Alma- Pan Latin Kitchen Pittsburgh

                It’s officially restaurant week in Pittsburgh! This is one of my favorite weeks of the year because many of my favorite local food spots participate. It’s a really great way for a college girl, such as myself, with a refined palate and expensive appetite to eat at restaurants around the city for a discounted price. With all the wonderful options set before me I chose to return to Alma, a Pan-Latin American restaurant located in Point Breeze. Alma does an excellent job of incorporating food from a wide range of historical time periods and adding a modern twist. Like most up-scale restaurants in Pittsburgh, the location of Alma can be surprising, however with the welcoming vibrant colors across the walls and soulful sounds of Spanish guitar Alma invites all within.  The tasting menu for Alma was laid out with many options for the vegetarian and of course the meat eaters. For my first course I ordered the Ensalada de Pepino con Tomate, Aceitunas y Pan, which if you don’t speak Spanish means salad with tomato, olives, cucumber, bread, and cheese. Yes, this salad sounds simple, but the tangy cucumber vinaigrette was fresh and sprightful and blended well with the salad as a whole. Every ingredient balanced well with the other inside the square bowl which was plated beautifully. Normally I choose to not eat meat, although Alma chooses to supply only local and organic sourced meat, which I support. With that being said I ordered the Pollo Criollo en Cazuel, which is a Cuban-creole seasoned chicken with an herbal fruit sauce.  I have never had a chicken cooked so well before. The meat fell off the bone smoothly and was soaked in the sweet-spicy sauce that surrounded it making this chicken dishes one of the best I’ve ever had. Finally my most favorite dish at alma, Biscochito de Chocolate con Dulce de Leche y Helado de Canela. This desert is a warm, moist, decedent chocolate cake which is paired with a cinnamon ice cream. This is the desert I return to have time and time again. The cinnamon ice cream is just the perfect amount of sweet and spicy while beside with the rich chocolate cake is the ultimate pair. For anyone considering a meal out for restaurant week, I suggest you make your way to Alma. For a mere $25 you can have an incredible meal for a small price and come out feeling wonderful.  

http://almapgh.com/

http://pittsburghrestaurantweek.com/restaurants/winter-2013-restaurants/alma-pan-latin-kitchen/

New Year. New Kitchen. Same Problems.

I have finally returned to the US after living in Spain for the past four months. Unfortunately I didn't do any writing about food while I was away. Mostly because I was having the time of my life and couldn't sit still for a moment to sleep, let alone write.

Yet, here I am back in Pittsburgh, sitting in my new house that I am subleasing from a friend and realizing I am stuck in the same predicament as the last time I was in Pittsburgh. There are so many killer restaurants here in Pittsburgh. So many I have tried and many I have yet to visit... The only problem is these restaurants are the type you take a friend to and enjoy the chefs tasting menu paired with a wine on each course... They aren't really places to go alone. It's unfortunate that I don't feel like I can do to these top dollar, top tasting, places alone..... And although the food is sure to be spectacular it's also about the company and being able to discuss what flavors are working and what could be fixed. It's all about combining different aspects to obtain the perfect experience. Which I am yearning for, but can't achieve.

Another problem? I moved into this house with the assumtion my new roommates would cook, even just a little, but to my dismay all that was to be found were two packets of ramen, instant coffee, and three very dull knives. THERE AREN'T EVEN MUGS. Of course I don't want to go out and spend money on more kitchen tools that I already have at my home back in Tennessee, but this girl needs to cook. I am an avid stress baker, a bored eater, and a new recipe-found-must-try-now doer. The fact that my kitchen isn't complete is a disappointment, but also tells me that my roommates lack in the kitchen.

Maybe there is a club I can join for people who just want to eat amazing food and talk about it.
I should also get a job at a restaurant and am definitely writing my tutorial on the link between cultural lineage and food.