36 TABLE fall 2011 tablemagazine.com fall 2011 TABLE 37

dine

BREAD AnD WATER. Seemingly simple, but deceivingly complex. A conflu-

ence of pure ingredients, time-honored techniques and a dash of unexpect-

ed inspiration can often turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Some local restaurants have stopped passing the bread basket altogether,

while others see bread as an offering that helps to define the dining experi-

ence and set them apart.

Meat & Potatoes | Richard DeShantz, exeutive chef and owner

649 Penn Avenue, Pittsburghmeatandpotatoespgh.com | 412.576.2202

Richard DeShantz knows his bread. He mastered his technique conceiving

recipes, constructing ovens and crafting blissful aromatic bread at Medi-

terra Bakehouse. At his newest venture, Meat & Potatoes, DeShantz not

only makes his bread and preserves his jam, but unapologetically charges

for these wonderful creations. No matter, his bread and jam are customer

favorites. “Everything here is a la carte, about simplicity. Yet I wanted to take

my bread to the next level -- to make it fun, but also composed. We grill the

bread giving it a nice crunch and darkness. It comes with goat cheese butter

and homemade seasonal preserves like rhubarb jam.” DeShantz, who makes

all of the bread in-house, including hamburger and hot dog buns, also

serves his crusty treats with duck liver pate, bone marrow, pasta and other

menu offerings. Although sourdough is the bread of choice at the moment,

DeShantz is contemplating pecan raisin or pumpkin for the fall. “There’s

something peaceful about making bread,” the chef/owner says as he calmly

heads back to the kitchen to check his sourdough culture and prep for the

evening. “I’m a passionate person…I’ve always been an artist. And bread is

another great way for me to express myself.”

SPOON | Brian Pekarcik, chef and proprietor

134 South Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh | spoonpgh.com | 412.362.6001

“I’m a savory type of chef,” Brian Pekarcik admits. “I was adopted by a

Slovak family and raised on chicken paprikash, so I love comfort food! And

bread, in particular, evokes nostalgic memories for me because my mom was

a wonderful baker.” At SPOON, that familial connection has been lovingly

translated into a comforting bread-filled basket of goodness that sets the

tone for dinner and announces the impending dining experience. Center

stage, sitting like golden jewels in the basket, are house-made, cream cheese

chive biscuits and corn bread muffins. Beware: They are petite, warm and

highly addictive. When paired with SPOON’s simple but elegant spread of

unsalted butter, honey and sea salt, you could call them downright sinful.

According to Pekarcik, the recipes for his muffins and biscuits “originated

from dishes they originally accompanied, such as biscuits & sweet bread

gravy and roasted chicken with corn bread muffins.” Luckily, due in part to

each bread’s popularity, as well as the kitchen’s small staff, both options are

available year-round.

Bona Terra | Douglass Dick, executive chef and owner

908 Main Street, Sharpsburg | bonaterrapgh.com | 412.781.8210

Douglass Dick comes from a family of gardeners and hunters who made

everything from scratch. “That was instilled in me, and many of my earliest

memories are those of my mom making her own whole grain or wheat

bread. My friends, who were all eating Town Talk and Wonder Bread always

asked, ‘What is that?’ At the time, I recall feeling alienated. Now, I’m so

proud!” The floured imprint of those early years of baking bread with his

family has been memorialized in Dick’s delicious brioche. Delicate, small

round rolls. Soft and fluffy-light. Warm from the oven, served with a smooth

and savory herb and honey butter accented with a touch of cream cheese

for added softness. “We serve brioche because, being a small restaurant and

cooking on the line, I can prepare it the night before and it will hold up. The

next day we form it, let it rise and cook it off.” Brioche, according to Dick,

is also highly versatile. He’ll often add cinnamon or herbs to change flavors,

toast the brioche for his foie gras, cut it up for croutons or use it for a lus-

cious bread pudding dessert.

ELEVEN | Derek Stevens, executive chef

1150 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh | bigburitto.com/eleven | 412.201.5656

Baking bread for the hungry customers at ELEVEN is no small task. Add

Kaya, Casbah and big Burrito Catering to the mix and you begin to un-

derstand why ELEVEN requires an onsite bakery and a head baker (the tal-

ented Glenn Hoover) with several full-time employees to handle a growing

demand for sandwich breads, brioche, baguettes and more. “It’s a lot of

work and expense. And if you produce it yourself, it’s not very convenient

because it takes up space and is a long process,” explains Derek Stevens.

“But because ELEVEN is a big restaurant with a wide and varied menu, we

serve more of a complete, formal meal. And bread is conducive to that ex-

perience.” According to Stevens, focaccia is the all-time customer favorite

among the wide array of rolls, brioches, baguettes, and seeded sourdough

and other breads – not to mention the grilled cinnamon sugar stickies at

brunch time. There are exceptions, of course. The Parmesan black pepper

bread, usually a weekend offering, is now legendary. It’s got “big gooey

chunks of cheese on the inside that also melt and burn on the outside.”

Need I say more? Perhaps not, except that I’m heading back this winter

for the seasonal chocolate cherry bread.

Pittsburgh Seltzer Works | John Seekings,

co-owner and master seltzer maker

1671 Monongahela Avenue, Pittsburghfacebook.com/pittsburghseltzerworks | 412.431.1898

If you think this is just any seltzer water, think again. Pittsburgh Seltzer is

vintage Pittsburgh in a bottle. In a small Regent Square warehouse, a “re-

markably inefficient and time-consuming” process produces extraordinary

seltzer. Water is filtered just above freezing to 36 degrees and introduced to

one of the world’s last surviving Chicago Red Diamond Carbonators to inject

the perfectly bubbly bubbles. According to John Seekings, “that conver-

gence of water and machine creates the perfect chemical reaction and pro-

duces a highly desirable hard seltzer taste.” Post-brewing, the seltzer travels

to a hand-bottling machine circa 1898, which distributes the all-natural elixir

into exquisite glass siphon bottles – most pre-1940 from the Czech Republic,

but many hailing from the surrounding area and pre-dating the “H” in Pitts-

burgh. Only 30 bottles are brewed at a time and each is individually snifted

to ensure “supreme fizziness.” I prefer my seltzer naked with a splash of

lemon, but friends add cherry, vanilla, mango or raspberry syrup (also sold by

Pittsburgh Seltzer) for a refreshing Italian soda.

You can find Pittsburgh Seltzer at many of your favorite restaurants like

SPOON, Salt of the Earth, Meat & Potatoes, The Enrico Biscotti Co. and 1947

Tavern. For home delivery and pick-up information, call 412.431.1898 or

visit facebook.com/pittsburghseltzerworks or pittsburghseltzerworks.com.

bread & waterThe basic essentials of culinary enjoyment story by Cally Jamis Vennarephotography by Heather Mullstyling by Ana Kelly