The Pittsburgh Dish

078 Chef Barbara Ann, From Farm Fields To Pittsburgh Plates

• Doug Heilman • Season 2 • Episode 78

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A private chef who learned pasta in an Umbrian cellar, sold out DC markets with recipe cards, and now feeds Pittsburgh with allergy-aware comfort food? That’s Barbara Ann of A B Kitchen, and her story is a tour of how real-world cooking can be both nourishing and exciting without getting fussy.

We visit the nuts and bolts of Barbara's off-site private chef model: custom meal prep, catering that accommodates varied diets, and partnerships with trusted nutrition pros to align flavor with macros and recovery goals. Her background spans DC restaurant trenches, global travel influences, and seasons on Pennsylvania organic farms. Plus a stint at Whole Foods helped guide what cools quickly, reheats cleanly, and still tastes fresh on day two.

We also venture across town to spotlight Tram’s Kitchen, a cash-only Vietnamese staple where plastic tablecloths hide a kitchen making one of Pittsburgh’s most satisfying bowls of bún bò Huế. Creator Karen Hoang explains why the spicy broth, tender noodles, and “no ambiance, all flavor” ethos make it a must-visit when you want substance over scene.

For a quick home win, Lisa Ray from Hamajack Heat Company drops a three-minute guacamole: one avocado, a spoon of Sublime jalapeño sauce, lime, and salt. It’s the kind of recipe shortcut that we love.

Press play, then subscribe, rate, and share with a friend who loves hidden gems and smarter comfort food. Got a favorite no-frills spot or a go-to weeknight hack? Tell us—your tip might make the next show.

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Doug:

Welcome to the Pittsburgh Dish. I'm your host, Doug Heilman. Do you have that unassuming friend that has an incredible backstory? That's how I feel about this week's guest. We meet Private Chef Barbara Ann and learn about her food journey to A B Kitchen. What tasty Vietnamese spot has good food on the menu, but no room for bouginess? Karen Hoang takes us to Tram's Kitchen. And are you interested in possibly the most streamlined yet tasty guacamole recipe? Lisa Ray of Hamajack has it. All that ahead, stay tuned. Well, thank you so much for coming over and for being on the show.

Barbara Ann:

Thanks for having me.

Doug:

Would you introduce yourself to our listeners and what you have going on right now in the world of food?

Barbara Ann:

Sure. My name is Barbara Ann. And right now I rent a commercial kitchen called Fulton Commons. And I do it's sort of like I'm a private chef, but I'm not in most people's houses. So it's like custom meal delivery, meal prep.

Doug:

Okay.

Barbara Ann:

And catering. And I do go to one person's house every week. Okay because they have food allergies. So they're being careful about everything about food.

Doug:

So you do all the cooking down in Fulton Commons. This is where we met. You were doing kind of a tasting on like a lunchtime once, and we got to talking.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. And I first met you at Artie's lunch. That's right.

Doug:

Yeah. So down in Fulton, I first met Artie Pitt of Artie's Hot Sauce. And then since then, we've had uh Mike Harding on from Family Table, we had Lisa Ray from Hamajack. Yep. And we were just talking. We're like, well, why don't you come on over? So I'm so happy to have you. Thanks. Since you are in this unique part of being a private chef that mostly does off-site, let me ask, what are some of the meals you're preparing? Like, give us some examples, or are there any like special things you're doing for folks with allergies?

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. So I have gotten a lot of clients, well through friends. And also I asked my friend who's from Pittsburgh, because I tend to make stuff that leans towards healthy.

Doug:

Yeah. Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

So I said, Do you know any like dietitians or anyone who works with athletes or someone who would be recommending that people eat a certain way, and then I could connect with them and make it happen. Because sometimes when we're not feeling well or busy, you know, there's what you should do, but then how do you actually execute that?

Doug:

Yes.

Barbara Ann:

So she told me Leslie Bonsey had helped her when she was running at Pitt. And that she was awesome because there was no shame around anything. She just gave her good practical advice that helped her to be stronger and healthier, right? So I just out of nowhere reached out to Leslie and she's so kind and made time for me. And we've had a couple of conversations and then she's referred people to me. Oh wonderful. She'll tell me, I don't even know the people's goals sometimes. Okay. But she'll tell me, you know, they need this much protein, this many veggies. Then I speak with the client and see what do you love? What do you avoid? What can't you not stand? And um, and then I make it happen. So it's just easy for them to eat well and and improve. Somebody was knew they had a surgery, so they wanted to be as strong as they could beforehand and then recover as well as possible afterwards.

Speaker 4:

Wow.

Barbara Ann:

Someone also through Leslie referred me to um, I don't know if I'm allowed to say it, but like the the pirates dietitian. Okay, okay. She told me what macros they needed. And it's like healthy food, but not like the basic, like steamed vegetables.

Doug:

It still needs to be flavorful and something hardy enough.

