New Restaurant: Gypsy Cafe in the South Side

 Saturday evening, we went for the grand opening of a new restaurant in
 the South Side, the Gypsy Cafe. The restaurant is at 1330 Bingham (not
 sure I got the name right - one street towards the river from Carson)
 Street, on the same block as the Beehive and a small block from City
 Theatre. I really liked the place a lot - great atmosphere and nice,
 unpretentious food.

 We arrived at 11:30, and had some appetizers. I tried the olive
 tapenade, which was great, as was the black bean hummus. I also really
 liked the phyllo (sp?) combination platter. Friends who had been there
 for dinner were very pleased with their food.  Appetizers range from
 $3-$9, entrees are in the range of $9-$14.  The food is mediterranean,
 there seems to be a focus on Italian for entrees and Greek for the
 appetizers. Currently, the selection of entrees and lunch items for
 vegetarians is a bit disappointing, but I am sure that this will
 improve.

 It was a wonderful evening - we were a group of people (dancers
 ourselves), and we had come to watch the belly dancers that were
 featured for opening night. The dancers are not (yet?) part of the
 regular program, but in my admittedly extremely biassed opinion, the
 dancing and the music contributed so much to the atmosphere - people
 talking, enjoying wine and tasty little bits of food, then there was
 dance even with some live music, which continued to include several
 patrons. It felt like somewhere in the mediterranean, but in Pittsburgh!
 Atmosphere is definitely the big strength of this place.

 The decor is somewhat eccletic, with a lot of attention to detail
 (including real fabric napkins). Service was friendly and efficient.
 The place is open for lunch, and they will offer a late-night menu
 with mostly appetizers and taps, until 3AM on weekends! The place is
 currently BYOB, which I like.

 The website under construction is www.gyspycafe.net