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| - We just went to Notion last night for the first time, and were wondering why we haven't heard of this place before. It's phenomenal, and any Pittsburgh foodie worth their salt should be flocking to try this place. One of the few places in Pittsburgh that I know of that's doing the whole molecular gastronomy thing, other than Nine on Nine, and perhaps, a little bit of Root 174. I suppose Salt also has a bit of that going on too.
Notion is a bit out of town, but totally worth the drive, if you're coming from central Pittsburgh. It's located right next to an old school theatre, and the decor is interestingly non-pretentious, given the price point. We enjoyed the waitstaff, but our group of six almost overwhelmed the restaurant (maybe a little of alcohol was involved...) - I would recommend seating larger parties to the side if possible, just to manage the sound load.
We started with an amuse of a lime foam, which really worked for some of us, and was a little too tart for the rest. Either way, it was a fascinating opener to a really creative meal. We had the chef's tasting, and while I can't remember every single course, I'll name some of the highlights - I really loved the beef tartare that was the first course. It tasted just like home marinated goodness, and I mean that in the best way possible. They serve it to you in little lettuce cups, so it's like a mini lettuce wrap. Just fantastic.
Our second course was the english pea soup, which was also phenomenal. You're first presented with something that looks like custard with some sliced bananas on the side, and then they pour in green pea soup. The custard stuff is actually some sort of manchego cream, and this was quite possibly my favorite dish of the night. Totally unexpected, totally creative, and absolutely delicious. I bet you've never thought of having banana slices with your pea soup. Well, now you should try it.
We also had a sweet bread risotto, which was an interesting ying yang mix of sweet and salty. The rib eye was topped with an heirloom tomato foam, which, when combined with the horseradish sauce on the meat, was quite delicious. My only complaint about this dish is that I wished that the beef had a little more structure to it - it seemed, on its own, a little bland and ... limp. The salmon was also fine, but seemed the least inspired of all the dishes to me - perfectly done salmon with pickled cucumbers and cream cheese.
We finished with the blackberry and milk chocolate desserts, both of which were great. This means a lot, coming from a girl who doesn't really do dessert.
Anyway, needless to say, this was one of the best meals I've had since coming to Pittsburgh, and I absolutely cannot wait to start spreading the word about this place. Despite my love for many of the restaurants in Pittsburgh, it's a rare place that goes for maximal creative output, and Notion definitely runs at the top of the pack. We've heard that they are trying to move to a location closer to the city, and hope that this happens soon. When it happens, we will gladly add it to our line up of go to restaurants for special occasions.
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