The Pittsburgh Dish

054 Dagny's Eatery, Carnegie's Coziest Kitchen

• Doug Heilman • Season 2 • Episode 54

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(00:57) Step through the door of Dagny's Eatery in Carnegie and you'll quickly discover it's not just another sandwich shop. It's an extension of owner Dagny Como herself, who creates an atmosphere so welcoming you might forget you're not actually sitting in her home kitchen.

Located on East Main Street, this cozy spot represents a brave pandemic-era pivot from banking to food entrepreneurship. Running a one-woman operation means Dagny handles everything—taking orders, preparing food, serving customers, and cleaning up—all while maintaining genuine conversations with everyone who walks through her door. "It's almost like you're performing," she explains, but this performance comes naturally as she multitasks with intuitive ease.

(21:22) What makes the food special isn't complexity but attention to detail. From "The Ray" sandwich with its game-changing pepperoncini relish to the legendary "Daci Cake" (think Hostess cake "on steroids"), everything is made from scratch with care. Many items carry deep personal significance, like sandwiches named for her grandparents whose photos hang in the shop alongside family heirlooms that bring Dagny joy as she works.

Beyond the daily menu of breakfast items, hot sandwiches, and made-from-scratch sweets, Dagny brings out her Blackstone grill during Carnegie's community events to serve smash burgers, hotdogs, and cheesesteaks. These gatherings represent everything she loves about her adopted neighborhood—its walkability, diverse businesses, and tight-knit support system. Whether you're a regular whose order she knows by heart or a first-time visitor, Dagny's passion for feeding people well shines through in every bite. 

(34:07) Later in the show, do you have that true favorite restaurant? Autumn Pawelec shares her love for Alla Famiglia in Allentown. Plus Chef Fernando Canales of the Fairmont Pittsburgh shares a favorite at-home dish that you can do as well. Hope you have a big appetite!


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Doug:

Welcome to The Pittsburgh Dish. I'm your host, Doug Heilman. Want some good eats and cozy vibes, just like hanging out in a friend's kitchen? Well then you need to visit Dagny's Eatery in Carnegie. We learn more from Dagny firsthand. Do you have a truly favorite restaurant spot? Autumn Pawelec shares her of Alla Familia. And what's your favorite day off dish to make? For Chef Fernando Canales of the Fairmont Pittsburgh, it's his recipe for chili quiles. All that ahead, stay tuned. The Pittsburgh Dish is supported by Chef Alekka LLC. Book Chef Alekka for a private event or sign up for one of her classes at the Hilltop Shared Kitchen in Mount Oliver. Find more information on her website at chefalekka. com. Now on to the show. Thank you so much for coming over, which isn't too far right.

Dagny:

No, we probably walked to each other's house from here. Oh wow, yes, oh, thanks for coming to the table, for sure, and which isn't too far right?

Doug:

no, we are, we probably walk to each other's house from here. Yes, oh, thanks for coming to the table, for sure and being on the show. Yeah, yeah, would you introduce yourself to our listeners and what you have going on right now in the world of food?

Dagny:

I am dagny of dagny's eatery. Um, as of right now, we are kind of ending the winter months, which is great. Um, so the summer months, or warmer months, are coming. Um, we're just doing like smash burgers and fries. Nothing like too crazy, but something you would eat while you drink.

Doug:

Um, wait a minute you don't, do you do a smash burger at Dagny's?

Dagny:

I don't. So in the summer months we do pull blackstone out and I do smash burgers, cheese steaks pretty nice hot dogs. So this is special for this event, yeah, so the reason doing this is I do it all through the summer. They do farmer's markets outside, they do some Friday night events, so whenever I can, the weather allows, I pull this grill out. It's just a different menu that I could do inside. Inside I don't have a full kitchen. That's really the whole reason.

Dagny:

Dagny let's remind everybody where your eatery is located. I am in Carnegie. The address is 114 East Main Street. I am literally between Carnegie Coffee and Slice Pizza.

Doug:

Yes, and if someone hasn't ventured to Carnegie, there are a lot of just cute little things happening along there. I go to your place, I go over to Carnegie Coffee. Our friend, Kevin Solecki, who does the music for the show, has a little shop in Carnegie right across the parking lot, and there's a lot of parking. Yes, very easy. Parking's so nice.

Dagny:

So nice. Yeah, it's a good block. There's an eclectic choice of kind of like, whatever you do, I think, yeah, it's a good block. There's an eclectic choice of kind of like, whatever you do, I think. There's Higher Voice, where they do voice singing lessons, music lessons, a stationery store, a new bookstore, a lot of different types of foods which I really like.

Doug:

Yes.

Dagny:

So it's a good block.

Doug:

It's a good walkable block in Carnegie it is, and Carnegie Stage is just a little further down. Yeah, it's very cool there too, it's a performance place. We're really hoping that Riley's Poorhouse gets rebuilt in the next couple of years because they had a tragic fire.

Dagny:

Yeah, that's the rumor. Everyone's like crossing their fingers on that.

Doug:

I so hope I so hope, and Apis is down in that same area yes, yes. And is it? Deblaze is across the street 131?

Dagny:

Yeah, they took over the old 131 and I guess it is now DeBlaze at 131. And I can't say I've been to either of those. I haven't made it yet either.

Doug:

I've heard good things.

Dagny:

Usually the people in Carnegie seem to not venture to the Carnegie places me being one of them.

Doug:

It's like Pittsburghers not going to the Andy Warhol or something.

Dagny:

I've never been there. So yeah, there you go. So yeah, and usually and I say a lot like a lot of the places are open the same times I am, so I don't go there.

Doug:

You can't.