Barbara Ann:

So I sort of used what I learned, honestly, some of it's from modifying things for the food allergy family. So like I had this mac and cheese sauce that came from a vegan queso recipe. Oh, because they couldn't have dairy. And that sauce, instead of doing having a roux, it's made with potato and a sweet potato. Interesting. And you know how potatoes, you don't want to over whip them to make mashed potatoes. Right.

Doug:

You don't you don't want them to be gummy typically.

Barbara Ann:

So for this, you lean into that and you just blend it like crazy. Wow. And it looks like queso.

Doug:

Like a cheese sauce.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, but there's no flour, and you're not like putting in some strange substitutes, just like something nutritious.

Doug:

Right, still whole vegetables.

Barbara Ann:

And then you can either add vegan cheese or if it's not an allergy, I just put real cheese. Yes. And you have this like super nutritious sauce with lower in calories than the other one. Like if you want to do that.

Doug:

Does mac and cheese come up as one of the kind of requested items that you make then?

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. So I just did that for someone else. She she was asking, like she said she really liked collard greens and was trying to eat, um, you know, trying to eat well and have more veggies. So I did collards with a smoked turkey leg. Oh. And then this high protein pasta with that mac and cheese sauce. So it's like super comforting and tasty, but you're getting more nutrients than usual.

Doug:

I love this.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, it's fun.

Doug:

So, Barbara, I do want to just call out too. If folks aren't familiar with Leslie Bonsey, I know she is a registered dietitian and she was associated for years, I think, with uh University of Pittsburgh's uh Dietetics program. And then also at one point, she was the dietitian for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, when they won the Super Bowl.

Doug:

I know. And I just saw her recently on another local podcast, the Yajov podcast. She goes on and she talks about nutrition. I'm so glad you have made that connection to then connect with the clients. I think it's so smart. Aw, thank you. Let's talk about since we were on that subject of the collards and the mac and cheese. Are there a few other dishes in your repertoire that tend to be popular or that you lean into for you know many clients?

Barbara Ann:

It's funny. I grew up in California. I sort of feel like it I have no business cooking all these different ethnic foods. But my mom grew up in San Francisco with neighbors of all, you know, it was a diverse food. At that time, all different economics, and it was very diverse then. So I grew up eating, like she taught me how to make wontons, beef and broccoli, enchiladas for Christmas.

Doug:

And was this at an early age that you were learning those things?

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, she was so sweet, and like I couldn't do anything wrong in the kitchen with her. And I really loved food. I loved watching You're Like a Hero because when I was little, I loved watching PBS cooking shows. So I was like, oh my gosh, you really did it. You made it big time.

Doug:

I don't know how I made it on the TV show.

Barbara Ann:

It's so fun. Thank you. But yeah, so my mom always let me be a part of making dinner, and we ate ate dinner together all the time. And then she ended, she, when I was little, she was diagnosed with MS. So I started doing more and more of the cooking. Yeah. Yeah. But she was adventurous, and we made all different types of things, but also just like my oldest brother, he's nine years older. He still sort of well, both brothers still dream about like the roast chicken. Oh we had roast chicken, rice, gravy, and a vegetable.

Doug:

Yeah. I just love that story of growing up with adventurous eating, but also confidence building as a young person in the kitchen. I share that with you in terms of my mom and dad let us be in the kitchen. Yeah. And kind of let us do some of our own things too. Yeah. It made it so fun. So fun. And that's why cooking today is fun.

Barbara Ann:

Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And it's fun to share it with people because, yeah. Oh. I was like, wait a minute. Like, she also, like, not every meal was magical. And she put dinner on the table every night, but there's a lot of frozen vegetables. And I really did not enjoy eating frozen, soft, you know.

Speaker 4:

Right.

Barbara Ann:

And but then if there was something fresh, because we were in California, I was like, oh, these vegetables. So that's partly what got me into like I went and worked on a farm eventually.

Doug:

Yes, this is a story I want to talk about too. Let me do this before we talk a little bit more about that adventure to the East Coast. I do want to just hit like a few more things. If folks are interested in what you're doing, are you still taking some new clients?

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. Yeah. I have a mix of people, like the people being really having a certain goal where they're trying to something for their health. And then I have people also that are just super busy. Like there's a family who the mother has adult children and they have their families. So she's also a grandmother. She'll order big pans, like those half pans, like you would have a lasagna. Yes. Like four of those a week, and maybe some chili to just like help her feed her army of people.

Doug:

Yes. Oh my gosh.

Barbara Ann:

And then there's parents who like are just busy and their kids are in sports. So every all different stages of life. And so then we just talk about what they love, some popular, yeah. Enchiladas are popular. Enchiladas are popular. Yeah. Yeah.

Doug:

Do you do like a beef or a bean or a chicken?

Barbara Ann:

Mostly chicken.

Doug:

Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

But there is, yeah, someone who wants to have more plant stuff. So I do a bean one for them.

