When my company moved downtown, we avoided this place like the plague. And why shouldn't we? It's like taking a New York hot dog street vendor to a new level. This is where they go when they die, you know--to this Valhalla of frankfurters.
In all honesty, the hot dogs are decent, and inexpensive--but they're still not worth the price on your soul, to be able to say you've eaten there. The worst part is, I'll probably eat there again.
Please tell me you're kidding me! Here it is, in mid-animation (the arms go up and down) no less. I almost managed to keep from taking a picture, but it pulled me back to it. Is this what we want people coming into Pittsburgh to see??? This place was right across the way from an expensive hotel, no less! D'oh, I feel silly, this is supposed to be a Christmas tree bulb. There's still no excuse for it--even if that sign says "Eckerd Celebration of Lights".
Oh Lord Almighty! Say it isn't so! The real name of this place (which you can barely read through the tree) is "Get 'n Go". It's a partially converted Arby's. Inside there's a regular Arby's menu on the back wall, but on the side wall there is a six-foot paper menu labeled, "Authentic Indian Cuisine".
You're probably thinking, "You gotta be kidding me!" I know, I really should have extra pictures to substantiate this awful claim. I was going to get indoor pictures, but I was greeted so sweetly by this man who I figured must be the proprietor and possibly the only employee. He was in his fifties or sixties, with gray hair and a close-trimmed but kind of ratty beard. He even had a turban on. Yeah, a turban! I mean, I've never seen a turban-wearing person in Pittsburgh. Not at Indian restaurants, not among the Indian people I've met (though most were students, a relatively limited sample population), nor from the random people I've seen on the street. So anyway, I just couldn't bear to whip out my camera with him waiting to take my order. But it's all true--I've eaten the Palak Paneer, and let me say, it's easily the worst Indian food I've ever had. I've had Indian food ranging from frozen dinners to several Pittsburgh restaurants to a fine place in London (oh it was like manna from Heaven!), and this just wasn't up to par by a long shot. It was way too salty, and just nasty-tasting besides. So will I give them another chance? I don't know, maybe I'll do it if I can get up the courage to whip out my new digital camera and snap a few inside the place.
Native Pittsburghers will probably be incredulous to see this here, but really, it belongs here. This is a famous place where celebrities have come to eat, and yet, one must wonder why. It primarily services the Pitt and (to a lesser extent) CMU campuses. What does this say about its food quality, especially given its fast-food nature and low prices? If your answer is to run to the medicine cabinet and arm yourself with TUMS, you're on the right track.
The "cuisine" here includes some oddities:
I do recommend trying it out, but be cautioned: On weekend nights, you'll see one or two patrol cars parked right across the street from it, ever vigilantly trying to prevent the next fight. There was at least one shooting in front The "O". This site of college fast food has been the home to incidents between frat members and gang members (I hear the frat members usually come out on top), and in fact, the first time I visited, there was almost an incident.
Myself and several buddies, during our second or third night of Freshman Orientation at CMU, wandered in.. I played Street Fighter II while they ordered fries. We ate them and went back to CMU. No big deal, eh?
The next morning my RA saw me, and started laughing off his ass. He'd been in there as well, had seen my friends, had seen them walking between two scary-looking people, one of whom was annoying the other by plinking one of the spikes on his steroidal mohawk. They walked right between them, ordered, and as one of them had his hand on a knife, they obliviously walked right back between them. My excuse, and the reason why I have no shame in telling this story, is that I was at the front playing the game until the fries came up. Our RA (a cool guy by the name of 'Bert) told us we just about got ourselves killed.
It's my opinion that, between the greasy food and the propensity for violence, that this really isn't a place to go. But if you do, go during the day. So why do people tell their friends to go here when they're in town to visit? Well, to be blunt, Pittsburgh is a pretty boring city, and this is one of the few things that stand out.
I intend to get a picture of the actual "Adult World", which is some miles east of Pittsburgh. I'm not sure if it's a movie rental or live entertainment place. This, however, is what you get when a movie theater person tears in half an Adult ticket to "The World Is Not Enough" (which they cleverly abbreviated). As amusing as I found this, I could not resist putting it here as well.
Could we possibly come up with a more outdated theme? We're only about two decades out of date now! Oh sure, even I get the metaphorical relationships between pizza and Pac-Man, but give it a rest! This is one Pac-Man that the ghosts can have.
Pucker up quick, folks! Seriously though, 10 minutes for kissing? That's too much time to stand a car for a kiss, and too short a time to park to run into the nearby house of the woman whose husband had better not catch you. And anyway, do people really need to be told "Kiss and Ride"? Whoever came up with this sign idea needs to have their prescription changed.
These days, every company has a car or three to represent them, and in Pittsburgh (the "Iron City"), you know who's beer you'll see the most advertisements for. But in this case, isn't it sort of a conflict of interest? Don't drink and drive, folks. And don't even get me started on that tacky yellow color. I have to keep checking to make sure this isn't what bad cabs turn into when they die. If VW only knew.
Eventually, I'm going to add in a more general anti-culture page, as there's lots of amusing stuff I've seen elsewhere, especially in Pennsylvania. Silly signs, the toilet shrine, etc. And there are still more places to cover in Pittsburgh.