Braddock Journey

Monday, September 01, 2008

Food may be one of the most difficult transitions in moving to Braddock, depending on the city of comparison. There are very few options for purchasing food, prepared or not, in Braddock. A far cry from our short time spent in Portland, but not too different from Juneau.

In general, Pittsburgh food is like a northern version of southern food - lots of really tasty stuff that’s bad for you. Heaping reubens, chicken wings of all varieties, hamburgers, pizza, pierogies. All great stuff, but we’ve found little that is so impressive we want to go out for it. We’re cooking in very often, just like in Juneau, because the variety seems limited when eating out. Sure there’s an excellent sushi place and a German restaurant, but those are things we do every once in a while. We haven’t found a place that has such good dishes that we want to go back again and again to try everything on the menu. But we’re still looking ...

Yet even when cooking at home, Braddock is definitely a town that requires transportation for sustenance. The stores in the proximity to Braddock (two Giant Eagles) offer lackluster produce and limited selections in the deli. The larger store in the Waterfront has more selection, but the store in Braddock Hills is easier to access. There is the option of driving to Whole Foods, which is a complete circus because of its unique offerings. I drove out to that area, hitting either Whole Foods or Trader Joes, maybe once every two weeks for the first month or so. Until the CSA boxes started coming in this summer, then the Pennsylvania farms began to shine. I am a huge fan of community supported agriculture, and the boxes from the Dillner Family Farm have given us an excellent sampling of local produce.

But what to do if you are in Braddock and you don’t have a CSA box? Or a car?

Every Wednesday, in season, the Braddock Farm Stand is open. Excellent locally grown produce, including enormous ocra, is supplemented with other veggies they bring in so that there is a wider variety available.

Family Dollar on Braddock Avenue has a prime selection of junk food, boxes/canned items, and a small selection of refrigerated goods.

Stambolis’ poultry shop and Bells Market are also on Braddock Avenue. You can stop into the poultry place for a cold soft drink, fish, or poultry. Bells seems to sell a lot of their combination box deals (buy x, x, x, and x and you get a free bag of potatoes!) and it always looks busy. When I was in there the produce was not impressive, but again that was before the local produce came into season and the produce at Giant Eagle wasn’t impressive either. At least there is a small selection of produce in Braddock along side the larger selection of meats.

Al’s at the start of town has general convenience store fare. And there are two bar/diners within walking distance. Heidy’s under the Rankin Bridge has great burgers a la carte for under $4. I hear their veggie burger is excellent as well. We keep meaning to try out the Green Castle Cafe on Talbot, but haven’t been there yet.