Hotel Indigo fires up Eliza bistro
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Named for the Eliza furnace of Jones & Laughlin Steel that stood on the north bank of the Monongahela River, Eliza: A Hot Metal Bistro will open June 19 in the new Hotel Indigo Technology Center (331 Technology Drive). The 100-seat restaurant near the Hot Metal Bridge will have lounge seating and a fire pit on the 40-seat patio as well as a rooftop deck that can accommodate 125.
Legume alumnus Thomas Lonardo will be the executive chef of the restaurant offering breakfast ($2.50 light bites to $18 for entrees), lunch ($4 snacks to $16 entrees) and dinner ($4 snacks to $29 entrees). He’s spearheading a menu of American bistro-style fare that’s big on housemade pickles and Western Pennsylvania-inspired dishes such as beet fattoush salad, paneer masala, bistro steak from Jubilee Hilltop Ranch as well as the bistro burger. Also look for snacks like sweet and salty popcorn and smoked whitefish salad.
The Johnstown-based Jean Reitz Designs has brought together weathered wood, brick and details such as corrugated tin ceilings with local riffs such as the blast furnace door at the entrance.
It’s the second Hotel Indigo property in Pittsburgh, with the first one home to Wallace’s Whiskey Room + Kitchen on North Highland Avenue in East Liberty.
Spice Affair temporarily closed
A fire broke out in the basement of Spice Affair, the Indian restaurant in Aspinwall, on Saturday. “We didn’t see any flames, just plumes of black smoke,” said an owner, Barinder Singh. He said it was so hot in the basement the plumbing melted. It will likely be a few months before the restaurant will reopen.
The chef at Spice Affair, Tamilselvan Thangadurai, is originally from Southern India. His cooking repertoire is wide in part because of his range of experience and training. He learned how to cook Southern Indian fare well from his family and left home for a several-year pastry gig on cruise ships that traveled around the world.
Spice Affair specializes in Northern Indian classics such as butter chicken (chicken makhani) and variations on vindaloo. And while those dishes can be really satisfying, moilly on the menu points to a staff that’s excited about variations on Indian cuisine.
New steakhouse at Nemacolin
With a Tudor-style hunting lodge motif, Rockwell’s has debuted at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington. The super-retro steakhouse offers a jumbo shrimp ($92 a dozen) and bone marrow ($18) starters as well as entrees that feature elk ($44), pheasant ($36) and a 48-ounce bone-in rib-eye ($125). Executive chef Patrick Duffy has moved over from Aqueous to run the kitchen.
The resort has seen a few changes in the past couple of months, with a new COO, Jeff Kmiec, and a new executive chef of the property, Stephen Strickland. Most recently Mr. Strickland served as the executive chef at the legendary Arizona Biltmore. Erling Berner, who was cooking at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans and Gramercy Tavern in New York, is the new chef at Aqueous. Awardwinning chef Kristin Butterworth is still running the kitchen at the showcase restaurant Lautrec.