Dagny:

No, and so it's a lot of out of town people Out of town as in not Carnegie people.

Doug:

Yes, from other neighborhoods.

Dagny:

Yeah, so I'm not the only one guilty of it.

Doug:

You reminded me of something I just saw on social media. Did someone from California just come and visit your location?

Dagny:

She did. It's nice because you could tell she's a younger girl. So like she does the TikTok, all the stuff that I don't know.

Dagny:

So like it's cool when I see those things pop up and then I'm like, oh, this is kind of cool and like the reach that those videos get. It is cool to see people from different areas. And then you see people from Carnegie that have been in my place commenting like oh, I know her, how do you? And X, y, z, things like that. So I have a love hate relationship with social media but as far as business like it does really well for promoting places, I think like that, that's how I find a lot of places as well. I Like it does really well for promoting places. I think like that, that's how I find a lot of places as well.

Doug:

I think it's a job, though. Yeah, I think it's the same reason I love social media is for finding those little niche places that you don't necessarily know about and having a couple of super fans promoting you. I have to say I think I learned about your place even though I'm only a couple miles away from our mutual friends Chad and Antoinette. Chad Medved, who does the I'll Call you Right Back podcast yeah, they were posting a lot, yeah, and they love to go there on the weekends. Small like Little World yeah, I love that.

Dagny:

Yeah, and it's good. Because it's good, it's like a good support system it is. It really is. And I find that with social media now, you almost can support people you've never met Right. You, you almost can support people you've never met Right, but it must have a conversation. Some people, it's easier, yeah, the people you know, you could just double tap it and send an emoji.

Dagny:

This is fire back or something like that, and it kind of, and I think that's probably how, like Chad and Antoinette and I started talking, we did the podcast. They've come in a lot and so now we're say we're friends yeah, social media can be a way to become friends yes, it's like the first introduction pretty easy. It's not like hi, I am dagny, I like your stuff and just like that was cool yeah yeah, so it's cool.

Doug:

They're good people though you know, what we haven't really done yet is describe to our listeners, if they haven't visited your location, it's cutest little eatery. You are a one-woman show. Sometimes your daughter is helping.

Dagny:

She's a teenager.

Doug:

She's doing teenager things. She's a teenager.

Dagny:

But also after school or on the weekends. It's a pretty I don't want to say it's an easy job for her, because working with your family, especially your mother, is probably not the easiest, but she does have the ability to make literally as much money as she wants yeah she's a teenager. So yeah, but it's nice and I've seen her grow. Since I've opened it I've also seen customers kind of talk about how she's grown even as far as being able to look and talk at people yeah as you know, most teenagers it's it's a struggle.

Dagny:

So people have said, like, even the way she talks with people it's a lot nicer now, and so I do like that. So it is fun for us to work together. I do enjoy it, but there's like a divide at times too, you know, and so right now it's just me. I don't know what. The end goal was, not for me to be there every day all day but I do not have a recipe written down.

Dagny:

I am very meticulous about how I like things done, like I. Even my daughter. I let her, I let her make food. Sometimes when customers come in but it is a customer, it's been there multiple times that they say it's okay, that they're okay if one tomato's a half inch cut and one is two inches cut, which is completely different. So I don't know what the plan is for the future as far as just me, but I like working by myself currently.

Doug:

I think we want to set that tone for folks. Number one we've got to talk about the food. The food is so good, but we also should let folks know for sure. You are a one person show there, so you do a great job of talking to the customers, checking in on waiting guests and you're making all of the foods yourself.

Dagny:

When I first opened, it was like I don't want to say scary, but it was a lot. Like I have to talk to you. Now you're looking at me and now you're, and it was a lot at first. It's almost like you're performing yes.

Dagny:

And so now, as the time goes on, I do it very well, I think you do, and I see a lot of reviews that kind of say the same thing. Um, so I do try to like at least acknowledge you when you come in. Doesn't mean your food's gonna be done immediately, but I've multiple times I kind of like just shout it out like what's everyone getting, so I could make it all at once, and I kind of look at it like if you were in my house. That's kind of how I look at it. I talk to you if you were in my house. That's kind of how I look at it. I talk to you like you're in my house, joke with you, like kind of joke with people, make them work. I say that you know. Like if I have cheesecake sitting on the counter and someone says like can I put them away? Yeah, you sure can. This is where they go. Put them in that cooler. So I do like that aspect of welcoming Like you are in her kitchen.

Doug:

That's kind of what we're going for. Yeah, I really love that vibe and you don't get that in a lot of places.

Dagny:

Yeah, it would be really weird if I didn't talk to you, that's right so it's weird. So there's people that do come in that don't want to talk and that I'm completely okay with that and you kind of can get the vibe, and maybe it's just me. But like when there's five people waiting for their food and five people on their cell phones and nobody's talking like it's weird to me and I don't want to talk to you because I kind of don't want to interrupt what you're doing.

Dagny:

But all in all, I like to talk and work at the same time and I kind of get a lot like how do you do this? Or something like that.

Fernando:

And.

Dagny:

I almost just sounds kind of weird, but like I just don't think I just know what I'm doing Almost when I think that's when I mess up.

Doug:

Oh yeah, like the intuition is just there.

Dagny:

So I'm just doing what I'm doing and it seems to work pretty well so far.

Doug:

So I think we've set the tone of the vibe of your shop. What we haven't talked about yet is the food. So can we go through some of like the big hitters or, as our friend Chad would say, the bangers.

Dagny:

That's what they're called.

Doug:

That is what he would say.

Dagny:

Yeah. So if I had to like describe my food, I would not say it's like a specific ethnicity of food.

Fernando:

Like a cuisine yeah.

