The Pittsburgh Chaine has a Holiday Dinner on the Square

By Vice Chargé de Presse Ken McCrory

"City sidewalks, busy sidewalks - dressed in holiday style..." Well, the sidewalks didn't quite fit the lyrics from "Silver Bells" since it was a Sunday evening and they weren't very busy. Since it was December 14, the sidewalks were dressed in holiday style, however, with faux gaslights and holiday decor all around the square -- Market Square that is (you thought I meant Manger Square in Bethlehem?).

Siena Restaurant overlooks this historic Pittsburgh square (site of the City's first produce market) and it was a Heavenly place to Jump start the holidays (note to the Editor: Heaven and Jump are capitalized in the prior sentence because Maiˆtre de Table Restaurateur Robin Fernandez not only owns Siena but also the nightclub Heaven and its restaurant Jump, so don't edit the capital letters or Robin will renege on the free drinks he offered me to promote his other places).

After hors d'oeuvres accompanied by Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs, Executive Chef Art Inzinga, assisted by Sous Chef Jim Bartsak presented the Chaine with an unusual approach to the dinner. Each course was a composition of several variations on the featured food. This technique, offered by such as Emeril Lagasse with his "Studies Of" at Emeril's in New Orleans, was beautifully and tastefully executed by Chef Inzinga.

The appetizer of an Artist's Palate (get it?) of Salmon included salmon tartar, house cured salmon and salmon caviar all presented on a rye-buckwheat blini cut in the shape of an artist's pallet. A 1995 Ponzi Pinot Gris accompanied this "artistic" dish.

A Consomme´ of Forest Fungi included black truffles, yellow chanterelle mushrooms and wild mushroom custard. The 1995 Gloria Ferrer Pinot Noir was a perfect match. Chef Art's Interpretations of Sole included lemon sole filet topped with mousseline wrapped in napa cabbage, poached in saffron broth with sole quenelles. The dish was so perfectly light it almost floated from the table. The 1990 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling was drinking perfectly at seven years and proved to be a flavorful compliment to the sole.

After an intermezzo of cranberry spice sorbet, the staff of Siena, superbly directed by Manager Greg Ackerman, brought us a Symphony of Moulard Duck. The duck was so beautifully presented that Colleen Diettinger told famous plastic surgeon Dr. Bernie Cohen not even he could make something that pretty. The symphony, conducted by Maestro Inzinga, included seared breast, leg and thigh confit roulade and foie gras with dried cranberry and green peppercorn demiglace. The powerful Domaine Tour du Bon from the increasingly popular Bandol region of France was a new, and popular taste experience for many members.

Even the salad carried out the theme of a variety of approaches. Renditions of Chevre included Vermont Chevre encased in phyllo, roasted, served atop field greens and garnished with blue goats cheese with a walnut vinaigrette. The dinner was brought to a conclusion with an Exploration of Pear - a trio of delights that included a seckel pear baked in puff pastry, bavarian of Asian pear and poached bartlet pear slices with raspberry coulis, creme anglaise and accompanied by a Fonseca Tawny Port.

Market Square has been the home to many taverns, bars, cafes and restaurants for over 200 years. But in that 200 years, no finer dinners have been provided than those hosted by Siena.