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PHOTOS BY HAL B. KLEIN
Lola’s Eatery: Bagel Breakfast Sandwich I visited Lola’s Eatery, the Lower Lawrenceville establishment of Zoe Rieder and Max Becerra, shortly after it opened in late 2019, but had not returned since that first visit. The daytime counter-service restaurant is only open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and although it is at a major junction at the junction of Penn Avenue, Butler Street and 34th Street, it is tucked away in the Engine House 25 Wines building, which makes this a bit too easy to overlook. I’m really glad I went back, as it was such a treat to dive into their menu.
The restaurant’s bagels, which hit all the right marks to strike the right balance between softness and density, are exceptional. The must here is to order a bagel sandwich. There is some flexibility in the way it is built (and you can also put together sandwiches with croissants and English muffins, but these bagels require attention), and I found a nice elementary balance in mine. with a soaked egg, American cheese, bacon, sriracha aioli, pickled onions and arugula; next time I could add an extra egg to complete it. The hash browns that came with it were also quite tasty. Also on the menu right now is a limited edition sandwich called “The American”. This intensified egg sandwich had a nice sweet touch of the apple donut; worth it if you go for more than one sandwich. There are daily scratch-off pastry deals – I thought the donuts were pretty good, and can’t wait to try more candy. But for now, wow, those bagels. Will be returning soon. 3337 Penn Ave., Lawrenceville; lolaseatery.com
Bloomfield Saturday Market: One Visit, Multiple Meals I’m so excited that the area’s farmers markets are coming back to life. The early season markets were run down and rudimentary operations when I first moved to Pittsburgh almost 11 years ago. Since then, farmers have extended their growing capabilities with greenhouses, hoops, and other extended-season cultivation strategies to bring an abundance of greens and root vegetables such as radishes and turnips to market. On top of that, the region’s markets are attracting a growing number of ready-meal vendors with great produce to bolster your post-market outreach. Right now, the Bloomfield Saturday Market is my go-to. Last week, I stocked up on locally grown and prepared foods to serve as the staple for a few days of meals.
I had lunch with homemade bread (there are a variety of great bread options such as Crust Worthy and Mediterra Bakehouse at the market if you have missed the bread baking after ordering at home is complete) with trout FetFisk Spread and Baby Onions from Tiny Seed Farm (pictured above), a salad featuring spring greens and turnips from Be.Wild.Er Farm and an egg yolk from Old Time Farm. I also slipped into a stir-fry with Tiny Seed Sprouted Cauliflower, Be.Wild.Er Turnip Greens and Fallen Aspen Farm Ground Pork, which I dressed with the Honey Mustard Dip. ‘Onion Maiden.bloomfieldpgh.org/bloomfield-saturday-market
Sakura: Back to Roundtable My dear friend Bruce’s family was visiting from Los Angeles last week. Their visit was the perfect opportunity for the crew to start doing something we love more than anything else: sharing food and company around a turntable at one of our favorite restaurants in Squirrel Hill. In this case, we picked Sakura, one of Pittsburgh Magazine’s top 2021 restaurants, because it had just reopened its dining room earlier this week. Plus, Bruce thought his mom and co-owner Fenping Geng would get along wonderfully (they did).
We ended up with a wide variety of our favorite dishes – hand-shaved noodles with eggs and tomatoes; a whole fish garnished with vegetable matches and bean sprouts served in a spicy sesame oil sauce; beef with cumin; da pan ji (大盘鸡, also known as big plate chicken); and, beautiful but simple bok choy. One dish I had never tried before – the pao mo lamb (羊肉 泡 饃; listed on the menu as lamb pancake soup) – was a revelation and will definitely be added to my regular rotation at Sakura. It’s served with a homemade shallot flatbread that softens when you dip the torn pieces into the creamy lamb broth, and it’s so good it’s worth a try even when we’re passing by. warm weather.
But the real highlight was partying with friends. Aside from Bruce’s parents, our team have shared many alfresco meals over the past year and more. But all of us, fully vaccinated, back to one of our favorite places, passing hot food back and forth in the kitchen… now that’s something I’m happy to have again. 5882 Forbes Ave. , Squirrel Hill; 412 / 422-7188, sakura-pgh.com
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