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PrintSome say that Valentine's Day is rooted in an ancient spring pagan festival, Lupercalia, which honored Lupercal, god of fertility. As part of the rituals of that festival, each young man drew the name of a young woman to love and protect in the coming year. Others claim that we owe the origin to a Roman bishop named Valentinus, who in the third century secretly married lovers who had been forbidden by the emperor to wed. The bishop was executed for his crime, and St. Valentine's Day commemorates the anniversary of his death.
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| Bill Wade, Post-Gazette At LeMont: Sweeping views of the city and a sumptous interior. Click photo for larger image. |
On this special day, according to the National Restaurant Association, one-third of all Americans will be dining in a restaurant. Dining atop Pittsburgh's Mount Washington, admiring the view, is where I will be.
The view from Mount Washington has been officially proclaimed one of the 10 most beautiful places in America (by USA Weekend magazine). I would take that even further and suggest that this view is world class, standing proudly with the view of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak, Sydney Harbor from the top of the Sydney Tower or Rio de Janeiro from Sugar Loaf Mountain. Grandview Avenue is aptly named, for this is truly one of the world's grandest city views. At sunset the sky is washed in varying shades of orange and purple. From this 400-foot-high bluff, where George Washington is reputed to have first glimpsed Fort Duquesne and the forks of the Ohio River, the majesty of our city is overwhelming.
Mount Washington was once called Coal Hill and in the 19th century was the site of extensive coal mines. In those days Grandview Avenue was just a cow path clinging to the edge of the cliff that became a wooden boardwalk called High Street. There were no fancy restaurants in this working-class neighborhood of primarily German immigrants. Only in the late 1950s did two small eating establishments with panoramic views open. One was the Tin Angel, which over the years has expanded and is today one of the mount's largest restaurants.
It is fortunate that for Valentine's Day the moon will be 98 percent full (waning gibbous to be precise). When dining on Mount Washington, it is advisable to go for sunset, which will be at 5:24 p.m. on Tuesday. Twilight ends at 6:22 p.m., and the moon will rise at 7:27 p.m. For the ultimate icing on your romantic cake, take the Duquesne Incline to Grandview Avenue. There is free parking in a lot at the incline's lower station. You will ride to the top in the original cars built in 1877.
LEMONT
With huge canted windows providing sweeping views of the city, a fine kitchen and sumptuous interiors, LeMont, which opened in 1960, became Pittsburgh's premier dining destination. Almost a half-century and several renovations later, it is still the "grande dame" of Mount Washington. The elegant dining room looks more like Paris than Pittsburgh. Multiple, massive crystal chandeliers illuminate the expansive dining room. Tables covered with crisp linen cloths and small bronze lamps are set with handsome china and surrounded by upholstered Louis XV armchairs. Waiters wear formal attire. Windows start at the floor and swoop in giant panes to the high ceiling, giving every table an uninterrupted view. LeMont has recently expanded into an adjoining space that now houses a large lounge area with bar and a second bar for cigar smokers. The lounge has live entertainment Tuesdays through Saturdays.
The menu is a la carte, the cuisine Continental. For Valentine's Day there is a special menu with a selection of the chef's favorite entrees and appetizers. For an appetizer, I recommend the all-vegetable Portabello en Croute ($9.95). The buttery puff pastry dough is wrapped around a filling of meaty roasted portabello mushrooms bound with creamy Boursin and mascarpone cheeses and flavored with basil and tomatoes.
For an entree, I suggest Steak Diane ($35.95) or Chateaubriand ($72 for two people). Both of these entrees are prepared by the waiter from a gueridon next to your table. This classic European-style service so popular in the 1960s is rarely practiced in American restaurants today. It is a dramatic thrill to watch the waiter ignite brandy to de-glaze the pan in which he has browned the beef.
After this show of flames, the dessert cart with multi-layered cakes of varying colors is anti-climactic. Instead, I suggest a glass of port. The wine list is extensive and impressive, and the markup is high. Kim Crawford New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is $50. I buy this wine in the state store for $12.99. A Chilean Merlot that pairs nicely with the beef is $60. Wines by the glass average $10.
