Frankie & Georgie’s 4 Wood Grille
by: Steve Montellese
Frankie & Georgie’s 4 Wood Grille, a play on words for Forward Grille, is located on – guess where – Forward Avenue in Squirrel Hill. The restaurant is conveniently located off the Squirrel Hill exit on Forward Avenue below the Forward Bowling Lanes. You will definitely look forward to this restaurant! At first glance, you might expect typical bar food, but you would definitely be wrong. Owners, Frankie (Frank Pasquarelli and his wife Bobbi Jo) & Georgie (George Fisher) have teamed up to create a new menu and we can’t wait to tell you all about it. Top quality homemade food at great affordable prices with top notch service and a great atmosphere.
The Executive Chef, Chad Rapp along with Chef, Robert Lamison prepared some really fun, unique and delicious dishes.
We sipped on Foxhorn Cabernet, the featured house selection which was an excellent choice for a house wine. There is also a long list of wines and Champagnes by the bottle, starting extremely low and ranging up to about $50. There is also a fabulous list of specialty martinis, frozen drinks and a really nice beer selection with about 100 interesting brews. Something for everyone!
We started off with a signature dish handed down from Grandma – Italian Egg Rolls ($5.95). These eggrolls are made from sausage, meatball and cheese filling wrapped in a typical egg roll shell. The result is an unexpected combination of tastes and textures that went together surprisingly well. It was sort of like Italy meets China, and Italy won! This is definitely a “must try.”
Next, we sampled the Chicken Marsala ($14.99). These tender medallions of chicken were covered with fresh mushrooms and an incredibly tangy (but not sour) Marsala wine sauce that truly made your mouth dance. This I’m sure has a lot to with the fact that the sauce is made to order and doesn’t sit around waiting to be ordered. I liked this dish so much I had to go home and try to make it myself. So far my version has not been quite as good. Guess I need to go back for some more tastings and lessons!
OK, raise your hands – who out there loves ribs? Well, let me tell you, the Baby Back Ribs ($16.99) were incredible. The 4 Wood Grille refers to them as “soon to be famous” and I would absolutely agree. I actually ate them with a knife and fork because the marinated, dry rubbed ribs just fell off the bones, so juicy, tender and delicious. Probably the best ribs I’ve ever tasted.
Next we sampled the Pasta Primavera ($12.99) which comes with your choice of four sauces over fresh vegetables and fettuccini. The sauce choices are Marinara, Alfredo, Marfredo or Olive Oil & Garlic. We sampled the olive oil & garlic sauce. This was a wonderfully light and refreshing dish that was revitalizing and springy with just enough garlic to be flavorful but not overwhelming. I plan on going back to sample the other sauces because the oil & garlic sauce was absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to try the other sauces.
Finally, we sampled the Pepperoni Pizza with Green Pepper and Onions ($16.09). 4 Wood Grille makes authentic pizza dough and sauce. The pizza dough was delightful, not too filling, not too thin, but the perfect thin crust pizza. Their pizza dough and sauce are made fresh daily and are simply delicious, you’ll savor every bite and keep coming back for more. The best thin crust pizza in the burgh! The pizzas come in 14” – 8 cut ($9.99) and 16” – 12 cut ($13.99) sizes to suit your appetite and you can get your choice of 10 pizza toppings. They also serve their pizza by the slice for a very reasonable price ($1.75).
Their extensive menu includes sandwiches, gourmet burgers, salads, wings, pizza, calzones plus dinner entrees from seafood to filet, chicken, pasta and their famous baby back ribs. They definitely have something for everyone and prices that won’t break your budget.
In addition to all of this great food, the 4 Wood Grill has a wonderful entertainment schedule. Billy Price appears there every Thursday night at 8pm. You can check out their entire entertainment schedule on their website at FrankieandGeorgies.Shutterfly.com
Also be sure and make your New Year’s Eve Party reservations featuring the Cause – Only $20 includes full dinner buffet, champagne toast, noise makers and entertainment. To make your reservation call: 412-422-5027.
Open daily 3pm – 2AM Monday through Sunday – kitchen open nightly till 11pm. They also feature nightly specials and live entertainment, call for more information. Frankie & Georgie’s 4 Wood Grille is located at 5832 Forward Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15207