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| - Big surprise on a reawakening block of Fifth Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh. Little would one expect that, coming in off the street for a Friday night dinner, one might find oneself in a modernized Tuscan villa, with stacked stone outer walls and exposed wooden beam ceilings. The stagecraft is so lavishly conceived that my initial impression was one of concern - did they really want to use all this real estate, here in downtown Pittsburgh, to put on this great show?
But the set design was only the first big surprise. We had been to Vallozzi's in Greensburg, and while it was an enjoyable experience, I hadn't remembered much about the menu. Right off the bat, though, this menu started to speak to me. After my recent experience with the burrata cheese-grenade at Portobello in Notting Hill, I was pleased to see a menu of cheese starters that included the burrata! Since my dinner companions were all about moderation this evening, however, we instead went with a parmigiano reggiano appetizer, dressed with artichoke hearts and lemon chips. The blend of these disparate tastes was astonshing, and a great overture to the blend of taste notes I was to experience during the rest of the evening.
I had the beet salad next, which was comprised of an eclectic blend of greens, beets, berries, citrus, olives, nuts - one of the best, most unique and unexpected pre-dinner salads I've had in some time. My companions had the parma salad, and there were many appreciative oohs and ahhs all around.
Surprising to say, but my entree, after those two great courses, was the least astonishingly brilliant moment of the evening, but very enjoyable - a swordfish braciole, with a wild mushroom, pancetta, ricotta stuffing, in a tomato sauce with spinach, olives and leeks. The sauce was heavier than advertised, and threatened to overpower the other tastes, but apart from that the entree was just as imaginative as what had come before. My wife and her friend each had the fish of the day, the hogfish, baked whole, and her friend's boyfriend had the seafood risotto, none of which disappointed. We topped off the evening with coffee and desserts - the boyfriend and I shared the "coffee and doughnuts," beignets with a chocolate-coffee-cream dipping sauce.
The wine list was impressive, and could also be seen as part of the Tuscan set design: I sat with my back to a bookcase of lovely Italian wines, and while we didn't order it, that Barolo behind me looked awfully tempting. Instead we had a nice California Chardonnay with our fish. The service was gracious and helpful, dealing with a number of substitutions and special instructions in exemplary fashion. All in all, as great a dining experience as one could expect in downtown Pittsburgh.
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