Dagny:

Cuisine of food. I like, I think our description is like simple food elevated, so I don't think anything's too crazy. I just think I put the ingredients together really, really well. So like some of the salads are just a salad, I think like what I've paired them with is really well. I make every like sauce and dressing and stuff. So I think that's that one ups me a little bit.

Doug:

It really makes some of your sandwiches shine and I just I just want to bump in here you do breakfast items hot sandwiches. You do a burrito, you do been here. You do breakfast items hot sandwiches. You do a burrito, you do. Uh, what are the breakfast pizzas?

Dagny:

so those are a big hit. So, um, we actually get the focaccia from brown bear, brown bear bread. They're local to here, I'm sure you've heard of them, so it's kind of like my thought on just like a quick breakfast item and there's breakfast pizzas. People love those, they're easy to go. You could eat them cold or hot. A lot of people don't want to wait for a sandwich sometimes, so like it's easy and they're such a hit.

Fernando:

Yeah.

Dagny:

Such a hit. So I try to do breakfast and lunch. I serve it all day, well, until three o'clock. As long as I have the ingredients, I don't mind when you get it, yeah, or breakfast sandwich at two, which is fine. I try to make everything like how I would expect it to come out at a restaurant.

Dagny:

It's like how many times have you been at a restaurant? And you're like this is what you're giving me, like whether it's presentation or the amount or the price or whatever. So if anyone said to me like, would you eat this? Yes, 100%, I would, and that's enough.

Doug:

I think what I want to say, too, is your portions to me are hearty. Yes, like we talked about these breakfast items, then you also have all these lunch items, like these big sandwiches with the amazing sauces or dressings or whatever you are making up that day Salads. And then there are sweets, big hits. Big hits, I think, is it the cinnamon rolls you're kind of known for.

Dagny:

Yes.

Doug:

I have to say I don't know if I've had a cinnamon roll yet, but my favorite is the daci cake.

Dagny:

That's a big hit, big hit.

Doug:

We should describe it for listeners, yeah.

Dagny:

So I would say it's a very moist, rich chocolate cake. It is Swiss meringue buttercream, which to me, is one of the best buttercreams there is, which, like to me, it's one of the best butter creams there is, and it's ganache Like. It's pretty simple. So I mean, if I would almost simplify it, it would be a chocolate cake, but it's comparable like a hostess cake, is what I say to people On a thousand percent steroids, and it is I mean it's a big one. Oh my gosh, that's what I'm saying.

Doug:

Everything that I'm serving is I really should save half of this. Yes, I didn't. I was in trouble the rest of the day, but it was so good.

Dagny:

I justify that, that that's probably nine. It's a $9 dessert.

Fernando:

Yeah.

Dagny:

So I do get that comment sometimes about the pricing, but I also look at everything I'm serving you, I do think is sometimes I do wonder am I giving you too much food?

Dagny:

or is the price too low, and so only I would know that you know ingredient wise, but sometimes I look at it I'm like this is not more than you're getting other places. So the daisy cake is it started the name actually. So my daughter's name is Dacia, so it started like as a joke kind of um, because I see like these companies that, like these small businesses that get in trouble, so like I don't know if this is true, but I've heard this the broth monger oh yes so I think she used to have like soup nazi as her instagram picture she

Doug:

did and like they locked her down.

Dagny:

That's what I heard, so I don't know her personally, I don't know what the, but like that was kind of my joke, like I don't need hostess coming after me yeah, you don't need that, you know so that's kind of like why I turned into the daisy cake. My daughter and I were joking one day and so I was like, let's call it that, like all my sandwiches pretty much are either named after someone or literally to the point, like a roasted red pepper sandwich pretty self-explanatory um, but the daisy cake's a big hit for sure it's a huge hit.

Doug:

Yeah, oh, I love it. Can we just go back and talk about a couple of the sandwiches too? What are some of the again the big hitters there?

Dagny:

So the top two I say are the Ray and the Alita. One is an Italian sandwich, one's a Caprese. They're named after my grandparents who passed away 20 years ago. Um, so like there's like little relics in there that like my family knows but probably most people don't know about them. Like I have a picture of them. In the back, I have something like my nun is hanging in the kitchen, some of like their dishes and stuff. It's like that's just like my way of like making me smile you know when I hear that stuff and then some of the turkey sandwiches.

Dagny:

People really like a turkey sandwich like we have. Um, it's called a cold turkey. It is turkey pepper jack cheese grains, red onion like a sriracha aioli. Again, it goes back to me, I think, like the sauces are a big part of it I've had that sandwich.

Dagny:

Good, it's a good sandwich yeah, like, and it's nothing crazy. Yeah, um, so that's a big hit. And so when people come in and like ask, like what's the top sellers? Like it just depends. Like, is it around the holidays, is it in the summer, is it lent? Like, what are what are people eating around? Um, so, like, the ray sandwich that I said was like an italian sandwich. It has a relish on the side. I don't know if you had that or not, but I brought you some of it.

Dagny:

Oh it's like a pepperoncini relish. I'm excited, very, very good. So that goes on that sandwich. It just like adds it Like once you get the relish on it, you're like this is great.

Doug:

It's that extra zing.

Dagny:

Yeah, and you could do anything Like I use it as a dressing, you could use this as a dip, but I think all that just a little bit of extra that people really like. Like everyone likes something different, but there's also people that come in and that's all he gets all the time.

Doug:

Yeah.

Dagny:

Like and he's just like, I like it, I don't want to change. And there's people like that and people that just change all the time which is kind of cool too and then see what they really like.

Doug:

Yeah, I like these people that have found you and found their item. Yeah, rotator in most places, but every once in a while, if it's a restaurant or a spot I don't get to, I find that one dish that I order again and again and I'm like I shouldn't get that salad, you know you know, it's guaranteed.

