Humble vinegar pie is delicious
All-American apple, blueberry and cherry pies always make the Top 10 favorite pie list. Vinegar pie does not. Maybe you never heard of a pie made with vinegar, but I bet your great-grandma did.
Vinegar pie is a classic in old Southern and Amish traditions with roots in rural areas. Because of geographic seclusion and the hardtimes of the Depression, farm cooks made do with what was on hand. It was through thrift and inventiveness that their supper tables were well-laden.
They used what was available. Take the vinegar pie, for instance. Lard, rendered from the fat of the pigs out in the pen, would shorten the crust. There were eggs from the yard birds and butter thanks to cream-top milk from the cows. Vinegar, bottled from the squeezings of last
Puglia, Tuscany and Siciliy, he explains, “you have to have an audience.”
The Saturday market at St. James in Sewickley has always been one of the bakery’s most successful farmers markets to sell its breads. So he decided to check out available spaces on the town’s main drag. As fortune would have it, the clothing store Lex & Lynne had recently located from its space at 430 Beaver St., between Vivo Kitchen and B Gourmet. Owner Tom McCargo of Graham Realty Co. not only shared Mr. Ambeliotis’ vision for an upscale cafe/market but also introduced him to architect Heather Wildman of Wilman Chalmers Design in Troy Hill. Several conversations followed, and soon Ms. Wildman was putting pencil to paper, and Mr. Ambeliotis was reaching out to his old contacts.
After months of construction, Mediterra Cafe opened last Tuesday. Along with baked goods such as croissants, Danish pastry, muffins and scones, it features a handsome coffee bar serving Parlor coffee and a variety of iced and hot teas. Customers also can order breakfast or lunch all day, and from 4 p.m. until closing, various seafood “conserva” dishes are on the menu.
In filling the rustic adjustable wood shelves designed by Pittsburgh artist Dan Peluso, Mr. Ambeliotis had a pretty simple plan. “We wanted things that go with bread, to showcase who we are,” he says. Plus, whatever else strikes his fancy.
There’s imported olive oil, flavored and extra-virgin, along with high-quality vinegar, herb mixes and global spice blends, hand-harvested salt, and small-batch jams and honey. Artisan pasta from the likes of Pastificio Gentile, Fricelli and Rustichella d’Abruzzo, plus a variety of fancy sauces, spreads and pastes with which to dress it occupy the shelves. Bean-to-bar chocolates come from Mexico, Nicaragua and Hawaii.
Mr. Amebeliotis is proudest of his artisan cheese selection, many of which are hard-to-find varieties from Spain, Italy and France, such as Bonde d’ Antan, a tangy goat cheese from the Liore Valley, and BrillatSavarin, a triple cream dessert cheese.
Not all the products are imported. Rivendale Farm’s maple syrup comes from a sugar shack just down the road, and you also can buy red fife wheat and bread flour the bakehouse grows in Arizona. Shrubs are made in-house.
White subway tile walls and a black-and-white penny tile mosaic floor laid in a diamond design give the cafe — recently blessed by the family’s parish priest — a clean, timeless, European feel.The bread shelves are spaced far apart to give the crusty loaves breathing room and also show them off. The decorative rails and brackets, Mr. Ambeliotissays, “are like jewelry.”
Scratch dishes by Jacqueline Schoedel, who used to own Josephine’s Toast at Smallman Galley, and consulting chef Aniceto Sousa, who worked for 10 years at Flour Bakery + Cafe in Boston, are simple but lovely. “Think familiar but more refined,” Ms.Schoedel says. Brioche egg sandwiches, baked French toast and various tartines are served for breakfast, and a sprouted grain salad, grilled parma cotta on sourdough, house-cured pastrami on marble rye or grilled eggplant with goat cheese on sprouted spelt bread are available for lunch. Prices range from $7 to $13.
The menu also includes cheese, charcuterie and mezze boards for $15 and afternoon “conserva” featuring canned seafood (sardines, octopus, mussels and bonito) served with olives and bread ($8 to $15).
Mr. Ambeliotis’ oldest son, Anthony, has created a Roman-style pizza ($6-$7) using a 96-hour dough and housemade sauce.
Customers can enjoy their food at a communal table or take a seat at a bar in front of the window. Be sure to look up: Mr. Peluso has fashioned the bread display rack overhead from an Amish harness.
“I feel like I’m in a time warp, because this is what I used to do,” Mr. Ambeliotis says as he looks around the cafe with a giant smile on his face.
His son nods in agreement. “We’ve been working toward this our entire lives,” he says.