One of the coolest things about living in the East End of Pittsburgh is being able to order from Wheel Deliver. I can say this with much confidence because I no longer live in the East End and mightily miss being able to take advantage. And so, when I find myself house-sitting for my parents in Highland Park, or just hanging out with Saundra for an evening on the screen porch, Wheel Deliver is an excellent alternative to same-old-same-old pizza or Chinese take-out (and lower-carb, too).

The Wheel Deliver Menu

For those who may not be familiar with this service, Wheel Deliver is a centralized dispatch service that takes delivery orders for a variety of member restaurants in the Pittsburgh area. They publish a booklet of menus from member restaurants that will arrive at your house seasonally once you start ordering; the menus are also available online on pdf. The menu items are no more expensive on the Wheel Deliver menu, though they do charge a delivery fee and it is expected that you will tip your waiter/delivery person just as you would at a restaurant. As delivery services go, I can assure you that the tips are well-deserved. I've been in restaurants when the Wheel Deliver guy shows up for a pick-up. He doesn't just pack the food and leave; he conscientiously checks to make sure the order is correct. Make no mistake, Wheel Deliver is a classy service, though they offer food from a wide variety of restaurants from the fancy to the casual. One of mine and Saundra's favorites, Moré, is a member restaurant, but we also enjoy ordering from a variety of their members, including Alexander's in Bloomfield, Pino's in Point Breeze and Joe Mama's in Oakland. We also ordered quite often from Poli before they closed.

The table set for Wheel Deliver

Last Friday, Saundra and I decided to do a Wheel Deliver night. After browsing through the menu we decided to order from the Murray Avenue Grill. I had been there once many years ago and had not been impressed with my pasta dish. But that was back when I was a vegetarian, and let's face it, pasta dishes are usually disappointing at restaurants. And so, I was interested to try this restaurant's food again, and we were both intrigued by the low carb offerings. As we do on any Wheel Deliver night, Saundra and I set the table out on the screen porch in full fancy-schmancy style. We used her Waterford Mondavi Pinot Noir glasses because, well, we had a bottle of pinot noir and when one is drinking pinot noir and owns Waterford pinot noir glasses, it's kinda the most logical thing to do. Another important thing to note about Wheel Deliver—you get to save some money by providing your own wine for a meal from restaurants that aren't necessarily BYOB. Our table was also appointed with Kate Spade (Sorry, Kate, I'm giving you capital letters) Noel Lenox Crystal Water Classes. Kate Spade Noel is not a crystal pattern I normally collect, but when I saw a set of four water glasses at TJ Maxx a couple months ago, I just had to seize on the deal. Normally $30 or $35 apiece, these glasses were on sale of $5 apiece at TJ Maxx. An excellent find—after all, so many crystal wineglass lines anymore don't offer a water glass, or if they do it's not very interesting looking. It's often the most plain and boring of the collection. The Kate Spade glasses are hip and modern and a great complement to the Waterford Mondavi.

Take a moment to note the Waterford Mondavi and Kate Spade Noel Crystal

Also among the tabletop accoutrements were places settings of Saundra's sterling pattern, Lunt Rapallo. It's the second or third time we've used them, and I count it a victory. You must understand, I would have a sterling pattern and use it regularly if it were even remotely within my power to buy one—but you can understand my dilemma I'm sure... "Should I pay for health insurance this month, or should I buy one sterling dinner knife?" So, alas, I won't have sterling for a good long time, and here are Neilbert and Saundra with a flatware chest full of eight place-settings plus selected serving utensils, but are they using them? No! The chest is sitting around collecting dust in its super secret hiding place. Yes, I understand that Rapallo pieces go for an average of $50 apiece on Replacements.com (though, it's a bargain compared to my fabled sterling pattern Vera Wang Byzantium in which pieces cost three times as much because Vera's name is on it. To be fair, I guess Vera—as a self-employed business woman—has to pay for health insurance, too), but what good does it do a person to have sterling flatware if you never use it? Add to this realization a morsel of table-setting wisdom that Professor G shared with me—unlike crystal and china which is just more aesthetically pleasing than its bargain-basement counterparts, sterling flatware actually affects the flavor of food. Or, perhaps, it's more correct to say that it doesn't affect the flavor, whereas stainless steel leaves an aftertaste when you put it in your mouth. Yes folks, poverty even affects the taste of your food—well, I guess we could all solve the dilemma by going even further south in our aesthetic by using plastic flatware. Spork, anyone?

Note Saundra's and Neilbert's Lunt Rapallo

And so, about two months ago, I confronted Neilbert and Saundra and demanded they unearth the sterling. Neilbert turned his newspaper to the next page. I explained that I understood that they didn't want the whole chest just sitting out where cat burglars could pick up the whole thing and make off with it, but what about having two or four place settings sitting out in easy reach so that we could actually use them? I demanded that he tell me the super secret hiding place of the sterling (to be fair, he had told me years ago, for future reference, in the event of family tragedy... but I forgot...)! Saundra had no objections; Neilbert told me that it wasn't my sterling and so it wasn't my decision. It was then that I spontaneously remembered! "It's in the *cough*... hermmermer... place isn't it!" I declared, and said, "I'm going to get two place settings and just you try to stop me!" Neilbert folded up the front section of the paper and reached for Sports. And so, I got two place settings out to keep on hand for occasional use (i.e. when Saundra and I have dinner on the porch).

As Neilbert left for his Friday Night Skate, Saundra and I placed our orders at Wheel Deliver. She had a craving for chicken parm, and so ordered accordingly, but only with promises that I would share some of my New York Strip steak with her. The Wheel Deliver folks brought our meal precisely on time, and I resisted taking a surreptitious photo of the Wheel Deliver guy—you know, in case he's in the witness protection program. The entrées at Murray Avenue Grill come with salad and a choice of side; for both Saundra and I the choice was steamed vegetables. Low-carb, remember? Also like mother like daughter was the choice of blue cheese dressing on the salad. The dressing was tasty but the salad left a lot to be desired. Some dark greens, yes, but some white chunky iceberg pieces, and frankly the salad in general seemed a little wilted. The vegetables were well-steamed, the green beans still a little crisp and the broccoli not too stiff. Pieces of red pepper were a plus. My steak was a thick and generous serving, though more medium than rare as I had ordered. It was also a bit fatty in places. I realize that some people like fat in their steak, and the rim of fat along one side of the meat was easy enough to avoid. But in the core section of the steak there was a pretty thick marble of fat that was a challenge to cut around. I did my best, but ultimately a large piece of fat with clinging meat got tossed to Chrissy, the family cocker spaniel, who I never usually throw scraps to, but she ate like a queen that night.

An uneven meal but a fun night of Wheel Deliver, followed by a short Queer as Folk marathon. Yes folks, I got Saundra hooked! Beware, this is the sort of thing that happens when you spend the weekend in my guest room.