Avenue B

http://avenueb-pgh.com/

I love the concept of Avenue B;  a rotational small menu focusing on fresh local ingredients.  There are some seasonal staple dishes that are available regularly, and then 5-6 chalk board specials available each night.

When you walk in the restaurant you’ll find a chalkboard on either side of the wall with the evenings selections.

Chalk board specials

You probably can’t read all that was on offer, and I can’t exactly remember (sorry better notes next time) but I do recall I was having quite a tough time making my decision.

My date and I decided to start with appetizers while we mulled it over. She chose the local greens salad, and I; the raw deal.

Prior to our appetizers being delivered a complimentary bread basket to the table. Two types of bread were provided, a whole grain and french baguette it seemed. I’m not sure where they were sourced from but it was decent quality artisinal bread. The bread was served along with a cherry molasses whipped butter. This was tasty; the cherry was sweet rather than tart which complimented the molasses; unfortunately the butter wasn’t salted.  Some additional sea salt would have made this a bread service to rave about.

Whole Grain and French w/ Cherry Molasses whipped butter

After a few minutes had passed our appetizers were delivered.  The bread basket was left on the table to enjoy alongside.

I didn’t photograph the local greens salad, it was acceptable but nothing special. I enjoyed the flavor and amount (light) of the dressing, as well as the sweet potato crisps but I was otherwise unimpressed.

My own Raw Deal was quite the presentation. There were three different types and preparations of fish all of which were incredibly fresh.

Raw Deal Appetizer

Miniature tuna nigiri topped with red and black tobiko.- these were passable, the sushi rice itself did not seem to be all that glutinous and I wouldn’t be pleased with it if I were out for sushi, but a fun little bite when implemented into the menu. I’m not one to complain about portion sizes, but these were truly miniature, would have preferred a more generous slice of fish to get a bit more flavor from the tuna.

The center of the dish was a barely seared salmon with an avocado/wasabi sauce.  The salmon again was incredibly fresh, but being such a mild flavor it really needed an additional sauce.  That sauce turned out to be more avocado than wasabi, it was pleasant but very mild. The tomato and onion helped to bring a touch more flavor.  Overall a great piece, but I could have used just a touch more sauce for a better balance of flavors.

On the left, and the best part of this dish (and possibly the meal) was a poke and pineapple ceviche topped with creme fraiche and a sweet potato crisp.  The raw poke’s tenderness was given some texture from the ever so slightly firmer pineapple.  The mixture of pineapple and creme fraiche also brought out the sweetness of the fish.  I hope that in the future an app of just this ceviche is on offer; and I hope I don’t look to odd when I order ten or more of them.

After quite a bit of back and forth, we were able to settle on entrees. My date had the NY Strip  with truffled fingerling potato salad, arugula, asparagus, demi glaze. The steak itself was perfectly prepared, my date requested medium and surely enough she was met with a perfectly pink center.  I tasted the fingerling potato salad and thought it was acceptable, but didn’t warrant any additional praise. The only let down was one bad potato which probably shouldn’t have made it out of the kitchen.

NY strip w/ Truffled Fingerling Potato Salad

I chose the Seared Day Boat Scallops with squid ink tagiatelle, summer squash, pesto duo. The protein portion was prepared flawlessely, the scallops had a slightly crusty sear and incredibly moist interior. The two pestos were both very a good, a basil and roasted red pepper. The squid ink pasta had a slight brine that was mellowed by the accompanying zuchinni, squash, and sat atop an somewhat mild alfredo-esq sauce.  The bottom of the plate had a bit more olive oil than I would have liked, but I’m really nit picking here. Fantastic dish.

Seared Day Boat Scallops w/ Squid Ink Tagiatelle

The service was great. Our waiter, Emmett was knowledgeable about all the dishes, friendly, and prompt.  Avenue B also gets bonus points for using crushed ice in their soda and bringing macaroons with the check.  They are also a BYOB, which I plan to take advantage of at one of what I’m sure will be many repeat visits.

Check out more of the menu, and another positive experience from Mike at FoodBurgh

Tagged as: Pittsburgh, Restaurants, Sushi