Pittsburgh Splurge!

May 6, 2011 9:29 AM

Are there good locavore places in the Pittsburgh area besides Legume?

Legume looks wonderful, but it is in the process of moving to a new location and won't be open when I'm there.

posted by brujita to food & drink (14 answers total)

I've heard wonderful things about Salt of the Earth (http://www.saltpgh.com/), but haven't been there myself yet.
posted by Stacey at 9:38 AM on May 6, 2011

One of my friends has his class of first graders growing microgreens for use at Salt. It's getting rave reviews, too.

Spoon, Bona Terra, and Dinette are all, I think, local-food-friendly places. I can only vouch for the first two, but they're pretty excellent.
posted by punchtothehead at 10:17 AM on May 6, 2011

(Oh, and if you want some awesome and cheap local beer, pick up a growler from the East End Brewery.)
posted by punchtothehead at 10:18 AM on May 6, 2011

I read a very favorable review of Salt of the Earth in the NY Times a couple of months ago.
posted by HotPatatta at 11:01 AM on May 6, 2011

Not sure what you're looking for, but Penn Pilsner's Brewery is a local authentic German brewpub, and has, by my standards, the best beer ever.

And the food is good. Doubt it's grown locally, though, but Penn Brewery is a local establishment.
posted by rich at 11:21 AM on May 6, 2011

This would be for dinner with my father; we'll be in town for a meeting. Is Salt communal table and counter only?

The brewpubs look good....meetup?
posted by brujita at 2:56 PM on May 6, 2011

Spoon is a good place to take parents - I took mine there for Christmas, everyone loved it. The Big Burrito restaurants source at least some of their ingredients locally as well. They vary wildly in ambience, but Casbah and Soba are both good for a nice, semi-fancy parent dinner. (Eleven is good for a nice really expensive parent dinner.) I know for sure I've seen Casbah's menu trumpet its local sourcing; not sure about Soba, but the website might be of some help there.
posted by Stacey at 3:25 PM on May 6, 2011

I've proposed a meetup on IRL.
posted by brujita at 5:59 PM on May 6, 2011

Salt does take reservations for it's tables upstairs. It's worth it no matter how you go. Kaya, one of thebig burrito group restaurants, does source a lot locally. Six Penn Kitchen in downtown does local as well. The NYT article where Salt was mentioned also talked about Habitat, which I have not been to yet, but does local. For a more casual meal, Over The Bar Bicycle Cafe is a bar that has recently added a local component. Harris Grill is also apparently local now. E^2 in Highland Park (my hood) might be local now.

I'm not positive, but Point Brugges and Park Brugge have a local component.
posted by buttercup at 8:51 PM on May 6, 2011

Also, Elements downtown at Gateway Center.
posted by buttercup at 8:53 PM on May 6, 2011

Salt is very good, just ate there for the first time this week.
posted by octothorpe at 9:24 PM on May 6, 2011

Kaya's a little more casual than I'd do with my parents for a dinner, only because they're restaurant snobs and wouldn't like the somewhat crowded, noisy feel at dinnertime. But their weekend brunch is fantastic, if you have time for a brunch in town, too.

(Very slight derail but totally still relevant to eating: Buttercup, we're nearly in the same hood! (I'm over in Morningside.) How's E^2? I keep meaning to go there but never quite think of it when I'm actually hungry.)
posted by Stacey at 7:45 AM on May 7, 2011

I've never been to E^2. I should try to go sometime, but the thought of a line always scares me away.

Just to add some additional locavore content to this thread, there's an article about the gardens both Dozen Bakeshop and the Quiet Storm use for their kitchens.
posted by buttercup at 6:43 PM on June 5, 2011

Update:

We went to Six Penn Kitchen...though my favorites from the suggestions were Salt of the Earth and Spoon (a stranger paid for my dinner!)
posted by brujita at 11:01 AM on July 7, 2011