I am from Philadelphia. It is a great food town. Best meal I've ever had in my life? Was in Pittsburgh. At Spoon. Thank the lord for Carnegie Mellon graduation weekend.
Started off with the MOST AMAZING BREAD BASKET OF ALL TIME. Biscuits that were *gasp* filled with cheese. Mini *omg* corn muffins. Moist *aaaah* french bread. And the funny part is I never touch the bread basket. There that goes.
First course: Lobster "Hot & Cold" aka a cup of creamy, rich lobster bisque and a dill-heavy mini lobster roll. This was solid - but the bites of the Deconstructed Bahn Mi and the Asparagus Soup I tried blew the simple lobster dish out of the water. But lobster. Gotta love it.
Main: Miso Glazed Alaskan Black Cod. Best dish I may have ever been served in a restaurant. AND THERE WERE BONES IN IT. Under normal circumstances, I would have grabbed the waitress and sent her marching back to the kitchen in shame. But perched in an enticing bath of that glistening hot and sour broth over broccolini, shitakes and miso-brasied daikon? I spit 'em out and kept going. It was perfect. Salty, tangy, and rich - but light as air. Everything that miso and soy should be. The fish was *perfectly* cooked. The dumplings in the dish were an unnecessary afterthought. I ignored them. Overall - amazing.
Other mains I tried were alright. The braised short ribs were amazing. The housemade chorizo? Alright. But my dish. The cod? The cod was unbelievable.
Dessert: salted caramel ice cream. Perfect ending. But be aware: THE CHEESECAKE HAS POP ROCKS. POP ROCKS. Enough said.
Just to dump the other notes: the service was top notch - well timed courses, and attentive bus staff. My waitress suggested the cod, and for that I owe her everything. Casual, but elegant, vibe. Don't get the sangria - it was mostly water. Do bring lots of money and/or a sugar daddy. It's expensive.
Do I recommend? Hell yes.