8-14-08
by John O.
Who would have known that little old Ligonier had such a cool place to eat… my wife and I, in our thirties, decided to have a “date night” and were eager to try the new restaurant in town. From the outside the Ivy Cafe looks charming and rustic. Once inside, you enter a nicely lit, warm and somewhat busy restaurant. Our spirits were lifted by the gracious and sincere greeting from the hostess. She found us a lovely table by the fireplace and left us with our… books? The menu is found placed inside a hardbound book! What a great touch! Later on, during our meal, the waiter informed us that we were personally greeted by the owner Lisa. We also found out that Lisa’s husband, Anthony, was the chef. I’ve always had good meals in family-run places, it seems like they just care about your experience a lot more.
     In the main dining room we noticed nine or ten tables spaciously set about the room.  Upon further inspection, we found another ten upstairs next to the The Poison Ivy bar. This is where they have piano night every Friday from 5-7pm… I guess we have another reason to go back! The upstairs dining room also doubles as a banquet facility that can hold up to fifty people and is quite busy we were told. They host all types of events ranging from wedding receptions to pharmaceutical sales meetings complete with audio visual equipment.
     Back at our table and eagerly awaiting our first course, we felt as if we had stumbled onto the best-kept secret this town had to offer. Clay, the manager and sommelier had just made us two very delicious cocktails. So we sipped our cocktails and relaxed to the soft music playing while the wood-burning fireplace kept us warm and toasty. You know, The Ivy Café is cozy enough for a romantic night out and loaded with history but not overdone. There were a couple of tables of businessmen, other couples and regulars there, too.
    The menu was loaded with more choices than we could ever have expected and we instantly wanted to come back to eat our way through the menu. We made our selections and sat back knowing we were in good hands because the waiter offered keen insight but ultimately deferred to my Wife’s craving for fish. Our meal started with warm and gooey bread that was nice and garlicky/salty. I had stuffed prawns and my Wife had the perfectly dressed poached pear salad. The appetizer was served nice and hot and with a good amount of sauce. I’m a sauce guy. For the main course my Wife had the crab-crusted seabass. My steak satisfied my craving for a big dinner and both paired nicely with a bottle of chianti classico riserva that Clay recommended. They had a short but fun wine list that I was exited about.
     Dinner ended nicely with a chocolate souffle cake that was homemade, warm and delicious and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The staff was attentive and friendly. Clay was our waiter and he gave us some of the best service we’d ever had, very polished and proper but surprisingly warm, welcoming and relaxed. Turns out he is a transplant from wine country in California. That explains the service which surpassed what you’d expect in a much bigger city. We will definitely be going back regularly when we don’t feel like driving all the way into Greensburg or Pittsburgh to get a great meal. Four stars to you Ivy Café….Thank you for a wonderful night out.

8/11/08. Richard Chen; 3 for dinner on Monday, their 3rd day of business.
Entering the restaurant into a stylish & impressive surrounding. Welcoming staff.
Ordered house special mojitos & a martini on the rocks ( $2 upcharge for ice, why?)
Starters: pot stickers, skins were tough & fair; Peking duck salad on frisee with peanut dressing, the duck skin & meat had been removed from the duck long before serving; glazed pork belly with steamed buns, usually a favorite dish, however the buns were rubbery & the pork flavorless.
Entrees: Mongolian beef with leek, bamboo shoots & mushrooms, the beef was nice quality; five spice duck with mushroom, OK; baby bok choy with mushrooms, very good; the chef sent jasmine rice with sausage.
Desserts: Warm brown butter peachs with sourcream ice cream,OK; chunky choc. caramel bar with hazlenut ice cream, excellent ( a must). Pastries are by pastry chef Jenifer Fournier.
Service was bad even though the restaurant was only half full. There were 3 captains who circulated around the room doing nothing. We asked to share everything but received only small plates & utensils not replaced; very amatuerish. Although the room is very dramatic, it didn’t function well. From getting to the restrooms to the staff constantly manuevering between the tables. The room is too noisy. However, a nominee for delicious design.
We were very excited with the buzz about Chen. Obviously a lot of  expense & effort went into the restaurant. Disappointing experience. We’ll try again in a few weeks.

