FamJam in Pittsburgh 2011
Stop #2 (Friday Dinner): Restaurant Echo in Cranberry Township
This is the second in a series of posts on my family's first visit to Pittsburgh. To check out our lunch on Friday, click here.
For Friday's dinner, I decided to try out a new restaurant in Cranberry Township, just off of I-79 on Rt. 228. I had noticed Restaurant Echo when I drove by some weeks before and had then heard some positive buzz online, and a review of their menu suggests a commitment to locally-sourced food, which I thought was nice and would make my treehugger sister really happy. So that's how Restaurant Echo made it to my FamJam restaurant list.
In stark contrast to our lunch at Primanti Brothers, Restaurant Echo has the feel of a contemporary upscale restaurant. (How's that for balance, eh?) I would say this is the kind of place to take a business partner or a date if you are trying to make a good impression. Trying to decide what to order was difficult as many items on the menu looked fabulous, and our very attentive waitress, Elise, confirmed that there is not an item on the menu that's not good. Even though I knew it would be way too much food for me, I eventually decided on an appetizer along with an entree.
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| Mushroom Cigars The mushroom cigars sounded real interesting. They come with a sesame dipping sauce and soba noodles. Very delicious. |
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| Salmon For my entree, I went with the salmon, with winter squash purée, spinach, and pumpkinseed-dressed farro grain. The salmon was prepared medium rare which I thought was perfect. |
With our meal, we all shared a bottle of merlot. I also tried a bite of my dad's filet mignon and it was quite amazing, so I would recommend that as well if you're into steaks. The best part of the evening: Everyone LOVED Restaurant Echo. Awesome food, and not horribly expensive either (about $20-$30 per entree; I think my salmon was $19). My dad actually thought the prices were quite low for such a high-caliber restaurant, but then again, his comparison standard is Toronto, so take it for what it's worth. Still, it's nice to be able to impress Dad. My parents are the type of people who have no qualms about complaining if they don't like something, so a positive review coming from them really means a lot!
Restaurant info:
Restaurant Echo
1740 Route 228, Cranberry Township, PA 16066
(724)779-3246
Website: http://www.restaurantecho.com
