003 Sizzling Stories of Heritage and Flavor with Tara Jones

When Tara Jones joined culinary forces with her mom The Diabetic Pastry Chef, she didn't just expand a family business—she launched a new flavor revolution in Pittsburgh. On this week's episode of The Pittsburgh Dish, we're taking a culinary voyage that traces Tara's delicious Peri Peri Chicken back to her Portuguese roots. As the mastermind behind Tara Peri Chicken, she shares her  journey from culinary expert to a tastemaker of the local food scene, and how her family's past intertwines with every spicy, savory bite.

Imagine capturing the essence of your grandmother's kitchen, and adding a zesty twist—that's exactly what our local gourmet did with her Pastéis de Nata & crème brûlée custard tartlets. Throughout the show, Tara shares stories of exploration with culinary creativity, and the life-affirming power of returning to one's roots through food. Her personal tale is a comforting reminder of how recipes, like family memories, are passed down and cherished through generations.

Plus, we're dishing out local love with a shout-out to St Clair Social, a neighborhood gem that's got our taste buds humming. And one listener shares a recipe that has staying power, beyond a first marriage. Stay tuned as we connect the dots between identity, ancestry, and the universal language of food—with a few recipes to boot.

Transcript

Doug: 0:01

Welcome to the Pittsburgh Dish. I'm your host, Doug Heilman. What role does ancestry play at shaping the menu of Tara Peri Chicken? We'll hear all about it from this week's guest. Do you have a favorite neighborhood spot that's not even in your neighborhood? We'll hear from one food enthusiast on one of his go-to eateries. Have you ever gained a beloved recipe out of a relationship that's ended? We'll hear about a dish from this week's listener that fits that exact description. All that ahead, stay tuned. We want to thank Isaly's for sponsoring this week's show and they're happy to be bringing back that favorite ice cream flavor chocolate chip with the jimmies available at grocery stores now. Go to isalys. com to check store locations near you and while you're there, don't forget to check out their merchandise, like their yearly calendar or a favorite Isaly's mug, or maybe a nice gift bundle for someone you love. And now on to the show. Hey, so thanks for being on the show. I would love it if you would introduce yourself and your business, what you're doing out in the world there in food.

Tara: 1:15

Okay, I'm Tara Jones. My mother is Stacy Harris, the diabetic pastry chef, so she's known in Pittsburgh for making sugar-free desserts and she's a cookbook author, and I moved back here to Pittsburgh in 2017 to help with my grandfather who had dementia, and my mom wanted me to stay to help her with the business.

Tara: 1:37

So I did and I got a job as a chef and culinary expert at William Sonoma. Oh wow. But then they I was teaching cooking classes there and they ended up getting rid of all of the cooking classes nationwide during the pandemic.

Doug: 1:51

Oh yes.

Tara: 1:52

So I lost that job and I was not really doing anything at the time because I was trying to regroup, because it was a pandemic. Right and I was trying to figure out like what would the next step be, and so, as soon as we could, we just decided to start delivering like figure out how to make this happen without having an actual restaurant that people can come to. I was making a Peri Peri chicken and David Leet Do you know who he is?

Doug: 2:19

Oh, I don't know if I know David.

Tara: 2:21

Okay, so he is the top. He's a James Beard award winner. Okay, he has this fabulous Portuguese blog and it's expanded to all kinds of gourmet foods. So he has this cookbook. I love his cookbooks and it was Portuguese, I forget. I think it was called Portuguese cooking or something. And so, during the pandemic, I started making all this Portuguese stuff because I found out I'm in the DAR, which is the Daughters of the American Revolution, and I found out that my ancestor was a direct descendant of the father of Portugal.

Alex: 2:52

Oh my goodness.

Tara: 2:53

So because of that, I decided to start examining what that's all about my DNA and everything and so then I got into Portuguese food and so I said, okay, well, if I'm part Portuguese I know I don't look like it, but if I am, I should master the two things. One would be Peri Peri chicken, the other would be Pastéis de Nata.

Doug: 3:12

Can you say that second one again? I've never. I've never heard it pronounced correctly.

Tara: 3:16

Okay, so in the United Portugal we call Pastéis or something like that but in Portugal they say Pestes de nata. Pestes de Nata and that means like cream pastries, custard pastries, pastel means one.