Dagny:

You know you like it like sometimes your hopes really high for something you're like it's not yeah, my other thing, and so like, funny enough, there's a few people that all in their orders, I know their name by heart. Now, like I literally answer the phone, like BLT, see you in a minute, like and that's it. Like, and they know, and like it's kind of funny, but if you're a new customer in there and you're like I'm answering services, you know, but it's kind of cool.

Dagny:

So there's people like that and then people like you that might want to try a little bit different things.

Doug:

In addition to all of the great menu items that you are cooking up in the shop. You mentioned that you use brown bear bread for the focaccia. There are a few items to purchase like in a grab and go. Who are some of your partners that you have in the shop right now?

Dagny:

So brown bear, we use a few of their breads so we do sell their English muffins. We do sell their cinnamon bread. I use their focaccia so we have La prima coffee. I'm trying, my goal this year is to make more of a market little place um, which involves moving some things around, some logistics in that building. Like you said, it's very uh it's tiny, tiny, it's tiny yeah but it's great.

Dagny:

I like when I go in a place like I like when you go in pen, mac and there's all this different stuff like yeah and you just grab all the stuff. So I'm working on that more this year, but it's more logistics thing in there right now. Okay, this is Dagny of Dagny's Eatery and you're listening to The Pittsburgh Dish.

Doug:

I did want to take a step back and just ask how long have you been open?

Dagny:

September 2021 is when I officially opened. Okay, so I say going on four years.

Autumn:

Yeah.

Dagny:

Every time I say that I almost have to do the math. Yeah, but it like really.

Doug:

Doing it all yourself.

Dagny:

Yeah, it doesn't sound like, it just doesn't sound right. Yeah, going on four years.

Doug:

And this was a big pivot. You had worked in the banking industry for quite a bit yes for my whole life, basically yeah.

Dagny:

So I always wanted to do food stuff. I don't know why I just did Like it's almost just that thing. I don't really think about it, like it's just something that I could do well, I think.

Dagny:

So I kind of like had that dream 20 years ago. It just kind of fell through. You know, you're young, you have to get a job. I had a kid young and so I tried to just get in farmer's markets doing desserts. Yeah, Because I wasn't banking and it was something like extra. I could do extra money, something that I actually enjoyed doing. But desserts in farmer's markets melt it's hard in the summer, yeah Right.

Dagny:

It's just it's hard and I met a lot of people through these farmers markets and a lot of food people and you had to take food classes and so, like you meet some people very like, hey, do you know this guy and so, and so is this and things I just didn't know. And so basically, the building that I'm in now opened up like during I don't know when it was vacant, but during the end of COVID, I think is when we opened kind of, and I literally it was just one of those things that I was like I don't like what I'm doing in the professional world.

Dagny:

Yeah, and I'm just not a banker Like I know. That's people's things and they can schmooze and they can but it wasn't my heart Like and it just wasn't my thing, I wasn't making some great money, that it was like forget it, I'll just here and then, like since COVID happened, I think a lot of people came to like a realization about their life.

Doug:

That's me, yeah, yeah.

Dagny:

Brought a lot of people like stopped doing what they hated or started doing what they loved, and a lot of people just started these like side hustles that became these businesses and it is a lot of work but I enjoy it more than what I used to do. Yeah, so I really do enjoy what I do. I do say a lot that I feel like I'm either Dagny's eatery or my daughter's mother. Yes, I feel like I'm very not myself anymore.

Fernando:

Well, you're wearing those two hats yeah.

Dagny:

So I do really, really like what I do. But when I worked in a corporate office, I used to get dressed up and talk to people when I would bring food in for food days, and that was like people were excited about that. Now I just work and I'm like a mom.

Doug:

I don't mean in a bad way, Well, but I think what you're saying there and I think it's important for any independent business owner you have to carve out that third hat of I'm just Dagny and I'm going out to dinner tonight. I'm doing something fun, right? You've got to have downtime, right.

Dagny:

I'm trying to work on doing that because, you're right, you have to do something for you, and so I'm trying to work on that. Like every year, I'm getting a little bit better, but it's just a whole different lifestyle. I was very regimented before. Now, you know, I worked not eight to five, and my kid was younger. She was in daycare and after school programs. So now she's driving and now she doesn't need I don't need need to stay home with her. So like my life completely switched. So it is like learning all those new things again too. Yeah, but it's funny, someone from work that I used to work with actually came in this week and he was like we were just talking about you and he was saying that like we miss when you used to bring us food. So it's funny.

Dagny:

Like I was like that's what you remember and it, but you remember and it's kind of cool to see people I used to work with come in and like see what I do now.

Doug:

Yeah, you know. So I like Quite a pivot yeah.

Dagny:

And it's a lot mentally too, like it's a lot mentally in your time, and so, like a good and a bad thing about being by yourself is you can do anything or nothing, but if you do nothing, you are the only one, like you're the only one, taking the consequences.

Doug:

Yeah, so you're accountable to yourself. Going back to that balance, if I'm trying to find downtime I'm like, is that too much downtime? I should be doing these other things, right, right.

Dagny:

So that's hard mentally. Yeah, there's a balance, but I do like it. I say all the time like I do and sometimes like, oddly enough, I'll be like, I love this.

Doug:

This is great Like by myself, like smiling at myself, you know.

Dagny:

But it's like cool, it's a good feeling, yeah.

Doug:

I want to take a step back, cause you mentioned the pictures and the names of your grandparents and things like that. You say you have this food intuition, this cooking intuition. Yes, where do you think it all sort of came from? Like, what was food like in your growing up? Were people cooking a lot? Yeah, did you cook from a young age?

