The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s marketing department is debuting a restaurant crawl that promises food, drinks and merriment.
Best Bites Pittsburgh will feature stops at 20 Downtown restaurants on Oct. 12. Attendees can stop at as many or as few of the restaurants as they wish, try each chef’s signature bite, taste drink samples, and then gather at an after-party for voting and announcement of the winners.
Participating restaurants are Braddock’s Rebellion, BRGR, Bridges & Bourbon, Emporio: A Meatball Joint, Fogo de Chao, Harris Grill, Market St. Grocery, Market St. Grocery Wine Bar, McCormick & Schmick’s, Milk Shake Factory, Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream, Molinaro Ristorante, NOLA on the Square, Pizzaiolo Primo, Pork & Beans, Talia Cucina, Union Standard, Vallozzi’s, Wigle Whiskey Tasting Room and Wolfie’s Pub.
A few of the chefs’ “best bites” are still under wraps, but others have been announced. Union Standard will serve deviled eggs with trout roe. Talia has planned an item from the regular menu, burrata with honey and fennel pollen on grilled crostini. Wigle is offering attendees samples of a choice of four barrel-aged cocktails. Emporio has planned Buffalo fried chicken balls drizzled with their signature “crack sauce,” and BRGR is making signature sliders.
Pizzaiolo Primo will offer two bites: Tuscan greens and beans with sweet sausage, potatoes, escarole and white beans, or arancini with Parmesan risotto and fresh-made mozzarella. Vallozzi’s will prepare roasted pork and veal agnolotti with prosciutto, wild mushrooms and truffle sage butter.
McCormick & Schmick's on Fifth Avenue will serve a steak wonton wrap with jicama chimichurri slaw and salsa roja. Molinaro Ristorante on Market Square will offer focaccia meatball sliders and Wolfies will pour Slyfox Vulpulin IPA.
For dessert, The Milk Shake Factory will offer tastings of cookie bark and cookies & cream bark, and Millie’s plans to offer a scoop of any October flavor a person chooses.
Most stops will offer a bite paired with a drink sample or the opportunity to buy a signature cocktail to wash down the bite.
The crawl will be from 2 to 6 p.m. Attendees can start at one of four designated check-in locations that can be selected at ticket purchase time. At check-in, attendees can pick up a lanyard and restaurant map. The lanyard will be good for a tasting at each stop.
The after-party runs from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Renaissance Hotel lobby, where there will be complimentary cocktails, live music and raffles. Former Pittsburgh Penguin Colby Armstrong will be a judge. His vote will be combined with the audience votes to determine the best bite, best drink and best stop.
Five hundred tickets are being sold for the event. Attendees need not be 21; anyone who isn’t 21 simply won’t be given the alcoholic beverages.
“Families with children might not go to Wigle, but they could go to Millie’s and the Milk Shake Factory,” said Eileen Rosenberg, the PG marketing promotions manager.
Tickets are $50. For tickets or more information, go to promo.bestbitespittsburgh.com.
Rebecca Sodergren: pgfoodevents@hotmail.com; @pgfoodevents.
First Published: September 25, 2019, 12:00 p.m.