The Pittsburgh Dish

077 Danielle Cain & Rob Hirst of Hey Babe

• Doug Heilman • Season 2 • Episode 77

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We pull up a seat with Chef Danielle Cain and front‑of‑house lead and bar creator Rob Hirst of Hey Babe, the new East Liberty lounge inside the Maverick Hotel that’s fast becoming Pittsburgh’s coziest third place. From a crispy eggplant that rules social media to a five‑spice pork belly and salmon tartare, the menu’s range is deliberate.

The drink menu including an espresso martini that pours with a creamy cascade like Guinness and a color‑shifting Oaxacan old fashioned, while NA and low‑ABV options sit proudly next to the classics so guests can pace the night without losing the ritual. 

Danielle and Rob have been taking notes and capturing inspo along their established F&B careers and shared travel as life partners. Design drives the feel of Hey Babe with curves, custom lamps, and stained glass that nods to the church across the street, along with remembered flavors punctuating menu and drink items... ever heard of Pandan?

To cap off our episode, resident wine expert Catherine Montest shares a zero‑stress mulled wine recipe—two bottles of red, a hit of brandy, warm spices, citrus zest, and gentle heat—perfect for fall gatherings, holiday parties, or a quiet Sunday game. 

If this conversation leaves you hungry and a little inspired, hit play, save the recipe, and come hang at Hey Babe. 

Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a quick review to help more Pittsburgh food lovers find us.

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Doug:

Welcome to The Pittsburgh Dish. I'm your host, Doug Heilman. Are you looking for that new, cozy yet chic spot with a flavorful eclectic menu and stellar cocktails? Danielle and Rob welcome you in the Hey Babe. And if you're warming up to fall flavors and the anticipation of holiday gatherings, our wine expert Catherine Montest offers up a wine recommendation in the form of a recipe. All that ahead, stay tuned. Well, thank you so much for coming over.

Dani:

Thank s for having us, Doug.

Doug:

Yeah, thanks for having us. And for being on the show. Would you take a moment to introduce yourselves to our listeners and what you have going on? What's your role right now in the world of food? And Dani, can we start with you?

Dani:

Sure. I'm Danielle Kane. I'm married to Rob, business partners with Rob as well. We just opened Hey Babe in East Liberty in the middle of June. So we're a month four. Wow. We're tired, we're excited. Everybody's been so welcoming and excited about us being there. So that's what we have going on. Yes. That's it.

Doug:

And Dani, your main role at the restaurant, you're in the kitchen, is that right?

Dani:

I am the chef. We hire this amazing chef de cuisine. His name's Daniel Okren. Um we've known each other for years. And uh he runs the kitchen, and we're together. We're great partners in that. Um, and I think people can see that through the food.

Rob:

Yes.

Doug:

And Rob, how about you?

Rob:

And I'm Rob Hirst. Um partners uh in life and in Hey Babe with Danielle.

Doug:

And I take care of the front of the house, which you do very well. We've been there a few times now, and I see you out in about, which I love as a restaurant, uh seeing a restaurant tour, kind of be with the guests when they can. Uh so you're helping seat folks and the bar uh traffic and all of the things sort of front-facing. Everything front-facing, yeah.

Rob:

I I take care of uh as well as um drink creation, yeah. Curating the menu as far as drinks, wine, beer, um, and that sort of thing.

Doug:

And Dani, are you and your chef de cuisine? Are you responsible for changing up the food menu? All those items.

Dani:

All those things together. Um, and we also have great sous chefs. So really keeping people engaged and you know, talking through it. We're really good about trying new things, talking to each other about it, because that's an art in and of itself to be able to criticize each other's food and take criticism. Right. And so um, we're great at that, at being like, what about this? Yeah, this is going somewhere, let's work on it. This is probably a dead end. You need to sleep on this for a few weeks.

Doug:

Such a productive way to keep innovating that menu. I will say, and just to remind our listeners, you're located in the Maverick Hotel in East Liberty. This was the space that was formerly occupied by the Ace Hotel in the Whitfield. You're in the bar lounge section, and you've done such a great job. So I want to talk about decor. But let's go into food right now. Since you were talking about that menu creation, uh, there are uh so many dishes on the menu that I think really hit spectacular notes with spice and texture and flavor together. Can we talk about some of the what you see as a signature that's sort of popping out on the menu or something that's a hot cellar?

Dani:

Sure. I mean, I think the eggplant, you probably have seen it all over social media. I put it on my right. That's it's probably the most popular dish we have right now. Um, the five spice pork belly is doing really well.

Rob:

Salmon tartare does very well.

Doug:

Salmon tartare as well. I these are like a lot of the small bites, but the menu has uh like sandwiches and sort of shareable large plates. How do you both describe the space? Like how what do you want people to think of as hey babe? Is it a cocktail bar with food? Is it a restaurant? You know, what's the mood or or the the setting you're trying to strike?

