Q: positive

A: Wow, I'm becoming a bigger and bigger fan of Moroccan food everyday. I had my first tajine dish awhile back in the wilderness of Big Sur, CA and now an all vegetarian lunch in Mt. Lebanon. Obviously, this food niche is filling out every corner of the states. First of all, Kous Kous' atmosphere is very inviting, the colors and lighting definitely take you away from Pgh. Chef Khila even came out to ask us about our meal, and give us tips on preserving lemons and finding Moroccan spices in the Strip. The food was absolutely delicious and fulfilling. I'm not easily satiated, so a vegetarian meal that fills me is astonishing. We had appetizers of eggplant zaalouk, hummus, and tak-tooka (peppers and olives). All we're served cold and complemented each other well. We shared the veggie couscous for a main hot dish, and it had a very nice blend of spices and a WIDE variety of grilled vegetables. To add a local element - we saw an Amish farmer come into the kitchen to talk produce sales with the chef! Is Pittsburgh becoming a bastion of local buying, vegetarianism, and cross culture dining?!?!? I love it, keep up the good work Kous Kous.

Q: positive

A: More precisely 4.9 Had a fabulous dinner experience there, sitting at the bar (probably the best places in the restaurant in fact): the waiter takes care of you, suggests good wines, explains to you how the restaurant was created, how the menus are re-thought every day etc. Food was really good!!! fresh, good ingredients. From the bar, you can even see cookers, all super friendly guys who really seem to love what they do. You would think you are on Iron Chief on Food Channel, watching them preparing so great things! Why not a whole 5? Veal in vineto starter was a little bit too chewy (why not adding one slice of red tunna instead of 3 veal slices?); food portions for (a very) big guy can be a little bit too small (and finally, I have a 5 star restaurant in Montreal, unbeaten so far)

Q: positive

A: My husband and I went here for the first time the other night and we both thought it was amazing! I had the Grilled Salmon Fiorentine and my husband had the classic Baked Lasagna. He said it was the best lasagna he had ever had and my salmon was absolutely ridiculously good. Went home with no leftovers! Yummy, everyone should try this place. We were each able to get a free drink from the bar with our foursquare check-in. We also used a $25 restaurant.com gift certificate that we purchased for $2!! Lovely date night with my husband at a romantic place on a budget. You can't beat it!!

Q: negative

A:
I went here recently to see a couple of world-class singers in the adult contemporary/pop genre. Too bad the venue is run by amateurs. The singers and their bands were outstanding. I don't fault them, which is why I'm not mentioning their names, although when I was playing drums in classic rock and country cover bands, somebody always went out to do a sound-check before we played. Okay, here we go: The seats on the floor were small, uncomfortable, and squeezed ridiculously close together. The acoustics in the place were awful, with a concrete floor and absolutely nothing on the walls to soak up the sound. The band was way too loud. The mix was terrible; you could hear some instruments while other were barely audible if you could hear them at all. The lead vocal mics were feeding back. Finally, and probably worst of all, they pointed the flood and spotlights directly into the audience's eyes frequently and multiple times per song. I spent most of my time watching the monitors rather than the stage, or just sitting there with my eyes closed. I wish I could have done the same with my ears. I ended up leaving shortly after the second act took the stage. It was the most dreadful concert experience of my life. I will happily go see either act play again--just not at Mandalay Bay.