Pitt's Fresh Picks
Does imagining Pittsburgh’s restaurant scene conjure up visions of short-order shops, pierogi stands and burger joints? This diverse city proves it offers far more than blue-collar comfort food with its recent influx of locavore restaurants. Two Pittsburghfood savants set out to see what’s cookin’.
BRGR
© JASON SNYDER
The farm-to-table movement has taken firm root in Pittsburgh — and that’s no surprise, as the locavore wave has hit most major US cities by now. But not everyone’s ready to give up on Pittsburgh’s celebrated short-order scene just yet.
Chef Mike Doman is a Pittsburgh native and 40-year veteran of the city’s restaurant industry. After years in the kitchen of elegant French restaurant Le Foret, Doman now works behind the grill at the North Shore Café, a breakfast-and-lunch hotspot in the Cardello Building where construction and office workers regularly pack the 200seat dining room. With the help of Doman, I’m off to find out if this crop of restaurants highlighting locally sourced ingredients is all hype or set to be a lasting part of the city’s food culture.
Our first stop is at Eleven in the Strip District, where several warehouses have been converted into large, airy stores and restaurants. Eleven’s design is exemplary of the strip-shop concept, with swooping ceilings and large dining booths.
We order a pierogi special, stuffed with goat cheese and caramelized onions, which brings a new approach to the classic Polish dumplings that Pittsburgh is famous for. Doman also orders scallops that are pan-seared with a smoky, salty and very flavorful surryano ham in a nice cream sauce, as he describes them. I feast on the mesclun salad, topped with walnuts, vinaigrette and melt-inyour-mouth cheese. As we slip out the front doors of this dimly lit, romantic space and back into the busy shopping district, Doman smiles, saying he’d like to bring his girlfriend here. Although it’s pricier than we’re used to, we agree that it’s an ideal date locale.
Next up is Sonoma Grille, a project by restaurateur Yves Carreau, an avid supporter of all things local. His restaurants are acclaimed for their elaborate presentation and ultra-fresh ingredients — Sonoma Grille is no different. This is Doman’s first trip to the restaurant, and he finds the bustling dining room and bar just as entertaining as seeing what comes out of the kitchen next.
Taking the scientific approach, Doman again orders the pierogi special — this one featuring asiago cheese and a merguez sausage cream sauce. He loves it: “Pierogies can tend to be bland, but the sauce and sausage are properly cooked. They have a colorful presentation, and it’s flavorful.” The key to a perfect pierogi is all in the filling, he explains. “When you’ve got interesting taste combinations like you’ve got going on here, the flavors can play along with one another.” If done poorly, though, they can kill the doughy packets.
I order the wild mushroom flatbread, and a neighboring couple assures me I’ve made the right choice. Once it arrives, Doman helps me identify the ingredients in the tower of vegetables; shitake, oyster and portabello mushrooms, roasted tomato, un-ripened chevre, kalamata olives and cilantro pesto. The mushroom–chevre pairing is exceptional and lends a sweet touch to the salty olives and pesto. Keeping everything on flatbread is a challenge, but worth the effort. Doman muses that the freshness of the ingredients — eating them right after they’ve been plucked — is essential to the dish. It just wouldn’t be the same with store-bought food, he says, soaking up pesto with a corner of flatbread.
Our last stop is BRGR, a gourmet burger joint. Local restaurateur Richard Stern, who also owns upscale Spoon in the same building, thought the concept of “everything-on-a-bun” would be a hit, and his instincts scored big. There’s often a line outside this small, unassuming restaurant, and Doman’s excited to see why.
His friends had been raving about the American Kobe beef burger, but Doman cuts against the grain and orders “The Locavore,” which is made of lamb raised at Jameson Farms (located just outside of the city). The patty is accompanied by onion and pepper relish, feta cheese, curry aioli and mint on the challah bread roll that brings out the bold flavors in the patty’s seasonings. It’s hard to stifle a laugh as Doman taps his feet to the loud music and inspects the burger and bun. This is not what he was expecting by way of a burger joint, and we both smile as we compare burgers.
I have the “Tree Hugger” burger made with falafel and lentil, topped with hot and sour cucumbers, tomato, red onion and goat’s milk yogurt that’s light and refreshing. The roll’s slight sweetness offsets the sharp yogurt taste, keeping the sum of the flavors well proportioned.
To round out the night, we order dessert: milkshakes made with ice cream from local icon Dave & Andy’s. As we sip on chocolate shakes, we contemplate our adventure and the future of Pittsburgh’s locavore movement. Doman is impressed, but he sees financial hurdles for some traditional restaurants. For now, he’ll keep buying most of his food from Restaurant Depot, but our journey has piqued his interest in locavorism. Although he’s not sure how, he wants to bring local farms into his shortorder kitchen. When all is said and done, Doman and I agree, restaurants should serve great tasting food — and these new farm-to-table restaurants serve up an unmistakably fresh taste that's likely to stick around.
HOW FAR HAS EACH INGREDIENT TRAVELED?
Eleven
Produce From Three Sisters Farm 87 miles
Produce From Penn’s Corner 27 miles
Chicken From Heritage Farms 119 miles
Sonoma Grille
Produce From Penn’s Corner 27 miles
Lamb From Jameson Farms 55 miles
Milk From Manchester Farms 34 miles
Sour cream, butter and eggs From Colteryhan Dairy 20 miles
Asiago cheese From Clover Creek Cheese Cellar 129 miles
BRGR
Lamb From Jameson Farms 55 miles
Eleven
1150 Smallman St; 412-201-5656; www.bigburrito.com/eleven
Sonoma Grille
947 Penn Ave; 412-697-1336; www.thesonomagrille.com
BRGR
5997 Penn Cir S; 412362-2333; www.brgrpgh.com
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