Doug: 3:32

Okay.

Tara: 3:33

So whenever you see I say pastel, that means just one of them.

Doug: 3:35

And I think we have one today. Oh, we have two, oh yeah.

Tara: 3:40

So I started experimenting with that and my mom was my tester and she's like this is great and I was like I couldn't believe the richness of the flavor of Peri Peri.

Lisa: 3:49

Yes.

Tara: 3:49

It's totally different. I always say it's better than buffalo wings because it's a different kind of chili and it has so much complexity to it. And so I was just like I said to my mom. I was like you know what? I have to actually make a go of this in Pittsburgh because everybody's eating buffalo wings and it's getting kind of boring. And so I said let's just try this. So I just kept experimenting and perfecting it. And then we have a commercial kitchen. At the time I was just like I said you know what? Let's just like deliver once or twice or something, just start small. And then it we started getting feedback about it, like people were so crazy about it. And so I said you know what? There really is something here. So then, with our commercial kitchen, my husband is the delivery person. So I met him during the pandemic and the whole thing came together, because at the time I drive but I hate driving. And so I was like, well, how are we actually going to get this to the people, because I don't like to drive.

Doug: 4:49

Yeah, delivery business is not quite right. We're gonna work out.

Tara: 4:52

But he loves to drive, so I just said, okay, well, this is all coming together, so our commercial kitchen is in Sharpsburg.

Doug: 5:00

At La Dorita.

Tara: 5:01

Yes, and so then we just started doing that and then getting this like massive feedback we deliver, we do next day delivery for right now. Okay, there's a chance later this year that customers will be able to pick up.

Doug: 5:16

Okay.

Tara: 5:17

And there's no dine-in or anything right now. But so then we started getting all of this feedback and we have a five-star rating on Yelp and Google, and then last year we won a restaurant guru recommended award. We don't know who recommended us, but they said that a bunch of people contacted them. And then Voyage Ohio contacted us and asked if they could interview us, and I was like, well, why are people talking about us in Ohio? And they said that people talk about it when all the way up to Ohio my goodness, you're bringing so different, unique flavors to their region.

Doug: 5:50

Yes, and you don't even know that this sort of underground popularity is really perfectly Right.

Tara: 5:55

I had no idea because I was like Ohio, so yeah, so people just really love it and I think, also because I'm so passionate about what I'm doing, my mom is as well. I think that's what people are tasting that we actually care about what we're doing. We get organic ingredients, we pay attention to every single thing and we have like finishing steps. So it's not the same as like a place that just like we marinate. It's not like you know how some places they just like season it up and they just bake it real quick, throw some sauce on and send it off the door.

Doug: 6:28

There's so much that goes into the way there's so much more prep in your way of doing the food Probably ten times as much because I do so.

Tara: 6:36

so much to it.

Doug: 6:36

But it's paying off yeah.

Tara: 6:38

Yeah.

Doug: 6:39

So you built the business sort of off of what your mom had started, right, but what is the official name of your business? Because I think the website is Tara Peri Chicken?

Tara: 6:51

Yes, so my mom the diabetic pastry chef, that's the parent company. Oh gotcha, so we're subsidiary.

Doug: 6:57

Okay, it's all in the family.

Tara: 6:59

Yeah, so I decided to name it Tara Peri Chicken because my mom is distinctly the diabetic pastry chef, so I wanted to have something that that specifically represented me.

Doug: 7:10

Yeah, it stands on its own Right yeah.

Tara: 7:13

And so the reason why I named it Tara-Peri Chicken is the Tara portion is whatever I want to do. So that's me, my talent, my experiences, my family, my genealogy, so that I have leeway to do whatever I want in the kitchen. The Peri portion, of course, is the Peri-Peri Chicken, so, like if you search Peri-Peri Chicken in Pittsburgh, I come up first.

Doug: 7:34

Really.

Tara: 7:34

The same with the Natas. I come up first because I'm the only one who's really doing it Right, you've got a niche. Yeah, so that's how that all came about.

Doug: 7:42

I love it. You know, before we get too far away from talking about the food, if someone has not had Peri-Peri Chicken, or maybe more specifically yours, could you describe to them the dish a little bit more and the flavors?