Pangea is a welcome addition to the Shadyside dinning scene. The menu is creative and the food is well prepared and delicious. I had a chilled melon soup that had fresh melon flavors with a little zip to it. The crab cake Paninis was outstanding with roasted red pepper, grilled fresh asparagus, feta cheese and mustard remoulade. I’m looking forward to my next visit and try some other dishes on the menu.
    

Pizza Fusion advertises fresh organic and earth friendly and that is about all that you can say for the place. The noise level is not earth friendly and either is the service. It took us an hour to get our pizza and 30 minutes for a glass for our drink. Our mushroom and thyme pizza did not have fresh thyme and the crust tasted like it came from a boxed pizza mix.
B. Nyack

I stayed at Bedford Springs Resort during Father’s Day. This charming, peaceful resort has been restored to its historic grandeur. The two main dining rooms were a real treat. The food was creative and both the food and service were outstanding.
At the Crystal Room, I had barbecued shrimp with watermelon gazpacho. Delicious. As my main course, I had the best beef short ribs ever.  For dessert, I wanted old fashioned apple pie and ice cream, and I was not disappointed.
  At the 1796 Room, I started with compressed melon and anise with house-made duck prosciutto. My main course of rib-eye veal was done to perfection. The wine list was worth your attention with many outstanding selections. The resort and their two main restaurants are definitely worth a special trip. 

Soba is one of Pittsburgh’s top restaurants, and I was looking forward to trying their tasting menu to celebrate the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival. The meal was a complete disaster! The dim sum was overcooked and unappetizing. The second course of little neck clams with lo-mein noodles was tasteless and the clams (sandy) were inedible. The main course of rare tuna was marinated too long. The almond-crusted bao was the worst bao I have ever tasted. There was a wine paring that was uninspiring. If you are featuring a special meal, please make it special. This one was not.

We went to the Taipei Restaurant in Cranberry for dinner and had a great meal.
We started with two special appetizers – a duck spring roll and a lobster sushi roll. Both were perfectly prepared and delicious. The lobster sushi roll was creative with bit s of avocado and orange to complement the lobster. We choose their Peking duck as  the main course and it was prepared to perfection. 
Our family style tofu dish was a disaster. This was our only disappointment with our meal.

I have enjoyed many meals at Eleven. I went there for lunch recently. The Eleven burger was perfection, it consisted of Angus beef, veal, house-made bacon, and topped with white cheddar cheese.
I can not wait to go back and try some of the other sandwiches…soft-shell crab, crab-cake and lobster roll.

Just had dinner @ Pangea’s tonight for the third try and it IS GOOD!!!! Started with an heirloom tomato coulis salad, then the trio of tabulu. Then the crab au gratin…..polished it all off with a lemon souffle and I must reiterate that it is just a very fun way to eat trying so many taste treats!!!!

Red Room: 2 for dinner mid-week. First visit since Kevin Sousa ( Formerly of Alchemy at Bigelow Grill ) took over the kitchen. Dining room was full. New menu created by the new chef. Kevin selected our menu & presented the dinner in tasting portions.

Amuse bouche – Hawaiian Pizza a la alchemy, not your average pizza.

Starters: Soft shell crab, bay spiced crumbs, tartar sauce, nori, brie – a wonderful dish, beautifully presented; Sweetbreads dusted with vauduvan over fava bean puree, lavender, radish – delightful dish; lobster, corn 3-ways, pappadum, summer truffle – delicious & unique.

Salads: microgreens, crispy shitake mushrooms, summer truffle, aged balsamic – wonderful flavor & served in a deep, wide rimmed bowl; a green & white asparagus over frisee’, egg yolk, smoked trout roe – absolutely lovely.

Main courses: Walleye pike wrapped in chicken skin, rosemary purple rice & smoked manchego – fresh, great texture & delicious; pork belly, crawfish, black-eyed peas, vanilla, grapefruit, mushroom, taragon, cashew – comfort food on another level; wagu beef, shitake hash browns, ramp pickles, morels – incredibly delicious.

Dessert: Chocolate ganache extravaganza – fun.

Overall: each dish was extremely complex & well thought out. The plating was artfully presented. Nice wine list.  The wait staff explained the dishes & the many ingredients. A very enjoyable dinner. Definitely a chef to watch.