Bite Bistro (Bellevue): Take Three

UPDATE (8/19/2012): Bite Bistro has closed its Bellevue location. As of this update, the owners are in the process of scouting a new location.

I had two goals for Pittsburgh Restaurant Week:  1) to try something new, and 2) to return to an old favorite.  My first two PRW restaurants, Bella Sera and Habitat, were new to me, and so for my third night it was time to satisfy goal #2.

Bite Bistro has been a favorite of mine since my first visit there and is always on my list when people ask me for restaurant recommendations in Pittsburgh.  They nod knowingly when I mention Salt of the Earth, and usually have some familiarity with Braddock's American Brasserie, but more often than not they have never heard of Bite Bistro.  I guess being in Bellevue makes it less of a hot spot for those who live, work, and play only within the city's limits, but in my opinion, Bite Bistro is worth the (short) trip north to Bellevue.  So as soon as I realized that PRW would be sort of close to my birthday, I decided that it would be the perfect excuse to celebrate and the perfect opportunity to introduce a big group to Bite Bistro.

For PRW, Bite Bistro offered a three-course special for $15, which came with a house salad, choice of veal chili, chicken breast, or portobello, and either lime sorbet or grapefruit granita.  A few in the group opted for the special, but I decided to create my own three-course meal from the other regular menu items.

For my "small bite," I had wanted to get the Foie Gras, but sadly they were out.  I was ready to pick another small bite, but our awesome waitress Casey talked to the chef who said he would especially prepare a duck pâté plate for me.  I couldn't believe how accommodating he was!  It came with three different sauces: apple butter, sweet potato and local honey, and duck glaze.  And it was a slam dunk!

Duck Pâté ($11)

For my "big bite," I chose the Portobello with turnip and balsamic.  It was a great combination and a very satisfying vegan option.

Portobello ($12)

Since I felt so healthy with my "big bite" selection, it wasn't difficult to justify ordering dessert.  I chose the S'mores, with truffles, walnut crunch, and roasted marshmallows.  This was an excellent dessert, and I particularly loved the perfectly roasted marshmallows with its smoky, caramelized skin.

S'mores ($6)

S'mores ($6)

Of the nine of us there, seven were new to Bite Bistro, and since I had been raving so much about Bite Bistro, I felt like I had seven people to impress.  Luckily, I think they all enjoyed their meals.  I had a bite of the Hangar Steak with pork fat fries and Duck Breast, and both were delightful.  A friend who got the Short Ribs described it as "to die for."

And just when we thought our fabulous meal was over, the chef had two additional surprises for us: a blood orange dessert and prosciutto and brie.  Both were lovely.

Blood Orange Dessert

Prosciutto and Brie

We had such a fabulous time at Bite Bistro - and it's not just the BYOB wine and beer talking!  Great food, top-notch service, and super-fun company made this night all the more special.  It was quite possibly one of my most memorable birthday celebrations ever!  What a perfect way to cap off Pittsburgh Restaurant Week!  Thanks for coming out, everyone!

Restaurant info:
Bite Bistro
565 Lincoln Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15202
(412)761-9500
On the web: http://www.bitebistro.com
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BiteBistro
On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bitebistro
Bonus: BYOB


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Thai Suan Thip (Bellevue)

I had wanted to try Thai Suan Thip in Bellevue ever since I read about it on FoodBurgh last fall, when I was still very new to the city, so I was particularly excited when I finally got the chance to check out this place recently.

I was pleasantly surprised by how cute the restaurant is on the outside, and the decor inside the cozy space is comfortable and inviting.  Being pretty much a curry fiend, my attention was immediately drawn to the curry section of the menu.  The Pumpkin Curry - a red curry with coconut milk, bell peppers, and basil - came highly recommended, so I went for it, with tofu as my choice of protein.  It was highly satisfying.  I particularly liked the fact that, unlike some other restaurants, the tofu isn't deep fried.

Pumpkin Curry with Tofu

While rice was included, there wasn't a lot of it for the fairly sizable bowl of curry, so I only ate about half of the curry and took the rest home.  I wanted to save room for dessert anyway!

Sticky Rice with Mango

Sticky Rice with Mango is pretty much my go-to Thai dessert, probably thanks to my parents' influence as it is something they always order at Thai restaurants.  The dessert really hit the spot and I was happy.

I was very pleased with my experience at Thai Suan Thip and am glad I finally got to try it out!

Restaurant info:
Thai Suan Thip
172 Lincoln Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15202
(412)766-1899


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Bite Bistro: Take Two (Bellevue)

UPDATE (8/19/2012): Bite Bistro has closed its Bellevue location. As of this update, the owners are in the process of scouting a new location.

Last Saturday morning, I was munching on some waffles and reading my Twitter feed when I casually mentioned to R. about "Sangria Saturday" at this great new restaurant, Bite Bistro, where you can get complimentary sangria from noon to 4 pm on Saturdays with your meal.  (It's free because they can't sell it to you - Bellevue is dry.  But, you can BYOB.)  R. was intrigued, and suggested that we have a late lunch there.  I was more than happy to oblige.  I had paid Bite Bistro my first visit less than a month ago and fell in love with it (see my previous blog post here).  Given my penchant for trying new places, it is very rare that I visit the same restaurant twice in such a short span, but Bite Bistro was a place I was actually very excited to go back to try out some of the other items on their menu.