Tara: 7:56

Yes, I would say okay. So I say it's like buffalo wings, but better. It's smoky, tangy, spicy if you want it. So we have two different styles mild and spicy. And how I decided to do that is I know Nando's has like multiple levels that you can choose, but there is a restaurant in Portugal that was the first one to ever provide Peri-Peri Chicken in a restaurant. Still to this day they offer mild and spicy. That's it, so that if you want, you can customize it yourself, and so that's what we tell our customers Like. If you want it medium, then you can get the hot sauce on the side and put as much on as you want or as little as you want so that you can tailor it the way you want it to be.

Tara: 8:42

Yeah, so that was. They were also major inspiration because I saw they've been around since like I think like 1950 or something like that, and they're still doing it, and when you go to the restaurant it's exactly the same as it was back then. So it's not. It hasn't expanded to anything.

Doug: 8:56

But it's, it's stayed true to really what it is Right, all right, so far away again, let's talk about the natas. If someone hasn't seen, tasted or had one of these, could you describe what that is?

Tara: 9:09

So we say a lot of people say it's like crème brûlée and with a croissant or in a croissant.

Alex: 9:15

So, good.

Tara: 9:16

It's different though, so we have two styles of custard tartlets, so we have this one, and then my favorite one is the crème brûlée custard tartlet that I made.

Doug: 9:25

I think I just saw you making those recently on Instagram. Yes, yes, they look amazing.

Tara: 9:29

They really are and it's just something that I came up with myself. Those are my favorite, but this is so. It's an egg custard, but it's not like super eggy or anything. The pastry itself is savory. It's not a sweet pastry.

Doug: 9:45

Interesting.

Tara: 9:47

So it's the combination of sweet and savory.

Doug: 9:49

Yes.

Tara: 9:50

Then you? You can have it plain or you can top it with cinnamon and powdered sugar, but when you make them you put a lemon peel and cinnamon stick. This is just the standard worldwide. So it has a very faint taste of lemon and cinnamon in it. It's crispy, but it's like crispier than a croissant, though.

Doug: 10:12

That sounds amazing.

Tara: 10:13

It is. It's buttery like lots of butter in it.

Doug: 10:17

I mean, there's nothing. There's nothing wrong with that. Yeah, all right, so we've we've covered the the business right now and and some of the key dishes that you're making. I wouldn't love to take a step back. I heard you say earlier that you moved back, did you? Did you grow up in the Pittsburgh area? I did, yeah.

Tara: 10:34

I graduated from Bethel Park and Pitt with a degree in English, communication and humanities and I was in Los Angeles. I moved there. I think it was like 2004. And I worked for do you know what CAA is? Creative Artists Agency. So I worked for them on the business side, and then Nestle and Yellow Pages, and then my final job there was I was working at Disney as an analyst.

Doug: 11:00

Oh my goodness.

Tara: 11:01

So then I left there. My grandfather had dementia here, so I was helping my mom, cause she's by herself and she's diabetic too, so she needed help, and so I left there and I came here. I don't like the weather here at all, yeah, so I do miss the weather there.

Doug: 11:16

Yeah, You're doing all those those other things. So let's talk a little bit about your food journey. So what was what was cooking in your house? Like growing up? Did you do some cooking? Did mom do most of the cooking?

Tara: 11:27

Yeah, Like a lot of people, my grandmother my grandmother raised me my grandparents. And I was with my grandma in the kitchen. She was born in like 1926. So I was observing every single thing she was doing all the time.

Lisa: 11:42

She made these wonderful pies.

Tara: 11:43

That's why my mom dedicated her cookbook to her and her pastry skills. So I just cooked with my grandma all the time and then I was like one of the people who, before even the food network, I was watching the Frugal Gourmet.

Doug: 11:56

Yes.

Tara: 11:57

I love that's like one of my favorites.

Doug: 11:59

A classic.

Tara: 12:00

Yeah, so I was watching those kinds of shows like on PBS, and so how I learned more formal techniques is my mom had a lot of culinary books, like French Academy books, and I would make different things like quiche and cocoa van and things like that, and I just became really good at it and so my cooking ended up being special occasion Gotcha, and so my mom, even back then used to always say you cook so gourmet. Everything you look looks like gourmet. And so it's like I don't know what you mean. What are you talking?

