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| - Just went here for my wife's birthday dinner... within minutes, she said it reminded her -- in both menu and atmosphere -- of some of the better 'foodie' restaurants in Portland, OR, where we used to live. If this is any sign of the rise of great restaurants in Pittsburgh that we are hearing about, this trend might be for real.
We began with two apps - A grilled escarole salad, with so many other little goodies all in a perfect light but tangy dressing... awesome. The other app was Bluefin pate. Yes, that's right - Bluefin pate. It kind of tasted a little like a salmon spread cross-dressing with some good whitefish... beats and other root vegetables, to go along with the crestinis and regular bread, made it a culinary delight.
We then ordered two mains... pork loin (beautiful) and lamb shank. I hadn't had lamb in about 20 years, and pork loin in about 15 years. Both were locally-sourced and grass-fed, well-portioned, cooked perfectly, sauced nicely, and had enough sides to keep it interesting.
We concluded with two desserts... the chocolate truffle cake which everyone else has written about and of course was lovely; but also, the gingerbread with poached quince. The gingerbread and quince had so many layers of flavors and spices that my wife said it was EVEN BETTER than the chocolate cake.
Service was very good, as was the atmosphere. You kind of don't want to leave, which is a good sign. Left satisfied, and still experiencing the flavors.
The place is not cheap, though not absurd. It is in that 8-10 app; 25-30 main; and 7-9 dessert range that seems to be the sweet spot for Pittsburgh... the only variance is that some new Pitt restaurants earn it, and others don't.
Legume does.
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