Budgeting Lunch: Salem's Market & Grill's hot bar is a great deal

By Hal B. Klein / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

This is the first installment in a new series exploring budget-friendly lunch options in Pittsburgh. We’ll offer suggestions for where to go — including what we love there.

The restaurant: Salem’s Market & Grill is a powerhouse of Middle Eastern cuisine offering a ton of budget-friendly options from its delightful menu. Here, you’ll find various wraps and sandwiches, as well as a top-tier hamburger prepared from its house-ground, custom beef blend. The open-kitchen concept adds to the energetic atmosphere, as does the gregariousness of the staff. 

The move: Medium hot bar meal, for $13.90 with tax.

What you get: A massive lunch big enough for leftovers. Choose from a heaping base of white rice or house salad. Chicken biryani and Greek salad are offered for an additional 99 cents.

Then pick two six-ounce portions from the hot bar. Selections include chicken in various forms (curry, tandoori, grilled, tikka masala), spinach and paneer, vegetable curry and chana masala. Goat and lamb curries are also available, for a small upcharge. You’ll also get a large pita with your meal. You’ll almost certainly have leftovers unless you’re very, very hungry. 

Why it’s a fair shake: Salem’s uses economies of scale to keep its prices a little bit lower than the norm for meals of the quality and quantity served in its restaurant.

It operates a large retail grocery store in the Hill District, which opened in February, and a smaller (and now reopened) shop adjacent to the restaurant in the Strip District, in addition to robust wholesale and catering operations.

Salem’s whole animal (most of it locally sourced) butchery program is vital to offering great deals to its customers.

Where you’re going: Second-generation Salem’s owner Abdullah Salem opened the Strip District restaurant in 2010. His father, Libyan immigrant Massaud Salem, launched the business as a butcher shop in Oakland in 1981.

A helpful side: In a rush? Order ahead online. You can still enjoy your meal in the lively dining room if you want to.

2923 Penn Ave., Strip District; salemsmarketgrill.com