Doug: 12:32

about, I'm just cooking. Yeah, it's coming natural to what you were reading a recipe you were seeing or following, and so she said no everything you do looks like art, and I was like I don't really see it.

Tara: 12:41

But okay, and then after, in 97, I think it was I was working for a La Prima group as a caterer. And how that came about. I was working for a PAC in DC Political Action Committee. I hated it, I hated it.

Tara: 12:56

And so I was sitting at my desk and I was like you know what? There has to be more to life than this. I just can't. I'm not into this. And so I was like you know what? What do I really want to do? I want to get into food. And so I said, well, what's the fastest way I can do this? And so I thought of like catering companies in the area. So from my job, I took a, I made a fax and I sent it to this catering company in DC and they're the top caterer. And so I said I didn't have any pictures or anything, I was just like I cook really well and I cook like a French chef, like I was like all arrogant in there and I was like you have to try my stuff and I said, if you give me a chance, I promise you you will hire me. They had me come out and I cooked for them, and so then they hired me as a corporate caterer.

Doug: 13:39

You, you were bold, but you actually had the chops to back it up.

Tara: 13:43

Yeah, right, and so that's how I had the confidence. And so I was a corporate caterer down there and then after that I didn't, I wasn't really in, I didn't really do much with food after that.

Alex: 13:54

And.

Tara: 13:54

I wanted to move to California because I wanted to be a screenwriter. I was so adventurous when I was younger so I moved out to LA and I was just like kind of like a gypsy or a hippie or whatever, just having like that Hollywood lifestyle, trying to find your way.

Tara: 14:09

Yeah, and so then I got my job at CAA and I was working like on the business side and I wasn't really cooking much at all in LA. Pretty much the whole time I was there, like the whole 15 years I was there, I never cooked because, I lived in Glendale, which is an Armenian neighborhood, and they have, like all of these, kebab shops there.

Doug: 14:27

Some of the best food I bet.

Tara: 14:28

Totally Taco trucks, like authentic Mexican food not this nonsense that other places have so real Mexican food, sushi, like really good food. So I never had to cook, never cooked in LA. And then when I came back here, I was helping my mom with my grandfather and I was like a little bored and I'm like, okay, well, I had to cook for them. And so I was like you know, I really like this. So then, okay, so what happened? How I got into William Sonoma is I created this salsa, this Creole salsa, and it's a sauce and a salsa. It has like so much complexity to it. And so I said William Sonoma has every month. Well, at least at the time they did, they had this artisan's market and so I said, well, let's just try to sell my salsa here. And so I did. As soon as people would taste it, I swear they would just like reach into their pocket and buy it. So I would bring, like I think, like a dozen jars at first, then two, and then they would just always sell out. So I had a red salsa, a green one that I do, and mustard barbecue sauce and all of those sold, and so people love my stuff so much. And so then they hired me and they were like, well, they asked me if I wanted to be a chef and culinary expert there, and I was like, yeah, of course. So then I ended up teaching cooking classes there and so I taught their corporate classes, but then also they gave me some room to do like creative classes as well. So I really liked that and so I was like, okay, well, what can you do?

Tara: 15:56

The pandemic happened. They ended the cooking classes. Then my mom and I just started this and you know we have really great reviews and people when they taste our food, they literally say it's changed their lives, it brought their family together. I mean, you can read our reviews and see what people are saying, and so there's like a certain magic to it. But I think what it is is they're tasting the intention behind it. So when, when my mom and I cook and we bake, we pray over everything we do, like we bless the food, and so when people taste it, we don't want them to just say, oh, this was really good, but we intend for it to improve their lives and to like, raise their standards and just make them feel good inside.

Alex: 16:38

Yeah.

Tara: 16:40

I'm Tara Jones, the chef of Tara Peri Chicken, and you're listening to The Pittsburgh Dish.

Doug: 16:47

I think there's also this whole side we haven't really totally dove into and it's the whole genealogy and in your roots. You have intentionally done the research on who you are and who your family is. Looking through your menu, I can see how you've brought all of that in. Can you tell us a little bit about that research into your past, sure, and how that has influenced some of the dishes you're making now?

