 >> Le Pommier's lobster tail and claw with roasted baby carrot and cilantro on curried capellini with cumin-citrus butter.
Laforêt
Chef and Co-Owner Michael Uricchio
5701 Bryant St., Highland Park
412/665-9000
$$$
France is famous for fiercely safeguarding the purity of its wine and its culinary traditions - after all, this is the country where a farmer became a hero after driving a tractor through a Burger King in protest. Laforêt, an elegant French restaurant housed in stately white brick, makes good on this cultural heritage. Meat without hormones, gorgeous produce and seafood and other fine raw ingredients emerge from the kitchen in deliciously classic and unfussy formats - reduction sauces, rather than anything heavy with cream, are highlighted. For dessert, the signature lemon tart is superlative.
Chef's Favorite Dish to Make: Lobster and scallop mousse appetizer with lobster Armagnac sauce.
Lautrec
Chef de Cuisine Dave Racicot
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Wharton Township, near Farmington, Fayette County
724/329-8555, nemacolin.com
Prix-fixe menus from $72 (three courses) to $125 (12-course grand tasting)
Opulent is the best way to describe dinner at Lautrec - exactly why local food lovers will drive 70 miles from Pittsburgh to indulge. The formal dining room, swathed in rich crimson and golden fabrics, is located inside the resort's imposing white chateau. Elegant, seasonally inspired French fare is on the menu. Dave Racicot, who won our Rising Star Chef Award last year for his turn at another Nemacolin restaurant, Aqueous, now heads the kitchen after the departure of former chef Brad Kelly. Meals here are an experience - one that might just make you want to splurge on an overnight stay afterward.
Chef's Favorite Dish to Make: Braised-beef short ribs with blue-cheese gratin, grain mustard, celery and cassis puree.
 << Grilled Pennsylvania chicken breast with poached garlic puree and fava-bean cassulet.
LE POMMIER
Chef Mark Collins
2104 E. Carson St., South Side
412/431-1901, lepommier.com
$$-$$$
From the moment you push through the red double doors and step into this restaurant's bright and charming space, you get that casual and effortless "français" feeling. Heartier French classics such as duck and lamb come with unusual sides and sauces that give them a fresh spin, and the menu is always updated with ingredients that best suit the season.
A plate of tempting cheeses makes the perfect French finish.
Chef's Favorite Dish to Make: Steamed littleneck clams with white wine, arugula, tomato and merguez sausage.
NINE ON NINE
Chef Richard DeShantz
900 Penn Ave., downtown
412/338-6463, nineonnine.com
$$$-$$$$
Winner of this year's Best New Restaurant Award, Nine on Nine offers a multicourse, multitaste dining experience that is artful, elegant and consistent. (Seasonal goes without saying.) Even a traditional-sounding dish such as "Pittsburgh Surf & Turf" has surprises - here it translates into grilled filet, lobster pierogie and thyme-roasted onions with black-truffle béarnaise. Every meal is enlivened by an amuse-bouche, a refreshing intermezzo and a pretty cookie plate to finish. A brand-new bar area will soon adjoin the simple, tastefully decorated dining room, where it's worth noting that weekend tables are best reserved weeks in advance.
Chef's Favorite Dish to Make: Sautéed barramundi with herb pappardelle, fennel oven-roasted tomatoes and niçoise olives with saffron sauce.
THE ORIGINAL FISH MARKET
Chef Brian Annapolen
1001 Liberty Ave. (at the Westin Convention Center hotel), downtown
412/227-3657
$-$$$
This restaurant's name says it all - and chef Annapolen changes his menu as often as twice nightly to incorporate the freshest seafood and best ingredients. Savor the just-delivered catch from Hawaii at the sushi bar or in the cosmopolitan dining room overlooking the exhibition kitchen. The diverse menu offers something for everyone, including steak lovers; the extensive wine list makes the handsome bar an inviting spot to settle in for a drink.
Chef's Favorite Dish to Make: Fennel-seared waluu filet in carrot-champagne nage with buttered carrot ribbons.
 >> Soba's lobster maki is a colorful combination of lobster, mango, pistachios and yuzu aïoli.
RED ROOM CAFÉ AND LOUNGE
Chef Christopher Bonfili
134 S. Highland Ave., East Liberty
412/362-5800
$$$-$$$$
Weekend nights at this swank East Liberty dinner spot are a scene. Festive groups of cocktailers drape over leather sofas, patrons stand three-deep at the bar, and the well-dressed diners who remembered to call and reserve a table tuck into their meals in the adjoining window-lined dining room. Local ingredients feature heavily on the seasonal menu.
Chef's Favorite Dish to Make: Pan-seared Alaskan halibut over black-truffle spätzle with wild morels and asparagus tips.
SIX PENN KITCHEN
Executive Chef Chris Jackson
146 Sixth St., downtown
412/566-7366, sixpennkitchen.com
$$
Pittsburgh could use a lot more restaurants like this new American bistro, where the delicious fare is chic in presentation but casual in price. Chef Jackson excels at deconstructing and remaking comfort foods so that each component tastes brighter and more memorable than you've experienced it before: Think of pork chops and apple sauce reworked into a savory pork shank with apple gremolada and apple-serrano-chili sauce. The light-filled two-tier dining room is inviting and comfortable; hit the outdoor rooftop lounge for bar snacks, cocktails and a bird's-eye view of downtown.
Chef's Favorite Dish to Make: Lobster Mac'n Cheese, a 11/4 pound lobster, butter-poached and served over homemade pasta, topped with lobster cheese sauce, English peas and cherry tomatoes.
 << Soba's striped-bass entree includes lump-crab potato rissole, spicy mango relish, cashews and basil-coconut sauce. It's topped with tempura asparagus.
SOBA
Chef Jamie Achmoody
5847 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside
412/362-5656, bigburrito.com/soba
$$-$$$
Pan-Asian cuisine puts on the swerve at this chic Shadyside restaurant, where the Zen-like decor and ambience are as smooth as chilled sake. Take in the buzzing lounge scene over a Sobatini with ginger-infused vodka and small plates of lobster maki. Or, adjourn to a table for elegantly prepared dishes that range from seared, rare tuna with kim chee to seared pork rubbed with Indian spices. Riesling pairs well with many of the menu's exotic flavors - and the well-considered wine list won't leave you wanting.
Chef's Favorite Dish to Make: Striped bass with lump-crab and potato rissole, tempura asparagus, spicy mango relish and cashew-basil coconut sauce.
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