A special appetizer of roasted Portobello was impressive and lusciously flavorful: The mushrooms were filled with crabmeat and topped with a creamy tomato “gravy” and melted asiago, which lent a nice sharpness. While beans and greens, that Italian classic, is often soupy, it is seldom served as a soup; Ladles made us wonder why not. Marsico-Kaminski’s version was thick with firm yet creamy beans and plenty of escarole, but it was the broth that made this dish truly superlative. It was full of vegetal flavor with strong undertones of peppery spice that, again, drew a line between bland and bold. The sandwiches on offer were a similar blend of the familiar and inventive, with a very tempting Chesapeake Bay crab melt (served open face) and sea scallop sliders, served with Asian slaw and lemon aioli. A dining companion polished off the latter before we could try it, which we took as a firm recommendation.
On the RoCKs
AN INTERESTING FEATURE OF THE ITALIAN PART OF THE MENU WAS THE VARIETY OF RED SAUCES. We had the cheddar haystack beef. Here, house-braised brisket was topped with onion “tanglers” — strips of red onion in a light, crunchy coating — and cheddar. The sandwich’s flavors were good, but the brisket, despite braising, was a touch dry. The accompanying potato pancake was pale and lacking in crust, but onion and parsley pumped up its flavor. An interesting feature of the Italian part of the menu was the variety of red sauces: a traditional marinara, which we found a touch sweet; the aforementioned tomato-cream “gravy,” its richness brightened by tomatoes’ native astringency; mild tomato vodka sauce; and a spicier tomato sauce that comes with the stuffed banana-pepper pasta. We really appreciated that the kitchen recognizes that one size does not fit all, and that different pastas cry out for different sauces. Angelique tried the vodka sauce on homemade ravioli stuffed with meat and spinach. While the sauce didn’t have enough sweet-tart tomato flavor for her taste, the ravioli were excellent, tender and fully plumped with savory filling. Ladles’s high-quality home-cooking highlights one of the primary pleasures of dining out: sampling the skill and invention of an enthusiastic cook. INFO@ PGHC ITY PAP ER.CO M
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{BY HAL B. KLEIN}
SOUTH HILLS GET A LIFT Hitchhiker Brewing promises experimental approach to craft beer Good news, South Hills beer-lovers: There’s now a Pittsburgh brewpub on your side of the Mon. “The neighborhood has really embraced us,” says Hitchhiker Brewing Co. head brewer Andy Kwiatkowski. Still, a few Mount Lebanon customers haven’t quite caught on to the “brew” part of the brewpub concept yet: “Some people that come here don’t know we’re a brewery,” says Kwiatkowski, who’s fielded several requests for a Yuengling, among other things. “I have to tell them that we make all of our own beers here.” And fortunately for craft-beer lovers, Hitchhiker owner Gary Olden made a savvy move hiring Kwiatkowski.
“I GET TO SATISFY MY INNER BEER NERD.” After nearly five years of homebrewing and hitting the festival circuits, Kwiatkowski is a well-known face in the Pittsburgh brew community. He worked at East End Brewing for about eight months before returning to a desk job and honing his craft in his spare time. “I was brewing a lot more beer than I probably should have been,” he says. Kwiatkowski describes his approach as constantly curious, even tilting toward obsession: “It’s just about impossible for me to sit down and enjoy a beer. I’ll taste and evaluate them, but that’s it.” Expect the beers at Hitchhiker to reflect his restlessness. The brewhouse selections will rotate often, with previous recipes either tweaked a bit or thrown completely on their heads. “We’re going to be doing a lot of experimentation here,” Kwiatkowski says. For example, the beautiful saison, resonant with undertones of pear peel and apricot, is soon to be swapped out for one enhanced with orange peel and juniper, and likely two other iterations of the summertime style. Kwiatkowski promises something for drinkers requesting Yuengling, too. He’s brewing a Dusseldorf altbier which, while remaining a craft beer, will have many of the same notes as the Pennsylvania commercial label. “I get to satisfy my inner beer nerd,” Kwiatkowski says of such experiments, “but give something to the customers that they are asking for.” INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM
190 Castle Shannon Blvd., Mount Lebanon. 412-343-1950 or www.hitchhikerbrewing.com +
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