Enrico Ristorante

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Enrico Ristorante
Ever-changing daily goods keep Shadyside fresh.
A few standards -- pizzas, paninis and pasta at lunch, or the New York strip steak at dinner -- are always on the menu, but the Enrico Biscotti Company prides itself on the "market-fresh" daily specials written in chalk above the bar. It features seasonal offerings and best buys available each day from wholesalers in the Strip District, where the original Enrico Biscotti restaurant (made famous by the film 'The Bread, My Sweet') is located. Save room for dessert, because biscotti and other fresh-baked treats are a specialty here. Sundays feature a special brunch menu with pastries, quiches and roasted vegetables. Wines from small Italian vintners round out the menu. This 40-seat eatery is packed for lunch hour, and customers often take advantage of the shady outdoor seating on nice days. -- James A. Stewart

By Alice T. Carter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, June 24, 2004

Enrico Ristorante is the kind of restaurant that busy professionals fantasize about.Offering fresh, well-prepared dishes in an elegant, but casual setting, it's the perfect neighborhood restaurant -- the haven you repair to for dinner on nights when it's too hot to cook or you can't face another bag of fast-food take-out.

Situated along Ellsworth Avenue in the red brick and glass-windowed building formerly occupied by Le Charcuterie, Enrico Ristorante creates Italian bistro-style dishes the old fashioned way -- without microwaves, freezers or deep-fat fryers. Pizzas, pastries, breads and even sausages are made on premises.

Food is purchased each morning in the Strip District, then cooked in the wood-fired oven that can be seen by patrons sitting at the bar. "Everything is cooked in that oven," manager Mary Legas says. "Not just pizzas. The vegetables that go in the soup get the same kind of love."

The list of specials listed on the chalk board changes almost daily, indicating a restaurant where the chef enjoys the day-to-day challenge of creating fresh, seasonal items for customers.

Enrico is the vision of Larry Lagattuta, one of its three owners and the man who created Enrico Biscotti in the Strip District. Those who know the bakery's narrow coffee shop that operates on Saturdays only already are familiar with the thin, chewy pizzas and panini sandwiches available at the Shadyside restaurant.

Enrico Ristorante is much more formal, though. White cloths cover tables whether inside or outside on the sidewalk. There's a list of 40 Italian wines, priced from $30 as well as a selection of by-the-glass wines in the $5 and $6 range.

While the pizza, soup and salads are available at dinner as well as lunch, there's also a nice selection of fish, meat and poultry entrees.

The signature dish is a whole Oven-roasted Chicken ($25 for two) stuffed and scented with lemons, garlic and fresh rosemary. It arrives already carved and sitting atop a generous pile of oven-roasted vegetables that included strips of sweet red pepper, zucchini, yellow summer squash and tiny potatoes. The skin was crisp and the chicken succulent, if a little dry. The vegetable were perfection -- completely cooked but still firm and exuding a rich broth that we sopped up with chewy bread from a tableside basket.

Along with the chicken and vegetables, we shared a Big Fat Salad ($9), a humongous mound of fresh field greens enlivened with crumbles of sharp Gorgonzola cheese, dried cranberries and bits of walnut. We hadn't figured on it being served with enough shredded chicken for it to serve as an entree in itself. While it was delicious, it was a redundant choice to accompany the Roast Chicken.

On another occasion, we tried the house special pasta -- ricotta and spinach stuffed Ravioli with a pink and creamy but hearty, meat-studded Bolognese Sauce ($9 at lunch, $11 at dinner). While not made on the premises, the ravioli are handmade from fresh pasta. That makes the little pillows pliant and light, a perfect pairing for the creamy, parsley-flecked tomato sauce.

Observing that diners at almost every table had started with Beans and Greens ($5) we joined in. Reportedly roasted in a pot buried in the oven's ashes, the beans -- as well as the cloves of garlic -- almost melt in your mouth. The generous helping of kale that's mixed in makes it an appetizer large enough for sharing, especially when there's that chewy, in-house baked bread for soaking up juices.

We also tried the house special soup which that day was Chicken Vegetable ($3 cup, $4 bowl) and found it to be most satisfying -- shredded chicken, slices of carrot and onion in a golden, full-flavored broth.

