Pittsburgh has a Summer Soiree
By Dame de la Chaîne Pam McCrory
On August 19th, 2001, the Pittsburgh Baillage gathered at the Westin Hotel-Convention
Center. The Westin, formerly known as the Doubletree, has been the sight
of several Chaîne galas, including a spectacular reproduction of
"Babette's Feast". The Westin chain took over management recently
in anticipation of the opening of Pittsburgh's architecturally souring
new convention center next door. The Convention Center, along with the
Steeler's Heinz Field, the Pirate's PNC Park and a host of smaller projects
have turned the nearby area into a national destination.
Being somewhat jaded gourmets (and a few gourmands), there was much speculation as to what the Westin would serve that was new and exciting. We had, of course, underestimated General Manager Joseph Kane, who has raised the difficult task of finding and retaining talented chefs and staff, to an art form. Chef Bill Soriano and sous chef Ron Kizior are GM Joe's latest discovery, and based on what we experienced, they have a lot of "star power" indeed!
After a delightful reception with light hors d'oeuvres and Louis Roederer Brut NV champagne, we settled into beautifully decorated tables among friends. The first course was a cold lobster and Sauternes cream with osetra caviar. It would be a crime to refer to this course as a soup. The combination of firm, flavorful lobster and the rich but light cream was a gift for the senses, and, to top it off with osetra caviar was genius. We were off to a great start.
The Nicoise Style Bass with golden tomatoes and olive tapenade was a very interesting dish. The firm flesh of the bass stood up well to the strong tapenade and it was well matched with a Château Carbonnieux 1998 Graves from Bordeaux.
When the spice-seared antelope with apple turnip conserve, marinated leeks and carmel jus arrived, Dame de la Chaîne Janice Colker announced, " You know I had antelope today after playing tennis and it was so good, I think I'll just give this a small taste." But after a small taste, she gave in to temptation and finished it all! The caramel jus was extraordinary. It was the texture of caramel but the flavor of a balsamic reduction. It was delicious with the antelope which was tender without a hint of gaminess. Chevalier Henry Rea declared it "the best game since spin the bottle", (wrong kind of game Henry).
The fruits of the forest sorbet with carnation petals cleansed our palates and primed us for perfectly done mushroom lamb chops with carmelized shallot balsamic reduction, sweet onion risotto cake and baby vegetable medley. The Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon, 1998, went well with the lamb and continued to be a very good accompaniment to the baby greens and endive salad with roasted walnuts, apples, sun dried cranberries and a goat cheese fondue.
What more could any Chaîne member want after the previous taste sensations? You guessed it - chocolate! The study in chocolate that followed was a beautiful assortment of chocolate, a flourless torte and hazelnut cream filled cookies in a pool of raspberry coulis. We complemented the chocolate with Cockburns 10-year-old Tawny Port and of course some Starbucks coffee. There was unanimous agreement that Mr. Kane and Chefs Soriano and Kizior could invite us back to the Westin Hotel-Convention Center any time.