Rob:

It's it's really all of those things. I mean, it's uh we just wanted a a neighborhood place that was very, very comfortable. Um back in the day, which let's say 10 years ago or or 12 years ago, there were more loungier places that you could just show up at with, you know, gathering a bunch of friends or just on a date night or or what have you. And you know, little by little, and I think the pandemic sort of thinned that out a lot. Um, and we, you know, we live in the East End and we were always struggling on you know our nights off together. Like, where do you want to go out for you know, a drink, or just let's just meet for a drink, or let's let's meet for a drink and some appetizer, just you know, a a nice night out. So we wanted to provide that, honestly. You know, when we got the opportunity of this space, we looked at the space and it's a beautiful building. I mean, we're we're really lucky to have this opportunity.

Doug:

T his is the historic YMCA building here in East Liberty.

Rob:

Yeah, it's beautiful. Um, you know, and we're right across the street from the beautiful church. Um, but you know, we looked at the building and we're like, this is such a nice piece of architecture, and it's so beautiful, but it's all straight lines, you know. Yeah, everything is like, you know, hard edge straight lines. And we just looked at that space and we're like, we need to, you know, make it softer. One of our through lines was like we want to give everybody a hug. So that's you know, an inviting space that everybody feels comfortable in that we want elevated service, but we don't want to be stuffy and pretentious, and like, you know, you can show up how you show up. You know, we have people that that stay because it's also a hotel, so they're just coming in from traveling along travel. So they they're road weary and they come in and they, you know, it's a virtual check-in, so it's a little strange of an experience. So we have people like right off a plane come in and they have all their bags, and and then we have people that come in in suits, you know, after work and or after their pickleball match and sweaty. So it's just you know, it it's it's really cool to walk around the the lounge and see how many different types of people are are enjoying and and how they're enjoying the space and the food and the drink. So I know that's a long answer. That's a long answer to your very easy question.

Dani:

I think people thought it was going to be a cocktail bar with a few bites and then are surprised that there is a full menu and the how diverse it is. Um, and we wanted to make it accessible, you know, for the person that wants a burger on a Tuesday night, as well as, you know, a beautiful strip steak.

Doug:

I have been that person, by the way. Yeah. Well, I do. I love that. I think some of the notes that Rob you just hit is we are terrible planners and you guys aren't a reservations place. You're open usually around four to, you know, question mark 10, 11 on certain nights. And you can kind of come in just for a drink. You can come in for a couple bites, you can come in with friends and have like a proper dinner, but it does feel upscale yet relaxed. I think the thing that I love is not just like the mood and the colors, but it's even like a little decoey. When you were saying that you introduced curves, like I saw some of the work on the bar and just everything is um curve, uh curvaceous, but like kind of like voluptuous in a way, in a in a in a cool way. And then I I think about the menu as well. Like it is really diverse, just like your clientele. Danny, did you have that sort of vision or expectation that we're gonna have things that might lean Mediterranean or Moroccan or or all American? Like, was that always in your head?

Dani:

Well, I think my background is pretty diverse. So I enjoy certain flavors. And then working with Daniel, he's from Boston, so he sort of has that sensibility and really loves Mediterranean flavors, where I lean into more Asian, maybe um, you know, those sorts of flavors. And then our pastry chef is Lily Tran, who was the chef at Soba. Yes, um, after I was. So we have a mixed group of people that, you know, really lean into the things that they're into, and we go for that.

Doug:

Okay, not just a mixed group, a powerhouse group. But yeah, it's really, really nice.

Dani:

We have a really, you know, our whole goal was to hire nice people, work with nice people, and um create a family. Create a family. And I know that sounds cheesy because people like to say that, but the kitchen especially, we're very tight and we talk through things and get really excited about what we're doing.

Doug:

I love that.

Dani:

But we wanted to keep it small because I think we know about the uh problems in the restaurant world about keeping staff right now. So creating a menu that could be produced easily, but is delicious.

Rob:

It's very hard to describe because everybody's asked me, like, what kind of food is it? And it's just it's so eclectic and it's it hits so many marks and it has so many different flavors, even in one dish. And I think uh my wife is very good at doing that, even like during the pandemic, we had this thing where she was uh keeping a journal of uh all the dishes she'd make like every night was a different dish.

Doug:

Right. You had the time to really experiment.

Rob:

And it was it was really lovely uh to see that just all the different flavors that she was introducing. You know, it's it was it was a nice uh break from a monotonous sort of time, you know.

Doug:

I I will say too, I think as we kind of go forward on the menu, it's diverse and yet it's still approachable. I mean, my husband's vegetarian. We've had, I think it's off the menu now, but it was a mushroom poor boy that was so good. I mean, there's a lot of vegetarian things on. I think I've also noticed gluten-free on there. So even though we're talking about these various ingredients and high spice, like there's something for everyone when you're coming in.

