February 2012 • - Nightwire Magazine

($10) earlier and let me suggest cutting it into pieces as anappetizer. It’s a definite must try. A burger served with candiedbacon, fresh greens, tomato, sweet onion mayo on a houseglazed donut bun. How does that not sound good: a burgerwith candied bacon on a glazed donut bun? I will tell you it’ssticky, but candied bacon?! I think people will be trying toorder that alone, it is so good! Adam thinks this sandwich willsomeday rival that “other” Pittsburgh sandwich, and I thinkhe may be right. I’m telling all of my friends about it. I’mrecommending it to you, and I know if you try it, you’ll be tellingyour friends! Is this the birth of a legend?Salads are sure to be a big hit, and we sampled the JamesStreet Cobb ($13), which included grilled chicken, pepperedbacon, candied onion & crumbled gorgonzola served on acrispy pasta sheet; and the Caesar ($7) with grilled babyPipe Bombsromaine hearts, anchovies paste, crispy pasta strips, Asiagocheese with house-made Caesar dressing. Great ingredientsmake great salads, and other offerings include Steak ($13),Chicken ($11) (with your choice of grilled or buttermilk fried)and Spinach Salad ($12). House dressings include ranch,bleu cheese, lemon-lime vinaigrette, honey mustard, creamythree onion, roasted strawberry vinaigrette and a balsamicvinaigrette. Seasonal soups are a wonderful addition- just askyour server.When we thought we couldn’t possibly eat one more bite,Adam told us we had to try the James Street Meatloaf ($16).Personal meatloaf served with smashed redskin potatoes,warm corn fritter and a sweet creamed corn sauce. This waskilling me--a corn fritter! Meatloaf! Sweet creamed corn sauceon the potatoes! I was full before the salads. The meatloafand everything on that plate was devoured. It’s nice to havereal food that’s really good, and I was seriously comforted bytheir version of classic comfort food. Buttermilk Chicken ($17),a boneless fried breast served with white cheddar grits andcollard greens, was to die for, but I saved mine for the next dayand even then, it was still delicious. The collard greens weresome of the best I’ve ever had, and I couldn’t wait to heat themup. After a couple of bites, I also saved the Pork in the Weeds($18), a tender pan-fried pork chop under lemon dressedgreens. The pork chop was juicy and flavorful, and the citrusygreens were refreshing and beautiful; yet another favorite.Now that we were satiated beyond belief, we had just enoughtime to catch our breath before desserts began arriving atour table! James Street serves up some fabulous dessertsincluding Bread Pudding, Crème Brulee’, and a FlourlessChocolate Death dessert served with ice cream. (That’s reallynot the real name- but you know what I’m talking about!) I feltlike I was in dessert heaven, and once again found that specialdessert room in my stomach. Miraculously, I had just enoughroom to try each and every one. I take my job very seriouslyand would never overcome the guilt of passing up suchbeautiful desserts although I did eat most of the crème brulee’topped off with fresh fruit, yum!James Street is a truly awesome place for food, atmosphere,drinks, desserts and “live” music.... James Street has it all anddoes it all... absolutely right! They are open daily from 11am forlunch and dinner, stop in and be sure and tell them your friendsfrom Nightwire sent you!Located at: 422 Foreland Street Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania 15212 (412) 904-3335 – Call aheadfor reservations and visit them on the web atjamesstreetgastropub.com for a complete listing oftheir “live” music schedule and events.CrabcakesPierogiesJames Street Cobb SaladFebruary 2012 •13