Tara: 17:15

Yes, well, okay, so obviously I'm African American, racially, I identify as black, okay, but as we know, in the United States, the history with African American people there is a lot going on, especially European. So how this all happened was I did ancestry and there was a guy who contacted me. He was my cousin, he's black. He contacted me and he said I know your father because I didn't grow up knowing my father, and so he sent me some pictures and he connected me into his tree. He'd been doing genealogy for like 12 years. His name is Mike. So I'm looking at his tree and I'm like I see all these black people and I'm like, okay, these are people I'm related to. And then all of a sudden I see King Edward of England.

Doug: 17:58

Of England, okay, okay.

Tara: 18:00

And so I'm like, okay, why is King Edward in your tree in the center? And they're all these black people? And so then I contacted him and I was like, did you mean to put him there? And he was like yeah, we're related to him, we descended from him. And I'm like there's no way. And he was like no, honestly. And so I said you know, that does it, that does it. I'm just going to like contact a lineage society and find out have them investigated.

Tara: 18:23

I contacted the DAR. It took nine months of them researching my whole, like my paternal side, and so they found out my third great grandparents on my father's side, David Norwood and Nancy Farrah. Nancy Farrah was a descendant of William Farrah, who was a settler in Virginia and also Maryland, and so he like founded it. I'm putting that in quotes. Yes, and so they were actually cousins, they, okay? So William Farrah, he descended from King Edward, and so did the Norwoods, so King Edward's wife was Queen Eleanor of Castile, Spain.

Doug: 19:04

Okay.

Tara: 19:05

And so her I think it was like great, great grandfather was father of Portugal.

Tara: 19:09

Oh my goodness, and so how? Why this genealogy is so great is if you can link into someone who was like a revolutionary war soldier, that person. Their lineage is usually traced way back. It's documented in books that they came from this person. So I'm a direct descendant of King Edward and the father of Portugal and I know like I don't look like it my second great grandfather, who was Jefferson Norwood, jefferson H.

Tara: 19:41

He was married to a white woman and the census records show that next door there was a black woman living there and kids started happening with the black woman, who Fannie Baldwin, that's who I descended from. And so a lot of people think, oh well, that she was like his slave, she was raped or whatever. And that was not the case, because what happened is they started having all these kids. Then his wife, mary Emily Grimes, she divorced him in a huff, like it was really like this big, like it was in the news and everything At that time. They could not, you know, black people and white people couldn't marry. So he and Fannie ended up living together and they ended up having like 10 children Total. My goodness, ended up having like seven more children after that and he bequeathed his estate to one of her, the children they had together, so that relationship was not through rape, although a lot of them are.

Tara: 20:39

I understand that, but that particular one was not, so that's how the whole thing came about. My goodness and so when people are, when you're like a royal descendant in royalty, they tend to marry each other yes and all throughout Europe. It's like like someone from England will be with someone from Italy or whatever, and they just all mix, and so because of that, I descended actually from a lot of the different kings and queens in Europe. My goodness and it's wild is wild.

Doug: 21:11

Now, now, let's, let's move back, then to the food side of that. So this is what you got you into exploring some of the Portuguese food, but you have so many other Algerian, yes, so that north North African, yes, and then that was through ancestry, because ancestry will show you a DNA map.

Tara: 21:30

And in my DNA map and I put that on our website to southern well, it's mainly southern and southwestern Algeria is where we descend from. In. My husband got his DNA done to and, believe it or not, his map looks identical to my. Wow, so he's southern Algerian as well, he's English as well and I think I'm not sure if he has whales. I think he does. So we have whales, I have Scotland, he doesn't have Scotland. Because of that, I said you know what we're just gonna say it's a family thing.

Tara: 22:00

Yes and I started exploring Algerian food, which isn't that much different than Armenian food, although you know they do more like couscous. They call them bruschettes because they speak Arabic and also French there, so don't really call them kebabs, but, yeah, it's more like couscous than those muddy rice and stews, tajins, and so I just started making a lot of those things and taking pictures and I uploaded them to the site for the uninformed I maybe like me.

Doug: 22:29

I'm looking at it and I'm thinking, oh, this is like Mediterranean, to sort of Arab food, but that's North African food as well.