We arrived at 3:30 pm - just in time to still take advantage of Sangria Saturday.  And I'm so glad we did!  I had a not-so-great sangria experience just a week prior and Bite Bistro's sangria more than made up for it.

Complimentary Sangria

It wasn't easy to decide what to order, as so many items looked delicious.  Bite Bistro doesn't have a standard (or a printed) menu; their offerings are scrawled on a chalk board and change depending on what's available.  This adds an element of constant novelty, I think, and also makes you want to try everything they do have because you might not be able to get it next time.

I eventually decided to start with soup.  I love soup (and couldn't care less that it's not a "summer thing").  Given my previous positive soup experience at Bite Bistro, I knew I could trust their soup du jour, the Rustic Almond Soup, and the nutty concoction certainly did not disappoint.  

Rustic Almond Bisque ($4)

R. decided to start with the Grains, which on the surface does not sound at all appetizing, but wait 'til you have tried Bite Bistro's version.  The grains are served with a tomato cardamom sauce and topped with crispy onions.  The aromatic cardamom is what gives this dish its character, its strong, tangy flavor allowing the otherwise boring grains to shine.

Grains ($3)

R. also got the Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich, with alfalfa sprouts and duxelle which is a mushroom puree.  I didn't know what "duxelle" was before, so I got to learn something new.  I had a couple bites of this and liked it a lot.

Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich ($6)

For me, I got the Bread Pudding with truffles and corn, served with asparagus.  Danina, our server who also runs the restaurant, mentioned this being one of her favorites, and it quickly became one of mine as well.  The truffles is the star here, in my opinion, emanating a rich and savory flavor that makes eating this vegetarian dish not feel like eating vegetarian.  Not that I have anything against vegetarian food at all.  I do love me some tofu.  And truffles, apparently.

Bread Pudding ($11, and worth every penny)

Finally, we managed to save room for dessert.  R. and I shared the chocolate Pot de Creme, a very rich and thick chocolate custard with spicy caramel and grey salt sprinkled on top.  It was very delicious, but don't let the small size of the ramekin fool you - it is very filling.  For me, it was a wise choice, after already eating two courses, to split this with R.

Pot de Creme ($5)

One thing to note is that Bite Bistro offers a good vegetarian and vegan selection, clearly marked on their menu as (V) for vegetarian and (VE) for vegan.  I am not a vegetarian or a vegan myself, but I appreciate their efforts to be inclusive and accommodating.  By accident, we had ordered an almost exclusively vegetarian meal, and enjoyed every last bite of it.  Surprisingly enough, the Pot de Creme is not vegetarian due to the use of fish sauce in the caramel, but Danina is very good about making sure guests know that before ordering.

Once again, Bite Bistro exceeded my expectations.  I love this place and I love their food.  I will be back - maybe not within the month, but I will be back, for sure.

UPDATE 1/22/2012: Read about my third visit to Bite Bistro here.

Restaurant info:
Bite Bistro
565 Lincoln Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15202
(412)761-9500
On the web: http://www.bitebistro.com
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BiteBistro
On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bitebistro
Bonus: BYOB 

Also check out China Millman's review in the Post-Gazette.

Bite Bistro (Bellevue)

UPDATE (8/19/2012): Bite Bistro has closed its Bellevue location. As of this update, the owners are in the process of scouting a new location.

Bite Bistro had been on my wish list since the day before it even opened, so I was excited to finally get the chance to try it out last week.  Housed in the former Vivo space in Bellevue (which is to reopen in Sewickley soon), Bite Bistro is owned and run by the same family.  The restaurant space isn't huge but it is very comfortable.  On this Wednesday night, they easily and helpfully accommodated our large group of 13.  Their menu changes depending on season and availability, and you can find the menu of the day written on the chalk board along one of the walls.

I started with the soup of the day, the Sweet Potato Bisque, which was well-spiced and absolutely delicious.  One of the best sweet potato bisque I've ever had!

Sweet Potato Bisque ($4)

For my entree, I decided to try the Chicken Confit Salad. with fried capers, dates, and dressed in a lemon vinaigrette.  I do apologize for the low quality of the photo; it looks like I had the wrong setting on the camera so my photos didn't turn out so great on this visit. :(  I guess I will have to come back again for better photos next time.  But, the chicken was cooked to perfection, and while the salad doesn't look like much in the photo, it was actually very tasty.  The lemon vinaigrette was beyond amazing.

Chicken Confit Salad ($10)

Because I went with a large group, I also got to try bites of what other people ordered, and every single dish I tried - the Pork Fat Fries, the Grill Vegetable Salad, and Chocolate Pot de Creme - was delicious, which I think is a rare accomplishment.  Bite Bistro is basically the kind of place that has it all:  Amazing food all around, fabulous service, and a pleasantly easy-going atmosphere.  Bite Bistro is also a BYOB establishment with a small corkage fee, and there is regular live entertainment as well.  All in all, I loved Bite Bistro, and would highly recommend it to anyone. 


Update 6/18/2011:  A second post on Bite Bistro with more photos and commentary.
Update 1/22/2012:  And a third post on my visit during Pittsburgh Restaurant Week.

Restaurant info:
Bite Bistro
565 Lincoln Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15202
(412)761-9500

On the web: http://www.bitebistro.com
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BiteBistro
On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bitebistro
Bonus: BYOB