| rev:text
| - The space has a nice clean svelte but unpretentious design to it. The loft and edge detailing, an open stainless kitchen, a cozy bar and giant chalkboard wall with sleek light fixtures give it the kindof modern youth appeal you'd find in a hip Chicago joint.
But there were some opposing choices which which confused my opinion and affected the totality of the experience.
First the seating.. I dont mind the communal tables, but the channel running down the middle was uncomfortable.. for the setting of plates and for reaching out across the table to friends. Im not sure if the metal channel that bisects the table is supposed to fit a lazy suzan or something like that.. or whether the intention of the table was never realized...because the presentation of the food was decided upon later.. whatever it was the table construction downstairs is awkward. Perhaps next time I will ask to be seated upstairs.
Communal tables to me, indicate the lack of pretentiousness and the ability to relax..... our waiter however was somehow overly formal which again made me sit on the hard edge of my seat... Lastly, regarding the seating, if you sit at the table downstairs close to the board, its difficult to read the menu (duh) on the board.. it requires you to stand back at the kitchen counter to be able to read it comfortably on the wall.. which is fine.. but i felt like I couldnt do that because the atmosphere seemed uppity the night I went (and that may have to do with the clientele which seemed suburban and nuevo riche)
I really enjoyed watching the cooking team tho.. and seeing one read off the orders and the rest disperse into precise action - was really refreshing. The well lit open kitchen is much appreciated as to me it indicates a high respect for how the food is handled.
Now onto the food which is really the most important part. Generally all the ingredients in all of our food tasted of being of great quality. Nothing was wilted, dry, cold, soured etc...and I got the sense (, both from the food and watching the team in action.. that my meal was being pulled together from scratch as opposed to assembled from pre-made vats..
We shared appetizers (which again sharing is awkward on a table that has a trough running the middle of it)...
the Brioche was very tastey, some nice opposition of texture and flavor. The crab tasted fresh and I really appreciate the herbs that sortof clean your palate..
the Beef Tartare used very good marbled beef, the flavoring has a distinct asian lean to it.. I really enjoyed scooping it up onto the little crostinis and sopping up the tomatillo base with it... the slices of (rhubarb?) again provided an counterpoint taste and texture...
for the main course I had the pork belly..
I never ever eat food this heavy in fat but Ive heard alot of good reviews about this dish in particular... my friend also ordered it..
between our dishes there was an inconsistency in the level of char on the belly... but both dishes the meat/fat just slid right off onto your fork.. it was very very good as anything would be should it be charred, caramelized and hugged in fat.. the pork belly was served on a mash of pretzel which was good but also heavy.. the slaw (which may have had caramelized onions in it? or maybe more meat..) was nice and the pork rhinds were the neat texture counterpoint to this dish..
(The pork rhinds particularly took me back to days of home and eating rhinds with hot sauce off a street vendor in Pilsen..)
Another person in our party had the duck breast.. which he liked but we all had one common criticism...
our entrees just had an overabundance of "sweet".. there was nice differences in the appetizers, and there were nice differences in textures for your mouth.. but sweetness was overwhelming and I couldn't finish my entree...
we took a look at the menu and it seemed like the majority of dinner items really are based in sweet sources.. I really hope the menu changes occasionally (as i think that is the intent),
I probably will come back again to have a drink and dessert and maybe one of the vegetarian options next.... and to sit upstairs with a different waiter. I think the prices are fair for the quality of ingredients and I think the dishes are prepared well.. im pining though, for more diversity in flavors and a more consistent atmosphere that would allow me to feel more at ease...
Overall its a great addition to the East End..and in contrast to the other review I DO NOT think this place needs to "grow some balls" - Not every high quality restaurant in Pittsburgh should pander to Saks 5th Avenue corpses... there is enough of that in this city.. which frankly can suck out the youthful atmosphere out of places with demands and snootiness and such (what do you MEAN you dont have type X Vodka?!)
... Pittsburgh needs to help elevate the pallates of the young and mobile... so that they want to stay here and EA
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