Friday, December 26, 2003

BY SARAH BILLINGSLEY AND MACKENZIE CARPENTER, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

As 2003 dwindles down into oblivion, our taste buds are still alive with the memories of meals savored in Pittsburgh's restaurants. There are, of course, moments we'd just as soon forget, but we're in celebration mode today.

Here's our best of Pittsburgh restaurants 2003 list. May good friends, good conversation and good food be in your new year.

Let's eat.

	BEST IN 2003 ALLA FAMIGLIA 804 E. Warrington Ave., Allentown 412-488-1440 ASIAGO One Oxford Centre, Downtown 412-392-0225 BONA TERRA 908 Main St., Sharpsburg 412-781-8210 CAFE ALLEGRO 51 S. 12th St., South Side 412-481-7788 CAFE ASIA 5833 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill 412-521-2080 CLAUDIO'S 3312 Babcock Road, Ross 412-366-4948 LEGENDS OF THE NORTH SHORE 500 E. North Ave., North Side 412-321-1428 LOCANTE'S 186 Castle Shannon Blvd., Mt. Lebanon 412-207-4463 PALAZZO 144 Sixth St., Downtown 412-434-6244 RAY'S BLUE MARLIN GRILL 5121 Butler St., Lawrenceville 412-781-6771 SPICE ISLAND TEA HOUSE 253 Atwood St., Oakland 412-687-8822 TAMARIND 2102 Greentree Road, Scott 412-287-4848 TONIC 971 Liberty Ave., Downtown 412-456-0460

BEST NEW DINING

Sarah Billingsley focuses on a crop of new restaurants -- and seasoned restaurants experimenting with a fresh concept -- that are slowly, surely, finally, improving the Pittsburgh dining scene.

These are places I return to, again and again.

Most notably, the national Greenmarket movement found a foothold here this year with Bona Terra, Douglass Dick's tiny, excellent bistro in Sharpsburg. The menu, stacked with roasted meats, seared seafood and all the vegetables you should have eaten as a kid, draws from local purveyors such as Penn's Corner Farm Alliance, Spring Valley Gardens, Goose Creek Gardens and Keith Martin's Elysian Fields lamb.

You'll know where the food on your table came from. Showcasing locally harvested, fresh ingredients -- "All the good earth has to offer" -- is notable, providing a connective tissue between people, their meals and the earth that creates a community.

Dick's osso buco is tender to the bone. Desserts, such as a Concord grape tart with peanut butter ice cream, are playful. Service and decor are as pleasing as what's on your plate.

The finer Big Burrito restaurants, Soba and Casbah, have long been committed to local produce. But they've taken the idea one step further with a series of vegetarian prix-fixe dinners (not available during the winter) that give their talented chefs creative free rein. With a new menu, a raging veggie prix fixe and a man of racy ideas, Chef Kevin Sousa, manning the burners, Kaya has revealed its true personality of excellence and sly humor. A lick of scotch bonnet heat coaxes the sweetness from tomato bisque; this was a tasting menu that hit every taste bud.

Ray's Marlin Beach Bar & Grill, Lawrenceville, is open at just about any time I'm hungry, serves an extensive tropical drink selection and has real character, a sense of humor and good food. And it's cheap. The downstairs is decorated in a tropical undersea theme, the upstairs is a black boite. Take your pick. On either floor, the medianoche sandwich is pickly crisp, the "jacked-up" meatloaf respectably spicy and moist. Pot pie is cloaked with a flaky pate brisee worthy of a pastry chef.

Tonic provides tonic, in the form of strong drinks, to the man who works late. It's also the antithesis to staid, early-closing Downtown restaurants, since food is served into the wee hours, and drink an hour beyond. The bright Downtown restaurant, on two levels, is happy with noise. Janine Manint's fresh creations are available as big or little plates -- perfect for a tapas-style gathering or a full three-course meal.

Dan Bartow, at Legends of the North Shore, has won legions of loyal customers for his reasonably priced, home-style food. It's about time the North Shore gets a row of non-chain neighborhood restaurants, serving pastas, lamb chops and homemade desserts. Bartow's clean, family-oriented space is a great start.

BEST DISHES

Mackenzie Carpenter had some remarkable dining experiences this year. Here are some of the dishes she remembers most fondly:

There is no one "best" Italian restaurant in Pittsburgh (what, are we crazy?) but there are many that feature special dishes that linger on in the mind, like a long-ago lover, calling us back again:

The Bolognese sauce at Locante's, Mt. Lebanon: It's truly authentic, made with beef, pork and veal, cooked slowly with cream, butter and tomatoes, and finished with pancetta. You could probably order the sauce by itself and be happy.

The cannelloni at Claudio's at the Mellwood, North Hills: delicate, silky pasta, made with ground veal, ricotta, tangy tomato and blended cheeses, topped with creamy bechamel. It's pure comfort food, with elegance and complexity.

The veal Asiago at Asiago's Ristorante, Downtown: silky and tender, glazed with a Chianti bordelaise sauce instead of the ubiquitous marsala -- which, in the wrong hands, has given this dish such a bad name elsewhere.

The grilled polenta with Italian sausage at Palazzo, Downtown: a big slab of firm, golden, cornmeal goodness -- unlike the bland slop that's served elsewhere -- it comes with a big, curly, crunchy slice of the spiciest Italian sausage.

If you hunger for Pan-Asian/Indian/Chinese, you must try:

The lemon rice at Tamarind: assertive, savory, packed with herbs and spices, bits of mustard seed, chili and curry leaves -- all the flavors of South India in one dish. Use it as a base for curries or by itself, dampened with a puckery citrus-scented chutney or yogurt raita.

The curries at Cafe Asia, Squirrel Hill: ginger, lemongrass, soy, Kaffir lime leaves, cilantro and chili -- they're all here, in vivid combinations. The green curry is hot and potent, the Penang flavored with coconut, Kaffir lime leaves and gingery galangal root, flowery and lush.

The tea leaf salad at Spice Island Tea House, Oakland: It has just a few tea leaf strands sprinkled on top, but no matter: This is an addictive dish, combining the crunch of cabbage and peanuts with the tang of tomato and onion in a spicy garlic lemon marinade.

American/Contemporary cuisine maintains its stronghold in Pittsburgh with these excellent dishes:

The roast chicken at Palomino's, Downtown, was stuffed with prosciutto and herbs, with crispy, salty mahogany-colored skin on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, with lots of full-bodied chicken flavor. It's easily the best in the city.

OK, everybody serves crab cakes, but the ones at Pandolfo's Cafe in Collier we remembered: two towering piles of lump crab bound in cream, mustard and bell pepper, golden on top but not (yecch) fried, accompanied by a darkly sweet chutney of roasted tomato and basil in reduced balsamic vinegar. Spectacular.

The crab cake at Baum Vivant, Oakland gets honorable mention for the lemon vanilla sauce that transformed a predictable dish into something voluptuous and unexpected, marrying the sweetness of shellfish with the softness of vanilla.

Last but not least, never skip these desserts:

The tiramisu at Alla Famiglia, Allentown: rich, damp and drunk with liquor, it was strawberry-scented one evening, almond the next. This is the benchmark for all tiramisus (and there are a lot of them out there); it gave us a hangover the next day.

The creme brulee tart at Cafe Allegro, South Side, is a haunting version of this classic, its creaminess laced with the oily sweetness of orange peel. If it's not on the menu every night, it should be.

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