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| - I went to dinner last night with coworkers at Habitat, the restaurant in the Fairmont Hotel. We went on the suggestion of my foodie manager, who has been working in Pittsburgh for almost three years now and has scoped the dining scene several times over. Needless to say, I expected it to be excellent.
I'm happy to say that Habitat delivered a beautifully presented, delicious meal. There were eight in our party, so I got to see and hear about many of the items on the menu (which as other yelpers mentioned, is not extensive). Each dish was meticulously put together and plated - the presentation wins full points in my book. The braised short rib with roasted root vegetables was tender, fatty, and rich, just as short rib should be. Another highlight of the meal was actually a side dish: the roasted local mushrooms. The mushrooms were cooked and seasoned perfectly without masking that warm, earthy, mushroomy flavor. (Note: mushrooms aren't even a favorite food of mine. These were just awesome.) The only complaint in my group came from our resident vegetarian - the restaurant offered an off-the-menu pad thai with tofu, but they had run out of tofu. Sad.
Beyond the food, my favorite part of Habitat was their open kitchen. We sat at a table which had a clear view of 8 chefs, bustling around, preparing dishes. The restaurant wasn't very busy last night, so the kitchen was not chaos, but it was still a nice visual to watch between table conversations. All in all, a great dinner - I'd go back!
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