E2 (Highland Park)

E² (That's right, it's "E-Squared," not "E-Two") is one of those restaurants that people are always shocked to hear I hadn't been to.  I finally had my opportunity back in September when I was fortunate enough to be a guest of a private party down in E²'s new basement "party dungeon."  I felt so honored to be one of the first people to check out the new space, and I was even more excited to finally experience Chef Kate Romane's culinary expertise.

E²'s Party Dungeon

E²'s Party Dungeon

The party dungeon decor is spacious, simple, yet modern.  Though our group had about a dozen or so guests, the space can certainly accommodate a gathering of a much larger size.  Our meal was a set eight-course menu, consisting of a generous variety of anti-pasta, two different salads, two small bites, two main courses, and a dessert, each of which was a flavorful and undoubtedly thoughtful creation.

Although all of the anti-pasta items were fabulous, the clear favorite among our group was the Gorgonzola Mess.  Lucky for me, as a supporter of E²'s Kickstarter project on the party dungeon, I had been gifted the recipe for this dish.  I haven't tried making it yet, but when I do, I know it'll be a crowd-pleaser.

Anti-pasta

Anti-pasta

Anti-pasta

After some anti-pasta, BYOB wine, and general mingling, we were seated for dinner.  I loved both our salad courses.  Salads can so often be mediocre; the Big Fat Salad - a perfect balance of fresh greens, gorgonzola cheese, walnuts, and balsamic vinegar - was anything but.  The Heirloom Caprese Salad, likewise, was a tasty twist to the typical caprese salad.

Big Fat Salad

Heirloom Caprese Salad

Our small bites consisted of Arancini with Marinara, which were essentially deep fried rice balls served with a marinara sauce and shaved cheese, and Beans and Greens with Sausage, which was lovely, and I'm not even a big fan of beans.

Arancini with Marinara

Beans and Greens with Sausage

Then came our main courses.  I was very intrigued by the Rabbit Ragu, served with grilled baguette, Saint-andre cheese, and a light tomato broth, as I'm not sure I've had rabbits before and I'm (almost) always up for trying something new and different.  Though the Rabbit Ragu was delicious, I'd have to say my favorite course of the evening was the Tortellini with Chive Butter, Pine Nuts, and Chiles, which was absolutely heavenly, and I say this as someone who's generally not into stuffed pastas.

Rabbit Ragu

Tortellini with Chive Butter, Pine Nuts, and Chiles

We rounded out the meal with a decadent Chocolate Bread Pudding: a perfect end to a perfect dinner.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

To sum up, I think it is safe to say that our entire party was hugely impressed by the quality of our dinner at E²; it was an exceptional meal and a fabulous celebration to remember.  For more perspective on this meal, check out SaborPgh's post.

Restaurant info:
E²
5904 Bryant St, Pittsburgh, PA 15206
(412)441-1200
On the web: htttp://e2pgh.com
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/e2pgh
On twitter: https://twitter.com/e2pgh
Bonus: BYOB


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Teppanyaki Kyoto Restaurant (Highland Park)

Several weeks ago we went out with some friends to Teppanyaki Kyoto Restaurant in Highland Park.  We had seen some positive press about it and were excited to check it out.

The restaurant is easy to miss; I didn't see a sign for the restaurant in the front, so we wandered into the only Japanese restaurant on the block, just about across the street from Park Bruges.  Although it has been serving customers for a few months now, Teppanyaki Kyoto Restaurant is still in their soft opening phase as a large part of the space remains under renovation.  And despite the restaurant's name, you don't actually get teppanyaki - or what many Americans like to refer to as "hibachi" - here. Nor would you find sushi. Instead, Teppanyaki Kyoto Restaurant specializes in a traditional Japanese pancake called okonomiyaki.

We were intrigued by these pancakes, made with wheat flour, eggs, cabbage, and a choice of meat or a combo mix.  I chose the Hokkaido mix which includes scallops, shrimp, and squid.  The okonomiyaki is topped with mayo (a choice of regular or spicy), seaweed powder, and...get ready for the coolest part...bonito fish flakes that wave at you.

OK, maybe they're not actually waving at you (now that would be a little creepy!), but they do curl back and forth when they are served as though they are waving hello (to borrow my friend's description).  This is apparently caused by the heat from the okonomiyaki itself.  The waving does die down as the pancake cools.  In any case, the okonomiyaki is quite substantial in size, and delicious to boot!  And, lucky for us, it didn't quite take the 25 minutes stated on the menu for the okonomiyaki to be ready.

Okonomiyaki (with Hokkaido Mix, $11)

While we waited for our okonomiyaki, we had ordered the fabulous Bacon with Japanese Mochi as an appetizer.  The mochi, which is a Japanese rice cake, is wrapped inside strips of bacon, then topped with shredded seaweed.

Bacon with Japanese Mochi ($6)

We finished off our meal with a Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream.  I have had plenty a green tea ice cream in the past, but Teppanyaki Kyoto's version exuded a unique and lovely Jasmine flavor that I prefer over other varieties.

Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream ($2)

I think it is safe to say that everyone at the table enjoyed our meals, and I think it would also be safe to say that I will be back for sure.  Teppanyaki Kyoto is a great addition to the Bryant Street neighborhood; my only wish is that I lived closer!

See also:
Pittsburgh City Paper's Review
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Review

Restaurant info:
Teppanyaki Kyoto Restaurant
5808 Bryant St, Pittsburgh, PA 15206
(412)441-1610
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Teppanyaki-Kyoto-Restaurant/245571672150764


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Smiling Banana Leaf (Highland Park)

I've been really impressed by the quality of the Thai food in Pittsburgh.  Not to knock on Columbus, Ohio, because I do love the city, but during the six years I lived there, I never was able to find satisfying Thai food.  Before moving to Pittsburgh, I had assumed that Pittsburgh would be similar to Columbus, but its solid offerings of ethnic foods have been a wonderful and pleasant surprise to me.

