It has been an action-packed summer filled with plenty of flavor.
Restaurants have been rolling out unique creations as well as familiar ones with a twist. The common denominator, however, is that each one of our favorite dishes screams summer whether it’s the ingredients used, looks or taste. We are talking about ones that will linger on our palates well after the sun has set on the hazy, lazy and crazy days.
But before the credits start rolling for the season, here are some memorable foods to check out while they are still available through the end of this month.
Persian Love Cake
It looks and tastes like a strawberry shortcake that is taking its dream vacation on a magic carpet to Persia. Baker/owner Ally Slayden starts off with a cardamom-rose olive oil pound cake. She cuts two circles of the cake and places one as the base on a gold cake round. The cake is spongy and soft but yet comfortably shoulders a dollop of vanilla cream that is surrounded by fresh slices of strawberries. She tops it with the second cake round, pipes more of that airy cream and finishes the cake off by scattering edible red rose petals and giving it a dusting of powdered sugar. Cardamom and rose are an exquisite match made in heaven, and lift a cake already flying high to an ethereal level.
Butterwood Bake Consortium, 5222 Butler St., Lawrenceville. 412-781-0218. Cost: $6.
— Arthi Subramaniam
Fried Zucchini Benedict
Chef and owner Justin Steel likes the Benedict to be a constant on his menu but he also is all about building it with seasonal ingredients. So this summer, he opted for a squash Benny. Except for the perfectly poached eggs with the pillowy-soft white tenderly shouldering a creamy yolk, every other part of this quintessential brunch star goes for an interesting spin. Instead of the traditional English muffin halves, warm biscuit halves, which tip their hat to flour-and-butter magic, hold up the stack. Thick crisp zucchini fritters replace the slice of ham or Canadian bacon. And the yolky hollandaise is accented with pureed tomato. When the Benedict arrives with a side of mixed greens, it feels a bountiful summer garden has been served on the plate.
Bar Marco, 2216 Penn Ave., Strip District. 412-471-1900. Cost: $15.
— Arthi Subramaniam
BBQ Bar-Ba-Cone
Who says you need a knife and fork to enjoy the city's best pork barbecue? Southside BBQ's Bar-ba-Cone wraps 4 ounces of its signature pulled pork in a most unexpected hand-held package — a sweet waffle cone. After being rubbed with the shop's proprietary mix of spices, bone-in pork butt is smoked for 14 hours then tossed, ever so gently, with Carolina-style barbecue sauce. It's layered in the cone with spicy pepper jack mac 'n’ cheese on the bottom, and a vinegar-based Carolina slaw on the top. Jalapeno slices are optional. Southside BBQ doesn't make its own cones but the fun factor of this walking barbecue more than makes up for it. The order also is available with chicken, either at the restaurant or from its roving food truck
Southside BBQ Co., 75 South 17th St., South Side. 412-381-4566. Cost: $9.
— Gretchen McKay
White Pie
White pizza has a reputation of being offensively boring and gloppy, but Pete Tolman’s version is anything but. The chef at the incubator restaurant, Iron Born, in Smallman Galley, features a Detroit-style pizza that he cooks in a cast-steel rectangular pan in a high-heat oven. He makes a soft airy dough with “100 percent organic flour” and pads the outside with shredded cheddar cheese. This gives it an insanely crisp crust all the way around the edges. But wait, the topping deserves a shout-out, too. White garlic cream sauce is topped with a bed of peppery arugula and dotted with sweet-acidic cherry tomatoes marinated in an herb-garlic-sherry vinegar confit, along with mounds of a lively sweet onion chutney and dollops of fresh ricotta cheese. Watch out Motor City — Steel City might beat you at your own game.
Iron Born at Smallman Galley, 54 21st St., Strip District. 412-281-0949. Cost: $16.
— Arthi Subramaniam
Chilled Zucchini Soup
Sometimes a chilled soup stands out simply for its simplicity, and Dinette’s zucchini soup falls in that category. Chef and owner Sonja Finn cooks the zucchini just enough to take the raw taste out of it, along with onion. They are pureed along with thyme to form a creamy texture and cooked to give a flavor that is bright and fresh. Ms. Finn says she doesn’t like to mess around with too many ingredients, and she’s not kidding. Salt is the only seasoning and water, not stock, is added, giving the soup a taste that is pure and not masked in any way. The cool delight is crowned with fresh cream flecked with finely chopped dill, and fried shallots add a nice crunchy gilding to it. One spoonful of it, and you can rhapsodize about the smooth soup for hours over.
Dinette, 5996 Centre Ave., East Liberty. 412-362-0202. Cost: $11.
— Arthi Subramaniam
Heirloom Tomato Tostada
Heirloom tomatoes are summer showstoppers. At the Caribbean-themed Kaya, fat and juicy cherry tomatoes from Who Cooks For You Farm in New Bethlehem are the star of a crispy tostada appetizer. Seasoned with salt, pepper, lime and extra-virgin olive oil, the plump red fruit is served atop a saucer-sized Reyna's blue corn tortilla that's nestled on a bed of shredded lettuce. Avocado pureed with lime juice is then drizzled on top, along with tiny droplets of spicy chipotle puree, thinly sliced radish and fresh cilantro. It's magnificent, and a fleeting taste of the summer sunshine you'll dream of all winter.
Kaya, 2000 Smallman St., Strip District. 412-261-6565. Cost: $9.