Dagny:

I think I just growing up just watching my dad cook was more so what I did. He was in the kitchen a lot. He made a lot of good food, a lot of Italian food, and so like also being around my other aunts, my, not like my nana wasn't I guess some elaborate cook, but like like a pepperoni and cheese tray, like I remember that was like our snack as kids. That was like a big thing for me. That's like what resonates with me. So I think I just always like kind of paid attention to like what my family members were doing, um, and so like. Even now, when I go to my aunt's house and stuff, like I'm like look at it, what do, and then like we like text each other different ideas about stuff, and so I just I'm watching people. It just somewhat interested me, um, when did you start cooking?

Doug:

You remember the age you started to be in the kitchen and doing stuff.

Dagny:

Probably, literally probably, when I had my daughter.

Doug:

So when.

Dagny:

I went to college for a year and a half. I didn't not do well at all. I dropped out of Slippery Rock, I went for business management and so I remember like we had one of the college cards, a meal card or something like that. Like you were in college, you wanted to go see your people and see the boys and the girls, and what is everyone doing? And the sport.

Fernando:

You know, it was a social hour it wasn't.

Dagny:

I mean, it was a cafeteria. The food wasn't great, and I remember in college I think, I literally cooked one time and it was like pasta and red sauce, and I don't even know, I don't even know where that came from, um, but you know, you're in college, you really don't have any money either, so maybe that's why we didn't cook. I don't know. I mean, we're college kids, we live next to sheets too, so that's probably where we were going.

Dagny:

Nothing like an MTO or a shmegle or whatever Right at like 2 am yeah, and so when I had my daughter, like I've always even made her own baby food, like I've never bought baby food Really.

Dagny:

Yeah, so like I think that so even when I would make our dinner, I would make it safer for her, like it wouldn't be as seasoned or depending how old she was. Yeah, so, whether it was like chicken and rice or spinach, or vegetables or fruit, whatever, I've always done that for her. So I think that's probably like okay, well, we have a human now that I need to make a dinner every night and, like you know, in their daycare you need to pack their lunch.

Dagny:

So, like I would say like consistently, probably when I had her Wow.

Doug:

It's kind of later in life with all this intuition you have.

Dagny:

Yeah. So when you think about it you're like oh.

Doug:

Deep past the teenage years doing that. Yeah, I have a little side question Is she a pretty good eater, or is she picky?

Dagny:

No, that's not even an option in my house.

Doug:

I love that. So Thank you, and I know everyone does their own thing. I know that's not what we do in my house.

Dagny:

So, like she's always eaten what I've eaten, I've never in my life at one time made a separate meal, for she doesn't like mushrooms and cilantro Okay, sure, so cilantro I can't really hide that. Well, mushrooms I've been able to hide a little bit, but I'll let her eat the whole thing. She'll say that pasta was really good with the sausage and I'm like that's great because that was mushrooms and so that's kind of like how I do it, but she eats sushi.

Dagny:

Her and.

Dagny:

I went to Pusadee's Garden last week.

Doug:

She likes food like that so she's never, she's always eaten very well oh my gosh, I just love that story and I love that you really didn't compromise on the meal. But maybe you just altered seasoning a little bit so it was more palatable for a youngster of some sort.

Dagny:

Yeah yeah, one time she was little and like I'll always laugh at this, she had to be probably five and we went to like eggs or us, I think in grafton. So they said like, does she want a juice? And there's me, yeah, tomato juice, and I'm like give her apple juice like a normal kid like, and that didn't like go by over her.

Dagny:

But I was thinking like this is what we would drink in our house you know, and so, yeah, it's kind of nice though, because now that she's 16, we can go to nice places. So we've been trying to do that. Um, it's not always easy with with schedules, but we try to go to like a new or nice place once a month to just try a different thing, and so far it's like a cool. It's a cool experience.

Doug:

I think it's perfect and like a bonding thing for the two of you and also kind of making memories, probably for her, that she'll remember later in life. Yeah, where did you grow up?

Dagny:

I grew up in, I went to Montour so I went, I lived in Kennedy, I lived in Robinson, all right. So basically around the same, like 10 mile radius of where I live now Crafton, Carnegie yeah. So you're familiar with these hills, yeah, so it's kind of cool that, like some of my classmates come in, Like last week I catered something for a girl that I used to be friends with her mom and like it was kind of like, oh you remember me from like when I was 13.

Dagny:

And so it was like kind of cool.

Doug:

That's fun. Yeah, it was nice. I love that. Yeah, okay, dagny, I think we've established you have some really awesome food. I'm so glad that you have a daughter that's appreciating your awesome food and all of these customers I think you've mentioned, because it's just you. It's really good. If somebody wants to order ahead on the website, you can't order.

Dagny:

On the website there's a link. It'll go to um toast okay so you could order online, which I love when people do that um it is written down what you wanted. There is no mistakes. It's so like a lot of them offices or teachers they'll send their order at nine o'clock and they're like I'm picking up at noon and then I kind of can like I know that that's coming, versus you coming in and saying I'd like to order 10 sandwiches and then you also mentioned you do catering.

Dagny:

I do, I do, so that's picking up a lot more and usually it's around the holidays, the graduations. I really like doing caterings.

Dagny:

Again.

Dagny:

I know in advance what I'm getting. I know specifically what you want. I know that you paid for it, so more than likely you're going to pick it up and you can plan for it Right, right, because it is just you Right.

Doug:

How do people get a hold of you for a catering gig?

Dagny:

My preferred method would be to email me all your information and email versus a DM or a phone call. There's a lot going on in my head at all times. So, like I have lists everywhere. I probably have a thousand reminders on my phone.