Doug:

I love that it's just really let's get to know your goals. Let's get to know your tastes and your family's needs. Right. And you just kind of go from there.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. And I worked for a long time when I first moved back to Pittsburgh. I worked at Whole Foods. Okay. Do in their prepared foods. So I got a lot of experience with like, we would I get in at four in the morning, make a bunch of food, cool it right down.

Doug:

Yes.

Barbara Ann:

And then what looks good? What holds up? How do you make something so that it's good? It's not like you're eating leftovers.

Doug:

Right. It reheats well, like as if it's fresh or freezes well. Yeah. Um, and that's what you do. You brought me some stuff today. And you brought me something that's hot, which I'm gonna eat as soon as we're done. Is it French toast?

Speaker 4:

Yeah.

Doug:

And you brought me a salad which was fresh, which went in the fridge, but you also brought me a frozen. You brought me all three. Yeah. Which was what was that? A curry, a butter curry? Ah, I'm excited. Yeah. Thank you, Barbara. So just giving folks an example of what you can do, you can kind of do anything.

Barbara Ann:

A lot of things, yeah.

Doug:

Wonderful. So you mentioned this earlier. Um, you grew up on the West Coast and somehow you made your way to the East Coast. Can we talk about that a little bit? Like what brought you out from California and all that fresh produce and sunshine to the East Coast?

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, so um, yeah, my family's from California. I I sort of just did what I I thought you were supposed to do. I was a good student in school and got into college and I, you know, worked through college myself. And then at the end, I ended up, I really actually leaned towards science things, but I ended up getting a degree in sociology.

Doug:

And where did you go to school?

Barbara Ann:

UC Davis.

Doug:

Okay.

Barbara Ann:

And I always had a food thing going on the whole time. And then my last quarter of school, I had enough units to graduate, but not no units in my degree, but not to graduate.

Speaker 4:

Oh, okay.

Barbara Ann:

And so I went to Italy and studied there.

Doug:

Oh, and another great food adventure.

Barbara Ann:

Right. And that's where I realized like, wow, in other countries, people really understand food differently than here. Like, like just it's certain things are just part of a place.

Doug:

Of the culture, of the location.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, and the simple things just taste so amazing. I had a goal before I left, in addition to just studying, I wanted to find a cooking class.

Doug:

Oh, in Italy.

Barbara Ann:

In Italy.

Doug:

Yes, I would.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah.

Doug:

Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

So I was in Perugia, and I just kept asking everyone around me, and they would give an idea of a place, but everything was a dead end. There were I was like, oh no, that's a a school for hospitality or other things. And then somebody was like, just try this one alley. And I walked down the alley and I didn't see anything. And I heard a man speaking English, which stood out, and I just asked him, Do you happen to know of any cooking classes? He said, Actually, I'm a professor at this university for for Americans. And it's right here. Come back on Tuesday and ring this third bell down and ask them about it. And I did that. Wow. And they had just finished with their American group. And they said, if you can get 10 people, we'll do this class at this. It was like a villa, like a multi-generational home. And they had these big tables in the basement that were like sheets of plywood. And they would start every class with a weighed out amount of flour.

Doug:

Yes.

Barbara Ann:

An egg. And we would make pasta, but it it was a different shape every class.

Speaker 4:

Each day. Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. And then while it was resting, we would have some, you know, some wambrusco actually.

Speaker 4:

Some wine.

Barbara Ann:

Some cheap wine. And a little snack and then have dinner together.

Doug:

Can I ask, like, what year is this? And and how old are you?

Barbara Ann:

Oh, yeah, that was 2002. Okay.

Doug:

Yeah. So this is sort of before a lot of like the international like phones didn't have all the maps and all the apps.

Barbara Ann:

Oh, nothing. Nothing. When we got there, there were 30 of us from UC Davis. And this one guy said, let's let's try to get lost. Because that's like, how do you learn your way around a city? I didn't even realize how I I think it's kind of a big city, but it felt like an old little, I don't know.

Doug:

Yeah, remind me the town of Perugia.

Barbara Ann:

It's like an Etruscan town, but I think it's I don't know now, but I think it was like 500,000 people at the time.

Doug:

Yeah. And you got lost and you found a cooking class.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah.

Doug:

Oh my gosh. Yeah. What another formative experience. So you're at UC Davis and you go over to Italy, you have this experience. Right. What happens next?

Barbara Ann:

So my cousin, she must have written me a letter and had a picture of an ultrasound of her daughter.

Speaker 4:

Oh.

Barbara Ann:

And asked me if I would. She said, I'm almost afraid to ask, but would you come and be the nanny for my daughter when she's born? So after maternity leave. And she lived in DC and she was smart and kind. And I was like, Yeah, I don't really don't know what I want to do. So that would be a great thing to do.

Doug:

So that's what brings you to the East Coast in the DC area.

