Richard DeShantz

Been Busy!

2012-01-24T06:33:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys-

I've been so busy the last month between Christmas and New Year's.... and then add on Pittsburgh Restaurant Week, Beer & Whiskey Dinners, Lent, and Valentine's Day. If that isn't enough, I am traveling to Paris on February 1 for vacation. I have never been to Paris for vacation, although I did study there learning to make different breads a while back. We are staying at the Renaissance Hotel near the Arc De Triumph. I have been doing some research, and I want to go to Frenchie, Le Chateaubriand, and a few other great restaurants. Any suggestions on where I should eat or shop? Also any other Parisian secrets?

Looking to February, I have the Lenten Fish Fry's underway. We are going to be open for lunch on Fridays only during lent, so make sure you stop by.

I hope everyone enjoyed Pittsburgh Restaurant Week, and is looking forward to the upcoming months! Don't forget to vote for us on PittsburghMagazine.com on the ballot for Best New Restaurant!

Sally In San Francisco

2011-12-20T20:02:00.000-08:00

We headed to San Francisco for the Steeler Game this weekend, hoping for a big win for them. We ran into Sally Wiggin, the newscaster from WTAE at a Steeler bar called Giordano Bros, similar to a Primanti Bros. here in Pittsburgh. They filmed a short video of her at the bar, with Tolga in the background. Check it out here.

While in San Francisco, we ate at Incanto, a nose to tail restaurant, hoping to meet Chris Cosentino, a well-known chef on the Food Network and in San Francisco. Pictures will be up soon.

Looking forward to New Year's Eve at Meat & Potatoes, call us for reservations! 412-325-7007.

Pittsburgh Magazine Review

2011-11-29T10:39:00.000-08:00

For a great article to read about Meat and Potatoes, check out Pittsburgh Magazine. The restaurant was just written about in the December 2011 issue for our modern-day "Pittsburgh Speakeasy and Gastropub." From this article, you can see the picture of our Bone Marrow, Devils on Horseback, Pate, and others. It also shows our "cow diagram."

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We spent our holiday in NYC this past week, eating and researching. Come back next week for a great post and pictures!

Celebrities at Meat & Potatoes

2011-11-19T20:58:00.001-08:00

We have been getting some celebs in Meat & Potatoes, but we normally do not talk a lot about it. We have had Tom Cruise (BTW our favorite Tom Cruise skit is the dance scene from Tropic Thunder) with wife Katie Holmes, and the band Anthrax, along with a lot of other people from Los Angelos, have been visiting in the past few weeks. How great is it to get a few icons in here to enjoy our food? What do you all think we can do to get more?

We went to the Anthrax concert - Don't worry - we have pictures Here.

P.S. - We got Momofuku KO reservations for this Wednesday in NYC. I think we are pretty lucky, don't you??

Loving Life And Limb

2011-11-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Marie and I love to eat. We like to check out new restaurants in Pittsburgh every week, and especially to help support the Pittsburgh Chefs and Restaurants. This past week, we went to Arlecchino, a restaurant by Jonathon Vlasic from Alla Famiglia. The food was extremely good, and we even had this intense pasta course, where the server would put hot pasta and cream into a large cheese wheel and scrape the cheese until it created an Alfredo-like sauce. It was like your favorite Macaroni and Cheese created in front of you. Check out Pictures here.

We also ended up at KAYA this week, one of our favorite Big Burrito restaurants. We ran into our friend Erica there (who is Chef Keith Fuller's girlfriend), and she bought us a bottle of "Life and Limb" (Version 2) a collaboration of Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head that they re-did a second time for the beer lovers in us. We always have terrific meals at KAYA, so thanks!

As for the rest of our fun-filled week - we ended up going to the Pittsburgh Steeler game on Sunday, thanks to our good friend Bruce Arians. Here are some pictures from our Sunday Funday together with our friends.

Chef Family Dinners in Pittsburgh

2011-10-25T09:52:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, some of the Pittsburgh Restaurant Chef's got together to do a "pot luck" family dinner. This week, it was held at ROOT 174, whose head chef and owner is my friend Keith Fuller. In the picture to the left, you will see me and my friend Bryan from Spoon. We all brought in a dish, along with some wine or other favorite item, and shared with one another. This was such a great way to interact with a lot of the Pittsburgh Restaurant food scene. We are going to try to do this every so often to give us all a chance to unwind and talk about what we love about what we do, and that is FOOD. Here are a few pics from Sunday.

Another thing we have been working hard at this week is BRUNCH. The food has really been looking good. It is served from 10:30 - 2 pm Saturday and Sunday. Here are some pictures of some menu items.

Here are some Pictures of some of our brunch menu items

Post a comment on what you like for brunch!!

