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Munch goes to Dish
Friday, October 27, 2000 Munch
Oh, the different places that Munch has munched.
Restaurants, of course, beyond count, but "restaurant" is just the
beginning.
Dish
is located at 128 S. 17th St., South Side (412-390-2012).
Hours are 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Mon.-Sat.
Munch also has dined at diners, delis, drive-ins, kitchens, lunch
counters, cafeterias and cafes.
Not to mention caffes, as they're sometimes spelled, and
ristorantes, and trattorias. Think of the pizzerias!
What about the bistros? Bakeries? Buffets?
Of course, there've been bars, grills, and "bar & grill"s, as well
as pubs, taverns, roadhouses, lounges, inns and saloons. Juice and sushi
bars, too. Brewpubs, brew houses, even an ale works. Coffee shops and
coffeehouses, as well as teahouses and a cybercafe.
Snack shops, sub shops, sandwich shoppes, a sandwich board.
Steakhouses, as well as houses of noodles and oysters, pasta and pancakes.
A spaghetti warehouse.
An "eatery" can be named as generally as that, or as specifically as a
"steakery" or "creperie." And even in Pittsburgh, you can eat at examples
of all of the aforementioned, plus others, including "fish grottos" and
even a churrascaria, which is a South American rotisserie barbecue
joint.
Yet until last weekend, Munch never even had heard of, much less eaten
at, an osteria.
Not even Munch's best foodie friend knew what one of those is, but
the prospect of some new good vittle had her immediately researching it on
the Internet.
In seconds, she was feeding Munch tidbits like "It's Italian, probably
Tuscan" for "something like a tavern." Lots of restaurants use it in their
names, but the term's specific distinction was more elusive. She quoted
one source as defining it as "wine bar." Another translated the word as
"gathering place."
That's all the information we needed to go check out Dish, an "osteria
and bar" that just quietly opened on a South Side side street.
We got there so early that the sign wasn't up, and some of the
remodeling wasn't finished, including the kitchen, and so we -- Munch
misfortune! -- we couldn't get anything to eat. But the work that's done
-- big windows, chic paint -- is quite handsome, like the ponytailed man
behind the bar who introduced himself as the owner, a Sicilian who came
here with his wife after working in the business in New York.
He was apologetic that he's not yet serving food, but softened the blow
by describing how his menu will be like that of the osterias in
Northern Italy: Simple, delicious dishes like pasta and fried calamari,
served in smaller portions, a la Spanish tapas.
Our mouths were salivating just listening as we sipped a glass of
unusual Sicilian wine and a draft Sierra Nevada Pale Ale from a very
sophisticated lineup of 10 beer taps. Munch likewise was impressed by the
array of nearly 30 bottled brews.
But what we really liked about this gentleman is how he plans to
not have any TVs or video games in his bar or the cozy, adjacent
dining room. Dish, he said, is meant to be an adult gathering place where
people can sit and talk and relax.
So, that's an osteria. And Pittsburgh has one, or soon will,
when the kitchen opens next month or so.
Munch couldn't wait to tell you the news, and will keep checking back,
even if it means having to have a couple more drinks, so as to report on
the food when it's ready.
In the meantime, when it comes to different places to eat, we still
haven't got one of everything.
Munch just read about a restaurant that just opened on New York's
Bleecker Street that serves 45 varieties of risotto -- that is, rice
combinations such as salami and parsley, asparagus and saffron, and more.
Its name?
"Risotteria."
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