Dinette: The simple pleasure of taste

There is no shortage of restaurants in Pittsburgh competing for a little quality time with my tastebuds. In an effort to try as many new eateries as I can, you will rarely find me “re-dining” at any particular restaurant. Of course there are always exceptions to my dining rules, and this one states that if the thought of a previous meal can make me physically salivate, the restaurant is a valid option to re-visit.

Several months ago, late on a Friday night, entertaining an out-of-towner, and reservationless I had the pleasure of stumbling upon Dinette in East Liberty. The wine list was extensive enough to cause a slight memory lapse when it comes to details of that evenings meal, but when a friend suggested we eat at Dinette, immediately and unconsciously my mouth began to water.

Onion, chevre, kalamata olive tapenade, and mozzarella

My palate was primed for a Dinette “re-dine,” and my taste buds would not be disappointed by the menu of small plates and thin crust pizzas “for one.” Although the only option for an entree is pizza, on this particular night there was an option to suit every craving, and more importantly the ratio of meat to meat-less options was tipped in favor of a hungry vegetarian.

Dinette is a small place, but has great bar seating in front of the kitchen. We were lucky enough to score a couple of the first come first serve seats and were treated to a visual of each menu option before we placed our order. Although the choice was hard, my dining companion and I decided to split two different pizzas: onion, chevre, Kalamata olive tapenade, and fresh mozzarella and wild ramps, parano, marjoram, pine nuts, and fresh mozzarella. Well one thing is sure, we weren’t at the Pizza Hut buffet.

Wild ramps, parano, marjoram, pine nuts, and mozzarella

Local, seasonal, and organic ingredients are the pride of Dinette, and I swear I could taste those adjectives with every bite. Of the two, the onion pizza was my favorite only because I was astounded by the simple genius of using tapenade as an alternative to pizza sauce. It was light enough to not overpower the pizza with a briny flavor, and was the perfect complement to sauteed onions. The standout on the wild ramps pizza were the toasted pine nuts. It is addition of these simple, yet unconventional, ingredients to pizzas that makes Dinette a stand out restaurant in my mind. The ability to combine great ingredients to make an amazing dish is why I can’t wait to re-dine once again. In fact, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.