Tara: 22:37

Yeah, and so it's. Algeria is on the Mediterranean coast, and so it's kind of like an amalgamation of all of that so it has some African influence, some Arabic, some French, some Middle Eastern, so it's a mixture of things which is kind of called Creole. Yes, so it's like it's not as distinct as like Armenians. I just love it because it's it's such a departure from Portuguese food and so I figure, you know what, if I have Algerian DNA, may as well turn it into food why not?

Doug: 23:15

I mean, I think you've gone way beyond family in terms of your inspiration, which is usually where a lot of us start. But the more that you know, the more you've been inspired to do right. And when I was looking at your menu, I'm just like, oh my gosh, she makes everything and it does look phenomenal. And I saw that somewhere the term food stylist as well. And it's true, you know how to. You know how to style your food and, yeah, I'd love to know what your, what sort of your future plans are for your business. You know where, where do you want to go with with the food that you do? And any collaboration with your mom? What are your next next steps?

Tara: 23:53

Okay, so my mom last year was named top 50 global diabetes industry leader, so she was invited to a Forbes summit in Abu Dhabi recently, and aging analytics is who named her gave her that title, so Forbes is aware of her and she was like one of the 50 that was invited to the summit. She couldn't go as an Abu Dhabi, but it was still an honor and so she has that title, yes, and so because of that, her blog is international, so people know about her all over the world.

Doug: 24:22

And this is Stacy Harris. Yes, and she went to Bidwell Culinary here in Pittsburgh. Yes, yes, yeah.

Tara: 24:28

And so, and because of that, we're a subsidiary of that around the world people are understanding about, they're learning about tara peri chicken as well Love it, so we have an international audience, even though they can't taste our food, but they're aware of us. We are working with Aging Analytics Agency to develop certain things.

Tara: 24:47

We're not at liberty to speak about this right now, but it's going to be big, okay, huge, and so we're working on that. But at the same time my mom asked me she's like, do you still want to be in food or do you want to do this, these other things? And so I said I actually love cooking for people and like making the food myself. And so I said, yeah, I would still kind of like to do this, but you know, I'm doing the Algerian food as well. I don't know if this will turn into a restaurant or or whatever it will be, but I would be open to that, and I love the idea of creating something in Pittsburgh that is inclusive, not just one cuisine and that's it.

Tara: 25:29

Nobody else is really invited or anything but something where many people can sit down at the table and enjoy the food, and they can also give their influence and their input, because I am not from these countries, I'm from the United States, so there are things that I can learn about it too. I would like to open some sort of like bakery cafe, restaurant or something at some point here, and that's my intention is in Pittsburgh specifically, even though I could move back to LA and do that.

Tara: 25:57

I feel like I'm going to be able to do that, and that's my intention is in Pittsburgh specifically, even though I could move back to LA and do that. I feel that Pittsburgh needs this because there is not yes, we have different cuisines, but there it's different than like larger cities like Los Angeles, dc. So when we want to eat, we're like OK, where are we going to go?

Tara: 26:20

you know where we go diner Central Diner always there because they're Greek and they have so many different things on the menu. Yes, and that's the way we eat at home. So, yeah, so that's that's kind of what we do, because the only other restaurants in the South Hills are mainly like chains.

Doug: 26:36

Yes.

Tara: 26:37

Olive Garden BJ's, you know, which we find uninspiring. So that's why we cook ourselves. We just do our own stuff.

Doug: 26:46

I think you're located in a good part of the city to spread what you're doing and when we go from Tara Peri Chicken to Tara Peri Kitchen, count me in.

Tara: 26:57

I'll be there. Yes, that's a good idea, good name.

Doug: 27:01

Tara Jones, thank you so much.

Tara: 27:03

Thank you.

Doug: 27:04

So I always love to give you a moment to plug anything you do have going on or upcoming soon. Is there anything you want to share with our listeners, or even your, your social media platforms?

Tara: 27:15

So we are @taraperichicken on Instagram. My mom is that diabetic pastry chef on Instagram and Facebook. On Twitter it's diabetic P A S chef. Also, I wanted to mention where we do the farmers market downtown market, market square yes. So people know us from that. You see our videos. So we're doing that again this year. But I've come up with so many other ideas, including Algerian.

