Zicke zacke, zicke zacke, hoi hoi hoi!

Giant steins of beer, brats and a bangin' good time. That's what Oktoberfest is about.

I had never been to Morgantown Brewing Company's Oktoberfest, so when I realized I was free this year, I jumped at the chance. It was held last Saturday at the Brew Pub - both upstairs and the cool speakeasy vibe downstairs, as well as the outside parking lot.

The upstairs dining room had a specialty menu, which included things like sauerkraut and potato balls and bratwurst pie. Both bars upstairs were also open.

Downstairs, the speakeasy was open, and it was way cool. I want to do a separate piece on speakeasies in Morgantown, so I'll save it for then. But the vibe is chill, there are lots of little nooks to hang out, and there were also specialty drinks available. I ended up getting a pumpkin ale in one of their take-home steins - only $8! Very tasty beer.

The parking lot featured live traditional German music, a German Club bake sale, some games, grilling out of brats and kraut, pretzel necklaces, and general debauchery. It was fun to be part of the raucous crowd and watching as people participated in these drinking games.

The Great Bratwurst Saga
Leah and I decided we wanted some brats to make it really feel like ~Oktoberfest~ but they weren't really offering those upstairs in the dining space. Rather, they were outside on the grill. BUT, it was cash only. So, we went to the ATM and realized we didn't have debit cards on us. Then, we asked if we could place an order with a bartender or waitress, and we were denied. So, we put our name down to sit in the dining room and make do with our non-brats. But the wait was an hour long. So, we contemplated what to do. Leah considered ubering home to get her debit card so we could get cash, but ultimately, she convinced a friend to spot her a $20. Success! Right? Not so much. With cash in hand, finally, we went back outside. AND THEY WERE OUT OF BRATS. The tragedy. They said they might have some in the back. So, we waited. While we waited, we made pretzel necklaces. They came back and said, sorry, no brats. So, we settled on hot dogs. Le sigh. BUT WAIT. After we finished our hot dogs (which were fine) and potato salad (pretty good), a friend came by and said they have brats again. WHAT. So, we booked it outside, and the people working remembered us being devastated over having to be reduced to a hot dog, so they agreed to give us two bratwurst. And they were some damn good bratwurst.

Also of note: Leah dunked someone in the dunk tank. That was fun.


I saw lots of folks I haven't seen in quite some time.

Sandwich U is a staple in the drunken college kid diet - even back when I was in undergrad and we called this place "Are U Hungry?"

Sandwich U is home to the Fat Sandwich. The long sub sandwiches stuffed with french fries and a variety of fried foods and drenched in some sauce are a favorite amongst those who have had a few too many vodka cranberries that masks the thought of how many calories each of these sandwiches contain.

It's been many a years, new owners, new items and new locations since I've tried this restaurant, so I thought it was due time. Sandwich U has made a name for itself for being combative, vulgar and shaming customers or employees at times via Twitter. The restaurant's owner, George Tanios, is no stranger to controversy, as he's carried this theme through various businesses he's owned - like the Lebanese Bistro and All U Need.

But he's made this part of his marketing, really. Sandwich U capitalizes on that crowd, tweeting about waking & baking or staying open late for the after-bar crowd and having sandwiches named "Fat Bastard" and "Fat Blunt." I somehow missed a "Fat Bitch" on the menu, but it seems as though they have it. Anyway, George is Morgantown's own version of Amy's Baking Company (ahem). [Part of this has been removed 3/15/21 in light of recent news about the owner]

Fat Freshman

The restaurant has only a walk-up window with menus plastered on the side. The menu contains all of the fat sandwiches - like Fat Freshman, Fat Drunk, Fat George, Fat Chick - that all contain french fries and some combination of fried chicken tenders, cheese steak, bacon, mozzarella sticks, cheese, burger, and various sauces. But, they also have some Lebanese inspired items - like the Fat Greek (one of the few sandwiches that has veggies), Fat Lebanese - as well as bowls, crazy fries, burgers, pita sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches, wings and fried sides.

Fat Hillary

I placed an order for the Fat Freshman, their #1 seller. It has cheese steak, fried chicken tenders, bacon, mozzarella sticks, frat sauce, and french fries all on an eight-inch hero roll. I waited off to the side while loud music pointed out toward the sidewalk played explicit lyrics. But before long, my name was called, and a sandwich was slide through the other window. The sandwiches arrived cut in half, wrapped up and placed in a bag where we took them back to the office to engulf.

Here's the thing: My sandwich is good. Even not drunk, it's good. How can it not be? It hits on all those comforting fried foods slathered in a sweet sauce. I love chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks and french fries separately - so yes, they're still good together. It's a cheap thrill; it's filling after a night of drinking. But, ooof, my tummy was not prepared for all that grease. And, Tony got the Fat Hillary, and we split. It pretty much tasted exactly the same, even though it had fried mac & cheese bites - everything is masked by that fried taste.

