#4656 - Fig and Ash, Pittsburgh, PA - 6/28/2022

Fig & Ash is our favorite restaurant in the city. We decided that in this, our first visit, and confirmed it in subsequent visits. While in Seattle I came to utterly trust chefs Brian McCracken and Dana Tough (Tavern Law, Old Sage, Spur Gastropub, Coterie), as even when a dish was comprised of ingredients that I don't generally enjoy, their creations always tasted delicious. I've come to a similar trust in Cory Hughes and his team at F&A, as my love of their dishes is sustained again and again, through their rotating seasonal menus.

Hughes started in U.S. Marine mess halls and was running culinary operations at the Pittsburgh campus of Google before founding Fig & Ash, while he laid plans for his own restaurant with his wife Kate and brother-in-law Alex Feltovich, who runs the front of the house.

"Hughes worked hard to get here — prior to his gig at Google, he was executive chef of Six Penn Kitchen and sous chef in restaurants such as Eleven Contemporary Kitchen and Spoon, as well as working for STARR Restaurant Group in Philadelphia. You’ll see the former U.S. Marine Corps cook’s exuberance for feeding people front-and-center as he pops out from the glass-enclosed kitchen to work the dining room. You’ll experience his strength in team-building with the full-spectrum, consistent cookery coming from the kitchen he’s running with chef de cuisine Chris Shuplock."  (pittsburghmagazine)

Hughes has described the culinary approach as "farm to flame."

"In addition to milling grains, baking bread and butchering meats in-house, Hughes and his crew will partner with local farmers to get fresh ingredients for their wood-fired cuisine. The quarterly menu melds classic Italian and French cooking styles with a contemporary American twist." (nextpittsburgh) 

"The custom-built wood-fired hearth at the center of this kitchen was designed in collaboration with Pittsburgh-based Temper and Grit and built by Otis Masonry, and it shapes nearly every dish that leaves the kitchen.... The hearth imparts a smokiness and depth that a conventional oven simply cannot replicate. Vegetables emerge with a beautiful char. (unearththevoyage) 

...

Meats develop a crust that locks in flavor while retaining juiciness. Even sauces and sides benefit from the ambient heat and wood smoke that permeates the kitchen. (ibid) 

... 

His vision was specific: a kitchen built around fire, local sourcing, and a from-scratch approach to every element on the plate." (ibid) 

The cocktails are also a treat (their names heavy on the puns), and the service is reliably friendly and informative. We will definitely be returning as long as it and we are part of Pittsburgh.

514 E Ohio St, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 - (412) 321-2222
Est. Oct 7, 2020 (Opened for takeout lunch Sep 22, 2020 during COVID) - Building constructed: 1898

Previous bars in this location:
Web site: figandashpgh.com - facebook - instagram 
Articles & Reviews: unearththevoyage - pittsburghmagazine - discovertheburg - tablemagazine - nextpittsburgh - goodfoodpittsburgh - nextpittsburgh - yelp - tripadvisor 

#5578 - Majestic Bar and Grille, Greenville, PA - 2/21/2024

Majestic Bar & Grille, Greenville, PA

Greenville, Pennsylvania was incorporated in 1836 at the fork of the Shenango River, about five miles from the Ohio border, approximately 80 miles from both Pittsburgh and Cleveland. "The Majestic" was established in a former livery on Main Street here in 1920, selling hotdogs ever since then, as well as liquor since the end of prohibition. It was purchased by Marc and Jean Rinella in 1992, and they ran it for 32 years before selling it to  Rod and Jill Wilt and Tyler Hudson in 2024.

With the mills closing and liquor laws changing, the Rinellas oversaw a major change in tone, in decor, and just about everything else except the hotdogs. I will quote liberally here from an interview of Marc Rinella in the Greenview Record Argus:

Majestic Bar & Grille, Greenville, PA

"This was a shot-and-a-beer bar with hot dogs," Marc [Rinella] said. "The smoke was so thick in here you could cut it with a knife. That's the way we kept it until we started to see the industry collapse." ... The Majestic crew would have to get to the Main Street, Greenville, establishment at 3 a.m. to prepare.

"At 7am this place would be packed when the midnight shift would come in," Marc said. "You couldn't get in the door."

But then the Trinity, CB&I and the Bessemer mills closed, followed by changes in state law, forcing the business to choose between continuing to allow smoking or continuing to allow customers under 18.

"We decided that there wasn't any more industry left here to support us any longer," he continued. "We had to make a heavy investment to turn this into a family operation."

In 2009, they embarked on a three-year project to completely renovate the Majestic, adding the taxidermy, collectibles and historical artifacts, as well as redoing the roof, ceiling, plumbing, heating, AC and more.  (recordargus) 

It was a pleasant enough stop for on this particular day, but I sure would have liked to have seen it when it was a dive rollicking with mine workers.

191 Main St, Greenville, PA 16125 - (724) 588-6070
Est. 1933?  
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: facebook 
Reviews: sharonherald - sharonherald - recordargusnews - yelp - tripadvisor