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Munch goes to Cafe Zao

Munch goes to Cafe Zao

Every time a new eatery opens Downtown, Munch gets at least six e-mails from the people who get there in the first week to "discover" the place. But why send to Munch -- that restaurant hound, that shill of small things -- the following words: "Shh! My wife and I have discovered the best-kept secret in the 'Burgh: Cafe Zao in the Cultural District."

If you're trying to keep it on the QT, don't tell Munch!

Naturally, Munch headed there right away, for lunch, in the company of a statuesque blonde FOM who added a whole lotta class to Munch's tously act. Unlike most restaurants located to specialize in lunch and pre-theater, Cafe Zao has a swanky air -- and prices to match.

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Inside, a banquette swoops along the right wall, and a large bar rises to your left, an island of booze in the wide-open room. Beyond it, there are more tables. Placed before it are bar chairs wrought of dark wood, their backs crisscrossed with a corset-like zig-zag lacing.

Perhaps these stools are why Cafe Zao's decorating scheme planted in Munch's mind the 1988 film version of "Dangerous Liaisons." Maybe it was the effect of cool spaciousness that called to mind the mirrored walls in Madame de Merteuil's chateau, the cafe's fancy fabric-covered walls the glacial boudoir blue of some gowns in the film.

A very chilly cement floor keeps the grandeur in check. The spacing of the tables, a tad tight along the banquette, insures that you will get to smell the food on your table, and at the tables to either side of you. Munch, a natural neb, was fine with this arrangement, but it may bother people in the business of whispering sweet nothings.

Munch appreciates atmospheric detail as much as anyone else, but it's not what Munch got into this gig for. It's all about the food and, sexy ambiance aside, Cafe Zao is worth tasting.

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The cafe serves global fusion fare, a melding of French, American, Mediterranean and Portuguese influences. The menu is rounded out with a ketchup-finished pasta that speaks Pittsburghese.

There are sandwiches and a lamb burger, a variation of which is dosed with chutney and served at Zao's sister restaurant, Cafe Zinho (in Shadyside). There are entree salads and daily specials, but Munch and dame ordered from the short list of house specialties.

FOM started with caldo verde ($5.75), a soup thickened with pureed potatoes and flecked with kale, served with a little coin of Portuguese sausage on the side. Munch tried a mini version of the Zao salad ($6.25), cold strips of marinated red pepper, artichoke and hearts of palm, surrounding a mound of spring mix.

Munch ordered chicken Maputo ($14.95), expecting a mole-like salty/sweet/hot concoction. The sauce was laced with piri-piri, tiny, lethally hot chili peppers, but it wasn't spicy at all. Thick and dark, it had a raisin-y darkness and an intriguing spicy tang.

FOM's roast salmon ($14.95) rested on a bright slick of golden tomato puree that was soft to the tongue. Though sweet and delicate, it worked with the salmon as a ladylike dish. A tumble of roasted vegetables, on the side, was a virtuous addition.

Now, Munch is no economist, but Cafe Zao's lunchtime prices suggest a swaggering confidence that our economy is on an upswing. With a pre-tip total of $44 -- no drinks -- Cafe Zao is one pleasant place Munch won't be frequenting. Cafe Zao may have priced itself beyond the lunch allowance of most Downtown workers, certainly beyond the reach of Munch's austerity measures.

But it's a nice space to hang in, pre-theater, to sip at a glass of mildly effervescent vinho verde, or a juicy Portuguese red.

Expectations of mole made Munch's mouth water for flavors working in tandem. Next week, Munch will visit Typhoon, the new Thai joint on Highland Avenue in Shadyside, to sample the classic Thai balance of salty, sweet, spicy and cool.

Cafe Zao is at 649 Penn Ave., aka Theater Square, in the Cultural District (412-325-7007).

First Published: April 30, 2004, 4:00 a.m.

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