A Masterful Pittsburgh Weekend
By Vice Chargé de Presse Ken McCrory
Classics. Those things of timeless quality that only get better with age.
Classics - Shakespeare's Hamlet, the 1954 Mercedes 300SL "Gullwing", the
Iliad and the Odyssey, Beethoven's Fifth, Casablanca, Frank Lloyd Wright's
Fallingwater, The Masters Tournament at Augusta - Classics.
A Classic weekend with the Masters was the theme of a Chaîne weekend in Pittsburgh November 6 and 7, 1998. The Masters were a collection of senior food and wine professionals, some retired, some still active. Five chefs, a maître d' and a sommelier formed the group. The Classics were the dishes these chefs and others helped make famous in the City of Pittsburgh.
The Chaîne dinner on Friday, November 6 was the culmination of an idea that had been percolating in Pittsburgh Bailli Pete Hanowich's brain for some years. Why not bring together Pittsburgh's impressive collection of senior European born and/or trained chefs for a magnificent dinner? The venue for such a dinner wasn't easy to find. A kitchen large enough to accommodate five chefs was needed, but a modern building just didn't seem appropriate. When Maître de Table Patty Charlot, General Manager of Pittsburgh's Concordia Club, agreed to host the event Pete knew everything was coming together.
The Concordia Club is located in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh - home to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and many beautiful homes and mansions. Founded in 1874 by a group of prominent Pittsburghers for "the purpose of promoting social and literary entertainment among its members", the Concordia Club is housed in a beautiful 1890s clubhouse with dark wood, plush carpeting, crystal chandeliers and a magnificent grand staircase. The décor is - what else - classic.
The complexity of multiple chefs in an unfamiliar kitchen working together for the first time can't be understated. Planning began a full nine months before the event was to take place. Bailli Hanowich wondered if he should bring a whip and chair to the first meeting of these culinary lions! The whip and chair weren't necessary, as the respect of each chef for the others was readily apparent. According to Pete, "The meetings were a little chaotic with everyone telling 'war stories' and discussing the fine points of what makes a great soup. I sometimes wondered if the old expression about 'too many chefs spoiling the soup' was true! However, I felt privileged to listen to and learn from these guys and I was sure things would come together. They did - masterfully."
When the day of the dinner arrived, both the chefs and the Club were ready, and interestingly, so were some others. Word of this dinner had gotten around in the culinary community and both Bailli Hanowich and the Concordia Club began to receive phone calls from other chefs. These younger chefs wanted to meet, observe, or work with the masters and they began coming to the Club all afternoon. Talk about too many chefs! The Concordia Club now had a whole kitchen full. At one point a busboy stepped inside the kitchen and yelled "Hey Chef", he was greeted by a room of swiveling heads.
As we arrived for dinner, and entered the Club, Master of Wines, Echanson Provincial Shelly Margolis' touch was quickly evidenced by the proffered glass of Mumm's Cordon Rouge, which was chilled in an artfully rendered ice sculpture of the Chaîne logo. One of five ice sculptures done for the dinner. Once inside the reception room, we were given a preview of what was to follow - familiar dishes done perfectly. In a word - classics. One table holding wonderful little blinis with caviar; another with escargots in pernod sauce; a table with several pâtés; another with a famous Pittsburgh dish - crabmeat hoelzel; a simple presentation of oysters; a wonderfully light puff pastry with sweetbreads. Trying to avoid filling ourselves on hors d'oeuvres wasn't easy, but we were all anticipating what awaited us.
The group buzzed excitedly as it ascended the grand staircase to the main dining room on the second floor. Vice Echanson L'Ordre Mondial Phillip Bucci, our Master Maître D' for the evening, flitted everywhere as the guests filtered into a room filled with elegant place settings and floral centerpieces. With Phillip's masterful touch, the Concordia Club staff, supervised by Club Maître D' Tom McMarr, had everything in perfect order. After a brief explanation of the dinner concept by Bailli Hanowich and the introduction of the visiting "Grand Fromage" himself, Burt Hobson, the microphone was turned over to Chef Rôtisseur Nick Colletti, Sr. who, as the most senior of the Masters, acted as culinary spokesman. Nick introduced the first course - an oxtail consommé in the Scottish style. Our Master of Wines, Shelly Margolis introduced the Sandeman Madiera that was a perfect accompaniment. The "Nick and Shelly Show" continued through the next course of Virginia Spot, perfectly matched with a spectacular 1995 Corton Charlemagne from Bonneau Du Martray. Virginia Spot is a very light white fish that was been served for many years in most of Pittsburgh's dining clubs. The dynamic duo then introduced a perfect foie gras in an Armagnac sauce. Shelly, in a somewhat unusual move, accompanied this dish with an Alsasian Tokay/Pinot Gris from Hugel. As Chef Colletti finished describing the pink grapefruit sorbet, he said in his very direct manner, "You enjoy yourself with this, it's good." We did and it was.
The meat course was a beautiful rack of lamb with herbs, polenta, fennel and mushrooms with chives. Each chop was done perfectly and the Gevrey Chambertin from Guyon proved a perfect enhancement to the dish. A simple three color salad with olive oil, fresh lemon juice and topped by assorted French cheeses was accompanied by the most spectacular wine of the evening - a 1979 Château Talbot. This wonderful wine had a beautiful nose and was perfectly ready to drink. Each of us savored it to the last drop. The grand finale was a Grand Marnier soufflé with crème anglaise. A 1994 Château Du Mont closed out the evening's wines.
