Best Dining: Top dishes and happy endings
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China Star's spicy home-style beef noodle soup was one of year's best dishes.
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Looking back over another year of Pittsburgh eating, I was once again surprised by both how easy and how difficult it was to come up with my favorite dishes -- easy, because there are so many memorable items to choose from, and difficult, because I had to narrow them down to just 10.
As Pittsburgh restaurants have become more numerous, they have also become more diverse. The list includes dishes from Moroccan, Korean, French, Italian, Chinese and New American cuisines. Many of the dishes are from new restaurants and food businesses, in part because my job invariably biases me toward new establishments, but also because the quality of food businesses that have opened this year has been particularly impressive.
Kous Kous Cafe, 665 Washington Road, Mr. Lebanon, www.kouskouscafe.com, 412-563-5687
E², 5904 Bryant St., Highland Park, e2pittsburgh.com, 412-441-1200
Silk Elephant, 1712 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill, www.silkelephant.net, 412-421-8801
China Star, 3200 McIntyre Square Drive, Ross, www.chinastar-pgh.com, 412-364-9933
Spoon, 134 S. Highland Ave., East Liberty, www.spoonpgh.com, 412-362-6001
Elements, 444 Liberty Ave., Downtown, www.elementscuisine.com, 412-251-0168
Salt of the Earth, 5523 Penn Ave., Garfield, www.saltpgh.com, 412-441-7258
Legume Bistro, 1113 S. Braddock Ave., Regent Square, legumebistro.com, 412-371-1815
Nap's Mia Cucina, 1033 Philadelphia St., Indiana, Pa., napscucina.com, 724-465-5396
La Gourmandine, 4605 Butler St., Lawrenceville, www.lagourmandinebakery.com, 412-682-2210
Risotto with arugula, beets, goat cheese, blood orange at Avenue B, Shadyside
A gently cheesy risotto was heaped with wedges of roasted beet and blood orange, diced fennel, a large disk of panko-crusted chevre and a shower of spicy watercress. This dish combined the freshness and lightness of a great salad with the comforting richness of a risotto, and it's one of those rare restaurant dishes that can be successfully imitated (in a simplified way) at home.
Bastilla at Kous Kous Cafe, Mt. Lebanon
First Published December 23, 2010 12:00 am
