Tiramisu?

 My husband makes a habit of trying tiramisu at nearly every Italian
 restaurant we ever visit.  He really likes the tiramisu at Pino's (squirrel
 hill & point breeze locations; can get just a piece for take-out).  Rumor
 has it that Chef Pino's mom makes it -- and, yes, it has the
 liqueur/espresso-soaked lady fingers topped with white mascarpone.

 (In a lot of the "imitation" tiramisus, the mascarpone (or (gasp!) cream)
 is coffee-flavored, and there may not even be lady fingers or any
 cake/crumb-like substance at all.  Mind you, some of these concoctions are
 pretty darn good, but they're not exactly classic tiramisu. It might help
 to have more detail about what specifically was wrong with the "not real"
 tiramisu, as there seem to be many, many variations on this dessert.  )

 HTH,
 Jen

 --On Thursday, July 25, 2002 3:45 PM -0400 Kate Connally
 Someone wrote:

 > A friend of mine was just complaining that
 > she doesn't know anywhere in Pgh. to get a
 > good tiramisu.  Yesterday was her birthday
 > and her sister got her a "tiramisu" but
 > she said it wasn't real tiramisu.  She wants
 > the authentic thing, soaked with coffee (blecch!)
 > and rum and mascarpone, etc.  So, where in our
 > fair town can one find such a disgusting
 > dessert.  I wonder if Moio's has it or is there
 > some place good in the strip.  Or what about
 > that French bakery over in Etna or Millvale
 > or wherever?  Of course, I'm not going to be
 > able to judge for myself since the mere thought
 > of it makes me gag so I'm counting on you guys
 > to come up with the real goods here.
 > Kate

 I have had two miserable dining experiences at Brushcetta's and know
 others (some in this group) who think the same. I don't understand why
 it does so well -- no, I take that back. I know why it does so well --
 this is Pittsburgh, after all. Throw together an Italian restaurant,
 label it trendy, serve mediocre to decent food and overprice it, and
 boom, you've got a hit. And make sure the food is safe variations of
 traditional Italian -- varied just enough to appear different to the
 masses, but don't approach innovation within 10 miles.

 Sorry, Mark. I'm sure you don't fall into that category. After all,
 you're talking about lunch, and that may be very different than
 dinnertime. I'm just ranting because too many good places close that
 shouldn't, and this place doesn't deserve 1/4 of its success.

 Mark D. wrote:

 > I found the Tiramisu to be quite good at Bruschetta's on the South
 > Side.  It was the real deal.
 >
 > BTW Bruschetta's is great for lunch, very reasonable prices.
 >
 >     --Mark
 >