Alex: 27:43

Yes.

Tara: 27:43

And that I'm excited about introducing people to, because I've been collecting so much information and practicing and doing so many things. I'm super excited about this. So it's a chance for people to try our food like in real time, because usually for right now, you know, because we do this through our commercial kitchen and delivery it's next day delivery, right, and not everybody's willing to plan ahead or they're that organized or whatever. But this is a way that people can try our stuff in real time and I think we're also going to be offering some savory pastries as well. Ok, yeah, so you can see our savory side.

Doug: 28:16

Excellent, all right, there's one more question I like to ask everybody that's on the show Tara, what was the best dish you've eaten this week?

Tara: 28:27

I'm trying to think Really, let me think about this.

Doug: 28:29

Yeah, it's a toughie sometimes.

Tara: 28:30

So I made these kebabs and well, bruschettes, and so it's called kefta and I made them in the oven. You know, like it's nice when you can grill outside, but we can't do that really, necessarily, because it's winter, and so I put them on a bed of onions with peppers and they're just super juicy and tender. It's ground beef and it's like spiced and just wonderful. And then I made like a yogurt dip with it on the side.

Doug: 28:59

It's really good, so good Especially for some of like the eight degree days we've been having here in Pittsburgh.

Tara: 29:06

Yeah, so that was the best thing.

Doug: 29:07

Excellent, wonderful answer, Tara. It's been such a pleasure. Thank you so much.

Tara: 29:12

Thank you, thank you.

Doug: 29:13

Tara wanted me to mention that her and the family are taking a much needed break over the winter and are resuming their normal operations, beginning again in April 2024. You can check out their website at TaraPeriChicken. com for more information. Up next, the weekly recommend. Thanks to Beano's Deli Condiments for being a sponsor on this week's show. Add a little spice to your sandwich or salad with some of their original flavors, such as peach, habanero sauce, the original submarine dressing or even pineapple honey mustard, and get more ideas and inspiration on their Instagram page at Beano's brand. Now back to the show. Hey everybody, we're back again with our friend Alex from Alex Eats Too Much and, Alex, I was wondering if you could give us a restaurant recommendation for this week, maybe a favorite spot that you always like to go.

Lisa: 30:06

So one of the places that I go to quite frequently is St Clair Social in Friendship. Oh yeah, it's just off Baum on St Clair Avenue, st Clair Street, I think it's St Clair Street. It has become one of my favorite neighborhood bars, even though I don't live anywhere near it. But the vibe is just. It's a very casual place to go to. The drinks have always been great cocktails for me. The food is really good. They just changed their food menu not too long ago. You know really great burgers, really great wings. It's just a place I feel like it's a nice, friendly place to go to. I always enjoy eating there and hanging out.

Doug: 30:45

Do you have a favorite dish that?

Lisa: 30:47

you've had there. I mean, I definitely love their wing night. You know this is another controversial thing, but I think they have some of the best wings that I've had in the city, which is nice, you know. I've also had their social burger, which is their signature burger that they have on the menu. It's a very good burger. Also, there are chicken strips, or chicken fingers Nice and juicy chicken, really thick breading, great flavor. How can you go wrong? Exactly, yeah.

Doug: 31:15

And they've got a pretty serious bar menu too, right? Yes, they do.

Lisa: 31:19

Yeah, so they definitely are always coming up with some new signature cocktails that they have there. They also have some of your more standard cocktails on draft there oh that's right. They have a draft old fashioned, a draft Negroni, currently a draft Espresso Martini.

Doug: 31:36

So, they have all these things. That's very popular.

Lisa: 31:38

Yes. So they have those things ready to go, and then they have a lot of signature things that they come up with and they rotate in and out all the time. So that way there's always something there that I think will peak somebody's flavor profile One of the things that's also really great not that I've tried any of them yet, but they just launched a non-alcoholic cocktail, cocktail type of menu.

Doug: 31:58

The NA movement is actually really gaining some momentum, and I appreciate it, sometimes too.

Lisa: 32:03

Yeah, so I mean and it's not just mixing together different juices and mixers I think they are actually working with different non-alcoholic liquors and spirits. So that way you get a lot of those flavors that you had previously from a regular alcoholic tequila, versus what you have today. That's amazing.

