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| - Definitely in the running for the best restaurant in Pittsburgh. There's a plethora of New American options in the city, and Root certainly measures up, and can even be fairly affordable, too (depending on what you order, of course). The menu seems to be updated fairly often, and there manages to be a surprising amount of variety among the small number of dishes from which to choose.
On first visit with my parents, we decided to just go tapas-style and share six different appetizers: scallops with grilled peach, pork belly with rice krispies treat, grilled watermelon and feta, confit coffee-rubbed wings, curry mussels, and brussels sprouts in black pepper bacon jam. Everything was great, but the standout for me was the brussels sprouts. They were tender, slightly crispy, and the jam is addictive--sweet, salty, spicy all at once. Our other favorite was the confit wings. I normally don't like dry rubs and initially was turned off by the tiny size of the wings...but they totally fooled me! The wings were SO juicy (I guess that's the confit talking). My dad actually said that they were the best wings he had ever tasted. I don't know about that, since I like my wings to be huge and slathered in buffalo sauce, but they were definitely a win.
On my second visit, me and my friend shared the bone marrow creme brulee, which I wasn't big on, but the gnocchi more than made up for it. I am always wary about ordering pasta, but this gnocchi passed the test for sure. Light, pillowy perfection. I haven't had gnocchi this good in...possibly ever? I know that's quite the statement but I can't help it, I was in gnocchi heaven. And it had an egg on it...the ULTIMATE topping! In stark contrast to the appetizers, the mains were pretty huge portions. Gnocchi for breakfast the day after? I think yes.
I did the brunch a few times when it was BYOB, bringing a bottle of Absolut Peppar for their excellent bloody mix (I haven't been back since the liquor license acquistion, but I kind of wish they'd bring back the BYOB--get drunk for ridic cheap). The corned pork tongue hash, get it. That's all I'll say about that.
One of my favorite places, and more intimate/less busy than the super-hyped Salt or Meat & Potatoes. Surprised there's not more reviews, but I guess it's a bit of a hidden gem!
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