text: Living downtown I have the distinct privilege of being able to eat at great and not so great restaurants on a regular this leads to a bit of a foodie malaise as I am inundated with the good and the bad frequently Then a night like tonight happensnWelcome to the trendy Six Penn KitchennI walked in without a reservation waiting for the inevitable do you have a reservation with the slight eye roll and pretentiousness that comes with that loaded question Instead I was greeted warmly at the door with a good evening I let them know I did not have a reservation but was hoping to grab a table They very politely let me know that it would be approximately fifteen minutes to reset a table or we could choose to sit at a high top table without the wait Let the fun beginnMy party of three sat at a high top in the bar area and were promptly approached by the bartender asking if we would like a drink He took our order with ease and I threw him a curve ball I asked for a drink I had experienced earlier in the week for the first time and man it was good Unfortunately he had not heard of it before but instead of say nope sorry or HUH he politely let me know he did not know the drink then hit me with a few popular ones he could nail I asked for my fall back drink I LOVE the Moscow Mule which he said he could do without the copper cup and I was good with that I will tell you this much no copper cup did not mess up his mules trip to Moscow one bit quite a tasty drink nOn to our table which was situated nicely in a beautifully appointed dinning area near the open view kitchen I do not know who decorated and designed this space but they are brilliant The lighting was bright enough to be cheery but dimmed enough to make for a potential romantic setting for a date or a nice dinner with your family The kitchen is a lively teeming view which gives a taste of trendy awesome but also feels a bit like watching Hells Kitchen live and your getting the food The volume is superb not loud so you can speak with your table without raising your voice and not quiet so you feel like you are eating at a pretentious swank establishment where grabbing the wrong fork may lead to snickers and pointing So the atmosphere of this cool and upbeat place immediately grabs me and sets me down a path to what would become possibly the best dinning experience I have had living in Downtown PittsburghnOur server David was prompt polite professional and in a true sign of a great server eased us into our dinning experience He gave us time to peruse the menus was unobtrusive and there when we had a question nOn to the good stuff THE FOODnSo I am not sure why or how this place ended up with a three star nWe ordered the Flash Fried Calamari Shrimp as an appetizer As our food came to the table our server kindly introduced us to the plate from the main ingredients along with the great sauces provided MAN it was GOOD The chef and his crew made sure that the calamari and shrimp were the stars of this appetizer which lead to a tender moist and lightly breaded mound of scrumptiousness What a way to kick off a dinnernWhat made the meal even better was watching and listening to the Executive SousChef de Cuisine Corey Hughes He directed the kitchen like a WWII field general maintaining the smooth troop movements and precise battle field execution He deftly controlled the pass ensuring that only the best was leaving his kitchen to tickle the guests palates I thank you sir for your deft touch it made this moment in culinary time suspend twist and turn on my taste buds like mmmmm yumminessnThen the entrees reach the table with the elegance of Cinderella descending to the dance floor to meet prince charming Once landed in front of our eyes the entrees stood there gorgeously plated screaming for forks knives and the gnashing of our terrible teethnnWe ordered the signature Cracklin Pork Shank Gourmet Burger and Buffalo Mac N Cheese nnHOLY CRUD OMG ARE YOU KIDDING ME The burger my wife ordered looked amazing and my wife could not put it down According to her this oz burger was juicy with a crown of ham and egg which left her sorry it was gone My daughter let me steal a bite of her Buffalo Mac N Cheese again the food was stuck on awesome The bite I had was cheesy real cheesy and instead of just tasting cheese there was a plethora of other subtleties then the real surprise twist some heat oh yeah some good heat that made this cheesy ooey gooeyness just right On to the dish I took a chance on and I am so so so glad I did It was listed on the menu in their Signature section Well let me tell you something SIGNATURE INDEED I thought I needed a knife to attack this huge portion of meat To my surprise again the meat fell off the bone quite literally fell off the bone It was moist perfect melt in your mouth goodness