LeMont is offering a special three-course prix fixe menu for the winter season. Although not available on Valentine's Day or on Saturdays, this menu will introduce diners to the charms of the LeMont experience at a very affordable price.
LeMont and Club LeMont
1114 Grandview Ave.
412-431-3100
lemontpittsburgh.com
Hours: Dinner from 5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, from 4 p.m. Sundays.
Basics: Palatial surroundings and formal, Old-World ambience accompany awesome views of Pittsburgh's skyline and the three rivers. Live entertainment Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Prices: Appetizers, $5.95-$15.95; entrees, $24.95-$72; desserts, $6-$7.
Summary: Smoking in club and lounge area; accessible; major credit cards accepted; valet parking $5.
BELLA VISTA
You might remember when Bella Vista was Pasquarelli's. The new owners have re-worked the menu and are gradually making changes to the interior of the restaurant. The dining room is nicely decorated, and the vista is indeed bella. All tables can enjoy the views. The entire place, including the small bar, is smoke-free.
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| Bill Wade, Post-Gazette Valentine's Day diners, your table awaits at one of the restaurants with a view on Mount Washington. Here, the Bella Vista. Click photo for larger image. | |
Dinner includes a choice of wedding soup or salad. My salad was fresh, and the blue cheese dressing was loaded with chunks of cheese. Veal Piccata ($23.95) is five thin escallops with mushrooms and capers in a well-prepared light and lemony wine sauce. Steamed fresh vegetables and pasta marinara come on the side. A good vegetarian Manicotti ($17.95) is made in house. It is stuffed with ricotta and Romano cheeses and bathed in tomato sauce. For Valentine's Day there will also be heart-shaped ravioli on the menu.
For dessert there is house-made Tiramisu ($5.95) flavored with Galiano and Amaretto liqueurs or cheesecake. There will be a special dessert on the Valentine's Day menu: Chocolate Tulip Cup filled with White Chocolate Mousse ($6.95). Wines range from $7.50 to $9 a glass. Bottle prices start at $25 for a California Pinot Noir.
Bella Vista
1204 Grandview Ave.
412-431-1660
Hours: Dinner from 5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, from 4 p.m. Sundays.
Basics: This is a pleasant interior with nice service and a kitchen and management that strive to please.
Prices: Appetizers, $3-$11; entrees, $18-$21; desserts, $6-$7; wines, $7.50-$9.
Summary: No smoking; major credit cards accepted; parking on street or in Mount Washington lot.
ISABELA ON GRANDVIEW
This restaurant, unlike its neighbors, is as much about awesome food as it is about million-dollar views. A super-talented chef will have you swooning over his seven-course prix-fixe menu, which changes daily. If you dine in the upstairs room (my preference), it closely resembles dinner at a chef's table. You have the Pittsburgh view on one end of the dining room and the open kitchen on the other. Each end offers intriguing sights. I would never choose to order seven courses, but I must say that the creative dishes that chef Kevin Hunninen produces had me relishing every bite and anticipating the arrival of each new course. Portions, thank goodness, are small.
On the night I dined at Isabela, after an amuse bouche tidbit of caramelized onions on puff pastry, there was Mushroom and Artichoke Strudel with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce. This glorious appetizer was light yet bursting with layers of complementary flavors. Grilled quail with toasted cumin couscous in a red curry sauce hit all the taste bud high notes. I especially loved the unexpected combination of ingredients. Then it was on to the fish course. Given three choices in each category, I chose Sauteed Hawaiian Wahoo for this one. The sweet and mild fish was perfectly complemented by the slightly licorice taste of the fennel and the tang of the tomato ragout.
After a granite of watermelon, sweet cherries and lime, it was on to Seared Duck Breast with Pomegranate-Walnut Sauce. The duck was cooked to perfection. A bright pink center was circled by the charred brown exterior. The tart pomegranate sauce was a welcome change from the more familiar oranges or cherries. After a perfectly dressed salad of baby greens and mild chevre cheese, it was time to savor a delicious Dark Chocolate and Toffee Terrine. Its rich and silky texture was highlighted by crunchy bits of praline sprinkled on top and garnished with a dollop of chantilly cream. The service throughout was impeccable.
