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| Pittsburgh Councilman Bill Peduto |
We had samplings of food from several of the participating restaurants, and I thought I'd make several particularly noteworthy mentions:
The very interesting and tasty takoyaki (octopus fritters with beni shoga, Japanese mayo, housemade Takoyaki sauce, scallion, and Katsuboshi) by Fukuda definitely topped my favorites of the evening. I had the opportunity to finally visit Fukuda for dinner last week (blog post to come, I promise!) and it was truly amazing - it is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Pittsburgh! Highly recommended.
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| Takoyaki by Fukuda |
Another one of my favorites was the little bites of Chicken Apple Sausage Saute offered by Kaleidoscope Cafe, which is a regular "small plate" menu item. I also recently visited Kaleidoscope Cafe and loved it! Blog post to come reeeeally soon, so stay tuned.
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| Chicken Apple Sausage Saute Bites by Kaleidoscope Cafe |
We also enjoyed some samples from The Epicure's Palate. As a catering company, The Epicure's Palate isn't a participating restaurant, but their samples both looked and tasted so good I had to snapped some pictures!
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| Salmon Tartare Cones by The Epicure's Palate |
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| Polenta by The Epicure's Palate |
Among other samples were Meatballs and Freshly Homemade Focaccia Bread by Pino's, and Empanadas by Alma Pan-Latin Kitchen.
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| Meatballs and Focaccia Bread by Pino |
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| Empanadas by Alma |
Of course, not all participating restaurants were able to host a preview at the Kickoff Party, but some of my own personal favorites not mentioned above are Abay Ethiopian Cuisine, Braddock's American Brasserie, Burgh'ers, Habitat, Marty's Market, Meat and Potatoes, Root 174, Tamari, The Porch at Schenley, and Verde. Check out the Pittsburgh Restaurant Week website for more information, including a list of all participating restaurants and their menus.
I hope you will take this opportunity to celebrate the wonderful food we have in the Pittsburgh area!
