This Week at the Herdic House
While this heat wave was a bit more expected than the last one, it’s good to know that it’ll be wrapping up its run today—so we can return to just normal, slightly sweltering conditions in the Herdic kitchen. But with temps in the mid-90s predicted for this afternoon, we couldn’t think of a better Blue Plate for the weather than a taco salad. Tonight’s will be made with Misty Mountain Farm beef, crumbled queso, avocado crema, tomato-corn pico de gallo, crispy tortilla strips and a cumin-inflected summer veggie sauté. It’s $18 at our House, and $20 to go, like always—but, per usual, our number of to-go orders will be very limited. We’ll also have chèvre and prosciutto roasted peaches as an appetizer this evening, with Bordlerless Flavor’s delicious arugula…
Come join us for our Thursday happy hours at the bar, from 5-7 pm, with $1 off all beers and $2 off wines by the glass. Plus we’ll be serving our Thursday night feature that feigns healthiness, all while loaded with the tangy umami of ranch dressing: house favorite Herdic Pittsburgh salad, this week served with tenderloin tips, fresh-cut fries, grated cheddar and parmesan ranch. Plus, Hannah will have cantaloup-ginger margaritas at the bar…
But this First Friday is what we’re truly excited about this week—when we’ll be hosting an exhibition by Richard Allen and a selection of other photographers from the Audubon Society, with photos of everything from native neighborhood birds to the majestic bald eagle. The opening will take place in our Lounge from 5-7 pm, but the show will range throughout the House, including pieces on the patio, weather permitting, and will focus particularly on Richard’s photos of a nest of three bald eaglets that fledged this spring.
It’s heady stuff, and a stunning example of one of the millions of reasons we love our little valley here—one which is full to the brim these precious summer weeks of flittering beetles, roly-poly caterpillars, darting fish, eager birds, fluttering butterflies and all the wildlife in between. This morning, in fact, Liz’s kids were so lucky as to hatch out a black swallowtail butterfly at their dining room table, from a caterpillar Liz accidentally collected while harvesting fennel in her garden—a beautiful, tiny, overwhelming event, and one repeated across fields and forests all around PA every morning this summer, yet no less miraculous for its ubiquity.
But the other reason we love our little PA valley is the one we sing hymns to every week: the spectacular fruits and veggies she reaps for us every week in the summer season. And this week is no exception—so we’ll have those glorious veggies on full display with our featured menu this Friday….and on Saturday, as always, we’ll be featuring whatever delicious new stuff turns up at market. But back to Friday’s menu…
- Cantaloupe-ginger margaritas with a chili pepper rim (the cocktail so delicious, it should be on the menu, Hannah—hint, hint)
- Creamy and spicy tomato soup with a sweet corn salsa
- Heirloom tomato panzanella with Tewksbury white cucumbers, toasted housemade bread, a walla-walla and spicy pepper dressing and shaved parmesan
- Grilled bone-in pork chops from Misty Mountain Farm, served over a bacon-laced potato and bean salad in a peach barbecue sauce and finished with crispy walla-walla onion rings
- Peach and blueberry buckle served with a scoop of housemade sweet corn ice cream