Someone wrote: > I would like to have them take me to some excellent Italian food. I'm > looking for someplace near CMU (Oakland, Shady, S.H., etc) that is > reasonable to semi-expensive, has good ambience, and has a bar. All > suggestions welcome. Pasta Piatta in Shadyside has very good pastas but is a bit over-priced. In particular, anything served over capellini (angel's hair) is price fairly high. I guess capellini is "trendy"... If you're willing to drive 10-15 minutes, you could also consider: Downtown - Piccolo, Piccolo: a bit dressy, advertises itself as "Pittsburgh's Roman Restaurant", fixed-course menu (you choose a starter dish, main course and then get their antipasta bar and a salad). Very good cream sauces. - Scoglio: 2nd floor inside the mall at 500 Liberty. Northern Italian. A bit dressy but good pastas and salads. - Juno Trattoria: 3rd floor (?) of Oxford Center mall. Casual. Large antipasta cart. There have been several positive reviews posted on pgh.food (last spring). South Side: - Caffe Giovanni. Northern Italian. Used to be in Shadyside. If they have pumpkin gnocchi, don't miss it. Casually dressy. - Paparrazi. Northern Italian. Informal. Very reasonnably priced. Pizza, pasta and good breads. The tortellini with spinach and feta is excellent.
Pittsburgh, PA