One Thai restaurant I had heard plenty of nice things about is Smiling Banana Leaf in Highland Park.  I finally made it out there a couple of weeks ago on an invitation by Burgh Gourmand, who had recently befriended the owner, Tookie.  The six of us in the group came on a Wednesday night and sat out on the patio, thanks to which I was able to get some nice photos of the food.  Since we're not particularly picky eaters, we let the chef choose for us.  The food came fast and furious, and I will just let the photos do the talking, but trust that everything was just absolutely delicious and I'd most definitely come back again in a heartbeat.

Crispy Calamari
"Fried to crispy golden brown perfection served with sweet chili sauce"

Fresh Spring Roll
"In a rice paper hand roll of rice noodles, lettuce, carrot, & basil leaves served with
special brown sauce & crushed peanut"

Thai Samosa
"Lightly fried pastry stuffed with potatoes, carrot & green peas; served with Thai
special cucumber sauce"

Som Tom
"Shredded green papaya mixed with fresh garlic, chili pepper, green bean, tomato,
ground peanut juice"

Steamed Dumplings
"Thai-style pork & shrimp steamed dumpling; served with sweet & sour black soy sauce"

Mango Chicken Salad
"Marinated grilled chicken mixed with mango, cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, carrots;
served with spicy chili lime sauce"

Chicken Satay
"Grilled and marinated chicken on skewers; served with peanut sauce & cucumber salad"

Spicy Green Bean with Tilapia

Pumpkin Curry

Pad Kee Mow (Spicy Noodle)
"Wide rice noodles stir-fried with Napa cabbage and choice of meat in a spicy basil sauce"

Curry Fried Rice
Thai curry fried rice mixed with green peas, onion and egg

Sweet Mango with Sticky Rice

Fried Smiling Banana with Ice Cream
The fried bananas had hints of coconut, perfect when paired with coconut ice cream

I'm really glad to have had the opportunity to enjoy Smiling Banana Leaf this way.  Those who have read my previous posts on Thai food may remember that I'm a sucker for curry and that is pretty much all I ever order at a Thai restaurant.  This family-style meal allowed me to sample a wide variety of the menu items at Smiling Banana Leaf, some of which I would not have otherwise ever ordered myself.  Aside from the curry, I was especially pleased with the Pad Kee Mow, but I would highly recommend everything we were served that night.

A couple final observations:  Smiling Banana Leaf occupies a small white building at the northeast corner of Bryant Street and N Euclid Avenue.  There is really not much of a sign out front so it helps to know what you're looking for.  I didn't get a picture of the outside of the restaurant, but here's one provided by the restaurant itself. The interior of the restaurant is quite small, with seating for maybe two dozen or so customers.

Finally, when you go to Smiling Banana Leaf, DO NOT park illegally on N Euclid just north of Bryant where the yellow paint marks the curb - even if you're just popping in to get takeout.  Cars are not allowed there for a reason:  Buses that run along Bryant Street turn onto N Euclid and may ding your car if it's in the way.  Twice during our meal someone parked illegally in that spot to pick up their take-out order, and both times, within a minute, a bus needed to get through.  I'll just say that there were some close calls.

Restaurant info:
Smiling Banana Leaf
5901 Bryant St, Pittsburgh, PA 15206
(412) 362-3200
On the web: http://www.smilingbananaleaf.com
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Smiling-Banana-Leaf/186209418056787
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/Smiling_Banana
Bonus: BYOB



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Park Bruges (Highland Park)

I met up with a couple of friends for dinner two weeks ago.  They hadn't been to Park Bruges, and while I had been there once, on their opening night, I had been meaning to return, so this was a great opportunity to do just that.

The main reason for my very first visit to Park Bruges was to try their Classic Montreal Poutine.  Being Canadian, poutine is one of those "tastes of home" that I crave once in a while.  For those unfamiliar, poutine means "a mess" in French and consists of fries drenched in brown gravy and topped with fresh cheese curds - hence, a mess.  I don't claim to have any authority over what the perfect poutine should be like, but being Canadian, I do have some idea.  My first experience with Park Bruges' version of the poutine was not bad; it was tasty, though it wasn't quite like what you'd find in Canada.  They have since changed their cheese provider, now using Cannonball Curds from Arsenal cheese, and I wanted to go back and try it again.

Classic Montreal Poutine ($8)

Once again, the poutine was also not bad, though it's not really all that messy. :)  The fries alone were very good, though probably need to be a little thicker to hold the gravy.  I do like the flavor of the cheese very much, but using more cheese and melting it down more would certainly help enhance the messiness factor.  The gravy was less flavorful, however, than I remembered from my first visit, and I'm not sure if it was because the recipe has been modified or if it was just an anomaly.  Overall, the poutine is decent, but I'd have to say that it's really not exactly "classic Montreal" style as the name would imply.

I was also going to order the mussels until my friends said that they had heard great things about the Crab Beignets.  I was curious about them myself, so I changed my mind at the last minute and went for the crab beignets.  It is an appetizer item, but I figured the poutine would be pretty filling as it is, so an appetizer would be better than an entree as my second dish of choice.  The crab beignets were like mini crab cakes rolled and deep fried.  They turned out to be excellent, so I'm glad I decided to try them.

Crab Beignets ($10)

Overall, it was a great visit to Park Bruges.  I have yet to try its big sister, Point Brugge, and now I'm even more motivated to go check it out soon!

Restaurant info:
Park Bruges
5801 Bryant St, Pittsburgh, PA 15206
412-661-3334
On the web:  http://www.parkbruges.com
On twitter:  http://twitter.com/pointbrugge


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