Why, when it's really cold, do people ask, "Cold enough for you?"

The same people ask the similar question "Hot enough for you?" on those 90-something-degree days in August. Is there a meaning Munch is missing, because this week, when it was 7 degrees and Munch was walking across the Golden Triangle with Hearty Friend of Munch, who refuses to wear a hat on a 7-degree day, it was clearly not too cold for him and Munch could take it down a few degrees, too.

Granted, we were not in Green Bay sitting next to a bunch of hypothermic drunks. Maybe if that had been the case, it would have clearly been cold enough. Thinking back on Sunday's game, Munch realizes there was a dearth of half-naked fans shown on television. Did Munch just miss it? Did the television producers just not include those morons so as not to encourage similar stupid behavior? Or are Green Bay fans actually smarter than so many others?

Mark's Grille and Catering, 923 Penn Ave., Downtown, 412-471-6401.

But Munch digresses.

It was indeed cold this week, but not so cold as to discourage a walk in friendly Pittsburgh.

Munch can be a friendly person and Pittsburgh is truly a friendly sort of town, but even in Pittsburgh Mark's Grille and Catering stands out as especially friendly.

The first sign that Mark's was a bit special was the woman in a chef's outfit eating at the bar -- and it wasn't takeout. Usually, at restaurants, when they let the kitchen staff eat, it's in the basement, the kitchen or some other out of the way place. Here the kitchen staffer was enjoying a meal as if the owners treated her with respect. How nice was that?

The front room has a long bar along the left wall which holds the requisite video games of every bar around. The right wall has a rough-hewn brick wall that leads the way to the back dining area, which is separated from the bar area by the kitchen. We waited for less than 10 seconds to be seated at a round table near the front of the room. There everyone who worked there seemed to say hello.

Even the dishwasher, on his way past with a load of clean plates, gave a greeting to Hearty. This was definitely not New York or Paris.

Aside from the ambiance, something that stood out for Munch was the prices on the menu. This was not the sort of place with a $10 burger. No, this was a place with a $5.50 burger and a $2.50 cup of soup.

The best thing about walking to a restaurant to eat on a cold day is soup. Munch ordered the chili and Hearty got the chicken tortellini soup that was loaded with vegetables, just the way he liked it. The chili had a strong tomato taste and was less spicy than Munch prefers, but it is really a preference and not a disappointment.

Munch tried the burger that was served with homemade potato chips as a side. The chips had a seasoned salt on them and the burger was not huge, but big enough that Munch couldn't finish it.

Hearty had the special open-faced steak sandwich, which was about as hearty as he was. It comes with a beef gravy and mushrooms and potatoes with roasted peppers on the side. Hearty, who is a big, tough sort of guy, had to take his time eating it because even at $6.95 it was a big portion.

When we were done, we headed back out across town from 9th and Penn to the Boulevard of the Allies. Now that our bellies were full, we didn't even notice the cold.