Dani:

We have a whole separate gluten-free menu. We hand people. Um I have family members with celiac disease, so it's very important to me to make the menu accessible, especially my niece who's 14, you know, and sort of the awkwardness of having to announce it and be like, what can I eat to make it easy for people and feel welcome and they are pretty grateful. Yeah.

Rob:

I mean, the the fact that we have a separate menu for, you know, if you're vegan or if you're gluten-free and incredible. I didn't know that was this.

Doug:

I could ask for something else. That's that's a good idea.

Dani:

I kind of joke that we became this vegetarian restaurant, which we're not, but we are very vegetable.

Rob:

You're welcoming to it. I think everything is very accessible, you know. It's even with the cocktails, you know, we're embracing the fact that people are are uh wanting low ABV cocktails or also non-alcoholic cocktails. Yes. Even if they're not not drinking per se, you know, we have a lot of people that come in and they'll start off with a martini or and then they'll end with a non-alcoholic just because they don't want to consume that much alcohol, but they still want to sort of be at a table having something with friends.

Doug:

So, so smart. We just talked about that on a previous episode of the NA movement. I also like that you brought up the low alcohol movement, sort of like the aperitif, because sometimes that's just really all you want or need. And it is on the menu uh straight out in front of you, the non-alcoholic beers and the mocktails. Uh, we didn't talk yet about the the bar program per se. Just like the crispy eggplant, are there a couple of drinks that you're really proud of or that are also some go-tos for some of your patrons that are coming in?

Rob:

Um, yeah, I mean, I I have uh several. A couple have just launched, but a couple of the the ones that I know that are tried and true have just come off the menu. Okay. Uh just seasonal. Sure. Um for seasonal reasons. But um, I mean, the one that I you know, it's sort of cheesy, but the espresso martini that I that I was able to sort of took a long time to figure it out and figure out what worked and uh to do it right. To do it right, yes. Yes. On draft. On draft. On draft. Wait, I did not know that. So the whole idea of it was, you know, uh one is is everybody wants to go to a bar and get a craft cocktail and they want it fast. Well, you know, the two sometimes don't uh really jive when you're when you're making everything from scratch. So I tried to create a bar menu that was, you know, we have scratch cocktails or we batch from scratch cocktails, or we have things on tap, on you know, keg cocktails. So that's one of the things like you know, everybody loves an espresso martini, they're very popular. Um, I sort of got this idea that I wanted to make it sort of like a Guinness, so you get it in a little pilsner glass, yes. Um, and it sort of cascades like a Guinness to uh face, beautiful head. Yeah, yeah. So that's one of the ones I'm proud of because everybody seems to uh enjoy it and it worked. Took a minute to get it to work. Um but uh you know, we have another uh, you know, I um I had a friend come in from uh Oregon who used to bartend uh old soba days, um, and I started a uh bricolage with him, um, David Turkell. And uh so he we collaborated when we were opening on cocktails, um, which was really fun. Um, but uh we came up with this cocktail called uh little baby Jeffrey, which you know took some t twists and turns and the name, and and uh it basically it was a Oaxacan old-fashioned um it had a uh lychee saffron syrup, um, and uh dried dragon fruit garnish on the the bottom. And so you would initially get the cocktail and it would be a clear cocktail, and then you'd get midway through the cocktail and the the color of the dragon fruit, the purple would permeate it. Yeah, so then the drink would sort of over time change. Oh and that was a you know that was a happy, happy accident. Um, but it just it it took off. Yeah, and so really proud of that that drink.

Doug:

There's some new fall cocktails on that are really good. We're recording in fall right now, so I did notice as I was looking, some of your menu items have just changed across the board. I do have one more drink-related question. I hope I'm saying it right. Pandan? Pandan, yeah. Yeah, I've had the soda. Can we describe for our listeners what some of those flavors are that you take out of that soda? Very hard to describe.

Rob:

It's kind of like Pandan is sort of like cilantro. Either you love it or you don't. Yeah, there's the camp that, and you know, I think it's 7030 because a lot of people send it back. They're like, I don't like this. But um, it's not for everybody, but it's delicious. And and the story of that is that I would go to Portland, Oregon for um their cocktail week. And there was this place called Pac Pac, which is oh yeah, the Pac Pac restaurant. Yeah. Um, and uh they're they no longer exist, they went out of business, but their house water was uh infused with Pan Dam. So and this is uh a leaf or a grass. It's like a it they say panda leaf, but I think it's like a like a grass. Yeah, it's about three, four feet tall. In the states, you get it frozen, pretty much any Asian store in the frozen section. But uh, anyways, so Pac Pac was a little drive outside of Portland, and you come back to the the conference and you'd be like, Oh, where'd you go? We went to Pok Pok. Everybody'd be like, Did you have the water? Like, yeah, I did. Why is it so amazing? And then I think my last time out there, Danielle came out with her. I'm like, we have to go to Pok Pok. And then she fell in love with the water. And so it was sort of this pact that if we ever opened a restaurant, we would have that in some capacity. And so, like the like the espresso martini, I wanted to put make a seltzer and put it on tap. So that also took a little bit to sort of perfect that because I mean I have the Pok Pok book, but they don't talk about the water at all. And I'm like, that is just a it's just a simple thing that everybody's just like talking about.

