Top Chefs of Pittsburgh

When it comes to fine dining, Pittsburgh never seems to get enough respect.  Zagat.com, the standard-bearer of restaurant guides, doesn't rate Pittsburgh restaurants and only Pittsburgh chef Sonja Finn has been nominated for a James Beard Award, the Oscars of the food world, in recent memory.  All that could change soon as a handful of recent restaurant openings--and please note the emphasis on recent--are poised to help make Pittsburgh a foodie destination. When it comes to top chefs, we have to give a nod to Bill Fuller and the Big Burrito group, which has changed the landscape of the dining scene with some of their fine restaurants, such as Eleven.

Habitat
At Habitat in the sleek new Fairmont Pittsburgh, rich brown tones play against a bold metallic wall alongside a bustling exhibition kitchen.  Floor-to-ceiling glass on one wall looks over downtown Pittsburgh while inside, diners converse at well-spaced tables.  A general calm prevails and it could be Chef Andrew Morrison who sets the tone.  A well-traveled Englishman with classical French training, he is quick to point out that "patience is the biggest qualification a chef can have.  You need to invest time to make sure things turn out perfectly."  

A proponent of the Slow Food movement, his philosophy combines solid technique and simple presentations while using as many local ingredients as possible. It's evident in dishes such as a silken roasted butternut squash soup with autumn-spiced crème fraiche and pan-seared diver scallops with apple, parsnip and crispy ginger that positively glisten.

Elements
A few high rises over is Chef Justin Severino, who has found a home in the new Elements Contemporary Cuisine, housed in the ample Four Gateway Center space formerly occupied by Palomino.  A veteran of restaurants from California to Cleveland and former owner of a charcuterie shop in Santa Cruz, California, Severino's passion can be summed up in the restaurant's "Meat, Cheese and More" plate, a roundelay of hand-cured meats and artisan cheeses.

"Everything here is made in-house," says Severino.  "I'm on the line all day long.  Whether it's inside or outside (the kitchen), my hand touches every plate."  

Fall is his favorite time of year to design a menu.  "We've got apples, pomegranates, squash, pumpkins, figs; we can also cook with beer.  Plus, pork is more acceptable in the fall."  (And yes, those apple cider-braised veal cheeks are smiling at you.)

Salt of the Earth
Across town and forever full of surprises is Chef Kevin Sousa, whose long-anticipated restaurant, Salt of the Earth, opened in early September.  A proponent of molecular gastronomy, Sousa's cookery is finally in a space worthy of his presentations.  Pinpoint lighting bathes the open room downstairs in a warm glow and suits the communal dining setup while diners sit in separate tables in an upstairs mezzanine overlooking it.  It's one cool space, unique to Pittsburgh.

"We're doing all the things you're not allowed to do in Pittsburgh," says Sousa.  "No burgers, no fish sandwiches – okay, when we first opened, I did fried trout on brioche with umi mayo and a quail egg."  

Food play equals minimalist wordplay on the restaurant's menu, which is written on a tall chalkboard that takes up much of one wall, and can change daily.  "Chicken livers grits greens chartreuse" is a generous and colorful plate graced by livers that are crispy outside, creamy inside and will make a fan out of anyone while "Hanger steak potato shiitake cherry barley" features thinly-sliced steak atop a semi-sweet reduction. The  sum total oozes comfort.  

"We hope to be the place that changes the Pittsburgh restaurant conversation," says Sousa.

Spoon
Further east, in East Liberty, is Spoon, where Chef Brian Pekarcik, a Pittsburgh native, is manning the stoves after nearly a decade at some of the top tables on the West Coast.  He's excited about his new digs, a re-do of the former Red Room on S. Highland.

"We're seeing chefs with a similar vision of what Pittsburghers are ready to embrace," he says.  "It's time to ditch the meat-and-potatoes stigma."  The tasting menu is proof positive that change is at hand.  

An amuse presented as a "butternut squash cappuccino" is a creamy soup flecked with duck confit and poached apples and drizzled with brandy foam.  The ensuing lobster cake cozies up to beets and sets the table for "duck duck foie," a playful pairing of meat and foie that is as sweet as its name.  "Veal two ways" delivers both loin and loaf and is the precursor to "chocolate three ways," which employs spoon, fork and knife.  Wine Director Tobin Finegold deftly pairs a 2007 Maipe Rose de Malbec with the duck and a 2009 Pierre Frites Saumer Rouge from the Loire Valley with the veal and the result is both inventive and delightful.
Nine on Nine
Back downtown at Nine on Nine, a jewel box of a room that has been the buzz of Pittsburgh foodies since opening in 2007, Chef Richard DeShantz's passion for food, work and life is clearly evident.  "That extra attention to detail is the line between good and amazing.  I taste everything.  With a salad, I taste one leaf to be sure it's perfect.  I guess I'm a bit obsessive."  

The chef is also witnessing an evolution on the local dining scene.  "Pittsburgh palates are becoming more adventurous; people are getting curious.  They watch Top Chefs, Anthony Bourdain.  Where we used to be about steak, chicken and salmon, I can now do sweetbreads, oxtail, skate wing.  With simplicity, the right techniques and good ingredients, it's art and craft."  

DeShantz is also committed to the city center.  "I'm excited about being downtown," he enthuses.  Whether it's a soul-satisfying bowl of cannellini bean soup with chunks of pork and carrot painted with delicate oregano leaves or a bowl of PEI mussels crowned with crispy pommes frites, he makes it possible for Pittsburgh diners to get excited, too.

New Girl In Town Elaine Labalme likes to eat, drink and be merry and suggests you do the same.

Photographs copyright Brian Cohen

Chefs top to bottom: Andrew Morrison, Habitat; Justin Severino, Elements Contemporary Cuisine; Kevin Sousa, Salt of the Earth; Brian Pekarcik, Spoon; Richard DeShantz, Nine on Nine