The masters were introduced by Bailli Pete Hanowich to a long, and well deserved, standing ovation. As we lingered over coffee and mignardises, we reflected that classic means "of the highest rank, or serving as an outstanding representative of its kind". A beautiful club building with outstanding décor, perfect service, seven long-time Masters, perfectly prepared and presented food with delightful wine accompaniments - Classics.
You may ask why Burt Hobson was visiting. Does he just pop in anywhere there is exceptional food and wine? Well, maybe - but there was a reason for him to be in Pittsburgh. The Regional Chargé and Chargée de Presses, along with the Chambellan and Chargée de Presse for the United States Jeannette Boucher and Ede Weiner, were meeting in Pittsburgh to discuss ways to improve the Gastronome (my centerfold idea was rejected immediately). For these visiting "Gastronomers", the weekend had just begun. While most of the visitors returned to the beautiful William Penn Hotel for a night's sleep in order to be ready for the workshops in the morning, Chargée de Presse des Etats-Unis Ede Weiner and Northeast Chargée de Presse Andrea Moss accepted a ride home from one of their Pittsburgh hosts rather than wait for a cab. The good news was there was no wait, the bad news was the ride was in the jump seat of a sports car. Try doing that in a long gown after a big dinner! The bonus for Ede and Andrea was a tour of Pittsburgh's Mt. Washington for a nighttime overlook view of the City, followed by a nightcap at the Shiloh Inn, a great piano bar and one of Pittsburgh's most romantic restaurants. Unfortunately, Ede and Andrea were both sans escorts - not to mention being chaperoned by their host and hostess. Oh well! - At least the fireplaces were very welcome on a chilly autumn night and the music was delightful.
Morning began with a stroll to Pittsburgh's Strip District (no - not that kind of strip!). The Strip District is a strip of land several blocks wide and almost 30 blocks long that comprises "Pittsburgh's Supermarket" - a rail center where fresh food is delivered daily and where the workday starts at midnight and ends at 8AM. As you can imagine, there are many all night restaurants. One of the most famous, because they serve breakfast constantly, is Jo Jo's. The owners, Frank and Robin Mannetti, open at 11PM and close at Noon on all but four days per year. Jo Jo's isn't fancy, but it wouldn't be unusual for a truck driver to be seated next to a Fortune 500 corporation president at the formica covered counter. As the visiting Gastronomers left Jo Jo's to wander among the food stores and stalls of the Strip District, they took with them wonderful memories of the hot, or sweet, sausage and the fluffy, but hearty omelets that have made Jo Jo's a landmark.
After a classic dinner by seven masters, a filling breakfast at Jo Jo's and a day discussing food articles, what would a dedicated group of food writers be interested in? Dinner, of course! If you're in Pittsburgh and its dinnertime, there's no better place to be than Baum Boulevard in the Shadyside section of the City. Most cities have one restaurant where the combination of food, service and atmosphere is mixed into a perfect blend by a great restaurateur. In Pittsburgh, that restaurant is the multi award winning Baum Vivant, owned and operated by Maître de Table Restaurateur Tony Pais and his wife Becky. Tony, as with all great restaurateurs, is seemingly everywhere at once, taking an order, serving a dinner, chatting with a patron or helping out in the kitchen. All of this is done while exuding Portuguese charm and warmth that makes even first time visitors feel like they've known Tony forever. Speaking of Portugal, Tony and Becky had just returned from a visit to Tony's hometown where they go every year to get their culinary roots recharged. After seeing Tony's menu we were all equally recharged for a fabulous dinner. Tony and Executive Chef Carl Lashley presented Portuguese and other Mediterranean dishes accompanied by Portuguese wines. The hors d'oeuvres featured a crustini of eggplant, roasted tomato with fresh mozzarella, salmon cakes and lump crabmeat vinaigrette on a spoon. The wine was a light and refreshing Melgaco Avarinho. The soup course was a demitasse of chickpea accompanied by a 1996 Paco de Texieiro Quinto do Cotto. Tony's unusual fish course was cod and Mediterranean sardines with a potato timbale accompanied by a 1996 Herdade do Esporao.
A perfectly done veal and shrimp "alentejo" style was incredibly flavorable. After a salad of field greens, we thought dessert was next, but Tony had one more spectacular course up his sleeve. Tony and Carl presented us with a small quail stuffed with duck confit and accompanied by a beautiful 1990 Quinta do Carvalhinho Bairrada. Dessert was a crème caramel accompanied by Baum Vivant's Portuguese cookies and a sweet 1991 Setubal.
After a little persuading by Tony, the somewhat shy Executive Chef Carl Lashley joined him to accept special awards from Bailli Délégué des Etats-Unis Burt Hobson, in recognition, not only of this dinner, but also of their culinary talents and the many fine Chaîne events that have been held at Baum Vivant.
As the Pittsburghers and visitors very carefully descended (remember 6 Portuguese wines) the steep staircase from Baum Vivant's second floor dining room, we animatedly discussed the weekend. A classic dinner at a beautiful club by seven masters, a down-home breakfast with the "real folks" and colorful characters that populate Pittsburgh's Strip District, and a wonderful Portuguese-inspired Mediterranean dinner presented by a world class restaurateur left only one important consideration - "Where's breakfast tomorrow"?
