The Pickle Barrel

If you want to hear some real Pittsburgh accents, this is ground zero. It’s one of the most local joints I’ve been in, and I love it. The dogs are among the longest, but I might even prefer them plain to Pittsburgher with cheddar and olives on it. They use Smith hot dogs, which have some pork in there, the owner says it prevents them from shriveling up. I don’t subscribe to kosher, so bring it maximum. Watch them grill it behind the counter and speak up to add on loaded fries — I wish I did.
Check out the other reviews: 5 stars, 5 stars, 4 stars, 2 stars and 1 star. That’s some polarizing shit. And the 2 star is from a vegetarian, cat lady — Keep it! That’s how I know Pickle Barrel is for me.

I had a veggie hoagie and cheese fries. The fries were thin and went straight from the bag to the fryer, the cheese ‘sauce’ was cheese powder mixed with too much water and my hoagie was a bunch of fried veggies (even the lettuce) poured over a burnt bun. They also made the mistake of putting canned mushrooms in the mix. I loathe canned mushrooms! Blah, yuck, gross!
I’m giving this place 2 stars as a vegetarian, perhaps if I ate meat The Pickle Barrel would score higher. It is dirt cheap and if they had veggie alternatives I would definitely return.

My experience here was weird as shit.
I came to the Pickle Barrel with two friends one morning a couple of months ago. We sat down, ordered coffee and drinks, and then waited. Forever. I’m not kidding. My friend’s diet coke eventually made its way into the picture at some undefined point in time, but all three of our waters and the coffee just never came. There were maybe 4 other customers and definitely 3 employees working the entire time we were there. We all ordered something off the menu and NOT ONE OF US got what we ordered. And while we ate what we didn’t order… we still didn’t have drinks after politely reminding the staff twice. How the hell is this place still in business?
I do have to say that the staff atleast knew what poor service was going on and took several items off of our bill. I think I ended up paying 89 cents or some really weird amount. The experience was almost like being drunk in a completely sober state as I left the place thinking to myself, «Did that just happen? Is this real life?»
What a «pickel» that situation was.

If you’re broke, love tasty burgers and live in Da Burgh or just visiting… THIS IS YOUR PLACE! I love this place… CHEAPEST BURGERS IN TOWN! The only down side is… it’s not 24 hour! I now live back in California and a tear comes to my eye every time a thought passes through my mind of my dear Pickle Barrel… tasty morsels… out as fast as they went in. WE WILL REUNTIE THIS SOON!

Great greasy spoon breakfast! If you’re craving a cheap hotdog or burger with all the fixins, look no further. I enjoy the food here, and it’s super cheap. You can’t really go wrong. I’m not a fan of the chilli fries. but that’s just me

One day for some reason I was craving a hot dog with sauerkraut, like the ones at the Brighton Hot Dog Shoppes in Beaver County. Where on earth could I find such a thing on the south side? Only at the Pickle Barrel.
They have all sorts of toppings for their burgers and footlong hot dogs, and they also make a big deal about their fries, which can be loaded with chili, bacon, cheese, or onions. It’s standard greasy spoon kinda stuff, but pretty cheap and in a friendly (though not air conditioned) environment.
I see a lot of the south side old timers here for breakfast too.