Families that can't agree on which meal of the day they're eating will be happy to be able to order a Pizza ($9) or an Entree-sized Salad ($9 to $12) while others tuck into the Veal Chop ($29) or Tilapia ($18). We enjoyed the Margherita Pizza ($9) with its thin, but chewy crust, and a whiff of oven-fired wood smoke that served as delivery system for a chunky sauce of fresh-tasting tomato pieces, basil leaves and just-melted fresh mozzarella.

As you might expect from a restaurant whose roots are a bakery all the desserts are made on premises. And very good they are. A huge slice of Chocolate Hazelnut Torta ($5) was dense, dark and rough-textured with bitter chocolate and small nuggets of hazelnut. There was no question that the red raspberry sauce that accented it had been freshly made from ripe, fresh raspberries. That sauce also enlivened the Ricotta Pie ($5), a firm yet fluffy, refreshingly not-too-sweet delight that almost made us overlook a surprisingly gummy crust. Better was the Lemon Ricotta Cake ($5) that balanced the citrusy sting of lemon with more of that fruity sauce of fresh raspberries and the crunch of almond slivers.

Also good on a hot day is the Panna Cotta ($6) a small dish of firm, cool, creamy vanilla custard overlaid with a golden sugar syrup spiced with ground cinnamon.

With fewer than 10 entrees, the menu at Enrico Ristorante might seem brief to some. But the good news is the selections change not just with the seasons, but on a daily basis.

That means there's always a reason to return, not just to revisit old favorites but to see what's for dinner tonight.

From the Post-Gazette.com

Enrico's takes its peasant fare to a Tony Shadyside Space

Friday, January 23, 2004
By Sarah Billingsley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

So often, successful small restaurants are spoiled when they try to join the big leagues. Overthinking the decor, overspending on a wine list and overestimating a kitchen staff's ability to transition often kills the elusive, intangible magic of a restaurant that just works.

But it's a wonderful thing when a modest, well-loved operation expands successfully, as has Enrico's Ristorante, in the Shadyside space long inhabited by the glacial decline of La Charcuterie.

In the Strip, the narrow back room at Enrico's Biscotti Company was a congenial, sparsely furnished hangout with a loyal base of Saturday diners. Seated at long, communal, wooden trestles, you were likely to befriend the person whose elbow landed in your pizza.

The soups, pizzas and large salads always satisfied, and the monthly dinner series provided a showcase for something chef/owner Larry Lagattuta does well: tasteful rustic fare such as roasted meats, dressed poultry and fish on the bone.

This unpretentious fare comprises the menu at Lagattuta's new restaurant. Suited to its tony Shadyside address, the space is far more elegant than its Strip District counterpart and the food is more serious.

Converting a deli/specialty store into a place that is nice to sit and eat in is a challenge. Enrico's Ristorante captures the polish and urbanity of Shadyside with a high, curvy marble bar, low-hanging lights and a classy bistro black and white color scheme. A wall of windows is treated like a wall of plaster: Framed prints and black and white photos are suspended there, and the room is filled with light.

The restaurant is good-looking, if chilly; when the door swings wide, the wind sweeps in. Wear a sweater.

Along the drafty full-length windows are small bistro tables draped in linen. Opposite is the wine bar, lined with square stools, which flows into the kitchen, where the huge wood-fired oven is shingled with copper fins to resemble a ball of flame.

The restaurant seems popular already; there are always people seated at the bar, sipping away. Enrico's offers many unique wines by the glass, and the straightforward list of bottles is both affordable and interesting. The house red and white wines are Lacryma del Christi, "tears of Christ," fruity, refreshing wines from Napoli. At the bar, the beautiful $15 cheese plate, loaded with generous chunks of soft, hard, ripe and quiet Italian cheeses, is the ideal companion.

White beans are prepared in the traditional Tuscan way, as fagioli al fiasco (beans in a flask): the beans are fed into a glass bottle and buried in the smoldering ashes of the fire overnight. This method of gentle, slow cooking renders the bean meat tender and the skins imperceptible. The result is a warm, creamy paste, dense and rich, subtle with garlic and sage, splashed with good olive oil and served with slices of Enrico's dense, crusty loaf. It's a perfect example of "pane e companatico"-- a little bread and something to go with it.

As is the plain and good greens and beans. Warm, vegetal juice bleeds from the frilly greens and mingles with olive oil. It is perfect for sopping up with bread.

On the menu are many familiar dishes. The good panini sandwiches and the big fat salads sprinkled with bleu cheese are available. The pizzas are as fine as they ever were in the Strip: thin and supple in the Neapolitan style, topped with a few simple ingredients. The Lust pizza was hot with puttanesca sauce; the Love pizza was a cuddlier, creamy pie topped with roasted chicken.

