Traversing the gastronomical landscape of the Forbes/Murray corridors of Squirrel Hill is somewhat akin to taking a tour of United Nations Member States within a few block radius.

Mr. Willie's is located at 2121 Murray Ave. Call 412-325-3332.

Restaurant-wise, nearly the entirety of Asia is represented from the Indian subcontinent across Southeast Asia and north to China and Japan; excellent French and Italian spots offer the best of Western Europe; a handful of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern places capture the taste of those regions; our friends south of the border have a presence; some of the best Kosher delis and diners in town -- and of course three legendary pizzerias -- round out America's contributions.

Conspicuously absent then has been an African-American place, but that's changed with the recent addition of Mr. Willie's. Munch and Roommate of Munch (ROM) found the place quite by accident this weekend while cutting through the neighborhood on a beer run (shocking, Munch realizes).

The specialties of the house are chicken and ribs. A LOT of chicken and ribs. Munch got a rack of ribs and three side dishes -- red beans & rice, mac & cheese, and veggies ($24) while ROM grabbed a 12 pieces order of chicken and the same three sides ($16). Every meal comes with a deliciously spongy square of cornbread.

Mind you, this is enough food to feed the 82nd Airborne division for an entire month, let alone two single people for one meal. Seriously. Bring friends and family because you will not even come close to finishing all of this food.

A froufrou coffee shop used to live where Mr. Willie's is now, so there is plenty of room to eat and the decor and atmosphere are pleasant enough. But Munch and ROM had a few fresh growlers of East End Big Hop in tow, so we took the grub back to Chez Munch for consumption, and nearly fell into a BBQ-induced coma.

The stuff was excellent. The ribs, smoky and tender and fell right off the bone. The sauce is a nice mix of heat and sweet. ROM's chicken order was split between fried and roasted. The roasted chicken was juicy and succulent; the fried chicken had an excellent spicy batter.

The side dishes also were very good, especially the beans & rice, which must've gotten an extra dose of cayenne pepper because they cleared Munch's sinuses almost instantly. The mac & cheese was cheesy deliciousness, and the steamed squash, zucchini and peppers were a palate-cleaning, if futile nod toward healthy eating. The sweet cornbread was a perfect implement to sop up any leftover sauce.

Munch finds it mildly hilarious that this emporium of pork and chicken is directly across the street from a Vegan place -- Munch is already imagining a scene where a skinny veg-head has a carnivorous relapse, crosses the street, goes on a binge and comes out looking like Robert DeNiro at the end of Raging Bull.

Don't say Munch didn't warn you.