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Friday, November 24, 2000
By Woodene Merriman, Post-Gazette Dining Critic
Many foodies discovered Sharpsburg in 1995 when Michael and Antoinette Bonaventura opened their tiny restaurant, serving only exquisite pastas, plus salads and other side dishes, of course, and dessert. But no meat or fish, and if you wanted wine, you brought your own.
Now they've moved across the street into a bigger, remodeled space. Artist Tom Conroy, a student at Carnegie Mellon, painted a colorful view of Florence, Italy, at one end of the dining room. They have their own 15-car parking lot, a full bar, and Michael stocked up on Italian wines. Now he's experimenting with veal and fish dishes. He tried New York strip steaks recently and is thinking about chicken.
His method is to offer a dish as a special first. If the reaction from the customers is good, he adds it to the menu. So calamari and octopus stew, with peas, potatoes, white wine and tomatoes, is available every night. "Everybody loves it," Michael says. Ravioli stuffed with porcini and shiitake mushrooms served with butter sage sauce, are another popular choice.
Antoinette, who waits tables, too, is making most of the desserts now. H.H. and I had her panna cotta (an Italian creme brulee served cold and without a crackly top) and it was sublime. The plain panna cotta was molded and turned out on the dessert plate and served with fresh raspberries, blueberries and ribbons of butterscotch. (The new menu has it with Grand Marnier caramel sauce.)
I hope the Bonaventuras never stop making my favorite vegetable terrine. It's a cold appetizer, made of layers of pureed carrots, cauliflower and broccoli in a loaf pan, and served by the slice with a creamy carrot sauce. All orange, white and green, it's as pretty as it is delicious. Sometimes it's offered as a special; it's not on the new menu.
Main courses range from $9.75 to $18.95. Wines by the bottle are priced at just $10 above cost. But Bonaventura says he doesn't sell many bottles. Most people just say "give me a glass of wine." It may be, he says, because many customers don't know Italian wines.
Gran Canal Caffé
Michael Bonaventura, right, tests the aroma of a tomato sauce in the Gran Canal Caffe kitchen as sous chef Antonio Magnelli cooks behind him. (Joyce Mendelsohn, Post-Gazette) 
1021 N. Canal Street, Sharpsburg
412-781-2546
Hours: 5-10 p.m. Monday-Thusday, 5-11 p.m. Friday and SaturdayThe basics: Italian cuisine; 15 car parking lot by back door on Main Street; seats 70 plus 6 more at bar; Italian wines, by bottle or glass; wheelchair accessible; reservations only for six or more.The last word: 
