Avenue B-Gourmet Comfort

Food is a popular topic when amongst good company. Many of our friends share similar passions of eating, dining out, and cooking. Since the inception of our blog, Michelle and I have received several recommendations for future reviews. One particular restaurant that has been mentioned on numerous occasions is Avenue B in Shadyside. On Saturday, Michelle and I ventured to Avenue B with hopeful hearts and critical stomachs. Our expectations were high and we were hoping to not be disappointed.

Avenue B is a BYOB establishment, so we arrived at the restaurant with a bottle of wine in hand. Since this was our first time at the restaurant, I selected one of my favorite yet conservative red wines, Gnarly Head Authentic Red. The restaurant is small yet intimate with minimal décor that allow you to concentrate on your company and food. The bare red brick walls give the restaurant warmth and are accented by the chalkboards that display the specials.

We began our meal with the P.E.I. mussels served with Thai coconut broth. The mussels were…just that, mussels. It is something that we order regularly when dining out and we should have opted for the crispy oysters with watercress pesto and blood orange marmalade. The preparation was very unorthodox (to us) and it would have been nice to entertain our pallets with something new. Our server “Sam” was very knowledgeable and assisted us in selecting our entrées. I order their signature dish, the meatloaf and Michelle ordered the smoked pork shank.

The kobe meatloaf was served on a bed of whipped potatoes with goat cheese and chives topped with tomato jam and fried onions. In short, this dish is not your mother’s meatloaf.  I have never had a more succulent and flavorful meatloaf in my life. My favorite element of the dish was the tomato jam hidden under the fried onions. Combining the tomato, meatloaf, and potatoes in one bite eradicates all your beliefs, misguidance, and fears about meatloaf. The only critique I have for my meal is that there were too many crispy onions which detracted from the simple elegance of the dish. 

Michelle was very skeptical of her dish as the pork shank was served with collard greens and cheddar grits. From growing up in the south and having a mother that can cook, Michelle is an expert on grits and especially collard greens. The pork was prepared in a bold and tangy mustard barbeque sauce. The grits were rich and creamy with a subtle flavor that helped balance the pork. The greens had a crunchy texture but were not undercooked. Michelle and I both enjoyed our entrées but we enjoyed each other’s entrées more. Throughout dinner we traded forks with bites of our meals across the table.

We concluded our meal with a rich and velvety caramel blondie torte layered with pretzel buttercream and served with slices of apple. This was fancier (and better) than your average carnival candy apple. For us, nothing satisfies our tastes more than a sweet and salty treat. Many restaurants outsource their desserts or fail miserable at producing a dessert worth mentioning but this was not the case at Avenue B. The dessert was the icing on the cake for our well prepared meal.

Michelle and I agree that Avenue B is now one of our favorite restaurants in Pittsburgh. We will go back again but with a six pack or a growler of a seasonal craft beer instead of wine, we will order an appetizer other than mussels, and we will order the brussel sprouts that everyone keeps raving about.

-Mark