Barbara Ann:

Yep.

Doug:

Okay.

Barbara Ann:

And then I loved it. Um, she worked 80% as a lawyer, and so I had Friday, Saturday, Sunday off.

Doug:

Oh.

Barbara Ann:

And I started like volunteering for habitat and taking different classes. And then one day I applied for a job as a prep cook in a restaurant from a Craigslist ad. And I showed up and they gave me a written exam.

Speaker 4:

Wow.

Barbara Ann:

And I walked out and I was like, whoa, this is it. Like I was really into that. Yeah.

Doug:

Like it was just that exam experience?

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. I was like, I cared about every question. And I'm curious about the ones I wasn't sure about. I didn't get the job, but that night I was going to an anti-hunger benefit with my roommate. And so all these great chefs from DC were there. Oh. And I was like, okay, I was suddenly terrified to talk to them because I was like, this is what I want to do.

Doug:

Yes, you had like an awakening.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. Yeah. Uh so my friend broke the ice with Jeffrey Boobin from Vidalia.

Speaker 4:

Okay.

Barbara Ann:

And he was like in Kitchen Confidential, and they mentioned him.

Speaker 4:

Wow.

Barbara Ann:

I was like, oh.

Speaker 4:

Wow.

Barbara Ann:

Whoa. And she fine finally I spoke up after she was talking to him for a bit. And I said, Do you ever hire people who don't have experience? And he said, Yes, here's my card. Show up and no tourists.

Doug:

Okay. Be ready to work. Be ready to work. Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

So I would go and like walk down. It was like underground kitchen. I'd walk in and it smelled so good. They were making stock every day and everything from scratch. And I was like, okay. This I just did whatever they said. Yeah.

Doug:

Is Vidalia still open?

Barbara Ann:

Oh, I don't know.

Doug:

I want to look. Vidalia DC permanently closed in 2016.

Barbara Ann:

Oh, it lasted. That was a good run.

Doug:

Well, what a great experience, though. Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. This is Barbara Ann of A B Kitchen, and you're listening to the Pittsburgh Dish. Then I asked every chef there had either gone to the CIA or Johnson and Wales.

Doug:

Because you hadn't gone to a culinary school yet.

Barbara Ann:

No. And I was like, was it worth it? What did you think? They said it was great, but it goes super fast.

Doug:

Uh-huh.

Barbara Ann:

Um, so if you want to dive into something, yeah. It's hard, yes, but it's really amazing. So I really wanted to get good at making like fresh food, taste good, and so that like not only the people that could go to the very nicest restaurant could get that delicious stuff.

Doug:

You could bring it to them.

Barbara Ann:

Right.

Doug:

Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

Then the farmer's market at the corner. When I I said, Do you ever do you take interns or do you hire for the summer? And I ended up going to the farm, getting a job with this organic vegetable farm.

Doug:

This is the story I know that we talked about at Fulton. Yeah. So can I back you up for a second? I just want to follow the timeline here. Yeah. So you're working at Vidalia, you're contemplating going to a culinary program.

Speaker 4:

Yep.

Doug:

But then you get talking with some of the big local farmers markets in the DC area, right? Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah.

Doug:

And you're just talking to this one random that you like.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, it was at the end of our street.

Doug:

Yeah, exactly. And it turns out that their farm is where?

Barbara Ann:

In Pennsylvania. Right. Right. Right.

Doug:

So kind of like southern southwestern central in the middle of nowhere.

Barbara Ann:

Yes, yes. They drove three hours every Saturday.

Doug:

To deliver down in DC.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah.

Doug:

Wow.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah.

Doug:

And so you're on the fence between culinary and then doing something else, and you decide to do something else.

Barbara Ann:

Well, I decided actually for that summer, it was perfect because my cousin was having a second baby. So she was on maternity leave again. Oh. And so I was like, I'll go work on this farm. And oh, the other advice the chef said was read as much as you can.

Speaker 4:

Okay.

Barbara Ann:

And also when you go to cook something, before you do that, write down the recipe enough that you don't even have to look back at it.

Speaker 4:

Oh, okay.

Barbara Ann:

Like, and just practice doing that.

Speaker 4:

Wow.

Barbara Ann:

And so I was like, well, I was actually having a lot of fun in DC and not reading that much. So I thought a farm might be perfect. Okay. Because uh I lived in Adams Morgan.

Doug:

Oh, okay. I'm familiar with that.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, like the first night I went out, I was like, what's everybody doing now on a Tuesday?

Doug:

And it's just that way. It's just every night. Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

Wow. So I went to this farm and I was living in like a cabin in a field.

Speaker 4:

Wow.

Barbara Ann:

So there wasn't much to do. Part of the agreement was like one of us, the family or me would make a meal every day using the farm veggies, yeah. Yeah, and it was either lunch or dinner. And so I got to practice, and the owner had celiac. So that was one of the I practiced gluten-free things there too.

