We've got a dee-lish double-header for you today, Munch fans. Before going off on a Beaver County road trip, Munch must give urban props to Kaya in the Strip District.
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Road trip!
Kaya
2000 Smallman St.
Strip District
412-261-6565
The Maple Restaurant
463 Maplewood Ave.
Ambridge
724-266-7113
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With its eclectic ethnic delectables and decor, vegetarian friendliness and dizzying drink selection, Kaya has long been one of Munch's regular go-tos. After dropping in for drinks on a recent Friday, Munch and a friend were so wowed by the new menu that they had to go to Kaya the next night, too.
The food seemed edgier than ever, starting with the first "tropas" item: Sauteed shad roe over caramelized onions with Serrano-sherry vinaigrette. Entrees included roasted monchong (Hawaiian for a type of pomfret fish, served with curried cauliflower) and a pair of quail (blue corn-dusted over rye berry compote and truffle foie gras jus).
We ordered the veggie Scotch bonnet-goat cheese ravioli with wilted seasonal greens and charred poblano sauce, as well as the Serrano wrapped pork tenderloin with roasted yam puree, Asian greens and papaya.
Now, you know Munch doesn't swoon over hoity-toity ingredients. But you have to taste this tenderloin, wrapped in the thinnest skin of crunchy ham. Incredible.
For dessert, we shared a chocolate cake with a gooey filling flavored by pasilla chile pepper -- also an amazing taste sensation.
The drinks and the service were great as usual, even on a busy Saturday, and the meal was well worth the $60. As we overheard, Kaya has two new chefs, and they're working in the freshest ingredients by changing the menu daily.
Looks like we'll have to go back more regularly, too.
OK, let's slow the pace down. Cruise out, as Munch and that same friend did that Sunday evening, to Ambridge. Be amazed at how long is its business district, a vestige of the days when this Ohio River town was booming.
You have to veer off the main drag and onto Maplewood Avenue to find a local landmark: the Maple Restaurant.
Munch probably wouldn't have found it without reader Jack Owens of Chippewa, who e-mailed about the trademark hot roast beef sandwich, with "melt-in-your-mouth beef, 'secret recipe' gravy, and homemade mashed potatoes -- complete with 'just like Mom's' lumps."
Don't say that around Munch's mom, Jack, but thanks for the tip.
This must be the place, with the parking lot sign: "Welcome to Hot Beef Country." The sign hanging over the cute brick restaurant, which once was a synagogue, notes that it was established in 1963.
You couldn't pick a place more opposite from Kaya. Where Kaya puts you on cutting edge, the Maple is like going back in time. One guy in a booth was sipping a milk shake poured into a tall glass from the metal container it'd been mixed in. The decor is a breathtaking mix of faux stone and wallpaper that is plaid on one side of the dining room and floral on the other.
But people don't come here to look. The Maple's prodigious menu includes as many as a half-dozen different daily specials, including ham and baked lima beans on Monday, meatloaf on Tuesday, etc. It puts asterisks besides the specials and specialties, like veal cutlet, that "are available in large portions. Please ask your server to 'Ma-ple Size It.' "
Something made Munch think that wouldn't be necessary. Munch had to order the famous hot beef sandwich, of course, with mashed potatoes. "Gravy?" the waitress asked, and Munch nodded. "All over?" Oh yes, baby.
Munch's friend ordered the turkey dinner special with gravy on the side, and when it came out, whispered, "Holy God." It was an entire bowl of gravy.
"I've never seen anyone order another dinner," the waitress teased, offering to pay for it if we did.
Munch's friend was able to eat about half of hers. Munch, a trained professional, cleaned plate and ordered pie, which the waitress admitted is not made on premises. The peach praline sounded good in concept, but wasn't the homemade treat Munch always pines for.
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