Last night was one of those nights. You know the type: the kind of night when everything makes you smile from ear to ear. Pittsburgh was lookin’ mighty fine — the air was cool and crisp, there was a palpable energy pulsing through the city (the kind of energy you can only feel in a sports city with two teams playing at the same time), and Batman’s presence was projected across the sky, loud and clear. I woke up this morning and my stomach hurt. Not from what I ate or what I drank, but because I laughed for hours and hours on end. It was just one of those nights.
So, thanks to technology and small towns, I ended up at Sienna Mercado with Rob (sans purple sweatshirt), someone I knew from my long-gone days of high school. Sienna Mercado is a three-story eatery with a unique dining option on each floor. The first floor, Emporio, is a meatball joint; the second floor, Mezzo, offers Italian cuisine; and the third floor, Il Tetto, is an open-air (in the summer) rooftop bar.
We arrived an hour before our reservation and took the elevator up to Il Tetto for a drink. We talked and talked and talked until we walked to the second floor restaurant, Mezzo, where we talked and talked some more. And then our food came, and we were completely silent. My pork risotto (braised pork, peas, onion, pancetta, parmesan) was salty and cheesy and creamy and mind-numbingly delicious. Rob’s steak (done rare — the only way to eat a steak) came doused in an oniony, garlicky, to-die-for demi-glace with caramelized onion, charred radicchio and arugula. He compiled the perfect little bite, with just a bit of everything, and watched my eyes widen as the flavors danced across my tongue. I’ve eaten a lot of Italian food, but never anything like this.
Until next time, Mezzo. Until next time.
Tiny Tales 