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Friday, May 05, 2000
By Woodene Merriman,Post-Gazette Dining Critic
Correction/Clarification: (Published May 11, 2000) Cafe Zinho, 238 Spahr St., Shadyside, is open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch, from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Information on its hours accompanying a review in Friday’s edition was incomplete.
Picture it: Your kids want to play restaurant. So they gather up old bedspreads and paintings from the attic, find cast-off tables, chairs and dishes in the basement, drag everything out to the garage, paint the concrete block walls a dull green, and they're in business.
Cafe Zinho had the idea first, though. Cafe Zinho also has the most important ingredient of all for anyone who wants to play restaurant for keeps: a good chef.
Kevin Roose was sous chef at Baum Vivant in Bloomfield for three years before owners Toni and Becky Pais opened this little cafe, and moved Roose in as chef.
Baum Vivant and Cafe Zinho have some things in common -- primarily fine food, and desserts by Becky Pais. Cafe Zinho is less expensive ($14.95 is as high as the entrees go) and the emphasis is on more casual food, such as salads and sandwiches, which fits right in with the relaxed atmosphere.
It took us what seemed like forever to order on our first visit, we were so busy looking around. I checked out the ladies' room. The old dresser there looks like one I threw out, but painted white. That little room in the back has huge paintings that seem bigger than the one table in the room. It seats just four, or six very good friends. Isn't that a big Mona Lisa looking out at us? Look up, too. I do believe that white ceiling is made of garage doors.
His Honor no longer pays attention. The server wants to open his wine bottle, and he hasn't decided which one we'll have. (H.H. always travels with two, a red and a white.)
The 1993 Beringer Knights Valley cabernet it will be. Sounds like a good match with the smoked turkey and beef tips special, served with vegetables over rice, and a cassoulet of white beans, sausage and duck confit.
But first there is roasted garlic and tomato bisque with dill, a creamy rich, slightly spicy tomato soup, definitely not Campbell's, served in a deep bowl with a bit of herbed yogurt. Did I mention that the dishes don't match either?
Smoked turkey and beef tips is an unusual combination, but it works. We thought sure the server said it was in brandy sauce, but we can't taste the brandy. The cassoulet is served like a soup, with a piece of duck on top, sliced squash and zucchini around the edge of the plate. Nice.
Though the server kept saying "good choice, good choice" when we ordered our entrees, these are not the most popular at the restaurant. Later, over the phone, Roose told me the most popular entree on the menu is shrimp cake, oven roasted, with Dijon mustard and pistachio lime sauce.
Another popular one is pasta del mar, or Israeli couscous with saffron, shrimp, mussels, scallops and tomato cream sauce. We tried the pasta del mar another night, and see why it's a big seller. We were especially intrigued by the Israeli couscous in the center of the plate; the grains are so big they could be small kernels of corn.
Regularly, Roose also has about four daily specials, usually two seafood, one meat and one fowl. And there's always a "vegetarian bowl," too, which changes daily, and a "quiche du chef" as an appetizer. It was a crustless seafood quiche one night when we tried it, a wedge of quiche lightly browned on top and loaded with bits of scallops, shrimp and the like.
We have not tried Cafe Zinho's sandwiches, but you can guess they're not American cheese on white bread, a sweet pickle on the side. Even a chicken salad sandwich is different here; it has almonds, raisins, tarragon and orange mayonnaise in puff pastry. The swordfish club sandwich had fontina, porchetta ham, lettuce, tomato and avocado mayonnaise; a pita pizza has herbed pesto, olive oil, seasonal vegetables and mozzarella.
Most of the salads are designed to be a meal. I ordered the California greens with portobello, potatoes, green beans, assorted root vegetables, leeks and balsamic vinaigrette one night. "Good choice," said the server. (Different server, same line.)
It's a warm salad, and probably very good for you, but otherwise not very interesting. Maybe I would have liked it more if I hadn't eaten a crostini appetizer first. Each crisp little toast had zucchini, bits of roasted vegetables and herb pesto. This would be a good appetizer to order for the table to share. One crostini per person would be plenty to start your appetite going.
Undoubtedly the best dessert we've had at Cafe Zinho is the raspberry cheesecake. It's everything a good cheesecake should be -- creamy, soft, smooth on the tongue, refreshing, and with a subtle, not overpowering, raspberry flavor. Our research has also given the "thumbs up" to the sour cream pecan coffee cake, hot apple and mixed berry cobbler and the fresh lemon tart. The tart has a delightful tangy, fresh taste but the thick crust is out of proportion. I would like more lemon, less crust.
Many customers bring a bottle of wine to enjoy with their dinner, and frequently, we noticed, seem to be familiar with the restaurant and know a lot of the other diners. Still, noise has never been a problem. It's a place for people with a sense of humor who like good food in a non-stuffy atmosphere.
A colleague from the Post-Gazette, his wife and college-age son were dining across from us one night. As they left, I asked how they liked it. "Compares favorably with the food at Kenyon College," the young man answered.
How's that again?
Cafe Zinho
238 Spahr St., Shadyside
412-363-1500
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, lunch,11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner, 5:30-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5:30-11 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday.The basics: Small (45 seats), casual restaurant with funky decor and fine food; entrees, $9.50 to $14.95; sandwiches, $7.95 to $9.95; salads, $4.25 to $9.95; soups and starters, $4.50 to $6.95; no smoking, no credit cards, no reservations; no parking lot, no liquor license; BYOB with $5 a bottle corkage fee; wheelchair accessible; same menu served for lunch and dinner.The last word: 3 1/2 stars