Pittsburgh is a very bike friendly city. It has several bike paths, trails and even a cafe catered to those that enjoy the hobby. Found in Allison Park and in the South Side is the Over the Bar Bicycle Cafe.
Bikes hang from the ceiling and bicycle paraphernalia paints the walls. It’s really a creative masterpiece and a very neat place.
When we first arrived the place was pretty empty, but within the hour the place was packed. Bicyclist after bicyclist chained their bike to the rack out front of the restaurant and piled into the place. Both OTB locations are even recognized locally as Bicycle Friendly employers and nationally by The league of American Bicyclists as silver level Bicycle Friendly Businesses.
Not only does the cafe promote exercise, but also healthy eating options. The regular menu offers several vegan options like the 650 bean cakes and heritage trail hummus.
They also offer healthy alternatives to typical items like their burger. Beef isn’t the only option at the cafe – choose between grilled chicken, ground turkey and a veggie burger. Or take it a step further and skip the bun and fries and choose any burger on a bed of mixed greens for no charge.
I took advantage of these healthier options and selected the ground turkey burger with mozzarella cheese. The bun was slightly sweet and the burger was extremely flavorful. It was a way better turkey burger than the Trader Joes burgers I grill at home. The burger came along with seasoned fries that also hit the spot.
In addition to the burger, we decided to place an order of tangled spokes, otherwise known as soft pretzels from the famous Pretzel shop and homemade pale ale beer cheese. It was some great cheese sauce and of course, the pretzels did not disappoint.
My dinner guest selected rail trail wrap. Don’t you just love the punny names?
The wrap contained grilled buffalo chicken topped with provolone cheese, lettuce and sliced tomato wrapped in a warm pita and a side of ranch or blue cheese dressing. The wrap arrived in foil and needed to remain in foil in order to pick it up and devour – but it was certainly worth the work as it was also extremely tasty.
In addition to the regular menu, the cafe also offers a paleo menu of even healthier options. Thanks to their friends at Crossfit Athletics, they now offer a menu with the intent to provide guests with dietary restrictions, but food with flavor.
Some options from the menu are:
Gabe’s Moroccan Chicken Lettuce Wrap – Two spicy Moroccan chicken breasts grilled to perfection and served with grilled yellow and green pepper, zucchini and carrots with crisp iceberg lettuce cups and chipotle lime mayo.
Sam’s Portabella “Sam”wich – Our classic Hard Tail burger with a twist! Instead of our traditional brioche buns we substitute two portabella mushroom caps. Just like the Hard Tail, this tasty gem is a build it yourself sandwich! You can choose between our premium aged beef burger, turkey burger, veggie burger or grilled chicken.
I enjoyed the ambiance and the food of the place. It was refreshing to find a themed restaurant that caters to a positive and athletic hobby.
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