April 2002

Convergence
Western buzz meets Eastern tradition at P.F. Chang's China Bistro.

By Jennifer Pesci-Kelly

I'm tough to surprise -- I investigate every angle and leave nothing to chance. When I embarked on my trip to P.F. Chang's, I thought I had it all figured out -- a formulaic trendy chain that was all design and no substance. But I was pleasantly surprised at the successful meeting of the minds between American attitude and Asian culture.

Joining this 9-year-old chain of 65 restaurants nationwide, Pittsburgh's P.F. Chang's was thrust into the booming Homestead Waterfront development. The long bar is convenient for sipping a saketini while you wait for your table. And your wait, by the way, could be 15 minutes on a weekday or two hours on a weekend.

Slip into one of the raised, circular booths for a bird's-eye view of the scene unraveling around you. The trendy atmosphere isn't traditional -- and neither is the food. But it also isn't the tired Chinese takeout our palates are accustomed to.

Before you even order, a server will describe the sauces on the table -- chili paste and hot mustard -- and custom-mix one for a smoky or red-hot dipping sauce. My server was actually a wealth of knowledge, offering pithy information about the restaurant's history and favorite items from the menu.

Appetizers play it safe with fried spring rolls ($3.50) and shrimp dumplings ($6.95), but subtle twists change the pace. Spare ribs are updated with ginger and honey for Chang's ($6.25) version. Sesame-encrusted seared tuna sashimi ($7.95) passed through a frying pan only for the briefest moment before it hit my plate. Black sesame seeds look harmless, but offer a peppery bite to this light dish.

The entree selection is endless. Mango chicken ($10.95) is suggestive of customary sweet and sour, but replaces the fluorescent orange, sticky sauce with large slices of mango and a spicy glaze. The warm duck salad ($8.95) wasn't very warm, offered little duck and was proportionally challenged -- heavy on shredded purple cabbage, sparse with soy vinaigrette and stingy with chewy, overcooked slivers of duck.

The hot fish ($12.95), however, didn't skimp on the crisp catfish or the hot, and a side of white rice was handy to soak up the Szechuan sauce and vegetables. Looking for something meaty, I was guided to the Cantonese chow fun ($9.95), which arrived with big chunks of beef and fat rice noodles with a savory brown sauce. It was, I have to admit, fun chow.

Pay no heed to formidable Western-sized portions -- leftovers are packaged up in chic little containers and handled shopping bags.

Desserts aren't worth saving room for. Excessively sweet macadamia nut white-chocolate torte ($5.95) and ordinary cheesecake with berry coulis ($5.95) are too cliched an ending to such a surprising meal.