Doug:

This is like your first experience into doing something a little bit more specialized for someone.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. Although my mom did that when I was a kid too. Because my brothers, she like milled her own rice and stuff.

Doug:

She was ahead of her time.

Barbara Ann:

Right. My brother and oldest siblings also had food allergies.

Doug:

Oh.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah.

Doug:

I want to ask a couple questions because we we've talked about this story. The farm in South Central PA. Is it an organic farm?

Barbara Ann:

Yep. And do you remember the name? Well, that one was Star Hollow.

Doug:

Star Hollow.

Barbara Ann:

It was really small. And they're still around. They were part of an organic growers co-op.

Doug:

Okay.

Barbara Ann:

Fast forward, I was I decided to travel also to learn about food in different places. And so the next summer I had been saving, like working every farmer's market. I actually worked at a bar on Saturday nights, also.

Doug:

You're doing it all bar, bro.

Barbara Ann:

I was just like, well, I'm able to do this. Might as well do it to save up. So I didn't spend any money on a farm and I just kept saving everything. And I would work at the DuPont Circle Market, which was beautiful Sunday market. That's also a good way to learn about good recipes for vegetables. Yeah. Because you're like, you see someone buy like six bunches of kale.

Doug:

You're like, what are you doing with that kale?

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. And they love talking about it. Yeah. But anyway, so I was like, ah, maybe I should do one more season on a farm and save up more. So then I worked at New Morning Farm.

Doug:

Okay.

Barbara Ann:

And actually, there's a connection in Pittsburgh with that farm.

Doug:

Well, that's what I think this is a fact that I remember. So where is New Morning Farm?

Barbara Ann:

That's neighbors with Sarhala. Yeah, central area.

Doug:

Yeah, same uh South Central area.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah.

Doug:

And and what's the connection to New Morning Farm with Pittsburgh?

Barbara Ann:

So uh the owner's daughter, Janie, I think she might have gone to college here and stayed. And now Moe, the owner, she keeps coming back on weekends, and Janie now has a bakery.

Doug:

And is this 350?

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, yeah.

Doug:

Yeah, it's going up towards Allentown, like off of the south side slopes. Yes. Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. I love that. I haven't tried it yet, but I imagine it's amazing.

Doug:

We should go. Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. Because Jim had like the best palette.

Doug:

This is the farm owner. Owner.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. He worked with like local people and orchards and brought in their products to add to his market. And he wouldn't bring anything that wasn't amazing. Yes. So eventually people knew it. They they went to a schoolyard in Sheridan Square neighborhood. They would have 10 cashiers in the morning. I think they did like 30,000 in sales on a Saturday morning. This is a farmer's market. In 2003. Wow. Yeah.

Doug:

So they they really knew what they were doing.

Barbara Ann:

Oh, and they like good quality. So customers realized, so they would just stock up.

Doug:

Wow.

Barbara Ann:

He let us all do different things, like run things. Yes. And he let me run a Tuesday night market there.

Speaker 4:

Wow.

Barbara Ann:

It was so much fun. He was like, he would show me, he had all paper records of like what they had brought to markets that week in all the previous years. And then I could decide what I wanted to bring.

Doug:

Okay. So you could see what did well.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah.

Doug:

Or what didn't go so well.

Barbara Ann:

So my thought was I'm gonna, whatever we have the most of is the most in season. I'm gonna bring like way more than we ever did, but have recipes that are easy and just really display it. And it got to be gorgeous. Like people came, they were like, I just had to come see what this was. And they would there'd just be little recipes they could take with that thing. The first time he was like, Barbara Ant, I'm gonna let you bring this much zucchini this week, but this is ridiculous. Never again. That was the first time. And excel? We got into the last box.

Doug:

Shut up. Yeah. Wow. And did you say this is Sheridan Square? Is this in the world? That was in DC. Yeah. Wow. Well, you knew the market. I mean, you had kind of been there too. You've been in a good restaurant. Yeah. And then you you just sort of you know knew how to kind of work that whole situation. I love it.

Barbara Ann:

People want to know what to have for dinner, right? You know, and so if you just you have to give them a suggestion, yeah, exactly. But I learned a lot. Jim wasn't and Moe, they were like incredible marketers, and he would be like, You have to try these peaches, you know.

Doug:

Really enthusiastic.

Barbara Ann:

Yes.

Doug:

Now, a little sidebar question. Did you meet your husband through the farm as well? Was he working the farm?

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, so he was at New Morning. Yeah. That first year, it was a we a day off. The literal moment I met him, the farm dog started barking. I was just reading in my cabin, and I was like, There's a person. So I walked out, and he and his buddy were putting the canoe in the creek to go to their farm, which was like five miles away. And um, so we met, and then we met at different like community events, and they had someone from Thailand the year of the cicadas. Oh, and she she cooked cicadas.

Doug:

No.

