Pitt Grill: It’s fast, it’s relaxed and it’s actually good
Some days, you don’t want high-brow.
You don’t want linen napkins and you don’t want to ponder which fork to pick up.
Those are the days you might head to PG’s Diner, now the Pitt Grill, at 3048 La. 14.
That’s where we headed for lunch this week, bound on spending our scant hour of free time with plain good food and plain good folks. We weren’t disappointed.
We pulled into the ample parking lot well into lunch hour, but folks were filing out as quickly as they were filing in. With a shirt and tie — OK, I’m old school — I felt a tad overdressed, as the clientele, while diverse, was more blue collar or well into casual. Good enough for me.
The menu favored those of us who eat with our hands — po-boys, sandwiches and wraps dominate — but there were soup and salad options, as well. Lunchtime prices ranched from $5.99 in the salads to $6.25-$7.99 on the sandwich side. Dinner menu selections included steak, fish, chicken and red beans and rice, and topped out at $18.99; most were much less. The Kiddie Korner meals were set at $3.29.
My lunch mate, Natalie, opted for the Philly Cheese Steak ($7.99), while I couldn’t pass up the Grilled Mushroom and Onion Burger ($6.99). These meals came with fries, hash browns or onion rings, but we could have chosen soup or salad as a substitute. Natalie took the fries; I went to the hash browns. Both were satisfying.
Lunch arrived in 13 minutes — a flat-screen TV provided some distraction — and was worth the wait. My burger was packed within a hearty serving of grilled onions and mushrooms, and the burger itself was huge and tasty. Our waitress had given us the option of alternatives to the Swiss cheese; neither of us took them. The Swiss was just the right complement to the burger.
Natalie described her Philly Cheese Steak as moist and tender, and said the bread bore just the right hint of butter. The po-boy was more than she could handle; after a courageous effort, she left a third of the sandwich on her plate. Too bad: Dessert was coming.
I chose a staple — hot fudge sundae — while Natalie chose the pineapple sundae. Our waitress set them before us and, as chocolate overflowed its container, she said, “I put too much in there.” When it comes to chocolate, what does “too much” mean?
The total bill came to $28.84, a fair price for a good meal, plus tip.
Fed and gone in 45 minutes: Mission accomplished.