Pittsburgh diners have a lot to look forward to in 2016, thanks to a new crop of talented chefs and restaurateurs opening new spots all over town. From a Japanese-infused pub to a downtown smokehouse, they’ve all generated buzz… but when will we actually get a taste? Good Food Pittsburgh tracked down updates on some of our soon-to-be favorites.
Umami
One of the most anticipated openings of 2016 is Umami, the Japanese-style pub from former Tamari chef Roger Li. Li and his team are taking over the space above Round Corner Cantina in Lawrenceville (3720 Butler Street), and tell us that they’re aiming for an early-February launch date.
The restaurant will have a sushi bar, and a menu that features ramen, dumplings, and a variety of Japanese street food.
Umami will also feature a robata grill, which Li is currently waiting on to arrive from Japan. In the meantime, he tells us he’s busy putting the finishing touches on the kitchen, and hosting sell-out pop-up dinner events all over town.
Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream
There’s ice cream… and then there’s Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream. Husband-and-wife team Chad and Lauren Townsend made a splash in 2014 when they started selling their homemade ice cream at various locations around town, wowing sweet seekers with their rich flavors.
And now, Millie’s is opening a scoop shop in Shadyside (232 S. Highland Avenue). They haven’t set an official opening date yet, but say they’re aiming for an end-of-February or early-March opening.
It sounds like Millie’s will be worth the wait – in addition to serving up dishes of their Pittsburgh-famous flavors, they’ll also be featuring a few other sweet treats, like a super-sized ice cream dessert, made up of a brioche bun that will hold up to two scoops of ice cream, then will be pressed like a Panini, and topped with a choice of sauce. Millie’s has also partnered with Vanilla Pastry Studio (1130 S. Braddock Avenue), to use a variety of their bakery-made cookies for ice cream sandwiches.
UPDATE: Millie’s will be opening on March 15.
APTEKA
After developing a cult-like following for their monthly Pierogi Night pop-ups (and a very successful Kickstarter campaign), Tomasz Skowronski and Kate Lasky are set to open the doors to APTEKA, their Central European-inspired spot at 4606 Penn Avenue, smack dab between Bloomfield and Lawrenceville.
“We’ve been building out the space since late June, and are almost there,” Skowronski tells us. “We have electric approval, plumbing approval… it’s all happening.”
APTEKA is scheduled to open in about a month, putting the official opening date right around the first week of February. If construction continues going well, Skowronski says, that timeline may even be shorter.
The restaurant will be open for dinner and late night only, with a focused menu of small plates and large plates. Skowronski says that everything coming out of the kitchen will be made from scratch, and the vegetable-driven menu will be a nod to Skowronski and Lasky’s travels around Central and Eastern Europe, with influences from Latvia, Lithuania and Bosnia, along with a healthy dose of tastes from Skowronski’s childhood visits to family in Warsaw. Think plenty of fermentation, house-made pickles, preserves, fresh-baked breads… and yes, even pierogies.
APTEKA will also feature a full bar, with a highly-curated bar program that focuses on infused cordials and liqueurs, and house-made accoutrements, like brandied sour cherries.
UPDATE: APTEKA is now open.
Pittsburgh Juice Company
When the 31st Street Pub announced it was closing last year, Pittsburghers mourned the death of the live music mecca, and wondered what would be taking the beloved dive bar’s place. It wasn’t too long before news was out that the Pittsburgh Juice Company had bought the corner building, and would be making major expansion plans to their Lawrenceville juice shop.
Owner Naomi Homison says she had her brother, co-owner Zeb Homison, are excited to turn the Strip District space from “rock ‘n roll doom to health food heaven,” and will soon launch The Superfood Store, a health food store that will put the focus on – you guessed it – healthy, superfood-rich products, with a concentration on hard-to-find items and an emphasis on promoting local brands.
The company’s juice production will also be moving to the new location, though PJC will keep the Lawrenceville spot as a juice bar and café, serving menu items like fresh-made soup and steel-cut oat bowls. Future plans for the Strip District location are still tentative, but could also include a homeopathic spa on the second floor of the building.
The Superfood Store by Pittsburgh Juice Company is slated to open in summer 2016.
Pork & Beans
Two Pittsburgh culinary powerhouses are coming together for one stellar restaurant opening.
Root 174’s Keith Fuller and Richard DeShantz of Meat & Potatoes are joining forces to open Pork & Beans, a pork-centric smokehouse and beer garden in the Cultural District (136 6th Street). The 134-seat Pork & Beans will offer a menu that will include pay-by-the-pound meats, featuring a rotating list of carnivorous options, half-smoked sausages, plus plenty of salads, sandwiches, entrees and schnitzels.
The bar program will offer a hand-crafted cocktail list, as well as a deep selection of local beers and other hard-to-find brews, and a draft list covering 30 to 40 taps.
Fuller says that he and DeShantz wanted to create a space with a relaxed, fun atmosphere, with communal seating, and a wide range of price points on the menu. Currently the pair – longtime friends and collaborators – are working on the final menu preparations, and putting the finishing touches on the kitchen, which will include an indoor smoker.
Pork & Beans is scheduled for a spring 2016 opening.
B52
B52, the newest restaurant from Allegro Hearth Bakery’s Omar Abuhejleh, is opening this week in Lawrenceville, at the corner of Butler and 52nd Streets (hence the name, B52).
The all-vegan breakfast-and-lunch spot (plans to open for dinner service are still a few weeks away), will feature a fairly extensive menu of made-from-scratch items, from sourdough pancakes to falafel sandwiches. Small plates (think tabouli and spinach pie), salads, and thick-cut toast round out the menu, and a variety of Mezze options (like house-made hummus, baba ganoush and labneh) are available all day.
The BYO restaurant will also be serving Commonplace Coffee brews and house-made sodas.
Emily Catalano is the founder of Good Food Pittsburgh, and the owner of Highly Social Media. Email her at [email protected].
Umami looks delicious! Living right downtown, I’m also very excited for Pork & Beans. http://getwebcanvas.com/