Saturday, November 8, 2014

Once Constantinople

Fun fact about Boyfriend's family: his youngest sibling is an amazingly talented belly dancer.  She performs not only throughout our city of Pittsburgh, but also travels across the country and in some cases, across seas, to practice. 

This weekend, Joanna was set to perform Friday night at Istanbul Sofra, a restaurant nestled along Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh's Regent Square neighborhood.  This performance happened to coincide with Boyfriend's mother's husband's birthday, so a celebratory dinner of delicious Mediterranean fare was obvious. 

This was both my and Boyfriend's first times visiting Istanbul Sofra and I was unsure of what to expect.  While I have been better with expanding my tastebuds, I am still not very adventurous when it comes to cuisine.  My disdain for vegetables is a huge road block in finding ethnic food that I'll enjoy, but I approached our visit to Istanbul Sofra with curiosity.  

The restaurant is decently sized and had a moderate crowd for a Friday night.  The hostess was extremely friendly and quickly seated Boyfriend and I at our reserved table while we waited for the rest of the family to arrive.  The space is nicely decorated with Turkish influence and gorgeous light fixtures dangled from the ceiling.


We later found out that the lanterns are imported from Turkey through a company called Leyla's Lanterns and are available for sale online and through Etsy. They can be shipped directly to Istanbul Sofra for pick up.  The pretty fixtures added to the overall ambiance of the restaurant and made me even more eager to try some of the menu items.

Upon the arrival of Boyfriend's mom and her husband, we poured some wine (Istanbul Sofra is BYOB) and ordered a large mixed platter, which is a combination of cold appetizers.  We were soon presented with a pretty presentation of hummus, stuffed grape leaves, and spicy ezme salad (chopped tomatoes and peppers with Turkish spices) with a basket of soft, warm pita.  We dominated the plate before anyone thought to take a photo, so you'll just have to take my word for it that the appetizer platter looked and tasted deliciously.  

For our entrees, Boyfriend's family opted for the chicken mixed grill platter, which featured chicken kebab, chicken Adana, and chicken kofte kebab.  This was served with rice and grilled vegetables.  Both Boyfriend and I ordered Iskender kebab, sliced lamb in Turkish spices served on pita with a tomato and yogurt sauce.  I felt that I could easily handle lamb on pita and prepared for a gyro-esque meal. 

While we waited, the night's entertainment began her belly dancing performance.  Boyfriend's sister weaved in-and-out of the tables to impress the diners, stopping occasionally to give personal attention to her admirers.  She always impresses me and I encourage anyone in the city to seek out her solo performances or those with her company, Third Street Belly Dance.  

    Joanna the Fierce

Well into Joanna's set, our dinners arrived to the table and I was surprised to see that Iskender kebab was not served as a gyro, as I was anticipating.  Instead, what we got was, for lack of a better word, a deconstructed gyro. 


The lamb and tomato sauce was laid on a bed of pita bread pieces and bordered with the yogurt.  I took a forkful of meat and pita, then swirled it through the sauces before taking a bite. Deliciousness. Pure deliciousness.  The lamb was juicy and tender, while the two sauces combined for an unexpected blend of flavors.  The soaked pita was chewy and soft.  Everything about this meal blended so nicely and so interestingly; I devoured almost all of it while Boyfriend the champ left nothing behind but a few smears of sauces. 


Boyfriend's mom and the Birthday Boy shared their large platter of various chicken dishes, each spiced with Middle Eastern flare.  I tried some of their chicken Adana, ground chicken marinated in Turkish spices, and it was very tasty.  

After we stuffed ourselves and declared our bellies full, we quickly changed our tunes as our exceedingly sweet server brought a dessert tray.  Each couple ordered a dessert to share.  Revani for Boyfriend's family and Kazandibi for us.  


Revani is a semolina cake with orange syrup glaze and walnuts.  I did not sample this treat, but it looked good.  My and Boyfriend's dessert was a milk pudding with a carmelised sugar coating.  It was so incredibly sweet, but I honestly think that I could have devoured the whole thing myself.  It would have been in poor form to lick the plate, so I refrained. 

The performance ended and Joanna sat down to enjoy her meal of soup and Mediterranean salad while the rest of us sunk into food comas.  Despite my "what will I find to eat" attitude going into Istanbul Sofra, I left with a happy belly and a new spot to visit if ever I find myself in Regent Square.  

The pretty decor, the attentive and genuinely kind staff, along with the palet pleasing menu makes Istanbul Sofra a must-visit for anyone seeking Mediterranean cuisine and a great atmosphere.

... And I may be a bit biased, but the entertainment was also fabulous. 










Sunday, November 2, 2014

Spooky Supper


Throughout the month of October, Boyfriend and I like to partake in all things spooky, including ghost tours, scary movies, and dog walks through Carnegie Park's Trail of Terror (really not that terrifying, but it amuses me nonetheless). 

    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.