Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

keep it simple.

salt, pepper, lime juice (a couple limes worth), beer (usually either tecate or modelo especial), maybe some garlic (crushed), and some homemade chili powder (but not much at all).

cook quickly over hot, mesquite coals.

lone star tallboy

and water,

but then another tallboy

Eastside Cafe

I have only visited, but I think pittsburgh has excellent food.

"The Strip" has every kind of grocery store you can imagine, the Pennsylvania Mac. Company has an astounding cheese counter, fresh bread, imported Italian goods, and next door to a sausage maker and butcher shop, had some of the best drycured soppresetta. Shadyside market has fine butchers.

the "big burrito group" owns and operate some excellent fine dining establishments, I have eaten at Eleven and Casbah and had excellent meals and they were most kind and helpful in preparing equally exciting and delicious food for my vegan girlfriend no problem. Nine on Nine was great as well, but I don't think they are affiliated with that group

some good thai food around (silk elephant? maybe I can't remember)

Zenith Tea Room has great veg. food

La Prima, excellent coffee and pastries.

Penn Ave. Fish Company for a fishmonger and some good food

I dig the Primanti Brothers but I think it was overhyped for me and ultimately a disappointment (BUT you should still go there). Fries on a sandwich is great but the sandwiches are too damn big and ultimately weighed down and too greasy.

plus the city is quite lovely, the hills the rivers and the stairs, I love the neighborhoods, the lack of obnoxious hipsters, and some fine rock music.

pittsburgh gets a bad rap but I have found the sources of negative pittsburgh comments to be fools.

bourdain worship is bizarre. I like the books and the shows too, but the way any critique of the man raises hackles is pretty silly.

of course bourdain openly admits he hasn't cooked in years (its part of his carefully constructed public identity these days it seems), and it surely benefits the management to have his name on there, but he doesn't seem to mind the attention and I don't know that he ever requested his name be removed, however dubious his title as "chef-at-large" might be.

like foodinmouth said, Bourdain can handle it, probably even appreciates when people attempt to slam him, however bitter and flaccid the attack. if he is such a great guy he probably gets tired of all the sycophantic babble.

Cinnamon Ice Cream with chocolate cake.

I'm with mint juleps as well.

Gin and tonics are my favorite for something cool to drink while sitting on my patio.

Give me a refreshing Gordon's Cup made with cucumber and limes - you can add a splash of Midori for extra pizazz!

Cherry limeade, made with club soda and not plain water. Fizzy and fresh and cold, it hits all the right spots.