Wine prices are high. A 6-ounce pour is available by the glass for $9 to $14. Ferrai-Carano Chardonnay from Alexander Valley is $65 and Grgich Hills Napa Cabernet 2001 is $130. Bottled mineral water is included in the price of dinner, which is a nice gesture. The wine glasses are the best that I saw in all of the restaurants reviewed today.
Isabela on Grandview
1318 Grandview Ave.
412-431-5882
Hours: Dinner from 5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays.
Basics: Isabela tops the scale for an ultra-romantic experience. Even if you can't get a table for Valentine's Day, come with your Valentine date at another time. The night I was there, a young man proposed on bended knee to his dinner companion. He had obviously planned his big moment, and the engagement ring was delivered from the kitchen on top of a birthday cake with candles. I once witnessed the same act at the Jules Verne restaurant atop the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Watching this young man in a restaurant looking down on our magnificent city made me think about what a glorious thing it is to match good food and wine with city views.
Summary: No smoking; a flight of stairs to enter the main dining room; major credit cards accepted; valet parking, $6.
MONTEREY BAY FISH GROTTO
This glass cage, with windows facing northeast and west, sits up seven floors from the street, atop a large apartment complex. This is where you go for "fish with a view." There is a happy buzz in the large dining room. This is a place people come to eat well and have fun. It seems much less self-conscious than the street-front restaurants below. The view, although very present, seems incidental, and in fact there are some tables that don't afford much of a view, at least not of the Point. The room is neither intimate nor romantic, but the place swings. You might be dining next to a table of Steelers out for a festive night with their wives.
Whatever you order as an entree, don't miss the Smoked Salmon and Potato Pillows ($8.95) appetizer. The pillows are made from long, thin slices of Idaho potato that are wrapped around a filling of Boursin cheese, browned in butter and served on top of a bed of ambrosial creamed leeks with thick slices of smoked salmon.
A fish special available last week was porcini crusted sturgeon, char-grilled and served over crab risotto ($33.90). The firm-fleshed sturgeon had a blackened crust with nice charcoal flavor and a sweet, moist interior. Perfectly prepared and properly chewy, the risotto was an interesting partner for the sturgeon. There were 23 other fish on the menu that night. Prices range from $17.95 for catfish or trout to $29.95 for Hawaiian Parrotfish. There are non-seafood entrees available, but this is essentially a seafood restaurant.
Monterey Bay is one of the few restaurants in Pittsburgh to have a pastry chef on site, and the desserts are amazing. I can personally vouch for White Chocolate Macademia Nut Mousse ($6.95), the kind of dessert you will dream about for years after partaking. The mousse is sandwiched between two wafers of praline and served with an individual pot of chocolate ganache flavored with Chambord (raspberry) liqueur.
The wine list at Monterey Bay is impressive. Frogs Leap Napa Chardonnay is $38. Chateau St. Jean Sonoma Merlot is $47. A 6-ounce glass of California Pinot Gris is $10.75.
Monterey Bay Fish Grotto
1411 Grandview Ave.
412-481-4414
Hours: Lunch, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays-Fridays; dinner from 5 p.m. daily.
Basics: A casual fish restaurant with a phenomenal view, friendly service, good kitchen staff, a pastry chef and an impressive wine list. What's not to love?
Prices: Appetizers, $8.95-$12.95; entrees, $18.95-$33.90; desserts, $6.25-$7.95; wines by the glass, $9-$12.
Summary: Smoking in large downstairs bar; accessible; major credit cards accepted; valet parking $4.
TIN ANGEL
The original Tin Angel dating from the 1950s has been transformed into a much larger establishment that offers three floors of dining rooms. The ground floor is small and intimate. Tables abut the window wall, and mirrors on the three solid walls reflect the view in all directions while visually enlarging the space. Tables are dressed in white cloths and small lights. The room is very dark, making the lights of the city below seem mega-bright. The darkness does, however, make it difficult to read the menu or to see what is on the plate. I was surprised to find that the Tin Angel menu does not quote prices. Only when I complained to the waitress was I offered a menu with prices.