Doug:

You got to write it down.

Dagny:

But I like to go back to an email that we can go back. There's a paper trail we can go back and forth, so I would rather an email.

Doug:

Of course. And then?

Dagny:

if we need to sit down and talk or have a phone call. I don't mind that at all. It's just me just being me. So you coming in like what's a slow time? I, yeah, like sometimes it's so in the morning, sometimes it's not, it just depends on the day.

Doug:

And remind us again what the hours of your shop are right now, typically.

Dagny:

So I am 8 to 3. Every day except Tuesdays, we're closed. Okay, so Tuesday's the only day right now I'm closed. I used to be closed Monday or Wednesday.

Doug:

Once in a while you do that and you put it on socials, right and so.

Dagny:

I kind of like that's kind of like how I'm okay with being open six days yeah.

Dagny:

That if.

Dagny:

I want to take an additional day, like I did yesterday. I can and I do try to post that. I update Google Hours. I post it everywhere I can, on the door, everything. But it kind of seems to work for me. A lot of places are closed on Mondays, from what I found out.

Dagny:

Carnegie yeah.

Dagny:

The weekends are very busy for me, so I probably, if I close on the weekend, it's because there's something I have to do, or you're really sick. Yeah, it's something like weekends or Friday, Saturdays, Sundays are good days.

Doug:

All right, since we're talking about all this, I'd love you to plug your social handles and the website and everything, so people can get a hold of you and know when to visit.

Dagny:

All right, so everything is Dagny's Eatery. Instagram will be Dagny's underscore eatery. Facebook will be Dagny's underscore eatery. Facebook will be Dagny's underscore eatery. I'm sure I should know that. The email Dagny's eatery at Gmail.

Doug:

D-A-G-N-Y. Yes S, yes, yeah.

Dagny:

No E, so yes, and everything on the website. To the website. Like, we have our menu, we have a contact information, a little backstory, um, you could order online. You could order gift cards online. I try to make it pretty easy is the website where the email is for, like the catering gigs yeah, there's a little like blurb at the bottom like how could we help you so you can go on there and it shoots me an email, or you could just go straight to dagny's eatery all right gmail either way I love it.

Doug:

I wanted to ask one more question, just about carne. So what are some of the events that really start to pop in the warmer months of the year?

Dagny:

So once I think I want to say May it might start. They call it a Carnegie Crawl. It's the second Friday of every month. It is not a bar crawl it could be if you want it to be, I guess but it is very adults or family friendly. So it kind of depends what you're into. So it kind of depends what you're into. And they shut down a few streets. They usually have a band and as the years have gone on since I've opened, I think that the activities and the amount of people have just increased and gotten better. So like they do put oversized games the middle of street, chalk like stuff, like art, stuff like that that adults or kids could do.

Dagny:

Yeah, and they'll have a few vendors outside or booths, whatever. And they'll have a few vendors outside or booths, whatever. Maybe they'll have a food truck, because maybe not everyone wants what I have or what other people in Carnegie have.

Doug:

But this is when you're bringing out the Blackstone and you are doing maybe some smash burgers or some really killer hot dogs.

Dagny:

Yeah, so like I make the same three things, and it is cheesesteaks, smash burgers, hot dogs, which are all beef, which literally I bought for kids, and it is always adults that buy and rave about the hot dogs, which are all beef, which literally I bought for kids, and it is always adults that buy and rave about dog dogs. Um, but they're just easy foods that you could walk with that aren't too messy. I could wrap them in tinfoil and it's different than your other menu.

Doug:

So it's.

Dagny:

That's why I kind of like it, yes and there's a lot of people that come and just I just came for this, I just came for this, which is great, um, and so that goes back to me not having a full kitchen, so like I don't have a flat top in my place, so like I can do that different stuff outside and then I can almost, like, be involved.

Dagny:

So the first year I was open and they had these activities on Friday nights. I was just inside looking at everyone like, and I had the door open but I'm like screaming at people out the door, talking to them so like, let's get you on the street right and it's nice.

Dagny:

Um, they set up a band, like they'll have some chairs out there, then you could sit there and watch the band and your kid could go play a game or whatever, and so I think as the years go on, that's going to keep getting better. They do that. They do farmers markets. They do a few like an arts walk dedicated to the arts, more art, arts things we have. Um, there's a few different events they do. They do like a police police car show, which is kind of cool. They like shut down the street. I have all these different cars there. That's cool. I'm like old and new. So whenever it allows I will be out there, and so usually it probably won't be until like May.

Dagny:

June.

Dagny:

So what I've started doing, like just last year, the crawl starts at maybe 5 pm, so those like one Friday a month I'll just grill outside all day, because there are a lot of people that come for lunch and they're like you never get a burger.

Doug:

So it kind of works out too.

Dagny:

And it's nice. It brings a lot of new people in. I mean you could smell it through the whole block like great, so I like it. It's a good time out there.

Doug:

I'm excited for it.

Dagny:

Yeah, have you ever come down? I don't think so. You should. It's a good time.

Doug:

All right, Dagny, it's been so nice to talk with you. One of the last questions I always like to ask our guests the name of the show is the Pittsburgh Dish. What's the best dish you've eaten this past week?

Dagny:

I will say that we went to Pusadees.

Doug:

Is it?

Dagny:

Pusatis or Prasatis. I say Pusadees. Okay, see, I didn't say that one. I don't know, but you know what I'm talking about.

Doug:

I know Pusadee's Garden, so great Pusadee's Garden yes.

Dagny:

We went there last week and it was very good. No-transcript. Their drinks are really good, the whole experience there and so I started like trying to read up on them to see like what is the deal over here? It's so cool to me.