Doug: 32:25

It's St Clair Social in Friendship. Yes, thanks again, Alex. Thank you. You can find out more about where Alex Goodstein is eating on his Instagram or blog at AlexEatsTooMuch. We are so happy that you're tuning into The Pittsburgh Dish and, since we're new, we would love it if you would spread the word and tell a friend Go ahead, send them that DM or text message or just give them an old-fashioned call and let them know about this new food show for the Pittsburgh region. Thanks so much. This week's recipe is from listener and our friend of the show, Lisa, who says this particular dish has been more long-lasting than her first marriage. Let's give her a call and find out more about it. Hello, hi, Lisa. Doug, yeah, hey, thank you so much for submitting this recipe for the week Provencal Beans. It sounds super interesting. Can you tell me a little bit about how you came upon it?

Alex: 33:26

Sure, I discovered this during my first marriage and it's one of those things that I took along with me. It's like one of the seven best things that you know I got from that man as I move forward to a new home with my children. This has remained a very popular request and it is super fast put together with very little cleanup. So when they're all looking at me at six o'clock going, I'm hungry. This is one that's really easy to have everything in the pantry ready to go.

Doug: 33:58

I love that, so it does. It seems pretty easy, and so, for folks listening along at home, I think you start out by, you know, frying up some bacon right, which is never a bad thing, and then what do you do next?

Alex: 34:11

I would just say on the bacon it can be crispy, it can be not crispy. It totally depends on you know how picky they are.

Doug: 34:18

Yes.

Alex: 34:18

But I like crispy.

Doug: 34:20

Me too, but it just crumbles better, me too.

Alex: 34:23

While that's cooking, it's literally just opening up a huge can of great northern beans. I like to rinse them, but I suppose you could use them un-rinse. But definitely get rid of the extra water. It'll make it to soggy.

Doug: 34:37

Right.

Alex: 34:39

And then after that, it's apricots. Now, originally I used to make it with just one bag of apricots, but I like the sweet and the salty.

Doug: 34:48

Oh my gosh.

Alex: 34:49

So I would go with two.

Lisa: 34:51

Yes.

Alex: 34:52

And I cut them up super small, so that's probably the most intensive labor of the whole thing. At this point your bacon is probably burning, like mine is, so you gotta run and burn your turn down.

Doug: 35:05

And so it's just, it's tossing in the beans which are already cooked and rinsed out of a can. So you cut up the dried apricots, toss those in, toss in your crispy bacon, the way you and I would both like it. And then it's a little bit of parsley, and and what else is in it? I think maybe nuts, cashews. Mmm, that sounds great.

Alex: 35:25

So, again, with that sweet and salty thing, I just dump the entire can in there, or or I have a picky nut person, so I leave that out and everybody sprinkles on their own at the end, whatever makes you happy.

Doug: 35:38

Yeah, and then is there a dressing to this mix.

Alex: 35:42

Yes, so while we're continuing with the super healthy ingredients, it's about half a cup of olive oil and get the good kind. Don't cheap out on that.

Doug: 35:55

Of course.

Alex: 35:56

And then some balsamic vinegar and I tend to go later on there no more than a couple of splashes, but she could go as much as a quarter of a cup. Throw some salt and pepper in there and mix it up until it's, you know, sticking together and get it on the salad fast, before it starts to separate.

Doug: 36:16

Oh, I love this, lisa. It sounds delicious. I I really love that mix of just all the textures and the flavors. You know, the, the white beans are kind of subtle, and then that crunch from the bacon, the saltiness as well as the nuts, that sweetness from the apricots. I can't wait to make this myself.

Alex: 36:33

You'll love it, and it's even better on day two.

Doug: 36:37

Oh, I bet, Lisa. Thank you so much.

Alex: 36:41

You're welcome.

Doug: 36:42

We would love to have you on the show sharing a recipe. You can go to our website at www. pittsburghdish. com and look for our share a recipe form. That's our show for this week. Thanks again to all of our guests and contributors, and to Kevin Solecki of Carnegie Accordion Company for providing the music to our show. We'll be back again next week with another fresh episode. Be sure to tune in.