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| - Is it possible to get a fine dining experience in Pittsburgh? Before eating at Eleven, I would have said "No". However, this gem of an eatery has opened my eyes to the possibility of top notch food in the Steel City.
The restaurant itself is expansive, with high ceilings, wood beams and exposed brick. The service, while efficient, seemed somewhat standoffish and cold.
We started with the spicy tuna tartare, which had an excellent texture and just the right amount of heat. Not to belabor the point, but it was more than a little surprising to experience high quality tuna tartare in Pittsburgh.
Given that it was a whole 12 degrees outside that evening, a nice soup seemed a good option. The roasted squash soup was well made and had a nice roasted flavor to go with the velvety texture.
The entree selections were slanted toward meat and fowl. I opted for the NY strip steak. It came out perfectly cooked and served sliced atop potato-goat cheese pierogis and simply prepared sauteed spinach. It was clear after the first bite, that the cow this steak had come from was grass raised. This was a clear example of quality ingredients, prepared with restraint, yielding truly satisfying results.
Dessert was the peanut butter banana split, consisting of an uneven combination of peanut butter ice cream, marshmallow, graham cracker
roasted banana ice cream, vanilla bean soup and chocolate. There was just a little too much going on here.
Eleven is definitely an excellent dining experience, regardless of location, and I will be going back next time I'm in Pittsburgh.
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