| rev:text
| - Nine on Nine
Your typical upscale bistro style dining experience located in downtown Pittsburgh. Rustic looking faux wood floors, trendy colors on the wall, white table cloths and an eclectic mix of dining patron rounded out the scene.
The service was upbeat and professional, without being pompous, the wine list seemed rather sparse but I am comparing it to other large metro areas where they may have more selection, however there were good choices in most categories, although I thought the prices to be a tad high.
The menu was varied and we had difficulty choosing, for starters I decided to let y cholesterol be dammed and try the veal Milanese (sweetbreads) - interesting title since it was not Milanese style except for the breading and pan frying of the product.
Sweetbreads have a very rich but blandish taste to them so they need an accompany flavor and imho a decent amount of acid to cut through the richness. Nine on Nine performed admirably on inducing flavor and cutting the satiety of the thymus gland.
First off the flavor came from the panko breading and the beurre blanc that accompanied the dish, the acid from the capers and small slices of petite grapefruit. A wonderful mix that greatly enhanced the balance and depth of the dish. Good Job
We also had the beet salad, that had greens, beets, beans and shaved fennel and a goat cheese poppy dressing. First off all it was NOT drenched in dressing - yeah. Second the combinations of flavors were good and third the beets were al dente - even better. Another smashing success.
The third dish we tried was the king trumpet mushrooms served with oriental style with a miso-chili vinaigrette.
For entrees we had the hanger steak and scallops. The flat iron steak was served on cheesy grits and had a nice Creole sauce. The dish was good but lack of vegetables seemed or color dulled the dishes presentation, plus if we had not filled up on 3 appetizers (split between 2 people, one a light eater) this dish would have been less then filling.
The scallops were served on a base of corn and chorizo (Pittsburgh seems to be in love with chorizo, there didn't seem to be a restaurant we went into that didn't have it as some component on the menu)
The presentation was good and we got 4 large sea scallops topped with ramp aioli and cilantro. While the flavor itself was good, it was not ohhhh or awww, good, but nothing really fantastic.
For desert I got to choose from a nice selections of port by the glass while my son had the strawberry sorbet, homemade nicely balanced and topped with kiwi. Very light and refreshing and not overly sweet.
Bottom Line:
Bottom Line:
Service: 5 stars
Ambiance: 4.5 stars
Sweetbread Appetizer: 5 stars
Salad: 5 stars
Mushroom appetizer 4.5 stars
Hanger Steak - 4 stars - needed more color on plate and portion size was a little small
Scallop Entrée - 4 stars - Presentation was nice but needed more flavor/ pizzazz
Dessert - 4.5 stars
4.6 Stars
apps, salad, and dessert were excellent the entrees very good (small deduction because of those), service excellent, atmosphere very nice. I would recommend them, but I would also be in search of a truly stellar dining experience in Pittsburgh.
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