Saturday, December 19, 2009

J'eet? We did. Yum.

If you're not from Pittsburgh, my apologies for this post. Or rather, start planning a trip; you're going to need to get here.

A friend of mine, Bradly Richards, who's been named "the clown prince of Pittsburgh coffee" started a new job at a new cafe called J'eet in Lawrenceville. J'eet for those who don't know is the key word in the Pittsburghese conversation:
"J'eet jet"
"No, j'ew?"

I'd been meaning to get there because of (or despite) Chef Kevin's daily facebook messages with the menu. It's kind of obnoxious to clog up that inbox that I use rarely with a message a day. It's more delightfully annoying that the messages describe mouthwateringly good specials and regular menu items. They feature sandwiches and crepes, which doesn't make them unique in the East End, but the more the merrier in the crepe game, says me.

Teddy and I visited J'eet this week. We were in the middle of a string of errands, and Teddy had seen me put a bag of pretzels into my man purse just in case he got hungry. When we got out of the car at J'eet, he asked for them. When I told him that he could have pretzels but that there would probably be delicious treats inside the cafe, Teddy moaned "I don't want a delissis treat fum there!" His resistance was broken when he saw what Chef Kevin created just for him: a chocolate banana crepe with whipped cream. Teddy didn't actually like the crepe (whatevs - more for me) but enjoyed several bites of chocolate covered banana with whipped cream. The crepe was delicious, and I do want to return for one of their long list of savory crepes as well.

The real treat for me was Brad's Chai, a drink with some actual effort and artistry, unlike most Chai that comes from a prepared powder or syrup. Brad's contains honey and loose tea and spices (cardamom, cloves 'n 'at) and is served up in a french press. It's more delicate and subtle than the syrupy variant and more satisfying. We also tasted the hot chocolate, which is more drinkable than the super-thick chocolate you get in some gourmet shoppes while also being distinctly superior to the ho-hum hot cocoa available many places.

Light fills J'eet's narrow storefront, thanks to full width windowed front and back walls. It's stylish and hip without being cloying. The back deck looks lovely for better weather.

In summary, yinz want a delicious treat from there.

1 comment:

JFo said...

Went back the other day for savory crepes - so good. Wish I could remember what we got in detail in order to describe it here, but suffice it to say it was delish.

Had the chai again, of course. That alone is worth going for - different from chai you've had in any run-of-the-mill coffee shop, I guar-ohn-tee.