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| - I follow the James Beard award and I usually scout out the winners and nominations to find great places to eat. When I was heading to PGH and saw that the Whitfield pastry chef, Casey Renee, was nominated... I knew I had to check out the menu. When I saw they had a full vegetarian 3 course tasting menu, I was sold.
The Ace hotel was described as hipster and yeaaaah, it really is. It's not pretentious hipster but still has that relaxed 'effortless cool and counter culture' vibe. The restaurant is just off the lobby of the Ace Hotel. Whitfield is quite open with lots of big windows letting in a lot of light. It kept much of the dated retro vibe of the original YMCA. Lots of old wood moldings and details you never see in renovated or new buildings today.
Service here was polite, subtle, and thoughtful. We had a few questions about the menu and every answer was genuinely helpful. I ended up ordering the 3 course vegetarian tasting menu but I could have easily order my own 3 part dinner composed mostly of vegetables. I loved how they offered a lot of vegetable choices without resorting to the typical pasta or brick tofu vegetarian dish. We also got the pickled vegetables, smoked chicken with risotto, and an extra vegetable side of crispy brussels.
Before dinner started, we were given a delightful vegetarian amuse bouche and it was a baby radish with a nice smear of cream, sea salt, and light sprinkling of green onion. Nice touch and start to the meal.
Pickled vegetables - a fairly large plate filled with 6 types of pickled vegetables. A nice variety and flavour for each. You have you gherkins, pickle slices, and beets but you also have carrots, beans, and also enoki mushrooms. I liked the carrots and enoki the most. 4/5
Tomato salad - what a gorgeous plating... to simply call it tomato salad is to underestimate how it looks like spring on a plate. Tomatos, cucumbers, crunchy bread crumbs, sprouts, and flowers... so simple to say but just stunning and delicious on the plate. 5/5
Smoked Chicken with Risotto - This dish is deceivingly light looking but its super rich because of the risotto. Its incredibly smooth and creamy. The chicken is nicely cooked with chantrelle mushrooms and roasted onions. Overall, a very well executed and delicious dish. 4/5
Tempura squash blossom with polenta - The main entree to the vegetarian tasting was a nice dish of textural contrast. Crispy edges of the tempura with the creamy chevre goat cheese tucked inside, creamy polenta just being cradling the roasted and tender squash, beans, and zucchini. The tomato butter adding a nice red colour from an otherwise yellow on yellow palette. I really loved all the vegetables and ate them all. The polenta was a lovely texture but I could have loved some more flavour to it whether it be some white pepper or another spice. 4/5
Crispy Brussel Sprouts - A super generous side of hot crispy sprouts. They were like healthier versions of a deep fried side... crispy and indulgent for a green vegetable. 4/5
Banana Fudgesicle - So this was the sole reason for my first peak at Whitfield... chef Casey's dessert. This is a vegan desert and it was quite a lovely dessert. You had the nice crackly caramelized sugar on top of banana ice cream (which I can only imagine is really just frozen puree'd bananas), and a creamy thick ganache like chocolate. You can really taste all the different components. The chocolate puffed rice reminded me of a very adult and wonderful version of chocolate covered rice crispy treats. A great end to the meal 5/5
It was one of the more expensive meals we had in PGH but the service and quality of food really put it as one of the betters meals too. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this place or return once again if I find myself in PGH.
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