Pittsburgh's Squirrel Cage

Only in Pittsburgh could a place whose official name is the Squirrel Hill Café be known universally as the Squirrel Cage, or just the Cage.  As long as I've lived in the city, it's been a neighborhood institution near the corner of Forbes and Murray in Squirrel Hill.  It is basically a bar, serving beer and pub food, but it is by no means generic.  It has the character that only a neighborhood bar that has been an institution for years can have.  One of my earliest memories of it was seeing a guy eating a big salad.  It might have been surprising to see somebody eating something healthy at the Cage, until I saw that he was squirting some kind of creamy dressing on his salad with every other bite.

Having come from Buffalo, Janna likes wings, but hasn't yet come to trust any place in Pittsburgh to make them correctly.  However, she does accept the Cage's wings, as long as they serve them with no sauce--she brings her own.  On our last visit our waitress was quite understanding, saying she came from Albany.

Whenever we visit I get fried mushrooms with ranch sauce (no marinara for me).  No, it's not exactly health food (but what do you expect from a bar?) but I can't resist.  It reminds me of my college days when I would get the same thing at Treno's or Coslow's in Champaign-Urbana.  It's a pleasant association from my past.  For my main dish I usually have a burger.  The Cage's burgers are not necessarily spectacular, but are still quite good.

The Cage has developed a decent selection of beers.  I don't remember this from my visits in years past, but they seem to have kept up with the times and have some nice selections, such as Dogfish Head and Czechvar.  There are also more local favorites such as Yuengling available.  They are a good accompaniment with just about any of the food they serve.

I wouldn't eat at the Cage often, but there are times when it's just the right place to go; a place to eat simple pub food and have a decent beer amongst an interesting clientele at a Pittsburgh hangout that's been around for years.