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @4Meatnpotatoes & @ChefRDeShantz

Follow us on Facebook: Meat & Potatoes

LIVER FOUNDATION DINNER & MY NEW TOY

2011-09-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

I got a new toy right before the Liver Foundation Dinner this past Sunday. I FINALLY got the duck press I wanted from Sur La Table. This thing is great. All I do is press my roasted duck and I get all of the juices out to create a wonderful sauce.

This Sunday at the Liver Foundation Dinner, I served Duck as my main course, as well as some other great things. My sous-chef Harry, my bartender Mike, and Marie helped me serve some great people that evening.

My menu was as follows:

COURSE 1: "SweetBread Tacos" - chili & cocoa crusted sweetbreads with avocado, aji amarillo, corn salsa and pickled red beets

ACCOMPANIED by a "Tequila Fizz"- blanco tequila/lime/agave/egg white

COURSE 2: "BiBimBap" - Eel and Foie Gras over sticky white rice with a sunny-side up quail egg

ACCOMPANIED by a "Perfectly Plum" - plum wine/sake/honey liquor/black cherry juice/basil

COURSE 3: "Risotto" - Black Truffles, Parmagiano Reggiano and a sous-vide egg

ACCOMPANIED by an "Americano" - campari/antica formula vermouth/prosecco

COURSE 4: "Fish and Chips" - Chowder broth-based PEI mussels with potatoes, bacon, and rosemary sea salt chips

ACCOMPANIED by a "Pimm's Blue Ribbon" - Averna/St. Germain/ lemon/ cucumber/ mint/PBR

COURSE 5: "Sous-Vide Duck" - Duck with roasted figs, baby carrots, and beets

ACCOMPANIED by a "Barrel-Aged Manhattan" - Buffalo Trace Bourbon/Cinzano Sweet Vermouth/bitters

COURSE 6: "Pumpkin/Almond/Toffee" - Pumpkin Creme Brulee, almond brittle, and sticky toffee pudding

ACCOMPANIED by a "Spanish Coffee" - Brandy/Grand Marnier / Kahlua/ Coffee/ Cream/ Demerara sugar rim

It really was a great event. Thanks to everyone that had a great night with us for the after party at the Westin. Good Luck to everyone!!

For Pictures from the evening - E-mail Marie at perriello12@hotmail.com

DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @4meatnpotatoes

@ChefRDeShantz

FACEBOOK PAGE: MEAT AND POTATOES

HOMEPAGE: MEAT & POTATOES

BEST APPETIZER & DISH OF THE YEAR!

2011-09-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

HEY!! Last week at the SavorPittsburgh Event, we won Best Appetizer and Dish of the year. My dish was a Pastrami Pork Belly, Red Corn Bread, Carolina BBQ sauce, house-made slaw and house-made Bread and Butter Pickles. Thanks to everyone that voted for us, and hope to see you all this weekend at the STEEL CITY BIG POUR!

PICTURE: FROM LEFT TO RIGHT - Harry LaRusso (sous chef) Chef Richard DeShantz (owner), Tolga Sevdik (owner)

Friend us on Facebook: MEAT & POTATOES

NEW MENU ITEMS-

2011-08-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone -

We have some new menu items at M&P -

TOMAHAWK RIBEYE - we replaced the Meat & Potatoes for 2 with this 24oz. ribeye.

CHICKEN POT PIE - who doesn't love a pot pie? I fried the chicken skin, ground it up and mixed it into the crust. It created such a unique flavor, along with the mushrooms and potatoes.

SWEETBREAD TACOS - These are NOT on the menu, however these were a Daily Special, and I made these for a few friends from KAYA along with a "Spanish Coffee" that was made by our bartender, trying to replicate the famous one from the PARK HOUSE, in the north side.

Thanks to all of the industry that have been supporting our place. We love the feedback!

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CHEF'S FOOD & SPECIALS OF THE DAY

2011-07-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

When Chef's from other restaurants in Pittsburgh come in to Meat & Potatoes, I like to send them out some good food. I sent out a Foie Gras flat bread for the chefs at SPOON, and afew other items that I had on our "Daily Specials" board.

We have shown here:

"Hand Cut Tartare" - with Kobe flat iron, bone marrow, and a parsley radish salad

"Chicharrones" - with manchego, chili, and lime

"Foie Gras Flatbread" - our short rib flat bread with added foie gras

Our food specials change daily -

Also, our HAPPY HOUR - is as follows:

$3 TINS

$6 CABERNET AND CHARDONNAY

$6 FEATURED COCKTAILS

5-7 MON - SAT

BEER MUSSELS

2011-06-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

BEER MUSSELS -

We specialize in MOULES of THE DAY here at Meat & Potatoes. These Prince Edward Island Mussels were made with PORK SLAP PALE ALE - a Butternuts Brewery Beer. I love this Brewery because the canned beers are fun and very tasty. We only serve canned beers (tin) here, and the response has been fantastic. We have over 25 canned beers, and 5 on draft. Stop in to try some mussels and some beers!

