Station is the kind of restaurant that’s underrepresented in the city, and certainly in Bloomfield, with its mix of  dive bars, chain coffee shops and ancient red sauce restaurants along Liberty Avenue. Station is for people who want something beyond humble bar fare when they go to their local pub for a drink and a bite.

The restaurant opened in August in what used to be D’Amico’s. It’s a partnership between chef Curtis Gamble, Justin Janosko and John Pieranunzi of Craftwork Kitchen, the owners of the fun sandwich shop in the lower level of the U.S. Steel Tower, Downtown. Mr. Janosko had been stalking the Bloomfield building since he heard rumors that it was going to be up for sale nearly a year ago.

I have to tell you how much I like this space, especially the restored bar that’s a handsome centerpiece, framed by tin ceilings and tile floors. Marble high-top tables are a fine alternative when the bar is full, although the dining room around the corner is also inviting. The lighting is near perfect unless you’re one of those people who can’t read a menu by candlelight (and thankfully there are smartphone flashlights for that). And while there is a TV to watch the game, it’s not a focal point. Behind-the-bar roll-downs hide it most nights.

Mr. Gamble is in his second go-round in Pittsburgh. 

Dan Gigler

Munch goes to Breakneck Tavern

When he was 18, he moved here from Ohio to attend Le Cordon Bleu, Downtown, and secured positions at restaurants such as Six Penn Kitchen, Downtown. Then Mr. Gamble and his now-wife moved to Cleveland for a minute, followed by a stretch in Chicago, where he opened Bread & Wine with partners in an out-of-the-way neighborhood, which got a shoutout by the Michelin Guide and some accolades in the Chicago Tribune.

He returned here in 2013 to work as the head chef at Grit & Grace, Downtown, under chef/owner Brian Pekarcik.

In these opening months of Station, I appreciate the intimacy of the place and that it has a soul. This is important as the price of real estate spikes in Pittsburgh, shutting out the potential for independent restaurants to get established. Mr. Gamble said he was surprised that the restaurant rents here match those of some Chicago neighborhoods, and he had trouble finding a place to live that was less expensive his former apartment in the Windy City.

Although I like many of the dishes — especially among the small plates — I’m less enthralled with the ones with too many ingredients that come off as busy and reaching.

Let’s start with the corned beef tongue ($12) that looks like it was invented by a stoner, but would likely please the soberest judge. That a tongue sandwich is a best-seller is something I wouldn’t have expected here just a couple of years ago.

The construction is a multi-day affair. Beef tongue is brined in corning spices for a couple of days, then it’s simmered in the brine, peeled and sliced super thin. For an order, Allegro Hearth bread is slathered with broccoli and cheddar spread, dotted with chili peppers and a hint of anchovy, then garnished with charred broccoli and cheddar crisps.

Because Station is a bar, there are wings ($11). But don’t expect 50 cent Buffalo wings ordered in batches of six, 10 or 20. An order at Station arrives in a bowl messy with chilis, fresh herbs and Parmesan. The flavors are there, but if you don’t eat fast enough, crispy turns to soggy. Thankfully, a rolled-up towelette arrives in time for clean-up.

And then there’s the liver mousse ($8). “My wife and I wanted a place where we could get chicken liver mousse somewhere after 10 p.m.,” Mr. Gamble told me in passing. 

I get it, because I’ve been known to dream of liver mousse. In a pinch I have found myself sauteeing livers in a pan followed by whirring them in a Cuisinart with an obscene amount of butter. Featured in every restaurant on travelers’ dockets, the dish used to be ubiquitous, right before charcuterie started edging it out as an appetizer.

“We like its pink sheen with a brown that’s the color of a Wendy’s Frosty,” he quipped. A holdover from his Chicago restaurant, the mousse is served with pickled onion, brown butter crumbs, coriander mustard and toasted sourdough.

For those who don’t consider the dish a go-to, Station does not abandon you. Among large plates, there is a delightful tagliatelle ($19) with a smoked pork shank spiked with a flavorful sofrito, dressed with a sunny-side up egg and grated parmesan. The hanger steak ($28) is a straight shot, perfectly cooked, accompanied by zucchini, salsa verde potatoes and sabayon.

The butter-poached walleye ($30) flirts with fine-dining presentation, served with clams, saffron dumplings, fingerlings, green bean and fennel salad, and tomato broth. While the crispy skin chicken breast and leg ($24) is more colloquial — and very good — I wish it were a simpler dish unmuddied by grilled lettuce and buttermilk vinaigrette, and dirty bread pudding, and corn puree.

Same goes for the Station burger ($15) served on brioche with a side of fries. The onion ring and onion jam is fun, while the Asiago cheese fondue is a schmear too much.

Other dishes will please the most devout vegetarians. Take the heirloom tomato salad ($9) with Old Bay custard, garlic croutons, dill and sweet corn that’s near-impossible to screw up, provided the tomatoes are great, which they were. And as we move to fall, I enjoy variations on the beet salad, now served with miso-poached apples, with picked grapes and cashews on frisee ($10). Speaking of yogurt, I also like the unusual yogurt ravioli with cylinders of charred eggplant ($21) although it lacks restraint, covered by a blanket of tomato, chilis and kale. My dinner companion asked where the ravioli was the first time I ordered the dish.

If you’d like a drink or two, the wine, beer and cocktails are totally satisfying, starting with the quintet on the cocktail menu ($10 each) such as the Rodeo Cowboy with anise, orange and cocoa negroni to the Bloomfield Manhattan.

Craft drafts highlight a varied mix of IPAs, stout, wheat and pilsner. I usually lean toward wine, with a menu of new world whites (Zolo Torrontes, $10/glass), summer rose (Tres Ojos blend, $10/glass) and food-friendly reds (Henry Fessy Chateau de Reyssiers Beaujolais, $10/glass).

A note on a dessert, which is also a Chicago import: The popcorn panna cotta — a dish he refers to as a “happy mistake” — features a grown-up classic garnished with Cracker Jack nostalgia.

“It’s one of those dishes I didn’t expect to be such a home run,” he said.

Also listed on the dessert menu is the kitchen six-pack that allows you to tip the kitchen staff with a round of beers.

Melissa McCart: 412-263-1198 or on Twitter @melissamccart.

First Published: October 1, 2015, 4:00 a.m.