Powder Witch & Company

Another month, another trip out squeezed in under the deadline. The last month has been slow and rapid at the same time. I got to visit a friend and wrapped up a side project, I pulled a muscle and couldn't stand for most of a week.

I'm feeling better now, of course, or I wouldn't be writing this. But I needed to find a place nearby, something I could drive out to relatively quickly. And I was in the mood for a burger, which somehow made for a narrow search.

Pittsburgh is a town where pizza is ubiquitous. You can find a different place practically every half mile, less if you branch out to other Itallian foods. Burgers appear to be not as common, outside of fast food chains.

Burgatory, out near Robinson Mall, caught my eye. Its a local chain, with less than a dozen locations around town. Dispite the name, they don't just do burgers. They also do a variety of milkshakes, including vegan milkshakes. And this is what really sold me on going here.

It hasn't come up here before, but I'm lactose intolerant. Enough so that I can't drink milk at all, and can only have cheese or butter in small quantities, if they're on something else. I'm also mildly allergic to dairy. So the idea that I might be able to have a milkshake again, the first in over a decade, was compelling.

It was around three when I headed over, late enough that schools were letting out for the day but not so late that rush hour had kicked off. The restaurante is tucked away in a strip mall, just past the junction.

The building was pretty empty when I arrived, and isn't that always the case on these trips, I have got to schedule these better. Because it was so empty I got a seat across from the bar, where they had a buch of TV's hanging from the cieling. Half of them were on a sports network following some development with the Lakers, the other half were playing Lucifer. Not sure if that was for the bit or because someone on staff likes the show, or possibly just good timing on my part.

Thier vegan shakes only come in a few basic flavors, but that's fine by me. This attempt was only to see what a vegan shake would taste like compared to the hazy memory of when I could drink real milkshakes, not the quest for the best. And let me tell you, it stacks up nicely.

A creamy texture, a rich flavor, and a little whipped cream on top, I went for a vanilla shake and it was so worth it. Would a regular shake probably be creamier? Sure. But this is one I can have without choking or my stomach revolting.

This is the thing that ultimately convinced me to come out here, and I have no regrets.

It stayed pretty empty the entire time I was there. I guess this is more of a sports bar, despite being in the middle of a mall complex. The music playing in the background is nice, if a little loud for how empty it was.

Burger prep took a while, but I did ask for a custom one. Nothing too fancy, just beef, some veg, a little bacon, and sauce on a pretzel bun. When it finally came out, it was a sight to behold. Nearly 6 inches high, including the bun, skewered with a little pitchfork, and surrounded by golden fries.

The burger was fantastic, although I did make one mistake with it. When making a custom burger they give you the option of having ot cooked 'red', 'pink', or 'no pink'. Meaning grey.

Burgers are best when ground, and ground meat means that any bacteria that was on the surface of the meat is now all through it. A restaurant knows this, or should, and accounts for it when grinding the meat. I know this, but my first instinct is still to treat it like I would ground meat I bought from the store. As in, cooked well done.

Dispite my mistake, my burger was still juicy, at first. But by the halfway point, the patty had dried out. It was still tasty, especially with the honey habanero sauce, but now I know better.

And the fries are delish. Big fat golden fries, coated in sea salt and herbs, although the only herb I could pick out was rosemary. With a crispy outside and soft interior, these are easily getting thrown onto my list of 'things I have to learn to recreate.' I have the materials for it, I just have to get the fry down right.

Robinson center is simultaniously a major hub for the area, and also an empty waste for 80% of it's space. Filled with all manor of stores and restaurants in between the big box stores, all of which are next to impossible to access without a car. And even with a car, it's hard to make your way around to anything interesting without explicitly planning for it beforehand.

That in mind, and with the eavening rush starting to pick up, I paid my bill and left for home. It was a thankfully smooth and simple drive home.

I'm sure there are other interesting places to eat in that sprawl. I look forward to finding them.