Barbara Ann:

And we all went over and tried them.

Doug:

So you had some crazy shared experiences.

Barbara Ann:

There's just a giant, imagine the biggest colander you've ever seen, full of them. She took the wings off so that they didn't fly away.

Doug:

Oh I don't know. I don't know if that's for me.

Barbara Ann:

I don't know if I could do it, but everybody was so open-minded that we tried it and it was sort of like French fries. They were fried, salty, ketchup.

Doug:

Yeah, so everything's kind of good. So again, one of your early bonding experiences with your now husband.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, we became like best friends, and then by the end of the second season, it was like, Oh, I love you. Oh so he said, Could could I come with you? Because I was planning the trip to different countries. I said, Sure.

Doug:

So you saved up all this money. You went on this kind of whirlwind trip. Can you just give us the cliff notes? Like what were some of the stops?

Barbara Ann:

So Tasmania, Japan, Thailand, India. Uh, then we went to London and Italy, then Spain and France.

Doug:

Truly a worldwide adventure.

Barbara Ann:

You bought the ticket based on the number of continents. Then you got three stops at each continent.

Doug:

Wow.

Barbara Ann:

How amazing. Yeah.

Doug:

Oh, wow. Well, I want to jump us forward because um, so it's so much great history. How long have you both been in Pittsburgh now?

Barbara Ann:

Um maybe 12 years.

Doug:

12 years.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah.

Doug:

Okay.

Barbara Ann:

He grew up in Shaler.

Doug:

Oh, he did.

Barbara Ann:

Okay.

Doug:

So that's kind of what sort of brought you back to this area.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. Fast forward, we went to after the travel, we went to New York. He he found a job across the river from the Culinary Institute.

Doug:

Okay.

Barbara Ann:

And so we lived on a farm. He worked, that's a neat story. He worked for this guy who was 93 when we got there. And he Had 90 acres. So Marlin grew food and orchids, filled his bird feeder, took care of the property while I was in culinary school. And then I got to use whatever food that he grew.

Doug:

Wow.

Barbara Ann:

And that was so that was fun.

Doug:

And where did you go to culinary school?

Barbara Ann:

In Hyde Park, New York.

Doug:

You did.

Barbara Ann:

Wow.

Doug:

So you did all that and you still took the advice back from the chefs. And you're like, okay, I'm going to do this. Yep. But you got all this other world experience and farm experience before that. How incredible.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, it was fun.

Doug:

Super fun.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. So I was like, I don't want to grow up too fast. So I decided to do that stuff first. Yeah.

Doug:

So, Barb, I'm going to just jump us forward. We've been in Pittsburgh. You guys have been in Pittsburgh now, what, 12? Yeah. 12 years or so. Tell me just a little bit about the start of this latest venture, A B Kitchen, and doing the private chefing. How did it all get going for you?

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. So I've always I had been dreaming of doing something, um, but just actually in culinary school, they were like warning, many warnings about the challenges of making money, making food, you know, starting a restaurant. It's a private chef or owning a restaurant. Owning a restaurant, owning your own business. It's yes, a lot goes into it. It's hard to do that. Sink a lot in, yeah. Yeah, it's hard to make a profit. So I was being very careful. And for my family's needs, I've just been adjusting my work. So at one point, I was just thinking about it, working part-time, taking care of the family. And then I started working for that one family.

Doug:

You did.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. I think I put a post on Facebook like, is anybody interested in cooking classes or meal delivery or what you know, all these types of things. And someone referred me to someone looking for someone to help them because they had a lot of food allergies.

Doug:

Yes.

Barbara Ann:

So I spoke with her and started cooking in their house weekly. It's really fun. She creates the menu. She actually buys all the ingredients too, and I just show up and make the food.

Doug:

You execute.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, because until then, like her set it was, she was seven, her daughter was seven at the time. She had made all the food for the family. Like they couldn't order takeout. It was too much.

Doug:

Because all these, yeah, all these dietary allergies or restrictions. Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

So she still cooks, but I just supplements to make it a little bit more easier for them. Yeah. Yeah. So cooking for her daughter actually built my confidence up a lot because my kids are so picky. Oh. I wouldn't think I was a very good cook based on that.

Doug:

How many kids do you have?

Barbara Ann:

Two kids.

Doug:

Yeah, okay.

Barbara Ann:

A 13-year-old and an eight-year-old.

Doug:

Oh, so they're in a picky phase. Yeah. Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

13-year-old's getting hungrier, so he's trying more things.

Doug:

Oh, good.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah. Yeah. And then actually, a mutual friend is friends with Artie.

Doug:

Okay. Of Artie's hot sauce.

Barbara Ann:

We talked. I told him about Fulton Commons, and then he beat me to it. Oh, he did. He started there while I was still just thinking about it. Wow. And then I think that was like, ugh. I actually had a dream when I was like in the dream. It was like, would you just stop thinking about it and just do this?

