Casbah

I stopped by here this past Tuesday night for dinner by myself.  It had been a couple of years since I had last been to Casbah and while I remembered it being decent, it differed a bit from my fiance's opinion that this was the best of the Big Burrito restaurants.  Due to that it had been on my list of restaurants to visit so that I could get a better opinion of it.  The restaurant looked the same that I remembered it with a large outdoor seating area and a smaller one inside with the bar on one side of the restaurant and the dining room on the other.  It was all nicely and tastefully decorated.

I arrived shortly after 5 PM and immediately made my way into the bar area of the restaurant as I hate taking up a table if I am eating by myself.  There was no one else at the bar at this point and the bartender quickly greeted me and gave me a happy hour menu while explaining it to me.  I had not been planning on getting a drink but one of the $6 cocktails caught my eye and I ended up ordering it.  The bartender was pretty friendly guy and explained how he came up with the drink while he made the drink and we chatted for a bit.  For my entrée I decided to order the Long Island Duck which was a roasted breast, braised leg, gnocchi, spinach, rosemary, black mission figs and duck jus.  Whenever I had ordered it I had actually missed the fact that it came with a braised leg and was excited to see that extra unexpected portion of meat on my plate whenever it was delivered to me.  The whole meal ended up being incredibly tasty with the duck breast being cooked perfectly with nice seasoning and not greasy at all.  This was in stark contrast to the leg which was incredibly juicy and greasy which I absolutely loved.  Normally I am not a fan of greasier duck but the two preparations really helped to enhance the other.  Finally the figs provided a nice touch of sweetness while the gnocchi was pillow like and tasty.  It was also nice to be able to taste a hint of rosemary on them which I had forgotten about between the time I had ordered and when it was delivered.

The bottom line for me is that I would definitely head back here again in the future.  Both my cocktail and my meal were really good and I would actually consider this to be one of the best meals that I have eaten in a little while.

I've been to this restaurant with my husband twice, once for dinner before I moved to Pittsburgh, and once for brunch a few months ago, and both were great meals. When I went for dinner they accidentally threw away my doggy-bag instead of giving it to me, but they offered to make me a new order, so it worked out fine. When we went for brunch it was quite crowded and we had to wait a while before getting seats at the bar. The food is really fantastic though and there are good vegetarian options. It's pricey, but worth it if you're celebrating a special occasion. Seems like it would be perfect if you're looking for a romantic place to impress a date.

A delicious menu with a twist. Unique wine list too!