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| - I was in Pittsburgh for a weekend get away (do not underestimate the drawing power of the Burgh) and had a chance to enjoy a few of the city's restaurants.
Isabela was not the first stop, but it was the culinary highlight up the trip. I had the seven course "prix fixe" menu. It was more like five course with a spoonful of sorbet and soup (amuse bouche).
Isabela is known for the view and I must admit it was a nice view of the city, especially after it got dark and it started to light up. The atmosphere was nice and the staff played it up.
The seven course "prix fixe" menu consisted of four courses (appetizer, fish course, meat course, and dessert) with three options of which you get to choose one. The other three courses (amuse bouche, sorbet, and salad) were the chef's choice.
The meal started off with the chef's choice of amuse bouche. This was a spoonful of butternut squash soup. The soup was very flavorful and seasoned well. I would have ordered a bowl of it.
The next course was the appetizer course. I chose the braised pork shank. The pork came on a bed of very creamy polenta. The pork was delicious and melt in your mouth tender. There was also some type of hot sauce on the edge of the polenta that gave it a nice kick. This was probably my favorite course.
Up next was the fish course. I chose the ono, because I had been wanting to try it ever since it was the secret ingredient on Iron Chef. It was prepared rare like I would like my tuna. I found the ono to be a little tough and chewy in the middle where it wasn't cooked. I don't know if this is just the way ono is or if it wasn't prepared properly or if it was a bad piece of ono. This was not my favorite course.
The next course was the sorbet. It was a melon sorbet that was very refreshing although they could have gave a little more.
The fifth course was the meat course For the meat course I chose the braised beef short rib. The beef was delicious. Along with the pork it was my favorite part of the meal. It came with a barbecue sauce that was more like a paste, but the texture was actually pretty good. My one criticism is there was too much of the sauce. This beef was more than capable of standing on its own and too much of the sauce would have just overpowered it.
Next was the salad course. This was a tomato salad. I am not a big fan of big tomato slices, but my SO really loved the salad.
Finally we had the dessert course. I choose the rice pudding with pistachio. I thought it was very good and was a nice size for a dessert of that type. Again, very good way to end a meal.
My SO ordered different courses than I did and I had a chance to taste some of her selections. For the meat course she ordered the pan roasted ostrich. I have never had ostrich before and I found it to be a bit tough and gamey. Everything else I tried was good but not great. I definitely think I had the best selections with the pork shank and beef short rib.
The service was pretty good until the end. For some reason while the tables around us were asked if they wanted coffee or espresso, nobody asked us. Additionally, the tables around us who finished their meals after us, received their checks before us. I actually had to ask for the check when one of the staff walked by our table.
Also, the owner was there and was very friendly if not a little overbearing. He seemed to really enjoy his restaurant and wanted to make sure that everybody had a good time, but I still feel he was a little too present.
Overall it was a very good experience and I would recommend it. I think the chefs are very talented and creative. The price actually isn't that bad for what you get.
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