Doug:

Do it.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah.

Doug:

Oh, you told yourself, get going.

Barbara Ann:

You can do it. Yeah.

Doug:

I totally can. Think about all of this experience and training and life experience. How long has A B Kitchen been like an LLC and kind of going now?

Barbara Ann:

Almost two years. Congratulations. Thanks. Yeah. Yeah. I think it was in February.

Doug:

Two years in February. Well, I have had the opportunity to taste your food in the past, and I'm excited to taste the food you brought today. So now that you're two years in, do you have any new goals or or any even events coming up for the business for where you want to go with it?

Barbara Ann:

I would love to do more catering, especially for businesses. Yeah. Like breakfasts, lunches. People always love it because they feel good afterwards when it's tasty. Also, an office is like sometimes it's hard to find stuff to accommodate different diets. Right? Yeah. So I can do like a spread where everyone can get something that works.

Doug:

Well, that was kind of the tasting that you had where I went at Fulton. You were kind of showing, hey, if you had a group of folks, this is all the things I could do. And they were uh, you know, just a variety of sort of specialty or not so specialty. You could just do whatever. Yeah.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah.

Doug:

How do people contact you? What's the best way if they are interested in reaching out?

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, so I have a website. It's abkitchenpgh.com.

Doug:

Okay.

Barbara Ann:

And for personal chef type things, you can fill out a form and it sort of says what you like and don't like. There's all kinds of like ways to reach out through the website. Okay, good.

Doug:

And Barb, while we're on the subject, are you on social media? Could you remind us those handles too?

Barbara Ann:

Oh yeah. I think I'm on Instagram. I think so. Yeah. That's A B Kitchen PGH too.

Doug:

And so people can see a little bit more of your products too.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah.

Doug:

I love that.

Barbara Ann:

Thanks.

Doug:

Well, I'm so excited. I was so happy to talk with you in the past and all about just that journey from college to restaurant to I'm not sure, world travel, all of the farms. I just, it's a great story. And I'm so glad you're here in Pittsburgh.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, me too. This is such a great place.

Doug:

It is. I do have one more question for you. The name of the show is the Pittsburgh Dish. What's the best dish you've had to eat this past week?

Barbara Ann:

Whoa. Oh, that's tricky. I honestly don't really eat out very much. I should do it.

Doug:

It could be your own food. I'm just asking you what the best bite is. It could be your own food. It doesn't have to be a restaurant.

Barbara Ann:

All right. Um, I really loved those collards.

Doug:

Oh, that you made for the lady?

Barbara Ann:

Yes.

Doug:

With the, what did you say? A smoked turkey leg?

Barbara Ann:

Yeah, yeah.

Doug:

Oh.

Barbara Ann:

And I had made them before, but I really wanted it to be as good as possible. So I was reading about it. And then I also I have a friend in the kitchen. She works for Harvey.

Doug:

Oh, okay. Yeah. The food delivery, local food delivery.

Barbara Ann:

So she is like an encyclopedia. So I was like, okay, Jess, if you're making collards, what are you doing? And we talked through it, and that was what I was gonna do too. So it worked out. Um, and then that curry with the butternut, I think it's like the perfect thing for this week because it was like it's getting cold and windy, and like all those. It starts with onions and ginger and garlic, and there's carrots and then red curry, hearty warming spices. And you're getting like all these good vitamins that protect you for the the cold season.

Doug:

Oh no.

Barbara Ann:

Yeah.

Doug:

Well, it sounds delicious. So that maybe that'll be my best bite this week.

Barbara Ann:

I hope so. It's defrosting.

Doug:

Well, it's been such a delight to talk with you. Barbara Ann, thank you so much for taking some time with me this morning. And thanks for being on the Pittsburgh Dish.

Barbara Ann:

Ah, my pleasure. Thank you so much.

Doug:

And thanks for that food.

Barbara Ann:

Anytime. I like feeding people.

Doug:

And if you reach out to Chef Barbara Ann, let her know you learned about her from the Pittsburgh Dish. Up next, looking for a spot where great food is the focus with no frills. Karen Huang sets the stage for a trip to Tram's Kitchen. Hey everybody, we're joined today with Karen Huang of Karen.huang on Instagram. Karen, you're a content creator and self-professed foodie and adventurer. A lot of times when I see your food post on Instagram, I think that a lot of folks might get the idea that you're really about the, I don't know, more bougie places. Is there a place that maybe doesn't fit that mold that you've been to recently and had a great meal?

Karen:

Yeah, that's a great question. So I am a bougie girl. I do love the finer things in life, but I also love a locally owned place, hole in the wall where maybe you don't go for the vibe, but you go for the food. So a recommendation I have is Tram's Kitchen. So it's Vietnamese. It's in Lawrenceville. And uh you do not go here for ambiance. No, I've been there.