There's not some culinary genius or innovative preparation here, but judging it for what it is - it tastes good. It's a different kind of good - the drunken, face-value, guilty pleasure good.

Grade: B

The Fresh Hospitality group is responsible for all the new restaurants on campus, including EiO & The Hive. This new restaurant is located in The Market at Health Sciences Center, so I went up recently to check it out.

The Market is a pretty cool space - very modern with lots of little nooks to take up and get some work done. There's also outdoor seating. It has Little Donkey Tacos and Hugh Baby's BBQ that are also present in Evansdale Crossing.


LOCAL FOOD, GLOBAL FLAVORS

The menu features teas, wheatgrass shots, juices, smoothies and coffees on the drink end. On the food side of things, we have chia pudding, avocado toast, salads, bowls and some sandwiches. However, the meat options are pretty limited.

I ordered the only sandwich that had meat on it: Chicken Little. Harissa rubbed chicken salad, sourdough, cheese and side of root veggies. Tony got a "bowl," which ended up being a piece of chicken with two sides, and Dave got that lovely coffee.


This sandwich was OK. In the description it said chicken salad, but this was more like small bits of warm, darker meat chicken. The cheese had Mexican seasoning, and there was also lettuce and tomato. It was pretty basic - not a ton of flavor. I think everything needed more seasoning or some sort of sauce. I even looked around for ketchup, but found none. The side of root veggies were the same.

I think they're committed to a healthier lifestyle, which I know is free from some of those fattier sauces that are rich and slathered on other restaurant sandwiches. But I think this dish could've easily been transformed with a little love. I'll be on the look out to see how they evolve as they go!

Piccadilly is a well-known road in City of Westminster, London ... which you may know because of the OneRepublic song "Good Life," where he sings "Woke up in London yesterday, found myself in the city near Piccadilly..."

But, if you're in Pittsburgh, you may be more familiar with the organic artisan yogurt shop Piccadilly.

REAL FOOD
We love real food, that is why we do not use additives, preservatives, coloring, pesticides or any other chemical when making yogurt bases – only local, organic ingredients. 

ABOUT
We are a self serve yogurt shop on Washington Road in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We serve organic dairy and organic vegan frozen yogurt that is made fresh at our partner farm.

This place really focuses on organic, locally made yogurt without antibiotics or hormones. I'm sure this is a real draw for a certain group of folks; I can't say that I'm one of them. Sure, it's a nice benefit, but it's not a deciding factor on which froyo shop I'm going to.

The inside is adorable, with the self-serving yogurt and toppings to the left and a nice, cool cheery lounge feel throughout the rest of the shop.

I kept it pretty simple with the organic sea salt caramel yogurt and I placed some caramel turtles, hot caramel and brownie pieces on top. There was a nice mix of ingredients - some I don't usually see - so that was nice.

The yogurt itself was fine, but the toppings weren't nearly as rich as I anticipated - maybe because of the nature of the shop. But the best part was the hot caramel on top. That really made it for me. Cute place overall; a bunch of preteens were hanging out so we didn't stay too long, but it's charming in a sense and had some decent froyo.

Grade: B 

Random Saturday afternoons are for trips to Trader Joe's, chocolates from Sarris Candies and a boozy dinner just outside of town so it feels like you're ~getting away~. A quick search found Bistro 19 as one of the top rated restaurants in the area, so I called to see if they had any openings for dinner and lucked out.

We'd found parking a few blocks away from the building, which was cute, modern, and bustling. Inside, every table was taken up, candles flickered and the lighting was dim.

Heather and I were seated in a corner near the window of the restaurant, and I immediately ordered a red wine (Argentinian Malbec). Very good. A few features, like venison, were available. The menu has Chilean sea bass, pork tenderloin, crab cakes, filet mignon, sea scallops, duck breast, shrimp, almond chicken, salmon, a burger, lobster tail gnocchi (which I almost ordered), and orecchiette pasta (which I did order).

These are standard options, so I went for the one that was the most different. While the lobster tail gnocchi sounded good, orecchiette pasta with veal meatballs, bacon, wild mushrooms, spring peas and herb butter was a combo I've not had before.

But first, a small bread basket - both very good, and that butter was to die for. Whipped and herbed and sweet and delish.

The entree was also very, very good. Even though it was a pasta dish, it felt light with the herb butter and peas and mushrooms. The veal meatballs were very well-seasoned, and it all worked well together. The server told us that this dish will be coming off the menu soon, so get it while you can.

Overall, it was quite a good dinner. The service was a bit slow, but that was just more time to leisurely drink my wine and enjoy the meal. A nice little getaway from Morgantown resulted in a pretty good meal - one that I remembered the next day with leftovers!

Grade: A