The old saying in the real estate business, "Location, location, location." has a corollary in the food business and it is, "The chef, the chef, the chef."

Pam Panchak, Post-Gazette Joe Nolan stands before part of his team at Cafe Allegro, South Side: Sam Cerminara, left, Monique Ruvolo, Rebecca Chamberlin and Aaron Hoover. Click photo for larger image. Cafe Allegro 51 S. 12th St. South Side 412-481-7788 Hours: Dinner, from 5 p.m. Basics: Appetizers, $7-$10; entrees, $22-$30; desserts, $6.50; wines by glass, $5-$13. Mediterranean cuisine with pristine fresh ingredients prepared by a talented chef. Smoking in bar room. Wheelchair accessible. Free parking in private lot around corner. All major credit cards accepted. Reservations advised.

W henever I ask myself what has given a particular restaurant "staying power" -- and lots don't have it -- the answer will invariably be, "the chef." This is true of Cafe Allegro, a restaurant consistently ranked among Pittsburgh's best since it opened in 1986.

Chef Joe Nolan grew up in Mars and kicked around various restaurant kitchens, getting on-the-job training before attending culinary school. After graduating, Nolan worked at the original Simply French in Oakland under chef Michael Hooker. (Hooker is currently the pastry instructor at Cordon Bleu's Pennsylvania Culinary Institute.) Nolan readily admits that working as a sous chef for a top-notch chef is a crucial piece in "The Making of a Great Chef" puzzle.

When Lou Cardamone bought the Cafe Allegro space in 1986, his son-in-law, Mark "Red" Rayner, took over the kitchen and hired young Joe Nolan as a sous chef. When Red decided to forgo restaurant kitchens for medical school, the Cardamones wisely promoted Nolan to executive chef and made him a part owner of the restaurant. Without a piece of the action, few chefs linger for long in one kitchen.

Nolan obviously loves what he does at Cafe Allegro. His talents go from the grill to the pastry oven and everything in-between. His cooking style is Mediterranean but his passion is unusual ingredients. He can rhapsodize over such wild ingredients as cattail shoots, nettles and gooseneck barnacles. He gets his jollies creating new dishes using exotic components. Since most diners are less enthusiastic about unfamiliar territory, these esoteric entrees rarely remain on the Allegro menu for long.

Grilled Shrimp and Fruit ($8) from the appetizer menu is only mildly exotic and very user-friendly. Six blue tiger shrimp were grilled to perfection and drizzled with a divine sauce made from a tangerine reduction. The accompanying fruit, blueberries and strawberries were an unusual addition that married well with the shrimp. The Roasted Red Pepper Bisque ($6.50) can be served hot or cold. This bold broth with pureed roasted red peppers was a delicious summer treat bursting with flavor.

Walnut Crusted Salmon with Pineapple Glaze ($24) consisted of two large fillets (could easily serve two) with a tangy pineapple glaze and chunks of pineapple. The crunchy crust of walnuts brought the preparation an added twist and made the dish memorable. Grilled halibut with lime vinaigrette ($24) was charred and crispy on the outside and moist and flaky on the inside. The lime provided the perfect counterpoint to the halibut. Chef Nolan's Bouillabaisse ($23) is an individual interpretation of the French classic. I found myself disappointed. Not because it was not good but because it was not the classic recipe. The chef had added julienned carrots and fennel to the original Mediterranean recipe. But since it is important to encourage inventiveness and originality in the kitchen, I am willing to put aside personal preferences and tastes. My husband loved it warmed up the next day.

Chicken Citron ($22) is another entree sized for two. Two chicken breasts were boned and stuffed with spinach, ricotta and almonds, grilled and topped with candied citrus zest. For once, there was no red sauce with a ricotta stuffing!

Don't miss the Farina Torte on the dessert menu. Nolan is doing double duty as the pastry chef at the moment and this sinfully delicious concoction of farina and ground walnuts is his own invention. I guarantee it is worth the calories. The house-made ice creams are a delicious summer treat. We shared a Bing cherry ice cream with dueling spoons. Desserts are $6.50.

My dining experience at Allegro was marred by the dining room staff on two occasions. The first was when I ordered a bottle of moderately priced wine from the wine list. The waiter came back to tell me that unfortunately the cellar was out of that wine. I chose another in the same price range. Soon I was told that it too was out of stock. Both of these wines were labels one frequently finds in the modest range of any restaurant's wine list. The wine buyer came to suggest that since those two wines were unavailable, I might like to try a similar wine, made from the same grape and costing exactly twice as much as my initial selections. One should expect better from a restaurant of the quality of Allegro. The normal scenario in such a situation would have been for the wine buyer to apologize for the lapse and to offer to serve the more expensive wine and charge the price of the wine we ordered. The alternate offer would have been to substitute a different wine and not to charge anything more for it as a gesture of appeasement. I have experienced both of these gestures from sommeliers in restaurants that were unable to provide a wine listed on their menu. Never has anyone suggested that I substitute a bottle of something double in price. A similar experience happened on another evening. Our order of wine by the glass was for a simple merlot at $6 a glass. After the initial glasses and a second order for the same wine we were advised that this wine was no longer available and that the only red they could offer would be $8 a glass. How can a bar run out of their house wine equivalent?

In addition to a talented chef/owner in the kitchen, a great restaurant must also have competent staff in the dining room. Nothing can ruin a well prepared meal faster than an untrained waiter. Unfortunately, this is the area which I find most disappointing in Pittsburgh restaurants. Anyone who has ever eaten at a world-class restaurant will recognize the degree to which what passes for a good waiter in Pittsburgh is more realistically only mediocre. It is time to think about a training facility in Pittsburgh to train top quality waiters to be partnered with the good chefs our culinary schools are producing.

Working as a sous chef at Allegro with Nolan seems to be a sure-fire way to a successful restaurant career. Many award-winning chefs started out stirring the sauce pans under his watchful eye.

John Harris, owner of Lilette restaurant in New Orleans, hails from West Virginia. He began his cooking career in Pittsburgh at Allegro. Harris was selected by Food and Wine magazine in 2002 for its Best Young Chefs Award. Chuck McKibbean was Nolan's assistant for five years in the 1990's. Today he is head chef at the famous Ventana Resort in Big Sur, Calif. Mark Fischer, another Allegro kitchen alumnus, ended up in Vail, Colo. After leaving Allegro he cooked at Le Cirque in Manhattan and the famed Fog City Diner in San Francisco. Today he is the owner of the highly acclaimed Six89 in Carbondale, Colo.

Nolan is mentoring Rebecca Chambers, a talented young chef he predicts will have a brilliant career.

One reason a restaurant stays on the Hit Parade for 18 years is the artist in the kitchen. Chef Nolan at Cafe Allegro is a great example of that logic.