Barcelona Wine Bar opens; Millie’s Ice Cream expands
Pittsburgh’s 2024 restaurant news kicks off with a splashy new Downtown spot and a long-awaited hamburger-and-brewery expansion on the South Side, while we say goodbye to a 9-year Bloomfield fixture and a short-lived East Liberty eatery. Plus, Pittsburgh ice cream is about to make its way to Florida.
OPENINGS
Barcelona Wine Bar
The January opening of Barcelona Wine Bar is a good signal the pace of nightlife Downtown is picking up a bit. The Pittsburgh spot, located in the former Sharp Edge Bistro space on Penn Avenue, is the 22nd location of the high-end chain specializing in tapas-style dining and Spanish and South American wines.
“The history of Barcelona Wine Bar is the history of individual special restaurants, and it started nearly 30 years ago. We’ve wanted to be in Pittsburgh for a really long time, we’re thrilled it’s finally here,” Pittsburgh general manager Autumn Williams writes in an email.
Andy Pforzheimer and Sasa Mahr-Batuz opened the first Barcelona Wine Bar in 1996 as a 38-seat wine bar in Norwalk, Connecticut. Mahr-Batuz had spent years living in Spain and Portugal, and Pforzheimer worked for two decades as a chef at restaurants in France, California and New York.
Williams, a Pittsburgh native, says that opening a location in the city has been the company’s vision for several years.
“Adam Halberg, our CEO, visited Pittsburgh years before joining Barcelona and fell in love with the history and collective excitement that he experienced,” she writes.
David Lee, formerly of The Porch, is Barcelona Wine Bar Pittsburgh’s executive chef. Lee brings a strong pedigree to the role, having worked previously in the kitchens of Vong by Jean-Georges, The Modern, Nobu and Tribeca Grill.
His menu overlaps with those at other Barcelona Wine Bar locations, but (as is the case with all its locations) he has a fair degree of flexibility in building the specifics and the specials he wants to offer. Williams says that the restaurant plans to work with Pittsburgh-area purveyors to supply ingredients and that the offerings will change with the seasons.
If you’re new to tapas-style dining, the general idea is to pick from
a deep selection of small plates, cheese and charcuterie offerings. The restaurant’s tuna crudo with salsa verde and capers, potato tortilla and chicken thigh a la plancha with aji verde were highlight dishes from a very delightful visit during the first week of operation. Large-plate offerings like whole branzino and several spins on paella round out the menu.
Barcelona Wine Bar’s beverage list is — as you might expect from the name — quite deep. A nice thing is that you can order 3- or 6-ounce pours, or the entire bottle if you want it. The bespoke cocktails and gintonic selections are a draw, too.
Williams says that even though the Pittsburgh location is one of a series of Barcelona Wine Bars, the experience is localized to the city.
“Our restaurants share an ethos not a formula. We work to create restaurants that resonate with each city, each building and the vibrant neighborhoods we inhabit,” Williams writes.
922 Penn Ave., Downtown; barcelonawinebar. com/ location/pittsburgh
Burghers Brewing Highline
Burghers Brewing announced its intention to open a South Side outpost three years ago following its participation in “Lagerlands,” an outdoor pop-up with Cinderlands Brewing and De Fer Coffee, in September 2020.
Chef/co-owner Fiore Moletz (who also operates the terrific Della Terra in Zelienople) and head brewer/ co- owner Neil Glausier intended for their terrific smashburger and beer concept to begin service at The Highline in the summer of 2021. Things didn’t go as intended.
“To the best of my knowledge, the things that caused delays were some of the difficulty in permitting because it’s a historical building and it was just hard to nail down a contractor in the early years,” Moletz says. “We never expected this to take as long as it did.”
The taps are finally flowing and the burgers are smashing in the narrow restaurant designed to resemble a train car.
The menu at the Highline location is a slightly pulled-back version of what’s served at the Lawrenceville and Zelienople locations, but there are still plenty of burger builds to choose from. With their lacy griddled edges and restrained but dynamic toppings, they’re among my favorite smashburger-style burgers in the region.
The spot has 10 beers on tap, with styles tilting heavily toward lagers, but a deep enough selection to satisfy all taste preferences.
