time ago, you can read it here.

The owners say they are going to rebuild which I think is a great idea. In the meantime I hope another local bar starts offering up free bacon. I am not saying I want a replacement bacon night, because nothing will ever compare to Harris Grill, but free bacon would make the pain easier.

I was going to go to bacon night last week but had to cancel. Now I wish I did because it would have been the last bacon night, ever!

Iguana Grill - Southside

Published

Jason Mosley

on July 25, 2007

in Pubs/Restaurants

. 9 Comments

This is my first restaurant review so please bear with me. It’s going to take a few before I get a system down. All I know is what I feel is important for a good restaurant experience: atmosphere, cleanness, staff, food, and price.

The first place I am going to review is the Iguana Grill, it’s located in the Southside across the street from Jack’s. The atmosphere was nice; the walls were a gray color with simple wall mounted lighting. The bar is small but there are plenty of tables, so finding a seat is not a problem. I would like to say that this is one of the cleaner bar/restaurants on this end of the Southside. The wait staff was also impressive; as soon as you sit down they’re asking you what you would like to drink. They have plenty of beers on tap and in bottles, so finding your favorite drink will not be difficult.

Looking at their menu you will notice that they are one of those Mexican and American hybrids. If you’re looking for real Mexican food this is not the place for you. I got the Chicken Burrito, and it was amazing. The portion was huge and it also came with corn and refried beans. I couldn’t finish it all so I had to take a doggie bag home with me.

The price was just right. You could easily feed two people under $20 (not including beer) and have some leftovers for lunch the next day. I can’t wait to eat there again. I am not even a fan of Mexican food and this place wowed me.

Score: Atmosphere (3.5), Cleanness (4.0), Staff (4.0), Food (4.0),
Price (4.5), Overall (4.0)

Closing Comments: Before you go, make sure you check out their website for their specials. They have one every day of the week. Also, on Fridays and Saturdays you have to be 21 and over, even if you’re just eating.

You can find more reviews about this place at