Doug:

And so, like as I kept reading, I would love to find a picture of, like what they look like before all the renovations, it was definitely.

Dagny:

It did not look how it looks now. That's what I heard. It was like small patio yeah, an old house.

Doug:

You kind of went through you. There was a patio in the back that you didn't really see from the street.

Dagny:

Yeah, it's completely transformed, it's just like amazing to me, like yeah, they brought like pots in from thailand and they brought like these chefs and like these archetypes and like as so, as I was sitting there looking at it, I was like this is just so cool, like you don't even know this exists secret garden?

Doug:

yeah, and it's just so cool.

Dagny:

So their food was I mean, it's always very, very good did your daughter like all of the things that she does? That's like so we actually went for her birthday um, so it was like her her favorite. She loves it and it's like she likes it that they gave her like non-alcoholic drink. That's not like a Shirley temple, you know, like she kind of feels a little bit more mature there and everything, and so it's a good, a good time.

Doug:

You're shaping her up to have very high taste.

Dagny:

I'm trying, yeah, yeah, so hopefully, hopefully, yeah yeah.

Doug:

Dagny. Yes, sir, thank you so much. Thanks for having me on the Pittsburgh dish.

Dagny:

Thanks for having me. This is fun. So much fun, yeah Nice. I liked it.

Doug:

Up next. Do you have a truly favorite restaurant? Autumn Pawelec shares her place. Hey everybody, we're joined today with Autumn Pawelec, who is a model and content creator on Instagram. Could you give us a recommendation today? Yeah, okay, so how about let's just start big? Do you have a favorite spot in the city, a restaurant you always want to go to?

Autumn:

Yes, absolutely, the one spot that I just gravitate to towards the most like it's is Alla Famiglia .

Autumn:

They're up in Allentown, they're right on Warrington Avenue and it's just, it's incredible every single time. I actually was just there a few weeks ago for my birthday dinner and it was so, so good. You like, it's truly an experience. They've been around for a pretty long time. They expanded their restaurant. They now have a really, really cool like cigar lounge area where, like, let's say, like you're like, okay, I don't want to leave just yet, but I want to go have like a good cigar, maybe after like dessert or anything, and they have a special cigar lounge. Now that is separate. It's kind of like behind the restaurant area, which is super cool. Yeah, all of the family is definitely a good one. They have some pretty awesome specials too during the week. Um, they have a, it's like a. They call it a last supper meal on Mondays and it's basically you get like over the weekend, they've had these big meals over the weekend They've had these big meals.

Autumn:

So, like the last time I was there um was in the summertime, for this special particularly and we got for $30, it was like a piece of lasagna, a piece of like a sausage, I believe, a little bit of spaghetti, and then you get a salad, you get their house bread, dipping oil and a glass of wine. All for $30 on a Monday, yeah.

Doug:

And a lot of places are closed on Monday, right, so you can go there and get this feast.

Autumn:

Oh my gosh. It was like the portions. Well, the portions to begin with at Alla Famiglia are so big. It's incredible because, like, you can have dinner there and then you basically have lunch and dinner the next day, the next day. And with the $30 special you will literally have lunch and potentially dinner, depending on how much you eat the next day, for $30. It's crazy.

Doug:

I love all of that and I just want to remind our listeners too. They have probably seen all of Familia's pasta sauce in a lot of places like. Giant Eagle. They actually make the spaghetti, the pasta sauce, to buy, and I think they also have a second location down in McMurray. It's called Arleccino's. Both are great spots to go to. When you go maybe not on a specials night what is a dish or two that you or your friends love to enjoy?

Autumn:

So I really, really love their steak. I'm a filet girl, I am, I'm a filet girl and I love, I love their steak. That's what I got on my birthday and they have different ways to, you know, have your steak kind of like prepared. Like I want to say, I got the filet prepared, the Diane way, I don't know if I'm saying that correctly.

Fernando:

Um, but steak Diane yeah.

Autumn:

And it was like this, really light, like mushroom demi-glaze sauce. It was so so good. And with the steak you get the salad, and then you get your choice of pasta with it too. So it's a meal. I mean I had to take more than half of it home because you fill up on the bread, the salad, this and that we got their stuffed banana peppers. So yum, we get it every time we go.

Doug:

Is it filled with sausage? Is that what they say?

Autumn:

Yes, sausage and I want to say mozzarella cheese.

Doug:

Yeah, a little stringy.

Autumn:

Yes, and then they have like a bed of mozzarella cheese on top and the sauce, it's so good.

Autumn:

So between like the really, really good bread and dipping oil, plus the salad, plus the stuffed banana peppers. I had to take half of it home. Yeah, it was so good. They have a massive wine selection. I can't even begin to tell you how many wines they have, but it's a lot, and they do make I also my favorite drink to you know when I drink, whenever I go out to dinner is dirty martinis. I love a good dirty martini.

Doug:

I have seen this on your feed.

Autumn:

Yes, especially with stuffed blue cheese olives. You got to have the stuffed olives. It's so good and they make a really, really good one. Tony and Clint at the bar make a very, very good dirty martini. Listen, folks, when she knows the bartender's name, you know this is a good place. It's so good, it's so good.

Doug:

Did you tell me a story too? You were there one night when it wasn't as busy. The cigar room is super cute. Did you go and have a dessert there?

Autumn:

yes, yeah, yeah, they were able to do that just because you wanted to sit in there there was really nobody in there at the time and I was like, hey, tony, can you, you know, can we have dessert in the back there? And he was like, yeah, sure. So I was like, okay. So we went and sat and like split this. I forget what it was, some sort of cake.

Doug:

This was my next question. What did you have? It was some sort of cake.