The price of the entree includes five courses. Much of what I was obliged to pay for were things I never order and did not eat, making the meal a poor value for me.
The five-course menu begins with a choice of fresh fruit or wedding soup. The second course is the restaurant's signature vegetable boat, which I consider to be more appropriate for a cocktail party than as a prelude to dinner. I would prefer to order an appetizer of my choice. The boat contains raw cauliflower, carrots, celery and scallions, a sour cream and clam dip, a few slices of salami and provolone, canned artichoke hearts, canned baby ears of corn, olives, pickled vegetables and stuffed grape leaves.
The Filet of Sole Bertone ($41) main course was next. The fish was topped with mushrooms and shrimp in white wine sauce. The shrimp were succulent, but the sole had a mealy texture and was overcooked. Chicken a la Angel ($41) is a flattened chicken breast wrapped around a stuffing of spinach and lump crab meat and topped with bechamel sauce. The ingredients were fine, but the stuffing was dry and the bechamel lacked seasoning. Both plates were attractively garnished with a baked tomato, a crunch stalk of bright green broccoli and rice pilaf. Toasted garlic bread also comes with the meal. Salad of fresh greens was next, followed by dessert and coffee. Toasted Walnut Ball with Hot Fudge Sauce ended the meal on a happy note.
Wines are available by the glass for $8.50. A bottle of Hardy's Australian Shiraz for $25 would be a better value. The romantic quotient at the Tin Angel was reduced by a sound system that broadcasts music from a radio station, which included intermittent advertising.
Tin Angel
1200 Grandview Ave.
412-381-1919
Hours: Dinner from 5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays.
Basics: A small, dark and attractive dining room with a superb view and good service. The entree price includes five courses.
Prices: $41-$63; wines, $8.50 a glass.
Summary: No smoking in main dining room; major credit cards accepted; parking in lot or on street.
GEORGETOWNE INN
This funny building with half timbered walls of stucco stalactites looks more like a British country cottage than it does a big-city restaurant. These architectural features continue inside the dining room where both walls and ceiling are of the same stalactite design. All of the tables on the main floor in the dining room have a view of the city. At dinner they are covered with white cloths and candlelight. Unfortunately, the bar, where smoking is allowed, is in close proximity to the dining room. If there are smokers in the bar, it is virtually impossible not to notice fumes in the dining room. Ambient light is extremely low, making it difficult to read the menu.
Georgetowne serves an attractive and affordable lunch. Daytime views from Mount Washington offer an interesting glimpse of the business side of our rivers with coal barges and river freight passing below. At lunch, there are sandwiches from $6.95 (fried fish) to $8.50 (French dip). Pasta for $10.95 (scampi over angel hair) or crab cakes ($11.95) come with two side dishes.
Dinner appetizers go from the predictable Fried Zucchini ($7.50) to the unusual Escargots ($8.50). I can't remember seeing French snails cooked in garlic butter on any other Pittsburgh menu. Dinner entrees come with a plate of melba toast and sliced cheese and a choice of soup or salad. The soup is French Onion made from a rich broth and lots of sliced onions. Spinach salad made from baby leaves and served with sliced red onions was overpowered by a too-thick warm bacon dressing. Veal Marsala ($19.95) is suitably sauced and served with lots of sliced mushrooms. Petite strip steak ($22.95) is a nice-sized portion for a delicate appetite. Entrees come with a choice of baked potato or pasta in marinara sauce. A nice touch is the early-American-style pewter dishes used for some of the service and in keeping with the Georgetowne theme.
Desserts here center around ice cream. Peach Melba or Pecan balls are available for $4.50.
Georgetowne Inn
1230 Grandview Ave.
412-481-4424
Hours: Lunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays; dinner from 5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, from 4 p.m. Sundays.
Basics: A small intimate dining room with a great view and an interesting early American decor.
Prices: Appetizers, $7.50-$11.50; entrees, $18.95-$28.95; desserts, $4.50.
Summary: Smoking in bar; major credit cards accepted. Parking on street or in Mount Washington lot.
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