FRESH APPROACH, CONTINUED FROM PG. 17
weren’t specified on the menu. The reason for both of these factors is an excellent one: Beyond staples like tuna and salmon, the sushi bar stocks only small amounts of whichever fresh fish is available that day. The assortment was thus comprised of a complete sampling of the day’s offerings, which during our visit included red snapper, yellowtail, fatty salmon and succulent, slightly fishy (it’s supposed to be) mackerel. All were excellent. For a cooked entrée, Angelique was curious about the “cumin style” stir-fry, which the menu described in one inscrutable sentence. Did it have a sauce? Our server wasn’t sure, so, as is standard in this situation, she returned to the kitchen to ask. We were impressed when the chef himself came to our table to address our question. The cumin-style lamb turned out to be marinated and dry-rubbed with a cumin spice mixture, then stir-fried with coarsely cut onions, peppers (chili and bell) and tomatoes. The meat was meltingly tender and the flavors of this dish wonderfully warm and assertively spicy.
Bian Ba stretches dough into noodles, handmade to order.
Jason returned to the allure of handpulled noodles with his order of beef lo mein. It had great texture and tasty beef, but the flavor was a bit lacking in high notes; a splash of black vinegar would have been welcome. The house fried-rice dish was a surprising amalgam of shrimp, scallops, pineapple and raisins that really worked, thanks in large part to seafood that was plump and sweet and rice that was firm and not at all greasy. Less than two months after opening, Jade Grille immediately takes a place among the upper echelon of Chinese restaurants in Pittsburgh. It hews to an organic-local-sustainable ethos, and is priced accordingly. But for Chinese dining that is fresh (in both quality and approach) and refined, Jade Grille is worth it. INF O @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M
18
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 09.17/09.24.2014
On the RoCKs
{BY HAL B. KLEIN}
BRANCHING OUT ‘Cider garden’ just one way Arsenal Cider is growing When Bill Larkin, the owner of Lawrenceville’s Arsenal Cider House, decided to host BBQ master Justin “Hootie” Blakey for a cookout last year, a neighbor complained that Larkin didn’t have the necessary permits. That prompted Larkin to realize that adding outdoor space would help grow business, so he purchased the adjoining lot from a medicalsupply business and began work on the city’s first cider garden. “It took a few months to get all the politics sorted out, but once we had a permit, we built this out in two months,” he says. In the interest of being a good neighbor, Larkin even included in the design a large gate that opens to allow light to flood into an adjacent garden. Now, up to 265 fans of Arsenal Cider can spread out at tables, standing bars, and even bring their own picnic baskets and blankets anytime the cider house is open. Larkin says that Saturday afternoons will feature a regular rotation of music — and often food. Fridays and Sundays will likely also have entertainment in the future. The garden is just one of a number of ways the Lawrenceville cidery is maturing. Larkin recently purchased a super-fancy filtration machine which, he says, “is going to really speed up production.” That’s a good thing, because he’s already poured 12,000 gallons of cider this year … and that’s before reaching his busiest season (now through Christmas). By comparison, Arsenal served 10,000 gallons total last year. Larkin also has a bottling machine, so expect bottles of Arsenal Cider sometime in the not-too-distant future. “People just really seem to like what we’re doing,” he says. As for the garden, the upcoming change of season isn’t going to slow it down. “We’ll keep it open as long as people want to sit out here,” Larkin says. In fact, his wife Michelle adds, “Someone suggested we serve hot cider and have Santa out in the snow.”
“PEOPLE JUST REALLY SEEM TO LIKE WHAT WE’RE DOING.”
INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
300 39th St., Lawrenceville. 412-260-6968 or www.arsenalciderhouse.com