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| - I returned to Lidia's after about three years away, mainly due to the many awesome and fresh restaurants that have popped up in Pittsburgh lately. Spots like Spoon, Grit & Grace, Salt. . .these guys are doing great things, so it was easy to forget about the old standards.
Back to Lidia's. . .the menu has remained consistent, with a nice selection of northern Italian and continental dishes. The special $25 wine list is now the $32 wine list, but there are still a few bargains in there. The food on what looked like a fairly slow Saturday night was good. Not mind-blowing, but the quality was consistent with Lidia's tradition. The braised rabbit dish was delicious, as was the osso buco. I had the "roasted beet salad", which actually had pickled beets, not roasted. But it was tasty.
Now, the problem. . .service was insanely slow and inattentive. Our server was friendly and knowledgeable, but she would disappear for huge chunks of time, leaving us with empty glasses and plates, and no food. All told, from seating to departure, dinner for two lasted exactly three hours, at least an hour was spent just sitting, waiting, wishing. It became aggravating when spending in excess of $100 per person, and at the end of the night you have to track down the waitress to give her your credit card. I expect that at Denny's, but not Lidia's. It really looks like they need a stronger manager keeping things running smoothly, because while the food is still excellent, I saw nobody in control of the dining room. This review could have easily been two stars, but I added one for the tasty rabbit.
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