Let’s begin by pointing out – for those reading this outside of the Pittsburgh area – that “Dahntahn” is Pittsburghese for “downtown.” I work dahntahn and after a team meeting decided to gather a couple co-workers for lunch. We all were up for trying something new, so I suggested the Taste of Dahntahn. This new restaurant has a large colorful sign which hangs over the sidewalk of Liberty Avenue near Fifth Avenue Place. The entire restaurant is themed toward historical Pittsburgh – the tabletops are even covered with black and white photography which probably dates back into the early 1900s (or earlier). The menu is very kitschy, infusing many Pittsburghese-like words into the selections and their descriptions.
For my lunch, I decided to order from the BURGERS N’ AT section and get the “Bees Knees Sirloin” – Half pahn burger with bacon, American, cheddar, dahntahn’s 58 mayo, shredded iceberg, tuhmaytuh & red onion. $9. with fries add $3.
The highlight was the $3 add-on fries. The fact that they were shoestring fries wasn’t something I even noticed on the menu, but it was a nice surprise because you can’t get them many places. The Burger was cooked as ordered. I ordered my burger medium-well, and it was delivered hot and to the correct temp.
What I find most disturbing isn’t the fact that I wasn’t impressed with the food, because every town has run-of-the-mill lunch spots which are able to have a neat theme. The problem I had was that due to its name and its location, I could picture travelers to come to Taste of Dahntahn, be as unimpressed as I was, and think that all of Pittsburgh dining is like this. In fact, I don’t think the menu is a good representation of how great Pittsburgh dining is. I hope travelers see it for its theme and don’t judge the rest of the city’s dining scene based on a single visit here.
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