Historic Pittsburgh Location for a Modern Menu

By Vice Chargé de Presse Ken McCrory

The Pittsburgh Baillage gathered in Siena on March 24, 1996 for its early Spring dinner. No -- not Siena, Italy, Siena on Market Square in Pittsburgh.

Originally designed in 1784 as a public gathering place, Market Square has always been associated with food. The location became the City's first product market (hence its name) and naturally taverns and restaurants were quickly established around the Square. After recent rehabilitation, the Square is again a public gathering place, but the pubs and restaurants remain.

Siena is located on the second floor of one of the quaint buildings overlooking the Square. The glass covered dining room permits a view of the Square and the heavens. Speaking of heaven, proprietor Robin Fernandez, who joined us for the evening, is also a partner in a nightclub named Heaven, which he manages along with two other successful clubs - Metropol and Rosebud.

Siena is Robin's first ownership venture into fine dining. He and Corporate Executive Chef/Partner Michael Schumacher were very pleased to obtain the services of restaurant Executive Chef Art Inzinga for their new venture. The chef's, with Robin's encouragement, decided to challenge themselves by doing a Chaine dinner after being open only four months. The Pittsburgh Chaine is very happy they did.

Following a reception of delightful hors d'oeuvres and Gloria Ferrer sparkling wine, we were served a wild mushroom tart accompanied by an Oregon Pinot Gris from King Estate. A big Napa Valley Chardonnay from the Hess Collection was a perfect complement to the seafood charcuterie plate of scallop mouselline, shrimp sausage and salmon gravlax. Dame de la Chaine (and locally famous artist) Janice Colker commented that the dishes were so beautifully presented that they should be in Mr. Hess' collection. Her husband, Jim, was more interested in having the food in his belly than in a collection! A very unusual and delightful salad of braised ostrich meat wrapped in phyllo, served atop field greens with a warm potato vinaigrette was perfectly married with a fruity Reserve Zinfandel from Storybook Mountain in Napa. After cleansing our pallets with lime cilantro sorbet, the chefs presented us with a roast loin of veal sliced over smashed red bliss potatoes and chestnuts and served on a pool of garlic demiglace. Chalone's powerful Pinot Noir accompanied this very flavorful entree. Dessert was a celebration of Spring with a cornucopia of Spring fruit accompanied by a wine that was new to almost everyone in the room, Yalumba's Muscat from the Barossa Valley in South Australia.

This dinner was also important for a non-food reason. It was the Pittsburgh Chaine's Annual Election. Vice Conseiller Argentier Herb Sperling had zealously collected ballots earlier in the evening. Herb had no intention of letting the great Pittsburgh political tradition of "vote early - and often" take place. Incumbent Bailli Pete Hanowich trumped Herbert Hoover's famous promise of "a chicken in every pot" by promising "coq-au-vin on every Limoges plate". Pete's election was never seriously in doubt since he had brought a rare Methuselah of Veuve Clicquot which he promised to open if elected. Maitre de Table Rick McMasters opined that the Pittsburgh Chaine obviously doesn't sell its votes cheaply! Seriously, the Pittsburgh Baillage was happy to toast Pete's re-election, as well as his promotion to Regional Chambellan and to thank him and wife Barbara for the many hours they devote to the Chaine.