Signature Dishes: 'Knife and fork burgers' at Carol & Dave's Roadhouse Restaurant in Ligonier

This is part of an ongoing series highlighting Signature Dishes at locally owned restaurants in the region. See Trib Total Media’s new online directory of restaurants, Dine Local, at dinelocal.triblive.com

If you are tired of the typical hamburger with lettuce and tomato and maybe a slice of cheese added, try the special burgers at Carol & Dave’s Roadhouse Restaurant in downtown Ligonier.

Dave Cassler, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Carol — thus the Carol & Dave’s — call it their speciality. It is their “knife and fork burgers,” so-named with good reason. These are a half a pound of beef without buns — topped with a whole lot of other tasty food. Both are served with a healthy side of green beans.

The portobello mushroom burger is served on spinach, topped with a portobello mushroom, red peppers, fresh mozzarella cheese and blackened tomatoes.

Its companion is the black-and-blue burger, topped with sautéed onions, bacon, blackened seasoning, dry blue cheese and Buffalo sauce drizzled on top.

“It’s a whole meal. People love it,” said Cassler, who offers it as an alternative to those who do not want to eat the burger buns.

The burgers are part of an eclectic menu at the restaurant, situated on the second floor of a building just a block north of the town’s famous “Diamond.” Diners have a wide choice of seafood-based dishes, salads, pasta, sandwiches, wraps, chicken and steak. Gluten-free meals are available upon request.

The menu is a blend of items from his 40-some years in the business and from the sous chef and kitchen staff, Cassler said.

“If somebody comes up with an idea and we feel it is good, then we put it on the menu,” Cassler said.

Carol & Dave’s Roadhouse Restaurant was aptly named when it opened in 2003, because it was along Route 711 North, next to a car dealership in Ligonier Township. The customers were making it their destination, Cassler said.

They moved into their current Marker Street location in 2012, a decision Cassler said was much better for business. “We’re in town and we get a lot of walk-in traffic.”

When they walk into the restaurant, they are stepping into an establishment with reminders of the history of Ligonier and Westmoreland County, dating back to Fort Ligonier in 1758.

Cassler, 60, is a survivor in the tough hospitality business. A native of Shaler, he started as a dishwasher at age 16 in the 1970s at the Blarney Stone in Etna, a well-known Irish restaurant and bar. He worked his way up to cook.

He had earned an associate’s degree in accounting, but decided life behind a desk crunching numbers was not for him.

“I had the talent of cooking,” Cassler said.

He moved on to Hidden Valley Resort near Bakersville in the mid-1980s, where he met his wife, Carol. He worked for the Crown America Corp. in Johnstown, where he served as the dining room chef, preparing breakfasts for the executives.

After working for others, Dave believed it was time to open up his own business in 2003.

“I will never get rich off this place, but I’m paying my bills and trying to make sure my employees are happy. My business is my people. I’m part of the community,” he said.

Carol & Dave’s Roadhouse Restaurant (second floor, 122 N. Market St., Ligonier) is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays and from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays. See carolanddavesroadhouse.com or call 724-238-2296.