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THERE WAS NOTHING WIMPY ABOUT THE BANANA PEPPERS IN THE SAUSAGE ARRABIATTA
NOT JUST ANY OIL {BY CHRIS POTTER} This is, apparently, a great time to be in the oil business. The olive oil business in particular. Olive & Marlowe, which offers gourmet balsamic vinegars and olive oils at the Strip District’s Pittsburgh Public Market, is poised to join East Liberty’s increasingly upscale retail mix. The new location, at 5931 Broad St., will open “in September at the latest,” says owner Heather Cramer. (The business bears the names of the Cramers’ daughters — and before you ask, “Olive” is a family name.) “We realized that if we didn’t open up a [bricks-and-mortar] shop, someone else would,” says Cramer. Both locations will offer oils and vinegars infused with flavors ranging from Persian Lime to Coconut Mango. All are shipped by a pair of California suppliers: Cramer brings to the table her own field research, and a chance to sample. For those of us who just buy the olive oil with prettiest peasant girl on the label, a tasting can be revelatory. Even if you do feel silly sipping oil from tiny plastic cups. Olives alone come in 1,000 varietals: “They’re like apples,” Cramer says. And the flavor possibilities increase once Cramer starts blending them — mixing rosemary-infused olive oil with strawberry balsamic vinegar, for example, to make a bright summertime blend. The goal, says Cramer, is to “give people a chance to taste [oil and vinegar] the way they do wine … so they know what flavors to look for.” Soon, they’ll have a second place to find them. CPOTTER@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
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Where are the spumonis of yesteryear? Along with White House cherry, marble fudge and mint chocolate chip, this once-popular ice-cream treat is harder to find these days. Make an extra effort to track down the fruity, nutty multi-colored ice cream by Aug. 21, National Spumoni Day.
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OLD-SCHOOL FAVES {PHOTOS BY HEATHER MULL}
{BY ANGELIQUE BAMBERG + JASON ROTH}
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HERE IS A CLASS of local restaurants that can perhaps best be described as “Old-School Italian in an Old Working-Class Town.” Often dating from the days when foreign cuisine meant either Italian-American or ChineseAmerican, these establishments may or may not have updated their menus to reflect current trends toward seasonal, locally sourced ingredients and regionally inspired recipes. From outward appearances, it can be hard to distinguish the worthy from the withered on the vine. Of course, one sign that an older restaurant is keeping up with the times is the existence of a website, which also affords clues as to menu, decor and ambience. The website maintained by Johnny’s, an old-school Italian restaurant in Wilmerding, is enthusiastic to the point of hyperbole. In text peppered with exclamation points, it disputes the presumptive claim that “There is NO way that there can be an INCREDIBLE restaurant in WILMERDING” with the assertion that Johnny’s offers “Cuisine that you
PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER 08.14/08.21.2013
Salmon with white balsamic-apricot glaze
will NEVER forget … EXCEPTIONAL service and a FANTASTIC atmosphere … all at EXTREMELY REASONABLE PRICES!” We set out to put this to the test. Johnny’s opened 20 years ago, and little seems to have changed over the years, leaving the decor in a mirrored, ivy-festooned state somewhere between
JOHNNY’S 112 Westinghouse Ave., Wilmerding. 412-824-6642 HOURS: Tue.-Fri. 4 p.m.-midnight; Sat. 5 p.m.-1 a.m. PRICES: Soups, salads and appetizers $4-10; entrees $11-35 LIQUOR: Full bar
CP APPROVED dated and classic. The well-lit dining room wraps around a horseshoe-shaped bar at its center, and we were among several patrons following the Pirates game on the bar’s lone TV. Clapping broke out when the Bucs won, even as another table was singing “Happy Birthday.” It all gave credence
to Johnny’s claim that it is often compared to the famous TV bar, Cheers. Johnny’s menu of Italian restaurant standards in the pasta, veal, chicken, meat and seafood categories was tried and true. So we ordered what we felt like, trusting it would give us a good feel for the kitchen’s approach to these familiar favorites. Overall, we found the preparations to be fairly up-to-date: exceptionally bright and slightly chunky marinara, fluffily battered calamari and legitimately spicy arrabiatta. The calamari came out first, along with an appetizer of beans and greens. The squid rings were beyond tender, almost like a fine piece of sashimi. The accompanying marinara was mild, sweet and flavorful enough to invite double dipping. The beans and greens were elemental, served without the sausage that sometimes finds its way into this dish, and in a ladleful of their own light broth. Though lacking any kick or even much savor, the escarole retained its heartiness, tamed by wilting without being rendered bland.