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| - This is an Italian restaurant like no other in Western PA.
Unique would be an understatement.
The specifics that follow should make you run to your phone for a reservation...
and since Cenacolo seats about 40, you will need a reservation.
Cenacolo serves the best pasta you have ever eaten... made from scratch in a kitchen 15 feet away from the table you are sitting at. No veal. No chicken. No fish.
No sauce from a restaurant supplier's 5 gallon bucket. This is about incredible, fresh artisan pasta. Fede pasta, made by Steve's passionate staff of experts.
Why is that so?
Steve Salvi, the owner, has worked in some of Pittsburgh's top restaurants. Disappointed by the lack of quality in restaurant purveyors' pasta offerings, Steve started to make his own pasta. In 2005 he created Fede Pasta, and now supplies many local and national restaurants around the country.
Never one to walk away from cooking, Steve offered lunches three days a week at the Fede Pasta dining room. Incredible response from his patrons caused Steve to open the small, special restaurant for lunch, dinner and retail purchase of his hand-made pasta.
The menu features Affettato... thinly shaved, cured Italian meats, and Formaggi... delicious cheeses among the appetizers. Oh, you were expecting a few thin, small pieces of meat or cheese on a plank for an outrageous amount of money. Not here!
A satisfying amount for a fair price, and artistically presented. Where do these fresh goodies come from? The retail service area just a few steps from the restaurant. (Oh, yeah... Italy fits in this supply chain too.)
More appetizers: my wife and I split three delicious meatballs served with a bit of sauce and some chunky Parmesan presented on a rustic slab of wood. Wow! Good!
Not listed on the menu, but really good: arugula salad, cherry tomatoes, shaved Parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar. One of the best salads I have ever tasted.
Sure, it is included. You're family, right?
Lineamente: seasonal pasta offered at the appropriate times of the year.
Traditional pasta served throughout the year. Classics, some with shrimp, some with salmon, some with jumbo lump crabmeat and some with short rib ragu. Yes, there are meat and seafood options, BUT the feature is always the pasta. And what pasta it is. In his years of designing pasta for great restaurants, Steve always works with the best chefs to come up with pasta that looks fabulous... and tastes even better.
Sooooooo, what would be good to drink with this incredible pasta? Anything YOU want. Bring your own wine; there is no corkage fee. This is an Italian family restaurant. You are welcome to have your favorite wine; think about how much money you just saved! Artisan Pasta is the star at Cenacolo Restaurant, not inflated wine prices.
Dessert? You think ordinary? Think again. A couple of traditional classics. Go for different. When I described our dining experience to my coworkers today, they told me they would visit just for the dessert alone... that good!
SUMMARY:
If you are here, you have read a long review. Cenacolo is a very small restaurant showcasing the talents of Steve Salvi and an incredible staff in the kitchen, in the retail product service area and servers who know the food well and really hustle to take care of their guests.
It is a family undertaking. A special sharing of Steve's love for Italian food presented as artistically and delicious as you will find anywhere. This is not some slick, corporate, mass-production restaurant. Steve's family works in the Fede kitchen. I have been in the kitchen. There is a passion for perfection. Nice family that gives back to the community in many ways. You have to know Steve. He truly cares about people at all levels of their being. This is about helping and sharing.
I have never met a man who cares as much as Steve does... whatever the undertaking. Visit his restaurant. Say "Hi" to him. Enjoy the experience. You will long remember it. Cenacolo truly is different.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
The location is in BANCO BUSINESS PARK, not the middle of Irwin. I would suggest that you drive out there during the day to find out exactly where it is. Signs indicate Fede Pasta. This is in a large building in an industrial park. You are not looking for a mall location or something you might find in South Side or on Butler Street. Fede Pasta is a manufacturing facility. Cenacolo Restaurant exists within that operation.
YOU SHOULD MAKE A RESERVATION. REALLY!
(Remember, this restaurant seats about 40 people. Scheduling is tricky.)
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