Doug:

So you're infusing the these leaves into a seltzer water. Is there syrup in there too?

Rob:

I put a little bit of so I basically um We don't have to give away any syrup. Yeah, right. The super secret. But yeah, so I I've I figured out that I steeped it or infused it several different ways over several, you know, two days, three days hot and then cold. And you know, do I burmix it? Do I not? Do I just chop it? So I came up with a, you know, I figured out how to do that. And then, you know, I have to I add just a tinge of malactic acid to it. I add the ingredients to to make the seltzer uh happen. Um, and then you know, as far as the sweetener, I make it five gallons at a time if I make a um special tea that sort of matches the flavors because those flavors are are uh you know, I it's a little seaweed, but it's not that's I say grassy and a little nutty, a little nutty, and maybe even a note of like a vanilla-y flavor.

Doug:

Not the same. Yeah, yes, but it's it's that.

Rob:

And you even make a cocktail out of that, right? Yes. Um, it's um it's a pandemic highball. And we use Toki Japanese whisk whiskey. Oh, yeah, yeah. Um, and we use the pandemic and then just a simple twist. Man, it's delicious.

Doug:

I'm glad you guys love it and kind of put it out there. I also, this is such a side note, but I'm always looking for things that don't raise my blood pressure, and it is noted to lower blood pressure. Oh fun fact. Yeah. So I don't know, I wouldn't say that that's medication, but yeah, right. It could be a nice side note.

Dani:

Yeah.

Rob:

It's a nice balance.

Dani:

Yeah. This is Danielle Cain

Rob:

And this is Rob Hirst.

Dani:

And you're listening to The Pittsburgh dish.

Doug:

Dani, has there been anything on the menu in terms of the food side that has been really uh a work or a collaboration that you're like, I'm so happy we have this on now, but it maybe took a little while to get there?

Dani:

Yeah, Dan and I collaborate.

unknown:

Yeah.

Doug:

Bits and pieces. Okay.

Dani:

Even before we opened like the salmon tartare, I was like, okay, we're having salmon on the menu. Let's use the excess pieces.

Doug:

With the tartar.

Dani:

With the tartare. And um same thing. Being in New York, Rob and I took a trip many, many years ago, and they had a whole it was a t Decoy. Oh it was. And we had the salmon skins. And they served as a little snack. And that was another thing. We're like, if we ever open a place, those are so good. So I mean, this this came on really late, maybe two days before we opened. And Dan's like, I can do these salmon skins, and they're amazingly delicious. Um, and now he curses himself because he's the only one that makes his job, but it's it's it's painful. It really does elevate that. Yes. Yeah, it's it's fun, it's different.

Doug:

What I love hearing throughout both of your stories is all of this remembered flavors and the journeys you've taken and sort of the notes that you've been taking along the way. So I'd love to uh pivot a little bit and talk about your backgrounds because this isn't your first foray into food and beverage.

Dani:

No, mine's much shorter than Rob. He'll probably speak up the rest.

Doug:

Well, uh let me ask this. Did you did you all meet in the food world? Is that how you came together? Yes. And how long ago was that?

Dani:

I think we met somewhere around the year 2000. I was um, I did my internship from culinary school downtown at Casbah. And uh Big Burrito gives half off to their employees on certain days. So um a group of us would always go to Mad Mex Oakland. Rob Hirst was the original iconic bartender at Mad Mex Oakland. Everybody knows him from those days. Oh, so we first met, then very briefly. And then um, I was married at the time and had my daughter and came back after maternity leave to Soba, and Rob was there, and it was just like, Oh, hey, buddy. Yeah, you did a joke. Uh right. And he's like, Oh, glad you're here. Um, and we became friends that way. Um, years later, when my daughter was eight then, I'm gonna go into this part, you know, got a divorce. Um, and then we had been friends for a year, and then a couple of years later we got together. Okay, yeah. So, but we met at Soba. Well, Soba's sort of a the come together.

Doug:

Soba's when we became friends.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Doug:

And I think thinking about the Soba menu again over in Shady side on Ellsworth Avenue, and the big burrito group does such a great job, I can see where some of your flavor profiles probably have emanated from, right? Yeah. Definitely. Well, I love that you forged this partnership through you know all of these experiences. And thank you again so much for bringing so much great food and beverage to a new spot in town. When you guys were kind of coming up in your own respective families, did you ever think that this career path would be the place that it's taken you?

Dani:

Probably not for me, but you know, I went to college and then went to culinary school and fell in love with everything about it. Um, I think my parents were disappointed. Oh, expecting a certain journey for their daughter and then really embraced it and were very excited.