The 700-square-foot space has limited indoor seating, though there’s enough room to enjoy a burger and a beer or two with a small group. Look for things to pick up once the weather turns. Burghers beer garden will extend to the many tables on The Highline.
“It’s given us the ability to highlight what Neil does as a brewer, especially with this German-style beer garden that’s just about ready to go,” Moletz says.
There’s more expansion in the works for the business, which also operates locations in Lawrenceville and Zelienople.
“We have a 13,000-square foot production building and taphouse being built right now in Millvale,” Moletz says.
He hopes to have everything ready in August. 319 E Carson St., South Side; burgherspgh.com
EXPANSIONS Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream in Florida
The first Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream outside of Pittsburgh is expected to open in March — and it’s a long way away from the company’s Homestead headquarters.
“The idea was that we were going to grow in concentric circles, somewhere like D.C. or northern Virginia would be the first places,” says Millie’s CEO and co-founder Chad Townsend. “We didn’t expect Florida to be the first spot.”
However, Townsend says Blair and Michelle Sharp made a compelling argument when they approached him about signing an area development arrangement that allows them to open up to three Millie’s franchises in the Jacksonville area.
“They have roots up here and are fans of Millie’s. They’re also a family that has some food allergies. They were interested in opening a place that could offer a real ice cream-shop experience with dairy- and glutenfree options, which is something we do really well,” Townsend says.
Townsend and his team found the
logistics of working with a franchise owner so far away from Pittsburgh a compelling challenge, he says.
“The thing that’s been so great about Millie’s from the beginning is that there is a whole new world of skill sets that I’ve been able to figure out and learn. We have an incredible team of people and we’re all learning from each other. How do we successfully get stuff to Florida? How are we able to keep consistent what’s happening down there? And how can we give people what they need when they’re far away? If it’s Wexford, we can hop in the car and be there in 40 minutes,” he says.
The national food distribution company Sysco will deliver Millie’s ice cream to the Florida shop via its supply chain. Townsend says he and his wife and business partner, Lauren, plan to attend the opening.
CLOSINGS Station
Station in Bloomfield is ending a nearly 9-year run as a full-service restaurant on Feb. 16. Executive chef/co-owner Curtis Gamble is moving with his family to Tennessee
later this year.
“We’ve been through a lot in this space,” Gamble writes in a press release. “The irony of this is that we’re doing great, all things considered. Our fantastic team and strong collaborative partnerships have been the fuel behind a lot of our recent successes. I’m going to miss that part of Station and of Pittsburgh.”
Gamble, an Ohio native, worked as a chef in Pittsburgh at Six Penn Kitchen and The Café at the Frick in the early aughts and returned here in 2012 as the chef de cuisine of Grit & Grace.
In between, he earned acclaim in Chicago as the executive chef of Bread & Wine.
Gamble plans to host a few popups this spring prior to permanently shuttering the space, with dates to be announced later on Station’s social media accounts.
Sia’s Garden Grown
Anthony and Diana Palumbo unexpectedly closed their lovely vegan restaurant, Sia’s Garden Grown, earlier this month.
The couple cited continued difficulties and setbacks from a March 2020 automobile crash that nearly killed Diana and their daughter, Anastasia, (Anthony and their son, Enzo, came out unscathed) as the reason for the shuttering of the
restaurant after just seven months of operations.
“One thing we know for sure is the commitment it takes to successfully run a restaurant, even a small one, is not possible at this time due to these circumstances. We were hopeful, but sadly this past year has shown us how much has changed and that our focus needs to be on navigating some new normals right now,” they wrote in a social media post.
Anthony Palumbo’s menu, with dishes such as eggplant agrodolce sandwich with dreamy lupini bean hummus on sourdough and crispy lemon-caper tofu with black garlic salsa verde, was a real treat. Hopefully, this won’t be the last we see of the Palumbos in the Pittsburgh restaurant sphere.
“It was an absolute honor. Hopefully we find time to do pop-ups now and again. Plant-based food does not have to be bland, boring, or unsatisfying. If anything, we hope that in some way Sia’s changed your perspective on food or at least ignited an interest in changing the way you eat and/or cook at home. Think of us every time you need a fork to finish the rest of your sandwich,” the Palumbos wrote in the social media post. Hal B. Klein: hklein@post-gazette.com