It was on Thursday during my 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. class when Co-Editor-in-Chief Carson Folio forced me to watch as he consumed an ice cream sandwich right in front of me. The sight of it gave me a craving for sweets and an itch to find an ice cream shop to get my own treat after class.
It was late, and I didn’t want to go to Insomnia Cookies. Folio got his desert from Point Perk, which was closed.
So on Google Maps, I looked until I found Page’s Dairy Mart located at East Carson Street in the Southside Flats. It’s a popular Pittsburgh classic that’s open from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.
When I landed in line at 9:10 p.m., I waited with one goal in mind: to order an ice cream sandwich. Yet after looking at the menu, which didn’t have any prices listed on it, I realized there was more here than ice cream.
There’s also affordable grill food.
So, as any reasonable and hungry college student would after class, I ordered a cheeseburger with 15-cent lettuce and mayonnaise and then a South Side Hotdog that comes with a sweet and spicy sauce.
After waiting in a long line for 35 minutes, I finally reached the window at exactly 9:45 p.m. before the grill closed. Once my order was made, I was called over to take two brown paper bags. One was filled with my hot food and the other had my chocolate chip ice cream sandwich (and two other ice creams for my parents).
While I rushed to get into my car and drive home with my melting ice cream, I opened up the South Side Hotdog. This was the sauciest dog to ever grace my lips. The bun was soft and warm, but not soggy. The sauce left a tinge of spice on the tip of the tongue and a sweet tang on the back of the throat.
Somewhere in between the red sauce, there were crispy and chewy bits that aided the texture. They didn’t make the sauce taste differently though.
As for the cheeseburger, its bun was even softer and the grease from the meat went into the bun. The lettuce was fresh. Overall, it was an average burger, but didn’t taste processed like something from a fast food place.
The food was tasty and came out fast. I’d compare it to fast food if the wait in line wasn’t 30 minutes. In its bun, the hot dog was even sliced in half. Probably to let it cook faster.
As for dessert, it wasn’t the most fancy, but it was what I went to Page’s for. The $5.28 chocolate chip sandwich.
This thing was thickly filled with ice cream. And as I’m writing this, a quarter of it is still in my refrigerator. It had two vanilla cookies sandwiched between vanilla ice cream and was rolled in chocolate chips.
The ice cream was milky and wasn’t overly sweet. Additionally, each bite came off in a solid chunk rather than rolling out of the cookie. Although I wouldn’t recommend it if you have cavities.
My teeth were hurting from the cold and I struggled to get through even a quarter of it.
The sandwich was super plain compared to my mother’s banana split arctic swirl which she said tasted worse than a Dairy Queen Blizzard. I disagreed upon tasting the fruity concoction. She probably thought it was worse because the ice cream is less sweet at Page’s, which was something that I liked.
Next time, I plan to order some icecream that has more ingredients.
Page’s Dairy Mart is certainly not something to pass up on while you’re in Pittsburgh. Whether it’s for the quick bite or something sweet, they’re surely going to fill it.
Cassandra rated Page’s Dairy Mart 3.5 Globes out of 5.
