Rachel Carlson is Yelp’s chief evangelist in Pittsburgh who appears regularly on KDKA Pittsburgh Today Live, has a podcast on WESA Pittsburgh called Social Club and has her finger on the pulse of what’s going on in our city.

Best meal Rachel had last week (aside from turkey)?

“I was at Gaucho to pick up food to feature on my KDKA segment. I was covering restaurants that I think are great to take out-of-towners to around the holidays. I think Gaucho is one of the perfect little places that shows off how far we’ve come. Truly great Argentinian food. You can smell the food from blocks away.

Anthony, the owner, is always up front, greeting everyone, taking everyone’s orders. On the chalkboard menu, there is a sign that says “have a positive day” – this just embodies what Anthony is.

I picked up the Rosemary Braised Beef sandwich and it was awesome. And it’s not only the meat sandwiches—they have great vegetarian options—everything is wood-fired, it’s all about the flavor.”

Leah Lizarondo

Leah Lizarondo is a food advocate, writer and speaker. She is also the co-founder of 412 Food Rescue, an organization that seeks to eliminate food waste to make an impact on hunger and the environment. She is the Chief Veghacker, recipe creator and curator at The Brazen Kitchen, where she writes about food and food policy. She writes about the intersection of food, health, innovation and policy.