Doug:

They learned who you were actually and what you really wanted to do.

Dani:

Exactly. So, you know, and and being on this journey, it's it's uh, I don't think there's that many female chefs, especially in this city, who have children. Um, so being able to be a chef in the industry, take a take a break, run events, get a whole different side of the industry. So, you know, I could actually be there for my daughter because the industry is not great for ever attending a fake win or a soccer game or any of these things. So that step away from it was really important to me. Um, and I don't regret a second of that. But then, you know, now that she's off to college, this was a big thing for us to be like, okay, what are our dreams actually? So let's do it. You're doing it right. We're doing it. We're doing it right. We're doing it. Yeah.

Doug:

It's happening.

Dani:

It's all happening.

Doug:

Did I hear you didn't grow up in Pittsburgh?

Dani:

Is that right? I was born here. I grew up in Arizona. You did. And then came back to P.

Doug:

We had implanted the magnet in some. Exactly.

Dani:

It happens to a lot of people.

Doug:

And uh, you know, since you are like this really accomplished chef, what was food life like at an early age? Were you cooking at an early age?

Dani:

Not at all. Not at all. No, I I think I learned how to use the toaster in six in the sixth grade. It was a joke in the family. But um, yeah, it was later in life that I was into it.

Doug:

I'm so glad you got into it.

Rob:

Yeah. Rob, what about you? Where did you grow up? I grew up in the East End. I grew up in Morningside. So hop, skip, and a jump from uh Hey Babe. Yeah. Um yeah, I'm an East Ender.

Doug:

So how did you fall into like the the original Mad Mex and the big burrito group?

Rob:

Um, well, uh funny enough, I I'd gone to school uh for uh art and architecture. Oh um, yeah. I I went to I went to Penn State for two years and then I transferred home and uh went to Pitt. I dual majored in architectural studies and design, art and design, um at Pitt. And while I was in school, I actually was uh doing this externship uh for an architect in in Squirrel Hill. And I really I was I moved back home and I was just trying to find a job. You're finding your way. Yeah, I was finding another job to sort of get out of the house, you know, get my own apartment. I knew some people that um I had some friends that were working at Mad Mex, the original Mad Mex in Oakland. Uh that was when there was only one uh you know, one now the bygone location.

Doug:

It was so small, but what a great little bar.

Rob:

It was great. Yeah, it was heartbreaking to see it close. But anyways, you know, and they I heard that they were opening another Mad Mex. And I was like, oh, can you get me an interview? And so I went to an interview thinking that I was interviewing to work at that Mad Mex, and here I was interviewing to work at Kaya. They were opening Kaya, sort of right after on the heels of Mad Mex North Hills, yes, they were opening Kaya. And I actually uh interviewed with Tom, uh Tom Barron and Juno Yoon at the time, which were the owners. Original owners, yeah. And so I got that job. Um, I got that job as a bartender, uh, not knowing anything about bartending, and uh, you know, I sort of lied on my application.

Doug:

You did you knew how to make a drink? Yeah. Uh no, I didn't.

Rob:

Honestly, uh, I knew about drinks, yeah. I knew about drinking, but I didn't know how to make a drink. I just I had some other friends and my friend Brian, who I grew up with in in uh high school, his father owned calico's in in in Oakland, and I used him as a reference. I'm like, you never let me bartend here. I did everything there, DJ to work the door. I'm like, you gotta tell them that I bartended for the car. They didn't call any of my references. I put a bunch of references for Penn State that I knew all the bars closed down. Um, and then I had other other other friends that had like bar books, and and I just learned. I just learned on the job. I I just followed people behind the bar. I'm like, oh, they're doing this. This is what I should be doing. So it's crazy uh because I feel like still feel like that person that I'm gonna be found out.

Doug:

Oh, oh, imposter syndrome. Welcome to the world. Hello.

Rob:

But you know, shortly after that, the other crazy thing is like within a year and a half, I was opening Soba as the bar manager, and like you know, it's crazy how life takes, you know. So, you know, I took a left all of a sudden, like I was just enthralled by what Big Burrito was doing. You know, that world sort of magical. It was before Instagram, it was before, you know, the internet was the internet, but it was before the whole explosion of like, you know, even good dining too.

Doug:

Like, I came home from Penn State and and Big Burrito was was it. It was really the first thing that had concepts and unique flavors, flavors, not a chain, you know, these these different restaurants that you got such a different experience. Yeah, and sort of uh I I'm thinking now back to the point that you made about going for art and architecture as well. You're working in some really cool design spaces, which probably let your space, your space is great. You know, I I think I mentioned earlier, I think it's deco and it's moody. I'm sure you had influence, but Rob, did you kind of point to like this is what I want, these are some things I want to have happen.

