What to Eat in Pittsburgh

One day, I received an email from my What to Eat in Birmingham colleague alerting me to the opening of a restaurant Eater called “Pittsburgh’s Hottest New Restaurant.”

First, anytime a Pittsburgh restaurant receives national attention, it’s time to make a reservation. Second, swoon, Eater. We are huge Eater fans, who isn’t? And, double swoon, the story was written by Pittsburgh’s own Melissa McCart. We were all ears.

Between the Eater story and this, this, and this story, a lot has been written about the genesis of Poulet Bleu, including its owner’s track record and other successful local restaurants. No need to repeat all of that here. Instead, we managed to snag one of the last reservations for months (thank you OpenTable) at 5pm on a sleepy Tuesday night, and are excited to tell you all about what we ate.

First of all, this adorable exterior is, well, perfectly adorable. Nestled between two other rowhouse-like buildings on Lawrenceville’s tragically hip Butler street, it is a fitting introduction to what’s inside.

Poulet Bleu describes itself as an American Bistro (something that The Urbanist also notes). It’s clearly French, but we wonder if its self-description reflects its desire to be integrated into the street and the neighborhood…. it is one of those places that seems like it’s always been there.

 

On the inside, the place is friendly, approachable, cozy, and of course, adorable. We were seated by a cheerful hostess, who took us to a fantastic corner table that allowed us to have a birds-eye view. And since it was only 5pm, we had a clear shot of the gorgeous open kitchen.

 

Mr. Foodie had to take photos of the light fixtures and beautiful marble tables:

A closer-up photo of the menu.

The service was impeccable. As we sat trying to decide what to order, our questions were attentively answered and our waters were continuously filled. The place strikes an almost impossible balance of laid-back and fancy-pants. And when our server heard us discussing the Eater-approved chocolate soufflé, he recommended we order it up front, as it takes 30 minutes to prepare. Yes, please.

Anticipating a relatively calorific meal, we decided to start with some nice light olives. What a great preview of what was to come – no small detail was left unattended. Served slightly warm in a copper tin, they tasted extremely fresh. Were they homemade? I would think so. They were dressed with both garlic and citrus, a great combination.

 

Prepare the onslaught of rich foods.  We ordered a combination of foods that were recommended by the Eater article (how could we not), plus things we thought looked particularly delicious or were recommended as “can’t miss” by our server. In other words, we ordered a cross-section of the entire menu. It’s a tough life.

Highly recommend ordering this amazing baguette, which we overheard is made from local favorite La Gourmadine. It can be used to sop up juices from everything that comes next.

 

Next, the mussels. We use mussels as a test of a place, as in our experience mussels served inland are often, well, bad. Our server told us they were from Prince Edward Island, a place we’ve actually traveled to in order to eat mussels, so this was a good sign. They were absolutely perfect. They were all completely open (a sign that they were cooked properly), tender, and covered in the most amazing sauce you could imagine. It was a white wine butter herb sauce that was slightly creamy and still fairly light. The sauce was so good that after I ran out of baguette bread, I ate it like a soup. And c’mon, the dish is gorgeous.

 

Next up, the French onion soup, as recommended by our idols at Eater. A savory wine-and-beef broth soup with pieces of baguette and tender oxtail, covered in a thick layer of gruyere. This could have been a meal in itself, and a very satisfying one.

 

Of course, at a French bistro where steak frites are placed in the center of the menu, we had to partake. We chose the chef’s cut, which was said to be an Australian variety of Waygu.  After a discussion with our server, we chose a sauce that seemed the simplest, the Bordelaise, so we could let the meat shine through. And it did: served medium-rare as recommended, it was perfectly tender and juicy.

 

Served with frites, fried in beef fat of course. Salty and delicious.

 

Next up, the fish of the day, the skate. Perfectly cooked with crispy edges, and covered with a virtual garden of herbs. A nice light contrast to the rest of the meal.

 

Next, the aligot potatoes. Our server described these as somewhere between mashed potatoes and fondue, and it did not disappoint. I wish we would have taken a photo that conveyed the consistency – much more on the fondue side. Divine. Definitely made to share – I could only eat a few bites before I began to feel my arteries clogging. But it was worth it.

 

After all of that, we slightly regretted our a priori decision to order dessert. But our regret soon faded when this arrived:

 

The ice cream (banana!) is the perfect accompaniment to this rich dessert. It is light and airy, and not overly intense, but definitely satisfied our craving for sweet and chocolate. It usually comes with one scoop but, come on, that’s definitely not enough. So we ordered and extra. It also comes with small pots of cherry compote, crème anglaise, pineapple sauce, and even more chocolate. I said earlier that the French onion soup could be a meal in itself; combine it with splitting this dessert with a friend and you’ll be in a food coma.

On our way out, we ran into a friend at the bar having a nice casual solo meal of steak frites. We double-checked, and bar seating is first come first served. So don’t fret if they have a waitlist for reservations – just stop by.