Being Healthier

I’ve got the notion…

Beginning at a black oak on the bank of the Allegheny River, the town of Oakmont was established about 15 miles northeast of Pittsburgh in 1816.

In early 2011, one of the most interesting restaurants in the Pittsburgh area was established called notion. notion hopes to “deliver a personal and emotional experience focusing on modern techniques, presentations, and continued evolution.” It is at a place like notion that makes me thankful to have taken a graduate course in Gastronomy.

The Chef’s Tasting menu at notion can only be compared to a performance, from opening to closing act, by the Chef Dave Racicot. I felt like I was attending a creative and inventive play, rather than dining at a small restaurant, on a street that gets barely any traffic,  in a small neighborhood tucked away alongside the Allegheny River.

While we are on “small” talk, the menu is small so I wouldn’t go there if you are expecting The Cheesecake Factory menu (if so, I’d urge you to go to the Cheesecake Factory!). There are several appetizers, a few entrees, a couple of desserts but also The Chef’s Tasting option, which features smaller portions of two appetizers, two entrees and dessert.  Of course we chose this option because it allows a full experience of what notion has to offer, and we also chose the wine pairing because well, we like wine.

As with any well rounded presentation, the introduction is key at grabbing the attention of your audience. The opening act was an invigorating peach fizz- basically something to amuse our mouths and encourage our interest in the rest of the food to come.

My regular readers will never believe that I ate the second course, Sweet Shrimp.

I was shocked at how much I enjoyed the tiny shrimp with black sesame candy, compressed cucumber and white sesame custard. The flavor, the colors, the shapes, the textures- it was just a wonderful dish!

(Act I Scene 2)

The first of three wines that accompanied the entire meal was Gyotaku, which is actually the art of making fish shapes out of paper.

(2009 Domaine Mittnacht Cuvee, Vin D’Alsace ~ $20 a bottle in stores)

It was fresh, clean and aromatic so it went well with the fish. These wines definitely enhanced our meal much like the extras enhancing the main character of each scene. We began the entree course(s) with a Spanish wine from Maillorca’s Anima Negra (AN/2).

It was well-balanced, earthy, fuller bodied but still light enough to go well with probably a multitude of dishes. I really enjoyed this kind of wine, which had hints of cherry & chocolate. The first entree was a smaller portion of the Cod

The fish was actually quite rare but I enjoyed that because it allowed the flavor to shine through. It was served with fresh herbs (dill and parsley) on top of tarragon butter, which I could easily have licked off the plate had I not been more composed.

This second entree was equally delicious, playful, intriguing and colorful- Ribeye married with potato confit, pickled onions, haricot vert and served with a horseradish cream. I was so sensually satisfied at this point- visually, texture, taste, aroma-I wasn’t expecting this tasting menu to get better but I knew it would.

This wine ( ~ $50 average on winesearcher.com) was a transition to the finale. It is from about 25 miles south of Cordoba Spain, in a region known for their rich dessert wines. It tasted like a good sherry, very sweet from all the residual sugars of the fermentation. I was born in 1982. Good year in my opinion, aged to perfection .Dessert has always been my favorite part of a meal because its key role is to ensure diners will remember their experience.

Dessert is the “last chance to make a good impression” and this dessert conclusion was the most amazing combination of flavors and sensations that it was literally the ultimate finale.

get to notion