Location: 5701 Bryant St., Highland Park. 412-665-9000
Hours: Tue.-Thu. 4-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 4-11 p.m.; Sun. 4-9 p.m.
Prices: Starters $7-12; entrees $14-36
Fare: Traditional Italian, with grace notes
Atmosphere: Convivial white linen
Liquor: Full bar
Smoking: None permitted
When Chef Joseph Tambellini moved his new restaurant into the space long occupied by the well-regarded Lafôret, he also took on the formidable task of competing with Pittsburgh’s memories of great meals past. While we’d never actually enjoyed a meal at Lafôret, we have eaten at Franco’s Trattoria, Tambellini’s previous venture in the South Hills. There, we found a charming, welcoming atmosphere undermined by a by-the-book approach to Italian food. Would Tambellini, working for the first time under his own name, be able to break from hoary tradition?
First, let’s clarify one potentially confusing point: Despite a plethora of area restaurants under the Tambellini name, Tambellini is neither a chain nor an Italian dining empire. It is, instead, an extended family with several members who have gone into the restaurant business independently. Thus, each Tambellini’s location is its own brand, so to speak.
Joseph Tambellini’s new restaurant is located on Bryant Street, the pleasant, if underachieving, commercial heart of Highland Park. Unlike the previous occupant, Tambellini uses all three floors of the building, a former residence. The first floor includes a cozy bar and convivial dining, the second floor a dining room that’s a bit quieter and more staid. The third floor, a former apartment, is available for mid-meal breaks, informal gatherings and even watching the ball game.
The menu straddles the ultra-familiar — the five choices in the chicken and veal section are trattoria staples — and the more unusual, if not unique. There’s a strong emphasis on pasta, which is all fresh and handmade, and seafood. This is where things start to get interesting, with offerings such as crusted Chilean sea bass in an orange buerre blanc and berry marmalade. We appreciated that some of the dishes were distinguished by small innovations: shiitake mushrooms in the marsala, panko on the fried shrimp, aged provolone on the stuffed banana peppers.
Those peppers, sampled in an appetizer platter, were fiery and assertive, with creamy cheese and crumbly sausage for taste as well as texture balance. Gorgonzola polenta was creamy, too, and firm, with a subtle tang complemented by strips of mildly spicy sausage patty. Crab balls were fried for a resilient skin. All were very good, but the star appetizer was fried zucchini, which bore no resemblance whatsoever to the pub grub by that name. Thin planks of the vegetable were fried in an ethereally light cracker crust and perfectly matched with an irresistible marinara made of late tomatoes tempered by carrots and celery.
Angelique enjoys an innovative salad, and Tambellini’s salad of the day fit the bill: a bed of field greens topped with grated carrot for crispness, fried apricot for chewy sweetness, sunflower seeds for crunch, sprouts for earthiness, gorgonzola for richness and a lovely, seasonal orange-marmalade vinaigrette.
An entrée of stuffed salmon featured a sizable piece of rosy, tender fish topped with crispy breadcrumbs and filled with a luxurious mixture of fluffy crabmeat, spinach and sweet red pepper. In case this was not indulgent enough, a prosecco grape cream sauce topped it all off. Reeling from the richness of it all, Angelique could not come close to cleaning her plate. Though she appreciated the ampleness of the serving, a smaller portion of this heavy dish would have been more manageable, especially because it would not reheat well as a leftover.
Lamb osso bucco, a daily special, presented an enormous piece of lamb, including a fair amount of shank to compensate for the modesty of the joint itself, in a dark, savory sauce that was well suited to wintry weather. Also complementing the lamb nicely were carrots and, most unusually, sweet potatoes. Both were cooked to tenderness verging on mushiness; perhaps a bit much for the carrots, but welcome with the sweet potatoes, which always risk being too firm and starchy. The white truffle risotto had a bold truffle flavor which came through even the intense notes of the sauce.
At the end of our meal, we looked deep within ourselves and somehow found room for dessert. Our server was very eager for us to try butterscotch pound cake, so we did. Made by a baker who calls herself Mrs. Poundcake, it was sweet and dense, with the perfect ration of cake to sauce and vanilla ice cream, and the cake standing up well to both toppings.
Mrs. Poundcake was also the source of the cheesecake. A cheesecake aficionado, Jason likes his dense and creamy, but he fell for this light, fluffy and intensely flavored version.
The verdict? Joseph Tambellini is a chef to be reckoned with. Embracing both tradition and innovation in fine Italian dining, not to mention plenteous portions, his restaurant will be creating its own memories of meals on Bryant Street.
JR:
AB:
This article appears in Jan 3-9, 2008.
