Marley, Zombaby and me at the Trail of Terror
During a Mount Washington ghost tour last year courtesy of Haunted Pittsburgh, we learned about the ghost of a woman named Mrs. Soffel who haunts the Shiloh Grill. Kate Soffel was the wife of the Allegheny County Jail's warden in the early 1900s, but as we were told during our ghost tour, she aided two prisoners in escaping the jail and was ultimately persecuted herself upon their capture. The ghost of Kate Soffel is said to haunt not only the jail, but also her post-prison home, which now houses the Shiloh Grill.
Since first hearing the tale of Mrs. Soffel, Boyfriend and I have twice enjoyed haunted beverages at the restaurant, but we opted to have a full dinner last night with a side of ghost hunting. After circling the block a few times in search of a parking space, we arrived to find a pretty full house, but readily available seating at the bar. The ambiance of the Shiloh Grill is relaxed, but eclectic with wart hog head mounts on the walls and portraits of Mrs. Soffel in the hallway. It definitely seems like the type of restaurant that would have a ghost host.
We found bar stools and perused the drink menu, which features seasonal options such as the pumpkin pie martini and pumpkin sangria. The bartender immediately approached and asked me what I would like to drink. After mentioning that I was still pondering, he remarked upon my iPhone case and picked it up to get a better look at the design, then offered me a sample of the pumpkin sangria, plus two more samples of Southern Tier's Warlock and a pumpkin beer.
Just as I was thinking about what an attentive and amiable bartender he was, I noticed a distinctly disgruntled-looking Boyfriend. I then realized that while I was being given several drink samples, Boyfriend had not even been greeted. A similar, albeit reversed, situation had occurred to us at Hough's months prior, but as I was the one being ignored, Boyfriend had merely shrugged it off with an "I thought the server was nice!" Now, however, he was the one pouting and grumbling about being ostrasized (much to my amusement).
We each selected a Southern Tier beer (Pumking for Boyfriend and Warlock for me), then relocated to a bar table, where Boyfriend continued to lament treatment by the bro of a bartender who described hockey as "not a real sport," which may have been more upsetting to Boyfriend than the lack of service. You can give his girlfriend too much attention while offering none for him, but don't you dare insult the great Sidney Crosby in front of Boyfriend, evil bartender.
To make up for the bartender, our friendly server, Janine, then came over and took our order of the goat in a boat, a cold feta and red pepper dip served with pita. As a huge feta fan, I enjoyed the salty, briney dip a lot, but did feel that we could have benefited from a bit more pita. I'm sure that we could've requested more, but I wanted to save room for the main course.
After questioning Janine about any of her personal Mrs. Soffel sightings (she had none), Boyfriend and I ordered our dinners: Imagine the Rastabilities Macaroni and Cheese for me and, with guidance from Janine, fish tacos for Boyfriend.
The Shiloh Grill has an entire menu section devoted to "The Macaronis and the Cheeses," which I appreciate as a true mac and cheese addict. There are some great options, including lobster macaroni and cheese and flat iron steak macaroni and cheese. Tonight, spicy jerk chicken and macaroni just sounded right.
Imagine the Rastabilities Mac and Cheese
We didn't wait long for our meals to be delivered to the table by friendly staff members. I didn't hesitate before diving into my delectable plate of steaming cheesy goodness. The sauce was a cheddary (it was so good that I'm inventing adjectives) bechamel sauce that was creamy and delicious. The jerk chicken was spicy, but not overly spicy to ruin the meal. It did help clear up my sinuses, which is a plus.
Fish Tacos with Quinoa and Vegetables
After chortling at the idea of ordering fish tacos, Boyfriend began his meal. The tacos were topped with kale slaw and pico de gallo, then served with corn quinoa and a vegetable mix. Boyfriend described his meal as "okay," with nothing standing out as a special feature. He said that it was flavorful, but just was not a flavor that he particularly enjoyed.
We finished our dinner, packed up leftovers, and made one last attempt at luring the evasive Mrs. Soffel. Rumor has it that she frequents the upstairs, which is where the restrooms are located, so we climbed the stairs to feign bathroom use and call out to the Shiloh spirit.
We did not see our girl Kate, but we did awkwardly stare at other diners upstairs and looked at the Mrs. Soffel memorabilia on the walls. Overall, I like the Shiloh Grill for its ambiance, cool story, friendly staff and profusion of macaroni and cheese options. Dinner there was a good way to close October and welcome a new month. I'm sure that Boyfriend and I will be back next year to enjoy some drinks and macaroni with Mrs. Soffel. Until then, rest in peace, Kate.
No comments:
Post a Comment