
Saturday evening, SP, mom, and I went out to dinner. Traffic was a bit heavy in Robinson and we didn't feel like traveling far, so we decided to give Stone Pepper's Grill a try. They just opened up a new location in Settlers Ridge in Robinson. There also are locations in Upper St. Clair (near the Chick Fil-A, where there used to be a Red Lobster & a Chi Chi's) and in Adams Twp.
I have to admit: I was apprehensive. We went to the USC one back in February 2009 and I was not very impressed. It was crowded, the staff was very young and inexperienced, the food so-so, and well, my stomach got sick later that evening. I was not happy and we haven't been back since.
But since I refuse to eat at Saga, Cadillac Ranch, and PF Chang's and we weren't in the mood for Panera, Stone Pepper's was pretty much the remaining closest place.
We arrived a bit before 6 pm. We were seated right away in the bar area. My first observation: this Stone Pepper's is huge compared to the USC one. Also: gee, it's not very crowded. Those thoughts were followed by thoughts like: gee this is a pretty big bar & there's lots of TVs showing Pitt losing to Notre Dame (boo!), hey this is a pretty typical bar decor, kind of boring but it's clean and shiny new.
We ordered drinks: iced tea for me & SP and a Merlot for mom. The iced tea was fresh brewed and mom's Merlot was pretty good for a house Merlot.
We decided to start with an appetizer of Lettuce Wraps: "Our delicious homemade mix of diced fresh chicken, water chestnuts, green onions, almonds and celery in a soy ginger sauce. Served with crisp iceberg lettuce."



SP loves soup and he ordered a cup of Spicy Baja Chicken Soup: "A spicy south-of-the-border blend of diced grilled chicken, corn, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and other spices."


He also ordered a House Salad: "Tomatoes, celery, garbanzo beans and black olives on crisp greens with choice of dressing." He chose the Southwest Ranch dressing.

My mom decided to try the Chicken & Gouda Sandwich: "Tender grilled chicken breast covered with fresh shaved smoked gouda and sautéed mushrooms. Served on a toasted roll with our whole grain honey mustard sauce, lettuce, tomato and pickle."

For his meal, SP ordered Mediterranean Tilapia: "Tender tilapia sautéed with Kalamata olives, tomatoes, capers, garlic, onion and parsley."

I decided to try a pizza: The 'Full House': "Go “all in” for this! Our famous brick oven pizza topped with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, black olives, onion, mozzarella and provolone cheeses with our pizza sauce." I got it with no onions.

We were too full for dessert.
Our server was a friendly young woman. She didn't just dart in & out but chatted a bit with us, mentioning to SP that she's been wanting to try the tilapia dish. She also kept our drinks filled, the plates cleared, gave us extra napkins without us asking (remember, I can be a messy eater so this is a very good thing!), made sure our food tasted OK. She definitely kept up with SP's iced tea guzzling.
At one point, the manager stopped by to check on us. We chatted with him a bit. It turns out they've been open for 2 months but haven't done a lot of promotion yet. They've been opening slowly, trying to get all the kinks worked out before being (hopefully) mobbed with diners (like their neighbors Cadillac Ranch & Red Robin). This seems like a good approach, although with such a large dining area and few diners on a Saturday evening, I worry that they can sustain themselves. Hopefully, word will get out there and they'll get more diners. They are certainly, to me, a welcome addition to the Robinson area because while they are a chain, they are a smallish local chain (like Atria's) and they are very near our house, so we have a decent place close by with no traffic issues.
Tuesdays are 35 cent wing nights from 7 pm - 10 pm. There's daily beer specials and happy hours Mondays-Friday 5 pm - 7 pm. They're worth a try.
Hi Yum Yum, I'm glad you had a tastier time at this location with your fam. (P.S. Appreciate the soup spoon-lift shot!) Just wanted to say I like your blog (I found it through FoodBurgh, our #1 blog) and would love to see your posts featured on urbanspoon. If you'd like to share your restaurant writeups, here's the code to easily link it: http://www.urbanspoon.com/e/restaurant_link/1534741 (from the "add your review to this page" link on http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/23/1534741/restaurant/Pittsburgh/Robinson/Stonepeppers-Grill-Settlers-Ridge-Robinson-Township). Feel free to drop me a line with questions or a hello. Cheers + happy spooning, Christine {at} urbanspoon {dot} com
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