Kelly O’Connor grew up in a huge family around kitchens, not cooking school. She had no formal culinary training when she opened Kelly O’s Diner on Perry Highway in Pittsburgh’s North Hills. What she had was a handful of family recipes — including her grandmother’s haluski — and the conviction to build a neighborhood diner around them. Kelly O’s appeared in Season 5, Episode 11 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, “Regional Classics,” which aired February 16, 2009. Guy Fieri arrived for what turned out to be a DDD first: haluski, the Polish dish of egg noodles, onions, cabbage, and bacon that is a Pittsburgh staple with Eastern European roots. Guy liked it so much that he included the recipe in “More Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” He also tried the turkey pot pie soup and the fried polenta with veal Bolognese sauce. The recipe in his book may be the best endorsement a Pittsburgh diner has ever received.
Quick Facts
Restaurant: Kelly O’s Diner
City: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Cuisine: Diner / Breakfast
DDD Season: 5
DDD Episode: 11
Episode Title: Regional Classics
Original Air Date: February 16, 2009
Address: 1130 Perry Hwy., Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Phone: 412-364-0473
Website: https://www.kellyos.com
Status: Open
About Kelly O’s Diner
Kelly O’s sits in the Pines Plaza Shopping Center on Perry Highway in Pittsburgh’s North Hills, a strip mall setting that conceals a diner with genuine personality. Kelly O’Connor runs the place with family — her daughter Seana has managed the restaurant, her son Damon picks up shifts, and the family mastiff Bruno has been known to make appearances. The diner has also appeared on Triple D Nation for a follow-up visit, which speaks to the consistent quality that earns second looks from the show’s producers. The menu covers the full breakfast and lunch diner catalog, with the Polish-influenced items giving Kelly O’s its distinct Pittsburgh identity.
What to Eat at Kelly O’s Diner
The Haluski is the signature, a DDD first: egg noodles, onions, cabbage, and bacon in a preparation Guy liked enough to publish. The Turkey Pot Pie Soup is the soup that made the DDD segment and has been ordering people in off Perry Highway ever since. The Fried Polenta with Veal Bolognese Sauce is the other highlighted dish from the episode. The Pumpkin Hotcakes, Breakfast Burritos, and the OMG — a scramble of eggs, kielbasa, home fries, peppers, and onions — cover the breakfast side. The Meatloaf Melt is the lunch standout.
Bring the Pittsburgh haluski tradition home with Guy Fieri Cookware for the stovetop noodle work, and find your Pittsburgh hotel on Booking.com.
Plan Your Visit
Kelly O’s Diner is open Monday through Sunday 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
Address: 1130 Perry Hwy., Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Phone: 412-364-0473
Website: https://www.kellyos.com
Status: Open
Triple D Essentials
Stream the Regional Classics episode on Amazon and pick up More Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives — Guy published the haluski recipe in that book.
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Kelly O’s Diner appeared in Season 5, Episode 11 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, “Regional Classics,” originally aired February 16, 2009. The haluski recipe was later published in More Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.