Rob:

Yeah. I mean, it all so soon after that Kaya opening, I've been sort of wanting to do my own plan. And I've been trying, you know, like writing a business plan or seeing a space, you know. Um, I also opened, uh, you know, started was one of the founding members of Bricolage. So yes, so keeping my toe in the art world and like I'm inspired by spaces, uh, and those dictate sort of feel and and sort of vibe and absolutely right. So when we got the opportunity, you know, to do this space, you know, there were a lot of underlying themes and and sort of feels that we wanted, but sort of the space started to dictate, you know, it's like this is what the space has, this is what we want, and this now this is what the space needs. So and we started with the we started with the lamp.

Dani:

I started with this lamp, the custom giant lamps, yeah.

Rob:

It wasn't the same exact one, but we started with that. And we're like, this is the feeling we want. Starting point, and so it all spun off from that. So yeah, it's you know, it was a it was a journey.

Dani:

And I would say Rob designed like 90% of that. Well, partners probably, right? But what the hell? Well, Walmart Charmers, uh yeah, but um, yeah, Rob really is aware of functionality. That bar from the old ace hotel is beautiful. How do we continue that bar? So we hired Dylan Stein to continue that bar. That was a challenge.

Doug:

Yeah, um, and then I love the stained glass behind glass, it kind of echoes the church.

Dani:

That was the goal, but make it funky, it totally is also hide the dumpster area.

Doug:

That's true. Now I do I do have a pressing question, and this came up from my husband, Greg. The wall that is what used to be the old Whitfield, are you ever thinking about getting into that space? Will there ever maybe be an expansion?

Dani:

So I think it was Cha Cha Real Smooth, I think, was filmed in during the pandemic. During the pandemic in the hotel. That's when they put the built that wall for that.

Doug:

It looks very temporary.

Dani:

Yeah, it is. And um, it was just left up. So it will be our dining room. We are making plans.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Dani:

Um, but it sort of works now to be able to shut the door when construction starts. And that was terrorists. Because it's uh it's not appealing. Yeah, the one day we were there, it was the wall's not appealing. The wall is appealing.

Rob:

It also it also helps that horrible echo that we get. It's a sound just bounces off that wall. So we'd we'd like to get back to an open space.

Doug:

I'm so excited for that. I know that you've let folks in there. If the if the tables are all full, you've invited us to go sit there and have a drink while we're waiting too. So uh again, just love it.

Rob:

Right now, currently we we use it for uh private events or semi-private events. If we guys are doing that, yeah. We're we're getting a lot of people that want to like can we have a 25-person party in the lounge? And and and you've seen the lounge, it's it's small. Yeah. Um, you know, we fit 60 to 70 people in there, but if you have a larger party, you know, over 10 or 12 people, it gets it just doesn't get practical. So we offer that instead, which has been working perfectly until we, you know, we get the dining room in there.

Doug:

I love a phase two. Yeah. We'll be we'll be rooting for it.

Dani:

We're excited.

Doug:

Uh is there anything else uh Upcoming anything else in the works?

Dani:

I mean, the ultimate goal is to find ways to connect with the community and do more dinners and fundraisers and that sort of thing. And um, even though it feels like now we've been, well, we have been working on this project for a year, but it's really only come to life for four months. So it's like we're still getting our sea legs and getting it. So getting to that point is um that we can take on more things.

Rob:

Yeah, navigating that building. I mean, it's a big, beautiful building, but it's a big building, and it's an old building. So I feel like, you know, we are starting to hit our stride, but uh it's been sort of a, you know, it's been a journey just figuring out the building and how to work in the building and how a restaurant functions in the in the building. The kitchen is uh, you know, big, beautiful kitchen, but it's downstairs.

Doug:

I was wondering when I see food coming out and versus when it was the Whitfield space, I was wondering if you were using the same kitchen because the food came from two different places from my perspective as a guest. So you're downstairs. You are in the basement.

Rob:

And they do come from two different but the the big beautiful building is sort of a maze. So there's there's uh several different routes to get to the same place. Yeah, and and and um there's two stairwells, so and they're both brutal. Oh they're both running food upstairs upstairs.

Dani:

And and the thing is when we open, most of our food runners were either friends with or friend adjacent to our daughter. Um, so they're a bunch of 18-year-olds who just graduated from high school, about ready to go to college or in college. And I mean, these stairs are awful, to be honest.

Rob:

And so if you want to come work for us, first busy night.

Dani:

I'm I'm just like, oh, you guys okay? And they're like, we love this. Oh my god. This is so fun. Crazy things happen out there. This is amazing. And I'm like, okay, I would probably be complaining about the stairs, but they're like, yes. Me at 51 with a bad knee. I love that.

Doug:

I'm 53 and I I hate those stairs a lot. So well, maybe this will be a prolong all of our time here.

Dani:

That is a challenge. You know, you need more staff members too.

Rob:

We were blessed with a great opening staff. The best, the best stuff.

Doug:

They were great. They continue to be great, but well, I think it's all wonderful. I'm so excited. It is one of our new favorite spots. Yes.

