We met around 5:30 and the restaurant was fairly empty but by the time we left around 7/7:30 it had filled up. Gullifty's does not have a fancy interior/atmosphere - it's very basic. Wood floor, neutral colored walls, some hanging plants, a couple ceiling fans, wood tables with wood chairs, the room is fairly large with additional seating areas off in what I think of as 'alcoves' and also in a few areas that are up a few steps.
We started off by ordering one of the special appetizers: steamed mussels in a garlic-butter broth with garlic bread:
.jpg)
Yes, those are the empty shells - I forgot to take a photo when the mussels were placed on the table! I didn't eat any because of the garlic and because I don't really like mussels, but everyone else enjoyed them.SP & I ordered Batter Dipped Zucchini:
.jpg)
Where's the zucchini? In our tummies! Again, I forgot to take a photo. Gullifty's serves their breaded zucchini with a sour cream-horseradish dipping sauce. It's tasty and a nice change from marina.For his meal SP chose Mediterranean Eggplant Melt:
.jpg)
There were rounds of breaded and fried eggplant topped with artichokes, tomatoes, zucchini, onions, roasted red peppers, roasted garlic, topped with melted cheese, and served with a slice of garlic bread. He really enjoys this dish. He didn't eat all of it - he brought about half of it home.Googer ordered Mahi Mahi, which I think was on the specials menu. It came with rice, a roll, and steamed veggies:
.jpg)
He said it was tasty. I don't remember what the menu said the seasoning is.SP's dad ordered Pulled Pork BBQ:
.jpg)
It came with sweet potato fries and cornbread. It smelled really good - BBQ pork smell wafted across the table at me and made me sort of wish I'd ordered it instead of the Grilled Veggie Stromboli:
The stromboli was OK. The dough pocket was very puffy and when I cut into it, it quickly deflated. It was enormous and I brought half of it home for a lunch or dinner later this week. The grilled veggies were zucchini, onions, and red peppers. I don't know why I always decide to get the stromboli at Gullifty's and then end up somewhat disappointed and I can't really pinpoint why!Z had a calzone and I'm not sure what ZSO ate - they were at the other end of the table and I usually only photograph the food closest to me!
Gullifty's is known for their desserts. SP decided to try the carrot cake since he really likes carrot cake:
.jpg)
It looked moist and was studded with raisins and nuts. The icing had coconut sprinkled on it. I didn't try any. I like carrot cake, but not carrot cake with raisins and coconut.I decided to order Chocolate Intemperance:
.jpg)
Chocolate Intemperance is a brownie crust, chocolate and coffee mousse coated with a bitter sweet chocolate ganache and whipped cream dollops. This is very rich, very dense, very chocolatey. It is almost too rich and too dense. I ate about 3 bites and brought the rest of it home where I expect it to yield 2-3 more desserts of 2-3 bites because it's so darn rich. I don't think I would get this again because of the richness and denseness - it's thick enough that it requires a bit of work to get the fork through it!Our server was very friendly. There was a discrepancy between 2 menus - one said the mussels came with baguette and one said with garlic bread. We noticed this because of my garlic sensitivity and SP's dad thought I'd at least be able to eat some baguette if not the mussels. She apologized and brought us the garlic bread, some dinner rolls, and some slices of a bread/baguette. Z ordered a calzone but wanted it baked not deep fried and that was no problem. She was very good at keeping drinks refilled, even bringing Googer 2 refills at the same time since he, much like SP, drinks an awful lot. They do have beer, wine, and mixed drinks, but no one ordered an alcoholic beverage last night.
It was a very nice evening. Everyone got to wish Googer good luck since he starts a new job today - yay! And we got to hear the latest wedding plans for Z and ZSO, who are planning their wedding for next May (Z spent Sunday afternoon at a bridal show).
And of course after dinner SP & I went a bit down the street to Te Cafe for some tasty tea and relaxation. I had some delicious orange spice tea and did several crossword puzzles; SP had white peony tea and played on Droid.
This restaurant is just down the street from me -- I could walk there! I've been meaning to check out their desserts for some time. Yum.
ReplyDeleteGullifty's is kind of odd. The desserts are good, and they really used to be the best place for desserts in Pittsburgh...20 years ago when I was a student at CMU. The "problem" is that not much has changed in all that time. Some entrees have changed but I swear the desserts are identical still.
ReplyDeleteThat's both a blessing and a curse - it's a predictable solid place, but it's also been eclipsed - while I like them they're no longer the first place I think of for dessert, when that's what they used to be KNOWN for.
The mahi-mahi was basic 'grilled' - I believe the seasoning was basic S&P. Regardless, it was quite tasty since it was cooked perfectly! :)
ReplyDeleteI have a new obsession with mussels since trying them at the seafood restaurant (mitchel's?) at the waterfront. So good!
ReplyDeleteAnd I looooove carrot cake.
We have been going to Gullifty's off and on since it opened years ago.The food overall it actually better than it used to be, but the service on nights we have been there the past year or 2 seems somewhat inconsistent. We typically have had to send a hamburger that should have been cooked medium well but was rare, back several times on subsequent visits. To be fair, not all the staff are inconsistent, just one server who always seems rather bored... When we used to go there years ago, it was always packed, and now it seems much less so. One night when we went, they were not seating people because there was not enough staff. My guess- management problem. The deserts, good and strawberry lemonade are always good though.
ReplyDeleteI love when they have jazz- that is a lot of fun.