Girasole

 Here is a copy of my review from this May (found through power-search at
 deja.com , where Ralph's review and several others also came up).

 A few additional notes, from my visits since then:

 --the menu does change seasonally
 --service has not always been so good on return visits, but never poor
 enough to ruin the overall experience; food has been consistently good
 --we have since then tried pasta with summer tomato and corn sauce (a
 summer menu item), lobster ravioli (extremely rich, with very
 formal-looking ravioli that are black on one side and "white" (regular
 pasta color) on the other), and the polenta again (it was a little spicy
 from red pepper the second time)

 The restaurant has also been reviewed in the Post-Gazette in the last
 month or two.

 Jen

 My review from May:
 --------------------------------------------
 >> Forum: pgh.food
  >> Thread: review: Girasole, shadyside
  >> Message 8 of 9
                             Subject: review: Girasole, shadyside
 Date: 05/24/2000
 Author: Jennifer H Schnakenberg

 Inspired by recent reviews (and looking for something new & good) my
 husband and I recently visited Girasole, a new
  Italian restaurant on Copeland street in Shadyside.  We were quite
 favorably impressed:

  The setting is very pleasant, with a small, sunken (i.e., below
 sidewalk level) courtyard in front, and interior with
  exposed stone walls, which have been left unadorned to very nice
 effect.  We ate outside.

  The menu is farily small -- 5 or 6 appetizers, 6 or 7 entrees, and 6 or
 7 desserts (gotta like that ratio!).  Appetizers
  included the typical bruchetta, antipasto, etc., plus more unusual
 items like brie with a berry sauce and a cheese
  special for the day (these last two were quite pricy).  Entrees were
 mostly pasta.  I don't recall anything
  specifically vegetarian, but at least half the entrees were seafood
 pastas.  Desserts included sorbets as well as heavier
  fare.

  We had the antipasto verde, which had sundried tomatoes, roasted red
 peppers, artichoke hearts, "drunken" goat cheese
  slices, assorted black olives, and a hummus-like bean spread.  The
 presentation was lovely, and everything on the plate
  was delicious.  Bread and a saucer of olive oil accompanied the
 appetizer.  My husband had an entree of farfalle with
  sausage and vegetables in a light white wine sauce; his only complaint
 was that it was less flavorful (spicy?) than he
  has expected.  I opted to get the polenta appetizer as an entree (a big
 bowl, as it turned out, with polenta topped with
  provolone, swimming in beans, greens, and a light tomato broth -- yum).
 Both  were quite good.  The tiramisu we split
  for dessert had a fine flavor but a little soggy texture (I guess the
 ladyfingers were over-soaked).

  The service was attentive but fairly unobtrusive, and we did not suffer
 lack of attention for being outside.  The place is
  BYOB, but as we did not B a B, I do not know what the corkage/glass fee
 might be.

  We will definitely be back.  The food was good, and the overall
  atmosphere made for a very relaxing friday evening supper.  With the
 small menu they had, I wouldn't be surprised if
  the items change somewhat from time to time -- which makes it all the
 more interesting.

  Jen