When you think of Lawrenceville, the first thing that often comes to your mind is Butler Street. The main artery of town hosts many restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and other flourishing businesses. It has grown so much over the years that the excitement level of that on Butler Street on Friday and Saturday nights rivals that of Carson Street in the Southside. Lawrenceville has also seen a major boom in real estate over the past two decades. What once was a primarily working-class area is now turning into a district that caters to high-wage earners/buyers. Venture off Butler Street and tucked away is one of the most underrated Sports Bars in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan area. If you have not been to or heard of Stinky’s Bar and Grille, you need to check it out!
The menu – A lot of times having a menu with a huge selection can be intimidating, hard to understand, and make it hard for consumers to select an entrée. Stinky’s offers you a ton of choices while keeping the menu well-formatted, descriptive, and easy to understand. Let us break down the cuisine a little further.
Appetizers – Who does not love a good provolone stick? Stinky’s takes great pride in one of America’s favorite appetizers. They are homemade, hand-breaded, and fried to a rich, golden brown. The Loaded Mash Potato Balls are also homemade, topped with cheese and bacon, and deep-fried to perfection. Buffalo Chicken Dip has been trending for quite some time, Stinky’s also has this on the menu and is served with homemade tortilla chips.
Wings – Chicken wings are a pivotable item at any good Sports Bar. Stinky’s uses fresh chicken and frys their wings until the skin is nice and crispy. They feature around 24 rubs/sauces. Go with a traditional flavor or try something a little more sophisticated such as Firecracker, Cajun Hot Parm, or Honey Sriracha. You can order them two ways, either traditional or country-fried.
Salads – If you are looking for a healthier entrée, Stinky’s has around 16 options for salads. They pretty much have almost anything you can think of. Their more creative salads are the Louisiana Chicken, which puts a Cajun spin on your classic Chicken Salad. The Chicken Tortellini features grilled chicken, cheese tortellini and is topped with vibrant greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, green peppers, and mozzarella cheese. The Taco Salad features taco meat that is seasoned generously with fresh herbs and spices.
Burgers – Stinky’s is known for their amazing burgers. The key to any good burger is the blend in the ground meat. The burger patty has enough fat ratio to keep the burger juicy throughout the cooking process. The flat-top puts a perfect sear/crust on the burger patty which is where a lot of the flavor is generated. The Black and Blue Burger (captioned) is cooked to your desired doneness and features a blackened burger patty with crumbled blue cheese and bacon. The Mac N’ Cheeseburger is the perfect comfort food. It is topped with homemade macaroni and cheese and bacon. For the big appetite, try the Real Whopper which is topped with a fried egg, bacon, provolone and American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup.
Sandwiches – The sandwich selection is massive. Some notables include the Butler Street Buster which starts with Italian Bread and is topped with roasted turkey, bacon, ham, and Swiss and cheddar cheese. The Grant Street has the super marbled and flavorful ribeye steak and is topped with fried eggs and American cheese on grilled Italian bread. The Gallagher is your traditional Reuben which has generous amounts of Corn Beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing served on Rye bread.
Other items – Stinky’s also has a great selection of wraps, quesadillas, seafood, and other entrees. Check out their menu, this is just the base of how diversified this menu really is.
Stinky's Bar & Grill Final Take:
LAWRENCEVILLE HIDDEN GEM CATCHES YOUR ATTENTION WITH UNIQUE NAME AND EVEN BETTER FOOD!
My final take – Upon entry you will notice how clean this place is which goes a long way in the restaurant industry. It has a great ambience and is well lit with Edison bulbs and showcases an industrial look. Stinky’s faced the Covid-19 pandemic head-on by following all the correct protocols to keep their customers safe and avoided shrinking their menu. They want to give you the ultimate dining and drinking experience by offering the customer a vast amount of flavorful menu options and drink selections. Check this place out, you will see that Stinky’s Bar and Grill has hidden gem written all over it.
Score rubric
- Taste and Flavor –
(1) Bland, no taste at all, under/overcooked/dry
(2) Edible, but below average, little to no spices, herbs, or seasonings, somewhat under/overcooked/dry
(3) Decent quality, spices/herbs/seasoning used. Not going to rave about the food but also not going to complain.
(4) Restaurant/dish lives up to reputation. Flavorful, it is clear spices/herbs, seasonings are used effectively. Dishes clearly thought out and well executed. What you would expect for your hard-earned dollar.
(5) Exceeds expectations. Not only are spices/herbs, and seasonings used to perfection, at this level, highest quality ingredients/meats used. Processes such as aging, brining, and marinating are used at this level. Food is cooked to perfection at this level and meat is unbelievably tender and juicy. You tell all your friends and family immediately about your food experience.
- Portion Size – How much food do you get, is there left-overs? 5s need to wow me.
- Affordability – Average cost of entrees and appetizers
- Ambience – The mood or feeling of the restaurant. Decorations, history, memorabilia, etc. Is it an atmosphere you could spend hours at?
To check out more amazing restaurants in the Pittsburgh area, read my first book, The Hidden Restaurant Gems of Pittsburgh: An Insider’s Guide.
www.bitly.com/hiddengemsofpittsburgh