Autumn:

It was really light, almost kind of like an angel food cake, vibe type of white. Yeah, it was very, very good and we got to sit back there. I had an espresso martini. That's my after dinner drink. My little pick me up. Really really good espresso martini with the cake. We split it and it was cool to just like chill Like they had a fireplace. They had a TV back there. It's a really cool spot to hang out after dinner if you aren't ready to go home just yet.

Doug:

I love that. Yeah, very cool, and we should say too, allentown. In that little block where they're situated, there's a couple of other cool things. One of my favorite places, just around the corner from there, is Bottle Rocket Social Hall.

Autumn:

Oh my gosh, that's so fun.

Doug:

Yeah, so if you are having your like your after dinner cigar or cocktail, you could linger a little bit and then walk over there if you're going to a show or a comedy show or something, Absolutely yeah, that place is so cool.

Autumn:

It's like when you walk in it feels like you were transported back in time into the 70s, which I think is so, so cool.

Doug:

Yeah, at Bottle Rocket. It's an old Lyceum and so they also do really good hot dogs. We'll just give them a little plug too.

Autumn:

Yes, they do. Their hot dogs are really good yeah.

Doug:

So, folks, we need to visit Allentown, and Autumn says Alla Famiglia.

Autumn:

Al la Famiglia. Yes, so yum, so good. I promise you you will not be disappointed. It's truly like an experience.

Doug:

Autumn. Thanks so much.

Autumn:

Thank you.

Doug:

You can follow Autumn Pawelec on Instagram at Autumn Pawelec what's that dish that you like to make on your day off? Chef Fernando Canales of the Fairmont Pittsburgh told us about his dish. Hey everybody, we're joined today with Chef Fernando Canales of the Fairmont Pittsburgh. Chef, I was wondering do you have a recipe that you love to make? I know that they can get a little complicated at the restaurant, but is there something you make that you think people could make at home?

Fernando:

Of course, of course, I mean, I have not just one. I have so many recipes that I can share, but we're going to start with one easy one, you know? Okay, so, and one of the recipes that I would like to share is chilaquiles. Chilaquiles Because I think so many people love it, and I mean it's part of the breakfast, and I think the breakfast is the most important dish, the most important meals of the day. So, yeah, of course, what do you do for your chilaquiles? Okay, for the chilaquiles, it's basically corn tortilla. You need to deep fry the corn tortilla, you need to cut before the corn tortilla like a squares, like a triangles.

Fernando:

It doesn't really matter the shape, you know, but small shape are better, so like that is going to be crispy, yes, so after deep fry the corn tortillas, you need to make the salsa, the salsa.

Fernando:

The salsa.

Fernando:

The salsa is the most important thing on the dish, so it can be salsa verde or salsa roja.

Doug:

Okay, it depends what you like Green salsa or red salsa. Exactly yeah.

Fernando:

So I love more salsa roja and I used to make that salsa roja chipotle, but the dry one, you know. Oh, do you rehydrate them? I boil them.

Fernando:

Oh yeah, I boil them.

Fernando:

So to make the salsa is really simple Chipotle. I even going to tell you the amount that you need. Okay, you need two pieces chipotle, four pieces tomatoes, red tomatoes, and like a quarter of onion, okay, and four pieces of garlic. Just boil it and that's it. That's it.

Doug:

And then you puree it in a blender. Exactly.

Fernando:

You can see, when the chipotle is a little bit soft, just blend it and add some salt. That's it, Simple. Then you're going to use your pot and you're going to add some oil. Even if you have in your house, like a bacon fat, you know those kinds it's going to be more flavor, of course.

Doug:

Oh if you use bacon fat.

Fernando:

Exactly Because sometimes, actually, when you cook bacon in your house, in my house, I save it, you know, because even when I make whatever kind of sauce, that bacon fat, it has more flavor. So much more flavor, so yeah, so if you have that bacon fat is good, if you don't, it's fine, you can use the regular oil. So just put some oil and add the sauce. Keep it boiling. Taste about if it's good with the salt or not. Taste and that's it.

Doug:

So you cook it a little bit in the oil or bacon fat, and that's when you season it with salt.

Fernando:

Exactly To. Then you're going to add the sauce boiling, like I don't know, around five, six minutes. It's really easy and it's really fast. And then, when the sauce is done, you're going to add into the sauce the fried tortilla. Okay, you're going to add into the sauce, but you're going to turn off the temperature. Turn it down or turn it off. No, turn it off. Okay, turn it off, and then that's it You're going to serve in your plate with crema fresca.

Fernando:

Crema fresca is kind of like a sour cream. Yes, crema fresca, queso fresco, and I love my chilaquiles with two fried eggs.

Doug:

I was going to say how do you like your eggs? I like a slightly runny fried egg, Exactly so.

Fernando:

I like sunny side up, so I always love my chilaquiles with two eggs on top and with avocado as well. Oh my God, what a way to start the day.

Doug:

Yeah, of course it's the best way. Chef, thank you so much for this recipe and thank you for being on The Pittsburgh Dish. Thank you so much. Fernando Canales is the executive chef of the Fairmont Pittsburgh. Be sure to book a reservation for his latest menu at FLR2 . Do you have a recipe? Share it with us. Just visit our website at wwwpittsburghdishcom and look for our share a recipe form. If you enjoyed the show, consider buying us a coffee for this episode or supporting the show monthly. You can find links to those options at the bottom of our show description and if you want to follow my own food adventures, you can find me on social media at Doug Cooking. That's our show for this week. Thanks again to all of our guests and contributors and to Kevin Solecki of Carnegie Accordion Company for providing the music to our show. We'll be back again next week with another fresh episode. Stay tuned.

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