Dani:

Our ultimate goal is just to have a nice neighborhood place where people like to come to.

Doug:

I think I saw on the website too. You you you use that term third space. You know, it's not work, it's not home. It's just come hang out.

Speaker 1:

Yep.

Doug:

Again, just have a drink. You don't need a reservation, have a little bite or have a full meal. You know, Hey Babe is one of our new, our new spots for all of that.

Dani:

And we will have reservations once we open the other side.

Doug:

Yeah, you might need to, right. Yeah.

Rob:

The lounge, lounge will say reservation free, but the other side will be a place to book your reservation.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Doug:

Well, let's do this. Let's remind folks too again of your current hours of operation, uh, and your website and socials. What what are the is there a day that you're closed right now? Just Sunday. Just Sunday. So you're open every other day of the week, but you open around four. Is that right? Four o'clock every day, yeah. And you go to ten most days.

Rob:

The kitchen is open uh until ten. Okay. Um and we the bar really has uh it's it's open till whenever we die down. And then on the weekends, the kitchen is open until 11.

Doug:

And you guys are located at 120 Whitfield. South Whitfield. South Whitfield, which is technically the Maverick Hotel. Used to be the Ace Hotel, if somebody remembers that. Right nice little library. Yeah, right in the heart. And lots of parking. That parking lot right behind. It's not hard to get there, Pittsburghers. It's not. Yeah, there is that parking behind.

Dani:

Um I know it's such a Pittsburgh thing, but we want to see open later for food, uh, late night food, and to you know, stay a little later and drink, but I don't know what's happening. I mean, I don't know if people go out later.

Doug:

Well, yeah, I think, you know, you have to go with the groove of what's happening now. You know, I hear all these Gen Zers they don't drink, which is fine, but maybe they also don't stay out so late, which is not my generation. Not my generation. We were out till two.

Dani:

They were kicking us out too. And now it's like it hits 11 and everybody will just leave, and you're like, okay. You know, it's just not there, I guess. But we'll see what happens.

Doug:

And before I forget, let's also remind folks of your website and your social handles. Do you guys know what that is?

Rob:

Uh yeah, the the website is uh heybabe pgh.com. And the social, I mean social. Yes. I looked it up. Yeah. It's heybabe.pgh. That's right.

Speaker 1:

That's correct, Doug. Okay.

Doug:

I know that's actually a stumper, and I need I do my I do minimum research, but that's the research I do. Well, it's been such a pleasure talking with you both and getting to know you. I do have one final question for you, and you can answer this separately or together. The name of the show is the Pittsburgh Dish. What's the best dish you've had to eat this past week? Oh, I know what that is.

Dani:

The gnocchi. Oh, the at Leo Greta.

Doug:

Yeah. Oh, you both the same for both of you?

Dani:

We just went with some friends. We had never been there before. Greg, we know Chef Greg for years, and we just said never. We don't get out much. I think you realize in the industry you want to support your other friends in the industry, but then you have we have one day off and it's Sunday, and none of the places are open. So you're like, okay. Um, but known them for years. We're like, let's finally get there. And the gnocchi, oh my god.

Rob:

Oh my god, it's fantastic.

Dani:

Amazing.

Rob:

Pillows of heaven.

Doug:

Yes. Yeah. Leo Greta is is actually near where we're recording, just in Carnegie. And it actually has two spots, it has a lovely dessert and coffee spot too. Yes. But the Italian food is incredible. And I don't think I've had the gnocchi.

Rob:

So it was it was incredible.

Dani:

It was incredible, yes. Very accessible.

Rob:

We ordered a lot, but we didn't order that, and he just sent it out. And I'm I'm glad he did because it was it was lovely.

Dani:

Yep. So we only we only get to eat out once a week. Of course. We call it feeding day because we don't get to eat them. We're too busy during the week. So on Sundays we try to consume our week's calories.

Doug:

Exactly.

Dani:

Get out there and do it.

Doug:

Daniel Cain, Rob Hirst, thank you both so much for your time today. And thanks for being on The Pittsburgh Dish. Thanks for having us. So fun. Up next, our resident wine expert, Catherine Montest, offers up both a wine recommendation this week, but also a recipe. Let's have a listen. Hey Catherine. Hi there, Doug. Catherine, as we get to some of these, you know, chillier weeks of the year, we're entering into fall to winter time. I know that some folks do uh something called mauled wine. Have you ever done that? It's like a warm hug in a mug. Oh, so you as a wine drinker, you like mauled wine. Of course. I I don't think I've ever had it.

Catherine:

Oh, Doug, you're missing out. Okay.

Doug:

Do you have like a recipe or something you could share with us?

Catherine:

I sure do. Excellent. And um, it couldn't possibly be easier. Oh. Uh get a big pot if you've got a Dutch oven. That's great.

Doug:

Something that would like kind of hold steady heat.

