Pittsburgh, PA.
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2006

Munch goes to Pittsburgh Fish & Chicken

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Sometimes Munch doesn't understand Munch's own newspaper.

Sure, the Steelers won the Super Bowl. Sure, the town went wild. Sure, there were lots and lots of people Downtown celebrating (although Munch takes issue with the "official" crowd count).

The big, big news was relegated to page two with the headline of Munch's dreams: "Low-fat diet fails to cut disease risk." The secondary headline was a bit curious: "Study of older women disappoints." Disappoints whom? Munch wonders. Certainly not Munch. It reminded Munch of the Woody Allen movie "Sleeper" in which one bit of the shtick is that far in the future they have discovered that smoking and eating steak are good for you.

On a day with news like that in the paper, Munch knew just what to do: Head to the place where grease is the main course, the type of place where they would deep-fat-fry the Pepsi if they could just figure out how to bread it.

Munch headed to Pittsburgh Fish & Chicken, a mostly take-out place
(that does have four stools at a counter) in Brighton Heights.

Pittsburgh Fish & Chicken will never be known for its ambience, unless the reflection of the Channel 11 News in the display counter counts as mood lighting. But Munch was not in search of fancy. Munch was in search of satiety, and what could be more satisfying than something that goes straight from the fry-o-later to the Styrofoam plate?

And so, Munch was off, with Dear One of Munch (DOOM) and two Munchkins, 3 and 5, to Pittsburgh Fish & Chicken.

The menu is extensive, and almost all of it comes from a deep fat fryer. The selection of fish was impressive and included catfish, ocean perch, shrimp (OK, not a fish but a crustacean), Lake Superior white fish (you've got to love a fish with a pedigree), oysters and cod. For chicken, there were wings, gizzards (which kind of frighten Munch), nuggets and tenders (which Munch thought were the same thing, but it turns out are different ways of processing chicken).

Even the side dishes come from the hot grease: okra, hush puppies, french fries, jalapeno poppers, onion rings, zucchini planks, fried mushrooms, cheese sticks and -- this one is a bit too incredible -- battered and fried wedges of macaroni and cheese.

We created our own sampler, which we all shared as if we had just stepped out for Chinese food.

DOOM ordered the small catfish fillets ($7.45), three deep-fried fillets served with cole slaw, white bread and french fries. The nice-size piece of fish was not overcooked and without too heavy a batter.

Munch ordered a half-dozen wings and fries ($4.99), which also were served with white bread and cole slaw. The deep-fried wings were a dry-style with crisp skin instead of the Buffalo wings Munch usually finds at places such as Buffalo Blues in Shadyside. They were also whole chicken wings instead of the sort that are pre-broken in half creating the two-boned pieces and the piece that resembles a little-bitty drumstick.

Those were shared all around, as were sides that were sure-fire hits with the Munchkins: hush puppies ($2.29), fried mushrooms ($2.29) and mac & cheese wedges ($3.75). While the fried mushrooms weren't the biggest hit with the Munchkins, the mac and cheese wedges were equally unappetizing for Munch and DOOM. But look at those prices. Munch and DOOM and the 'kins were uncomfortably full and out the door for less than $25.

It was the night of perfect food for those who were jumping back into heavy eating. It was also a night when Munch re-learned another lesson: that you don't start jogging by running a marathon. Best to work your way up to that level slowly, so after-dinner drinks don't have to be ginger ale.