Sienna Mercato - Il Tetto

Caprese

Il Tetto is the fancy new roof top deck downtown. I'm pretty amazed at the number of roof top decks that have opened just within the last year.... Skybar, Carson City, Blue Line Grille, Steel Cactus, etc. Pittsburgh's new obsession with outdoor seating is fantastic.

Il Tetto offers a very limited menu that is completely different from the selections available downstairs at Emporio. (Emporio is the Sienna Mercato meatball restaurant. My review of Emporio is available here.) So be sure to grab your meatballs and discounted beers downstairs at Emprio before you take the elevator ride to Il Tetto as the rooftop bar does not offer meatballs or happy hour specials.

Some of the selections available at Il Tetto include fried head cheese, home made sausage, marinated olives and my delicious caprese salad which is pictured above.

My caprese salad was very good. It was made with extremely high quality olive oil from Lodi Olive Oil co, basil, fresh tomatoes, some remarkable mozzarella and some micro greens including cilantro. Someone did a fine job of selecting a delicious tomato for my salad. Great work Il Tetto! Although I found the addition of cilantro to a caprese salad to be rather odd, it seemed to work as it was used sparingly. My chief complaint about the salad, and about Il Tetto in general, was the pricing. The salad cost $14 and each drink ran somewhere between $7 and $15. I think this is very high for Pittsburgh, even with the beautiful view of the city.

It is my personal belief that if I'm paying $14 for a salad it should come with some type of protein or at least a lap dance. However, based on the size of the crowd the last two times I've visited Il Tetto, it would appear that the general public disagrees. It is true what they say, you pay for the view.

Steel Cactus - Shadyside

Ceviche and taquitos, are coming out of my speedo.

I'd heard a lot of negative buzz surrounding the food at Steel Cactus. Naturally, I was very skeptical about the cuisine but nonetheless excited to hang out on a roof in Shadyside and drink $3 glasses of wine. (Shrimp and wine are the focal points of what I define as summertime.)

The Steel Cactus is the Amp'd restaurant group's attempt to capitalize on the success of Mad Mex which is run by the Big Burrito restaurant group. There is actually another Steel Cactus that is currently being built in the Southside. I'd imagine that the Amp'd group would be thrilled if they could achieve even a quarter of the success Big Burrito has seen with Mad Mex. (Over ten locations throughout Pennsylvania with one in Ohio.)

Pictured above are the ceviche with pico de gallo and mango and the pulled chicken taquitos, priced at $5 and $4 respectively during happy hour.  The ceviche was a little on the bitter side but otherwise quite flavorful and delicious with a good amount of shrimp. I thought the taquitos were great, very crispy with well seasoned meat. Also, a very good portion for the price point. I certainly wouldn't consider either of the two dishes I sampled to be authentic or particularly masterful (ceviche is Peruvian and taquitos are quintessential Mex-American) However, I think the complaints about Steel Cactus are largely unwarranted.

They are serving $4 appetizers and $3 glasses of wine on a beautiful rooftop deck. What do you expect? If you want authentic Mexican in Pittsburgh I suggest Las Palmas street tacos. I get them almost every week. Then I eat my tacos on a dirty street corner in Oakland next to piles of broken glass undoubtedly discarded  by the outstanding students of the University of Pittsburgh.

Future Batman villain?

This guy is enjoying the dessert chimichanga, a sweet flour tortilla with a hint of cinnamon, cheesecake filling and caramel deep fried with whipped cream and raspberry puree. I explained to him that I needed to sample the dish for the purposes of science. He was surprisingly accommodating. I'd say the dish was pretty similar to the dessert chimichanga that was originally offered by Chi-Chi's, minus the chocolate syrup. I'd actually love to see the emergence of some new Mex-American inspired desserts such as avocado cheesecake, tres de leches bon bons or caramel chocolate empanadas.

In order to thrive I believe the Steel Cactus should focus on finding some interesting ways to differentiate themselves from Mad Mex. Although emulation is flattery, it isn't always a recipe for success.