David R. Magill is a restaurant owner, chef extraordinary, Lower Burrell native of Irish ancestry, and a single dad with three kids! And, he wants everyone to know he is back full time in the kitchen at Mogie’s doing what great Chefs do – turning out sumptuous dishes. Patrons and those who are familiar with Mogie’s know exactly what that means, a particular touch and flavor he gives to meals.

“Everything I buy is top quality”, he says. “I do not buy frozen foods, it’s all fresh,” he continued. For instance, take Tuna. He buys the center cut only, considered the best you can get in Tuna. The quality grade Tuna could be sushi, but he serves it as Pan Seared Saku Tuna, an appetizer seared with black sesame seeds or cracked peppercorns finished with marinated cucumbers. Another excellent and popular appetizer is Jumbo Shrimp, blackened or black and blue. He also offers Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail; Potato Croquettes (shredded potato, scallion, and Monterey Jack cheese breaded and fried); Brushetta Tuscan; Boston Crab Cakes; Stuffed mushrooms and four other Appetizer items.

As Dave Magill and I were talking about the menu, he called it “upscale”, but affordable. Upscale is usually associated with price, but Dave is really talking about the high quality of the food served. One of the perceptions about Mogie’s is that it is pricey. That is not true at all, as I quickly learned after he showed me the luncheon and dinner menus. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to find pricing very competitive with other restaurants. If you never been to Mogie’s because you thought it would be too expensive, you are really are missing great food that will fit your budget.

Mogie’s is a traditional eatery featuring American, Italian and seafood cooking. There is something for everyone. Dave says that Mogie’s is very much a family restaurant. His three children are often there with him after school hours and Dave says many families with children are customers. He is very devoted to his kids and runs his schedule around them. Dave told me he grew up in a single parent home with his mom and that is where he found his passion for cooking.

Getting back to the great meals you will find at Mogie’s, the dinner menu offers Pasta, Beef, Veal, Pork, and Chicken Entrees (each in its own category offering three to six selections) in addition to 16 Seafood Entrees. I immediately spotted one of my favorites done in a style I’ve yet to try, Swordfish Teriyaki. Other interesting dishes were Sesame Crusted Tuna, Citrus Crusted Salmon, Blackened Sea Scallops, among other inviting dishes. There is one seafood dish under the Pasta that looked interesting: Seafood ale Jocko, shrimp and scallops sautéed in olive oil with garlic, basil, and plum tomatoes, served over fresh pasta. Dave also offers Linguine clam sauce in addition to Alfredo, Vera and Aioli sauces on request for his Pasta dinners. These dishes start at $8.25 and up.

There are two dinner features during the week. Monday and Tuesdays “all you can eat” crab legs is offered and on Friday and Saturday Prime Rib and Seafood is offered. Mogie’s also caters, both in the restaurant and outside. Many party meals are held at Mogie’s covering the range from retirement, wedding, rehearsal, baby, to graduation. Funeral dinners are also common. Lunches are very popular and Mogie’s caters to businesses in particular. He offers a fax and phone service for businesses to have the lunches prepared and ready when they arrive. They also have a private dining room for meetings. The restaurant can hold up to 100 for a party. Dave Magill is a native of Lower Burrell. He got his love from cooking from his mother who he says is a gourmet cook. He worked at the former Veltri’s Restaurant all through high school as a cook. He graduated from Burrell High School in 1977 and from Johnson & Wales University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in the Culinary Arts (the course was in the Hotel & Restaurant field). From there he spent sometime in New York City, came back to Pittsburgh as an understudy to a chef for a few years and then was chef for 15 years at Grieco’s Care Free Inn prior to buying the former Bon Air Inn that is now Mogie’s. And the name Mogie’s? It was Dave’s nickname from the 3rd Grade!

Mogie’s is located at 3210 Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell at the corner of Wildlife Lodge Road. The restaurant is open for lunch Tuesday through Friday starting at 11 a.m. Dinner hours are Monday through Thursday, 3 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturdays 3 to 11 p.m. and on Sunday 3 to 9 p.m. You can visit Mogie’s online at www.mogiesirishpub.com where you will find the menu, pricing and business lunch information. You can also learn how David Magill got his nickname in the third grade on the web site. Call Mogie’s at 724-339-6904 for further information.