Doug:

It's so delicious, though. It is right on Penn Avenue. Yes. They've been open for years.

Karen:

Yep, they've been open for a long time. And you go in and you're like, this looks, you know, a little bit like a shady office building. Let's go inside. You go inside, you're like, okay, I see, I see the plastic tablecloths. I see um, you know, the industrial carpet. Yeah. Um, and then, you know, you get the menu, you order, they only take cash. They do have an ATM, they only take cash, but that's how you know it's good. When they when they only take cash. Which I agree. Exactly. And then um, you get served and then uh perhaps a tiny bit of a language barrier. You know, they bring your food out in a pretty quick fashion, I would say it's good. The boom ba way there, slaps. Highly recommend. Boom ba way. And they make their, I heard that they made their bang mi bread like they're fresh. Oh and at the end of night, you do not even think about getting a printed receipt. That is not a thing. You will get a handwritten receipt, you will barely be able to read it. It will have the total for the whole table. You just put down some cash and you hope for the best. And that is how Trans Kitchen is. Um, but yes, I love whole in the wall places and I love sporting local. So that's what I'm all about.

Doug:

I think you've given us the perfect expectation. I do want to ask a little bit more about uh maybe the last time you visited. Do you recall trying any new dishes or something that really wowed you that you could describe to our listeners?

Karen:

Uh so I'm afraid that every time I go, I usually do go for the boom ba we. I look at it and I go, Yeah, I have to. I'm sorry. It's my favorite. It's spicy, it's the best boom ba we in Pittsburgh, in my opinion.

Doug:

If someone is not familiar with that dish, describe for us a little bit more on what are we eating? What do we see on the plate?

Karen:

Uh so it reminds me of Fub Butter. So definitely spicier. So if you're not into spicy, maybe sear clear of this one, but spicier. Same thing with um with like the rice noodles. And I think it's just that incredible umami flavor in the broth. You really have to try it to really get what it's about.

Doug:

So this is a bowl of broth with other additions.

Karen:

Yeah, you know, you'll have your rice noodles, you'll have some kind of meat, um, usually beef of some sort, if I recall. But yeah, it's it's come for food at its finest.

Doug:

And you have mentioned before that you like spice. So this is a higher spice level.

Karen:

Yes, it's a higher spice level. Oh, I'm I'm the type of person that will order an eight out of 10 at a truth high place.

Doug:

Oh, we cannot. Well, we'll just not fight about it. I will not be that person. So we're talking about trams in Lawrenceville. It's actually up along Penn Avenue. Karen, thanks so much. Yeah, thank you. You can follow Karen on Instagram at Karen.huang. Are you interested in possibly the most streamlined yet tasty guacamole recipe? Lisa Ray of Hamajack has it. Hey everybody, we're joined today with Lisa Ray of Hamajack Heat Company. They make the Hamma Jack hot sauces. Lisa, when we were here last, we talked all about the sauces and your hot sauce festival, the first of its kind. I was wondering when you're at home, do you have a recipe that you go to that uses one of the hot sauces?

Lisa:

I have many recipes that are our go-to's with our hot sauces now. However, there's one recipe in particular that I share at events. It often results in non-hot sauce lovers purchasing one of our sauces.

Doug:

Oh, I like this.

Lisa:

This is our sublime sauce. It makes a delicious, quick, easy guacamole. All you need is one large avocado, a tablespoon of sublime sauce.

Doug:

And is this the sauce that's made with the jalapeno? Am I remembering that right? Yes.

Lisa:

It is a green sauce made with jalapeno. So one tablespoon of that sauce, one tablespoon of fresh lime juice, just because I like a lot of lime in my half in my guacamole, and then an eighth teaspoon of salt. Literally, that's all. Okay. Mash it up. Of course, you can add onion if you want, you can add tomato if you want. But this is the quickest delicious guacamole. And I often will even have it at events for people to taste.

Doug:

Yes.

Lisa:

And when people walk by and I try to engage with them and they say, Oh, I'm not into hot sauce, and I'll ask them, Do you like guacamole? And most people do like guacamole. Right. There's some crazy people who don't, but most people do. So I will sometimes have a sample of that that they can try. And I have had a number of people buy the sublime sauce claiming to not like hot sauce, but they love the guacamole so much.

Doug:

Wow. All right. So sublime guacamole needs to be in my rotation here the next time I watch it.

Lisa:

Absolutely. The next time you want some guacamole, fast.

Barbara Ann:

Yes.

Doug:

I love a quick hit like that. And I can imagine it adds all those layers of flavor.

Lisa:

Yes. It has a lot of the ingredients that you would put in guacamole already in the sauce.

Doug:

Sounds perfect. Lisa Ray, thank you so much for the recipe, and thanks for being on the Pittsburgh Dish. It's been wonderful. Thank you. You can find Sublime Hot Sauce along with many others at Lisa's website, hamajack.com. 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 Selecki 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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