Mrs. Pundcakes lemon poundcakes are the Bomb! When my daughter came in from New York City for the holidays she made sure that I ordered the sweet potato and the lemon.
If you two enjoyed the well balanced butterscotch, apple-cinnamon lovers should try her apple-cinnamon poundcake, not too sweet, it’s just right, especially with that morning cup of coffee! My favorite, since I first had a taste of it at a birthday party in Memphis, is her Peach Passion! Ms Poundcake has a fan out here in Southern California! 😎
I first was introduce to Ms. Poundcake about 10yrs. ago, she is now and has been from the begininng my only choice in cheesecakes, poundcakes and sweet potatoe pies. great stuff, nothing like it. I love them all so I order according to my mood.
MS. Poundcake (not Mrs) makes the BEST, most delicious cheesecakes and poundcakes I have ever eaten in my life! And I’m not really young! Everything I’ve ever purchased from her was just superb, fit for the rich! If you’re a fan of cheesecake, you have got to try hers. You’ll be hooked. Everything is reasonably priced also, for such good quality, and the cakes are huge!! These are truly “better than sex” desserts!
Ms Poundcake uses god-given skills to produce cakes that literally melt in your mouth. The woman has skills, folks! beemer777@comcast.net
Ms. Poundcake makes the best cakes I have ever tasted….I will come back to Tambellini’s just because of the cake.
West Virginia Guy
Everything on the menu is awesome!!!! The tomato basil cream pasta sauce is the best ever as a side with a filet.The service is amazing !! With out a doubt the best restaurant in the city !!
Absolutely fantastic dinner and service on March 25th. Mr. Tambellini and his staff were very gracious and attentive. They treat you like family. The Chef stopped by the table to check on our satisfaction. We had the Chicken Parmesean and Butterscotch pound cake with ice cream for dessert. The portion size was more than adequate. This was my first time at Tambellini’s, but it will not be the last. If you want a great meal with great service….Tambellini’s is a must.
I recently moved to Highland Park. I was excited with the prospect of enjoying a great Italian meal in a local establishment.
I called ahead to ask if I needed a reservation for 1 and if there was a dress code. I was told no in both cases. So I headed off to what I expected to be a very satisfying Italian meal.
I was extremely disappointed.
It started off nicely enough. I was greeted at the door and promptly shown to a table. So far, so good. This is where things begin to go wrong. I was not handed a menu or a wine list. I would have bought a bottle. I enjoy a good bottle of wine with dinner if it is going to take a while, as I expected this meal would. After a few minutes a waitperson came over and explained the 3 course meal idea to me. I already knew what she meant, but she was on a role and who was I to interrupt. I was never asked if I wanted to see the menu or the wine list. I ordered a mediocre cab and told her I would have the soup and the grouper special. This comes with a special pasta dish as an appetizer.
The bread arrived. It was cold and tasted like something I would buy at Giant in a bag that had Wonder written somewhere on it. In all fairness, the vinegar that came with the bread was pretty good. I was hungry and finished the bread quickly. I was never asked if I wanted more. The empty bread dish sat there for the rest of the meal, lonely and forgotten.
The soup arrived next. It was pretty good. Hope began to grow as I finished the soup and my first glass of wine. When the host came by to remove my soup bowl, I was not asked if I needed anything. I had to stop him to ask for a glass of the house Chianti to go with the pasta. This turned out to be in the same class as the cab. Hope begins to fade. The “cup” of pasta arrived next. The pasta was in fact pretty good. Probably home made. The sauce was not. At best is cleansed my pallet, so I would better taste the grouper that was next. I have yet to be asked it everything was ok. I finished the pasta with out bread. Then the Chianti arrived with an extraordinary amount of sediment on the bottom of the glass. It was as though they were saving it for me.
A few minutes later the grouper arrives. Again I was not asked if I needed anything, was everything ok, would I like another glass of wine, anything at all. The grouper was ok, not great. Some of the fish was hot, other parts were cold. But, all in all, not bad. I would have made a nice appetizer. But it was no where near enough for the main course.
Finally, I was asked if I needed anything thing and to my surprise I was handed a desert menu. I order a glass of Hennessey and listened to the people around me complain about how horrible it was that Obama got elected and that the world was coming to an end.
About 40 minutes after I arrived I left. $80.00 poorer and I was trying to decided where I wanted to go for dinner. A unique thing happen to me at Tamberllini’s. I had eaten everything put in front of me, and I left an Italian restaurant hungry. This was a first. I might also say my last.
In summary, Tamnerllini’s committed 3 cardinal sins for an Italian restaurant.
1. Never asked if I wanted more bread.
2. Never asked until the meal was over if I wanted more wine.
3. Served a meal that would not have filled a kindergartner.