— Gretchen McKay
Farmstead Veggie Burger
Veggie burgers so often are a mushy, disappointing mess of a sandwich. Not so at The Porch at Schenley. Crisp on the outside and full of flavor, executive chef Kevin Hermann's take on the meat-free patty starts with sweet potatoes roasted with the skin on. The pulp is then pureed with roasted red peppers and oyster mushrooms, caramelized onions, barley, black and soy beans, oatmeal and spices. Seared in olive oil to keep it vegan, the farmstead burger is topped with a salad of arugula, Kalamta olives, shaved fennel, scallion and shallots. It's served on a brioche bun with housemade sun-dried tomato aioli with toasted sunflower seeds. It’s a burger where healthy translates to delicious.
The Porch at Schenley, 221 Schenley Drive, Oakland. 412-687-6724. Cost: $9.
— Gretchen McKay
Crab-and-Squash Blossom Arancini
Summer faves from the sea and land can be found in this arancini. Translating to mean little oranges, the Sicilian specialty of fried rice balls is made with lump crab, squash blossom, tomato and a mix of onion, shallots and leeks. Just as the cornucopia of flavors gets your attention in the first bite so does the crisp exterior and light and fluffy inside. They are served with a whole squash blossom, which is dredged in tempura batter and then given a quick dip in hot oil. The fried flower is so crazy deliciously delicate that it disappears in the mouth faster than you want it to. A final touch of summer is found in a piquant basil aioli that tastes like it has just been plucked out of the herb pot. [Note: the aioli has been recently replaced with a tomato colatura (fish sauce).]
Lidia’s Pittsburgh, 1400 Smallman St., Strip District. 412-552-0150. Cost: $14.
— Arthi Subramaniam
Heirloom Tomato Salad
When sweet, tangy and faintly spicy flavors; crunchy, soft and crispy textures; and red, green and yellow hues are tossed together in a salad, it is a delight to the senses. Eleven’s salad reflects that with its colorful heirloom tomato wedges and seedless watermelon cubes that burst with juices in every bite. The fruits are combined with young crisp mesclun greens and thinly chopped serrano chilies, which even the faint-hearted can handle as they don’t include the white rib or seeds. A generous drizzle of lime vinaigrette brightens the taste and a good sprinkling of black lava salt adds a lovely brittle crunchy texture. Stampede, a flavorful chevre that is feathery light when grated, is the finishing touch on this summer salad that will make you feel like you are on cloud nine.
Eleven, 1150 Smallman St., Strip District. 412-201-5656. Cost: $12.
— Arthi Subramaniam
Grilled Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
Cantaloupe is an unexpected fruity encounter in this pork tenderloin sandwich, but holy goodnezz does it work. It’s pickled, firm and the melon flavor comes through to accentuate the grilled pork. The sandwich is built logically so that texture stands out in each layer in the crusty baguette. Thinly sliced roasted zucchini is topped with three juicy pork medallions that are dredged in barbecue sauce before being grilled medium-well. The tangy and spicy sweet onion barbecue sauce, made with ketchup and Dr Pepper that is cooked down, is also generously spooned over the pork. Slices of cantaloupe, pickled in a mixture of vinegar, pink peppercorns, coriander and yellow mustard seeds, make up the final layer of the lip-smacking good sandwich that uncovers flavors that you didn’t expect to co-exist.
Thin Man Sandwich Shop, 50 21st St., Strip District. 412-586-7370. Cost: $8.99.
— Arthi Subramaniam
Peach Pie Skillet
For a homespun peach pie loaded with slices of the real deal, head to Juniper Grill. The crimped-edged pie is made with juicy Chambersburg peaches. Executive chef Chris Perrin starts by skinning the peach, then blanches it lightly in simple syrup before chilling it so the stone fruit retains its firmness. He uses Juniper’s well-seasoned signature cast-iron skillet for baking so that the crust gets a nice sear at the bottom and seals the pie filling without getting soggy. An oats-brown sugar streusel topping that has a buttery goodness about it goes on the top. The pie comes to the table piping hot along with a scoop of Sarris’ vanilla ice cream, and is sure to get grandma’s seal of approval.
Juniper Grill, 4917 William Penn Highway, Murrysville. 724-519-7746. Also at 2030 MacKenzie Way, Suite 800, Cranberry, 724-591-8850; and 4000 Washington Road, Peters, 724-260-7999. Cost: $8.
— Arthi Subramaniam
Jerk Chicken
A good jerk is wonderous when it is cooked so perfectly that the smoky and spicy flavors unfold on your tongue just as the tender meat falls apart and melts in your mouth. And that’s exactly what chef de partie Earl Stone does with the jerk at Spork. The chicken is first brined with rosemary, garlic, onion, peppercorn and lemon juice. After the brine is washed out, the meat is coated with jerk paste and laid on a bed of juniper berries and bay leaves to marinate for an hour before it’s smoked. But the goodness doesn’t end there. Before it is served, the jerk gets drizzled with a sweetened lime juice dressing that sneaks in a teeny amount of additional heat, and a citrusy pureed avocado cream that serves as a calming counterpoint.
Spork, 5430 Penn Ave., Garfield. 412-441-1700. Cost: $8.
— Arthi Subramaniam
Sea Scallops
Casbah’s scallop dish comes from the department of imaginative ideas where each one of its players vie for attention. Soft and delicate mollusks are accompanied with red, orange and yellow heirloom tomatoes in different sizes, mixed greens, basil and shishito peppers. The backyard vegetables are all tossed together along with a good splash of Minus 8 vinaigrette, made from the famed Canadian Minus 8 ice wine vinegar, and topped with plenty of pistachios. Then there is the lush swoosh of baroque-rich ajvar, a red pepper-eggplant-based condiment that is tangy and piquant. It is excellent with the well-seared scallops and veggies, and unites all the voices in a memorable paean to summer.
Casbah, 229 S. Highland Ave., Shadyside. 412-661-5656. Cost: $13, lunch; $16, dinner.
— Arthi Subramaniam
First Published: August 16, 2017, 11:30 a.m.