Check out our website at www.meatandpotatoespgh.com
Follow us on twitter: @4meatnpotatoes @ChefRDeShantz
Follow us on Facebook: MEAT & POTATOES

MEAT & POTATOES IS OPEN!!!!

2011-06-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

YES! We are open for business. It took us about 4 months, but it came together so great. A lot of thanks to my friends and family for their support during this long endeavor, it really means so much to me. Food pics still to come, trying to find the time between cooking and plating to snap a picture is difficult! Until then, stop down and try the food and libations.

Visit our website at www.meatandpotatoespgh.com

AND DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @4meatandpotatoes and @ChefRDeShantz

FACEBOOK: Meat&Potatoes

Getting Close!

2011-04-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

We have progressed a lot in the past few weeks. The lights are about done, the bar is painted, and we are moving along. Just a few weeks until the opening. Check out some pictures for updates on everything we are doing. Also, follow me and Meat & Potatoes on Twitter!

Pictures of Meat & Potatoes

Construction Junction

2011-03-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

Today, Marie and I went to Construction Junction to buy doors for the new restaurant. Construction Junction is a non-profit building material reuse store. There were SO many different "vintage" doors there to pick from. We finally found two that we think will be perfect to fit in the new space for one of our private dining areas.

Besides doing so much for the new space, I am working on a new dessert for Nine on Nine. Pictures will be up soon for it!

Making Tables

2011-03-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

I recently decided to make zinc wrapped tables for my new restaurant. I thought it would be a fun and easy process to get a really unique looking table for my gastropub. I ordered the zinc sheets and supplies from RotoMetals, Inc. and got to work!

First I added wood to each side of a square table, allowing the table to look thicker. I then glued a piece measured zinc on top, and let it sit for 24 hours. I wrapped the zinc under the tables, nailed it down, and I soldered the edges to smooth out the sharpness.

To "antique" the tables, I first sanded the zinc down to create an unpolished look. After that, I used a diluted patina solution to stain the tables. I brushed it on, and then used a rag and a buffer to create a really unique look. I also used a spray bottle in some areas. The finished affect was really cool. Hopefully, you will all like it when you come to eat!

Here are some pictures and video s of the project!

Fun Times in DC

2011-03-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hello Again..

I went to Washington, DC this past week to eat at KOMI, a restaurant that I have been wanting to eat at for a long time. It was really a great experience, and the food was awesome. After spending a few days in DC checking out the sites, I went to VOLT restaurant for lunch on the way home in Frederick, MD. Exectuive Chef Bryan Voltaggio, a former contestant on Top Chef, wowed me with his 5 course lunch tasting menu. To end my mini vacation, I went to Nemacolin Woodlands with my best friend Kevin to relax and have some fun. I am now relaxed and ready to open the new place!

Click on the link to see pictures from my trip to DC.....

It's Been a While......

2011-03-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

Hello! It has been some time since I last blogged. I have been extremely busy working on things for Nine on Nine AND for my NEW restaurant that will be opening in MAY 2011. DETAILS will be provided very soon... until then.. please stay posted!

Meet My Best Friend "Winston"

2011-01-20T09:02:00.000-08:00

Winston is a 1 year old English Bull Dog. After I lost my two previous bull dogs, I always wanted to buy another one. Last year in december after I did a massive research, I found Winston at Georgia. He has been a great puppy and everybody in the neighborhood loves him.

2010-04-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

Nine on Nine Presents the new Lenten Menu

2010-02-17T10:06:00.000-08:00

We started today, February 17, our new lenten menu. From February 17 to April 2 every friday we will be serving this menu. Come in and try our new fried fish sandwiches, fried shrimp and crab cakes.

2010-02-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

I am implementing a Lentel Menu starts on February 17th to April 2nd. Every friday we will be having some fish sandwiches and more. Click here to see the menu.

2010-01-28T13:27:00.001-08:00

I did a private cooking last night at one my regular's house. This was the second time I cooked for him and it turned out really nice. It was a nine course tasting. See the menu below and the pictures in order to the menu. I do private cooking when time permits from busy schedule at nine on nine. Send me an email at info@nineonnine.com , if you are interested. We ll talk.

2010-01-27T09:14:00.000-08:00

NINE ON NINE is NOW OPEN for LUNCH.

We have been open for 8 months and it's going really well for us. I have posted some pictures of lunch menu items that we took the other day. Come in for lunch and enjoy the food. We are open monday thru friday from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm.