Bikki
Trendy Euro-Indian fusion
736 Bellefonte St., Shadyside;
412/683-5756, www.bikkicuisine.com.

Paella from Bikki

“I want Pittsburgh to have every kind of food that any other U.S. city has,” says prolific restaurateur Bikram Kochhar. He’s on the way to making that happen with his latest restaurant, Bikki. The East End hot ticket, headed up by chef/restaurateur Chris Frangiadis and sous chef Jeremy Hickey, presents well-woven flavors that conceal a profusion of ingredients and labor-intensive preparations. Diners rap in the cool basement bistro while rapt with Bikki’s complex but integrated dishes.

Bona Terra
Reservations a must
908 Main St., Sharpsburg;
412/781-8210.

Earthy, contemporary Bona Terra wins our Best New Restaurant honors this year (see page 46). In creating his outstanding menu, chef Douglass Dick credits local ingredients from Penn’s Corner Farm Alliance (see page 98) and La Prima Espresso (“Hands-on, superior quality”). Asked to name a dish that didn’t mesh with local palates, Dick cites his melon carpaccio with sea salt and baby arugula. Perhaps he’ll give it another chance some day.

Café Asia
Asian mélange
5833 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill;
412/521-2080.
The winner of this year’s Delicious Design award (see page 49), Café Asia delights with its hip fusion of Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. Chef Ben Nguyen credits the Seattle food scene with forging his
talents, and names Vancouver’s Sala Thai his favorite out-of-town eatery. While Pittsburgh diners are growing more open to exotic flavors, Nguyen says, he himself eats “very simple but healthy” at home—say, spinach with fish sauce or shrimp paste.

The Café at the Frick
Lunch in the garden
7227 Reynolds St., Point Breeze;
412/371-0600, www.frickart.org.
When chef Susie Treon left Laforêt and mentor Michael Uricchio to open The Café at the Frick, she knew she was taking a risk. It paid off: The now-favorite luncheon venue was highlighted last year on the Food Network. Treon subscribes to the philosophy of Chicago chef Charlie Trotter: “He once said if you strive for perfection in the kitchen, what you end up with is usually something pretty good.”