Pittsburgh and a wedding.

John hadn't realized that we had written nothing on this blog for several months.  In truth, we haven't traveled that much since last Summer but now we are undertaking a Summer and Fall of movement.  Our first trip, for a long weekend, is to Pittsburgh for the wedding of a cousin.  We expect this event at the Frick Museum to be a wonderful one.

Last night, June 1, we had dinner with dear old friends here in the 'Burgh at Avenue B.  It's in Shadyside on Centre Avenue in an older building abutting the street.   Fortunately, even though it is a large space, it doesn't have bad acoustics and we actually could hear ourselves talk.  

Avenue B is a BYOB restaurant, which is rather good for wine-drinkers like the four of us.  We arrived with a bottle of Aglianico del Vulture from the slopes of Mt Vesuvious, and our hosts provide another red, a 2011 Rioja Riserva from Spain.   Both excellent vintages, though the Aglicanico was more tannic.

The food at Avenue B is excellent.   Chef Chris Bofili has an eclectic style--with eclectic here taking its classical definition of the "best" of everything.   He has a good way with shellfish and his appetizers are quite experimental.   The restaurant has been around for several years but still makes it on to Pittsburgh Magazine's top restaurant list.

The four of us enjoyed two large appetizers:  A rainbow sashimi, which included tuna and a variety of chopped vegetables served on a platter for all to dig in, and a gorgonzola honey spread with balsamic onions and vegetables served with whole grain bread.   An excellent accompaniment to the Rioja.

Our mains were a shrimp and scallop risotto, which looked magnificent in its large bowl and satisifed our hostess, and for three of us, soft shell crab with a cold pea salad and a scallop.  The Aglianco fit these nicely too.

We did not do dessert.   The French press coffee was bland, the only negative in an excellent meal.  The server was superb and left us to our long conversation when we were deeply involved in it.