Items from the Market Fresh menu are more upscale than longtime Enrico's fans may be accustomed to.

Fig and wild mushroom-stuffed chicken makes an inexpensive meal for two. The chicken is stuffed, roasted, split and doused with warm gravy. A cornucopia of roasted root vegetables -- beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips -- spills over the plate. The flavors are earthy and sweet, and the figs add gritty oomph to every bite. It was a nice touch, on the server's part, to pack up the half-chicken we wouldn't be consuming immediately, for home.

Enrico's ever-changing daily specials promise that there will always be something different to try. Roasted turkey, soaked in sage cream and served over pappardelle, was unctuous comfort food. Barely blanched asparagus, drizzled with herbed vinaigrette, was refreshing, and the combination of grilled fresh anchovies and roasted tomatoes was particularly nice. Hearty hunters stew was robust on an icy afternoon: thick with beef, rabbit and root vegetables, it was served over a pad of creamy polenta.

Soups change daily: a bouillabaisse-like fish soup, packed with mussels, scallops, fish and shrimp, was a spicy success. Mushroom consomme was somewhat blander.

Some meals are not so well executed, possibly because the kitchen staffs, visible behind the high counter, were as different daily as the entree specials. One evening, our check was misplaced and our order wasn't fired; we waited an extra 20 minutes for miserable entrees. The mixed grill that arrived consisted of dried-out meats arranged on a base of mesclun greens. If ever an entree cried for a starch, this was it. With bland boar, chewy rabbit and a singed house-made sausage, there wasn't a meal on that plate.

Similarly, a whole black bass, stuffed with sausage and crabmeat, was full of translucent, razor sharp bones. The fish was so dried-out, it might have been mistaken for jerky.

What a shame: Red snapper, given the same treatment a mere week prior, was another matter entirely. The white flesh, cloaked in soft skin, was sweet and tender, the sausage/crab filling a mild, creamy accompaniment. The pliant snapper bones were less intrusive. Its side of risotto was perfection: al dente, buttery and thick.

Enrico's kitchen is capable of surprises, like the beautiful goat cheese pistachio cannoli that was crunchy, milky-tart and wonderfully unsweet. You may be familiar with Enrico's fine desserts -- biscotti, cookies, tarts, cakes -- from the Strip District bakery. Hazelnut chocolate cake is appropriately dense and nutty, but it wanted a dollop of ethereal cream to set it off. Coffee is of the high-octane variety. Cappuccinos are first-rate.

Expect leisurely service, to a fault. At lunch, we waited 20 quiet minutes after we were seated until we were handed a menu. On another occasion, waiting for the check was our tedious post-meal pastime.

The dining room seems to lack ventilation. When I left, I smelled like I'd cooked my own garlicky dinner. My coat still reeks of the smoky oven -- not an altogether unpleasant association in this cold weather.

The room is noisy; there are no carpet or drapes to buffer sound in all that spotless marble and metal. The room echoes. Voices sound a low roar. As the waitress described specials, I caught every other word; her voice reached us like the elusive radio station you try to catch while driving through mountains.

Despite these shortcomings, when the kitchen is on, there are few simpler and utterly satisfying meals to be had in Pittsburgh. We appreciate our peasant fare and understand its underlying principle: Good food is simple, and simple food can be transcendent. Enrico's white beans -- modest and marvelous -- are proof.

Chef Mary Legas; Slow-Roasted Pot Roast over Truffle Mashed Potatos; Neil Tomer buys fresh Snapper from Ron Neumeyer.

"Ciao Down"

By Alice T. Carter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, June 24, 2004

From the Post-Gazette.com

Enrico's takes its peasant fare to a Tony Shadyside Space

Friday, January 23, 2004
By Sarah Billingsley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Chef Mary Legas; Slow-Roasted Pot Roast over Truffle Mashed Potatos; Neil Tomer buys fresh Snapper from Ron Neumeyer.

"Ciao Down"

By Alice T. Carter TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, June 24, 2004

From the Post-Gazette.com

Enrico's takes its peasant fare to a Tony Shadyside Space

Friday, January 23, 2004 By Sarah Billingsley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

By Alice T. Carter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, June 24, 2004

Friday, January 23, 2004
By Sarah Billingsley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette