Restaurants in Oil City

Hookah is all about embracing a slower pace of life. When seated in front of a shisha, one is committed to doing nothing, at least for a little while. The street cafes of Cairo hum with groups of friends exercising this ethos, taking turns inhaling sweet, fragrant smoke and sipping tea. Despite Pittsburgh’s distance from the Sahara, KOAL Hookah Lounge brings a bit of that mentality to Slippery Rock.

After boiling tobacco leaves with one of 21 fruit varietals, the staff at KOAL pack ornate water pipes for parties of three or five. Though most menu flavors reflect long-established tradition, the lounge experiments with unconventional blends such as the Vanilla Sky, a mixture of vanilla and blackberry tobacco. The modern décor further illustrates this embrace of old and new, with track lighting illuminating a bottle-lined wall, and bold reds encapsulating a row of sleek black stools. Guests can dramatically exhale on the outdoor patio, as well, as they savor hot chocolate and fervently detail the interesting dream they had last night.

CiCi’s Pizza combines the variety of a family-friendly buffet with the thrill of bottomless pizza. Each pie is crafted with dough made from scratch daily and then slathered with homemade marinara and showered with toppings ranging from traditional pepperoni and Italian-style sausage to creative combinations including buffalo chicken and mac 'n' cheese, resulting in more than 28 signature pizzas. The buffet is stocked with a plethora of fresh pastas, such as cavatappi noodles with classic marinara or alfredo sauce, as well as fully customizable signature salads. After they've feasted on savory options, diners can revisit the buffet for dessert including freshly baked brownies, slices of apple pizza, and cinnamon rolls drizzled with icing—or they can eat dessert first, thereby tearing an irreparable hole in the space-time continuum.

In the old times, markets were the center of social life, and aluminum was more precious than gold. Today's deal is more valuable than Charles Martin Hall's electrolytic process for refining aluminum. Stop by the cozy Italian market il Mercato to use your $5 Groupon toward $10 worth of fresh and premium bites and sips. You can purchase as many as you want, but are limited to one use per visit.

Executive Chef Greg Alauzen has designed every dish on Cioppino's sumptuous dinner menu. Whet your appetite with his selection of oysters on the half-shell ($12) before moving onto his signature dish, Cioppino ($29)—a heaping platter of branzino, mahi mahi, little-neck clams, PEI mussels, Dungeness crab, scallops, whole prawn, onion, and fennel, all served with grilled crostini. The only thing missing is the lobster, which you can get in ravioli ($23) or risotto ($12) form. Those with more landlubbing tastes will prefer an Elysian Fields Farm lamb with sautéed escarole and white beans ($38), New York strip steak ($34), or the veggie-friendly potato gnocchi ($16). Since seafood tends to make for poor desserts, top your feast with vanilla-bean crème brûlée ($6) and gelato ($5), or warm beignets tossed in cinnamon and sugar with a raspberry dipping sauce ($6).

Willow's atmosphere walks the line between sophistication and accessibility, and chef/owner Michael Rudman's lunch and dinner menus follow suit by politely one-upping their diners' every expectation via innovative dishes and dashing drinks. The restaurant's signature dish, lump crab cakes, comes blissfully broiled and drizzled with a tangy red onion caper sauce and lemon-pepper asparagus ($27 as a dinner entree). Other favorites include the sautéed Alaskan halibut served on braised fennel with tomatoes that have been slow-cooked overnight and a cabernet wine sauce ($24). There are also a few vegetarian dishes offered, such as the Japanese pumpkin ravioli topped with sage, cabbage, pine nuts, and shaved parmesan ($15). If you're dining with the family, there is a special kids' menu. If not, there is a special adult martini menu (featuring a more complicated crayon maze) and adult wine menu to artfully accompany plates and lubricate parched conversations.

Owner and chef Omar Mediouni imbues La Casa Tapas and Wine Bar's menu of traditional Spanish and Moroccan small plates and entrees with local ingredients and an appetite for culinary fusion that, according to Pittsburgh City Paper, "combines sophistication and comfort, authenticity and simplicity." Flagpole-addicted tongues warm up with a choice of 16 hot tapas, including the chorizo catalan's spicy sautéed sausage and spinach in a red-wine reduction ($10), and tomatoes, sweet pepper, and eggplant form the base of a duo of Moroccan dips ($8 each). Larger entrees ($16–$28) sneak garbanzo beans, chicken, lamb, and eggplant into piles of couscous or saffron paella rice like parents tucking Easter eggs into an egg carton.

Nestled within a brick house along a neighborhood street in Shadyside, La Casa Tapas and Wine Bar greets springtime by opening its patio to warm breezes and showers of cupid arrows. Inside, a hanging Spanish guitar, lanterns lit by candles, and the wide grin of a bright red hearth contribute to a cozy, eclectic spirit.