Catherine:

Yeah, exactly. Pour two bottles of inexpensive red wine of a variety that you like. It could be a red blend, it could be Malbec, it could be Pinot Noir, it could be whatever. It doesn't don't don't spend a lot of money on it because you're going to be doctoring it up. Okay.

Doug:

This is kind of like the opposite uh in summertime when we do sangria, right? This is like winter's version.

Catherine:

Yeah, it ex that's a great way to put it, Doug. I hadn't even thought of that. Yeah. So glug two bottles into your stock pot and then add about a half a cup of brandy or cognac, whatever you happen to have. All right. Um, brandy's not as expensive. So I tend to go in that direction, especially if you're making a big batch to serve a lot of people.

Doug:

Okay.

Catherine:

And um, when you're buying the brandy, just get the straight brandy. Don't get the cute stuff that's apple or peach flavored or whatever that is. All right. Um, that could compete with your wine flavor. So you so you don't just plain old straight-up brandy. Okay. And you you're also going to need a little bit of a sweetener. You've got some choices here. You can use honey, you can use maple syrup, you can even use agave syrup if you want it.

Doug:

Okay.

Catherine:

And put a tablespoon in, but as it simmers, you're going to maybe want to add more sweetness.

Doug:

Okay.

Catherine:

And you want to start with just a tablespoon.

Doug:

You can always add more, you can't take it away.

Catherine:

Exactly. Gotcha. Um, and so kind of what makes this really special is not just adding the brandy and the sweetener to it, but it's the spices. So the warm, wonderful winter spices, cloves, cinnamon, and star anise.

Doug:

And are we leaving these things like whole, like floating in the pot or whole and throw them in?

Catherine:

You can also add some fruit to this. And those the best fruits to add, in my opinion, are lemons and oranges. So you would want one of each. And ideally, if you could have them dried, that would be really cool.

Doug:

Like slices of dried orange.

Catherine:

Slices of dried orange. Slices of dried lemon. Um, if you don't happen to have those available and you don't have the time and the patience to dry them yourself.

Doug:

I'm not doing that.

Catherine:

Yeah. Take a shortcut. I believe in shortcuts, and zest a lemon and zest an orange right into the pot.

Doug:

Well, you know, let me ask this then. I always like using my microplane to zest, but are we talking like maybe using a peel or doing a strip of zest so that you don't lose it in the in the wine?

Catherine:

Well, now you're getting fancy. Yeah. You could absolutely do that. But yeah, I was just gonna plain old grab the microplaner and give it a juzge. Okay, good. See, now you've got me thinking about new ideas for the how it's gonna look this year.

Doug:

I feel like we're making a drinkable potpourri. In the best way. In the best way. Could you also add like uh, I don't know, slices of apple or pear or something like float that in there just to make sense.

Catherine:

It's it's kind of a I like to think of it as an all-hands-on-deck recipe. Yeah, choose your own adventure. What you happen to have. Okay. Um, I like the cloves, the cinnamon, and the star anise. And I've done lemon and orange, but you could also go a little crazy and throw a handful of craisins in there. Oh, yeah. Yeah, because they'd plump up real nice. That'd be great. And if you're making it in time for Thanksgiving or even Christmas or some of the other winter holidays, you could throw fresh cranberries in there if you happen to buy some.

Doug:

That would be super fun. Yeah. Now, when we have this on the stove, probably like a medium heat, I imagine you don't want this to come up to a bubble. Right. Okay.

Catherine:

So give it about 20, 30 minutes, keep an eye on it. And when you start to see the steam rising.

Doug:

Yeah, those wisps of steam coming off of the surface. That's when it's hot enough.

Catherine:

That's exactly right. That's when it's hot enough. And at that point, back the heat down because you don't want to boil off all the boozy goodness that was in there to begin with.

Doug:

Right. You don't want to cook the wine or the brandy. Right. You just want it to be nice and hot. Yes. Okay. Exactly. Like a good cup of tea.

Catherine:

And really to serve it, just keep it in your stock pot, grab a ladle, and ladle it into mugs. Because it's going to be warm, so you're going to want a handle on that.

Doug:

Oh. Well, this sounds like perfect, whether it's like a starter at Thanksgiving or into Christmas or whatever party you're throwing over the holidays. Watching a football game. There you go. Yeah.

Catherine:

And it has the bonus of making the house smell amazing.

Doug:

Back to my point. It sounds like we're making potpourri, but drinkable.

Catherine:

Drinkable. Highly drinkable. Super tasty.

Doug:

Well, I think I want a cup of mauled wine, Catherine.

Catherine:

I'll make sure that happens for you this holiday, Doug.

Doug:

Aw. Catherine, thanks so much for this recipe, and thanks for being on the Pittsburgh Dish. Always happy to talk with you, Doug. You can follow Catherine on Instagram at your fairywinemother. That's U-R Fairy Wine Mother. Do you have a recipe? Share it with us. Just visit our website at www.pittsburgdish.com 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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Douglas Heilman

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