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Friday, July 07, 2000
By Woodene Merriman, Post-Gazette Dining Critic
Chef Steff is on the move. In early March, he opened Focaccia Grill in the Fox Chapel Plaza. This month, he expanded the hours and started staying open on Sunday, too. In September, he plans to increase the seating from 96 to 175 by taking over the storeroom next door.
Meantime, Chef Steff (Stefano Tedeschi) has bought out Sweetwater Flatbread in Sewickley and expects to open it as Avellino Grill in mid-August.
These are his first restaurant ventures, but Tedeschi already has a background in the food business. He's an importer with a company called Stefano, A Taste of Italy Inc., and the brand name, "Steff Gourmet." A row of his products is along the wall behind the open kitchen at Focaccia Grill, lest you should forget.
Focaccia (or Fo ka' cha, as the menu helpfully explains) is big on pizzas and pastas. The way Chef Steff figured it, a family of three or four would come in and order a pizza first for an appetizer. His pizzas are all 12 inches so there is plenty to share. Then they would order a salad. They, too, are big enough to share. Next, they'd have a big, family-size order of pasta, maybe the penne primavera or Bolognese rigatoni.
That way, the family could eat for about $40.
It's an interesting concept, and Focaccia Grill has enough choices in the pizza and pasta categories to start a family fight. I counted 18 different pizzas. Even His Honor and I couldn't agree. Should we have a Salsicia and Broccoletti or a Napoletana from the list of authentic Napoli pizzas from the wood-burning oven, guaranteed to be exactly the same as the pizza made in Naples, birthplace of pizza? Or should we have a nine-cheese pizza topped with the chef's special mix, or a familiar old pepperoni pizza?
After a glass of wine (Mastroberardino Aglianico, a pleasant red from southern Italy) we took the easy way out and had Chef Steff's Special Pizza, with roasted garlic, prosciutto di Parma, homemade sausage, roasted peppers, asiago, fontinella, sliced fresh mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil. Lots of good stuff there on top of the thin pizza crust which, unfortunately, was unbaked in the center.
Now for the salad. Last time here, we had an insalata di casa, or mixed greens with bacon, croutons and shaved Parmesan Reggiano. Poor thing. It had been drowned. And drowned greens are gross greens. It was salty, too.
Tonight is our lucky night. The Mediterranean salad has feta cheese, Kalamata olives and thin strips of roasted red peppers among the crisp greens and just enough olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Things are looking up.
But H.H. and I parted company when it came to the main course. He decided to go the fish route, and ordered Mediterranean style sea bass, while I'm going to stick with the program.
There are eight family-style pastas on the menu, plus four more that are for singles or families. Since I've been deserted, I'm going with Chef Steff's Award-Winning Tomato Basil Sauce over penne, available for one. It's a simple sauce, made with fresh tomatoes and a hint of basil, and very good.
H.H. is puzzled by his fish dish. It's Chilean sea bass prepared, according to the menu, in a wine sauce with fresh mushrooms, sweet peppers, olives and diced tomatoes. We were expecting a white wine sauce, which seems appropriate with the delicate white bass. Instead, the dark sauce, with only onions and mushrooms noticeable, was made with marsala and merlot, and seemed too heavy. A side dish of baby carrots and mashed potatoes came with the fish.
Interesting aside: When the waiter went to pick the plate up from the table, after H.H. picked out the fish, ate it, and left the sauce, he asked: "Are you finished with the veal?"
The menu has several kinds of fish, which can be broiled, sauteed or grilled, plus shrimp, ocean scallops, several preparations for chicken breast and a selection of meats that can be Fo ka cha Grilled. That means the steak, veal chop or whatever is sauteed in a cast iron skillet with olive oil, herbs, garlic and spices, then placed, along with its juices, on top of the piece of flat bread.
The focaccia and other breads are baked at the restaurant. Chef Steff likes to send a little something out to each table, to make guests feel special. Often it's a bit of focaccia, right out of the oven.
Some desserts are specially made by the Oakmont Bakery, others are baked at the restaurant. The most unusual is the Nutella pie. Nutella, that sweet spread of hazelnut-flavored chocolate as common in Italy as peanut butter is in America, is spread between two thin rounds of baked pizza dough, cut into wedges and served with sliced strawberries and a sprinkling of powdered sugar. It's as homey and comforting as those strips of pie crust that mothers used to sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, bake off and give to the children -- back in the days when mothers made pies from scratch.
Focaccia Grill's menu, as Chef Steff says, is part family, part Pittsburgh. For an appetizer, you could go the Pittsburgh route and order fried zucchini, bruschetta or calamari. More interesting is the fresh mozzarella in carozza, or thin slices of imported prosciutto di Parma, wrapped around squares of silky fresh mozzarella.
Focaccia Grill is a narrow restaurant, with the bar, pizza oven and open kitchen on one side, and small tables and chairs along the other side. It's attractive and modern, but can be noisy when it's busy. The chef's wife, Lynn, gets credit for the decor, he says. She's working on the Avellino Grill now.
Credit for the better-than-average wine list, with quite a few bottles that are new even to H.H., goes to the chef's business partner, William Acker. An attorney, Acker is so interested, Chef Steff says, that he likes to come by in the evenings, talk with diners and help them choose wines.
The Mastroberardino was one of his suggestions. Another: Rosemount Show Reserve Chardonnay from Australia, well-rounded, full-bodied and a good buy at $23.
Focaccia Grill
Stefano Tedeschi, aka Chef Steff, offers 18 different pizzas at Fox Chapel's Focaccia Grill. (Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette) 
Fox Chapel Plaza, 1141 Freeport Road
412-781-7833
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday, 1-7 p.m.The basics: Italian restaurant specializing in pizza, pastas other entrees, with single and family-size servings; parking in shopping center; full bar and better than average wine list; wheelchair accessible; no smoking section; major credit cards, reservations.The last word: 3 stars