Pittsburgh 2017 In Review: Superior Year For New Restaurants

PITTSBURGH, PA - Pittsburgh has garnered a national reputation for fine dining in recent years, and judging from the new restaurants that opened in town this year the praise is likely to continue.

Eateries of varying styles, sensibilities and menus debuted in neighborhoods all over the city. What follows are 10 whose openings were eagerly anticipated and for the most part delivered on their lofty expectations.

• Superior Motors, Braddock

Chef Kevin Sousa’s long-awaited new restaurant is more than just a dining spot; Braddock officials are hopeful the fine-dining spot can be a revitalizing force in the old mill town. Superior Motors’ menu changes daily and it locally sources most of the produce and animals used in its meals.

• Union Standard, Downtown

The ever-changing menu specializes in the cuisine of America’s northeast, mid-Atlantic and Appalachian regions and is enhanced by the addition of a raw bar featuring shellfish and seafood of the northeast. Owner.chef Derek Stevens has honed his craft locally at the Duquesne Club, Hyeholde, Casbah and Eleven.

• Needle & Pin, Dormont

This West Liberty Avenue restaurant, which features an infusion of English and Indian cuisines and dozens of different gins, is in the space that formerly housed Franco's Trattoria. It's a new concept from the ownership group of Winghart's Whiskey & Burger Bar, which has locations in Market Square, the South Side and Greensburg.

• Ki Ramen, Lawrenceville

If you’re looking for a place that serves ramen with double broth featuring paitan-style chicken and prepared with house-made noodles, this is the place for you. It’s owned by Domenic Branduzzi of Piccolo Forno fame and Roger Li of Umami.

• Stuff’d Pierogi Bar, Downtown

Pieorgis are taken very seriously here; even the salads come with pierogis on them. You can get pierogis in so many iterations here: breakfast, cheeseburger, reuben, mac and cheese, sweet cabbage and...peach pulled pork? Yes, peach pulled pork.

• Le Lyonnais, Downtown

Restaurateur Yves Carreau retooled his successful Penn Avenue restaurant Sonoma, featuring a west coast kitchen and wine bar, into a French bistro emphasizing recipes from his hometown of Lyon in, appropriately enough, France.

• Or, The Whale, Downtown

Repurposing what was once the gym in the historic Salvation Army building, this elegant addition to the dining scene boasts a wood-fired hearth, a butcher room and a caviar program. Such is the vision of Dennis Marron, former executive chef of The Commoner, the Commoner Corner and the Biergarten in Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh.

• Acorn, Shadyside

This new addition to the Walnut Street restaruant scene is the brainchild of Scott Walton, the former executive chef at Heinz Field, and his partners. The eclectic dinner menu includes items such as charred octopus, cassoulet poisson and duck lasagna.

• Onion Maiden, Allentown

A unique eatery? You can say that. Onion Maiden bills itself as a “punk rock-fueled, heavy metal spawned food purveyor specializing in vegetable based Asian and American comfort food.” The veggie dogs come with names such as War Pig, (Expletive) Nazi Sympathy and Kale Satan. ‘Nuff said.

• Bar Frenchman, East Liberty

When the Twisted Frenchman moved to new digs in the former Royal York Auction Gallery on Baum Boulevard, it opened the companion Bar Frenchman on the first floor. The 25-seat upscale French bistro features menu items such as foie gras, mussels and frites and coq au vin and a wine list that focuses on the fine merlots from various French regions.

Photo via Pixabay.