Grab your bestie! It’s time to celebrate apple season and support your local distillers.
Move over pumpkins; this fall, we’re looking at all things apples. Well, at least in the land of Pittsburgh distillers and wineries. So look no further than these five local businesses if you’re also craving ciders, meads, and more.
Named after the “threadbare” appearance of Johnny Appleseed, Pittsburgh’s Threadbare Cider—from the team behind Wigle Whiskey—offers bottle conditioned, hopped, wild yeast fermented, and barrel-aged ciders. Plus, each of their craft beverages is made from scratch with regionally sourced apples at Threadbare’s cider house on the North Side. Bonus activity: Threadbare also offers a unique family-friendly tour that focuses on the history of Johnny Appleseed.
A little Pittsburgh history: Allegheny Arsenal, located in the lower Lawrenceville neighborhood, produced ammunition for the Union Army during the Civil War. This popular local cidery is named for its proximity to the area. Arsenal Cider House and Wine Cellar offers, as the name states, cider, wine, and features a calming cider garden.
Located in Carnegie, Apis Mead and Winery provides a contemporary take on mead, aka honey wine. The mead at Apis is made exclusively with honey from Hickory, Pa’s Bedillion Honey Farm, and “captures Pennsylvania’s native honey flavor without being too sweet.” In season, Apis carries a seasonal cyser—a mead that has been fermented with apple juices instead of water—made with local apples.
Asks locals about their favorite adult beverage from McLaughlin Distillery, and you’ll most likely hear about the Apple Pie Moonshine or Toasted Applewood Whiskey. This small batch craft distillery creates each of its bourbon, moonshine, and vodka offerings from scratch.
The only thing better than bucatini at Martorano’s Prime … is bucatini with a view.
Martorano’s Prime, the Italian-American steakhouse concept by celebrity cook Steve Martorano, opened at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh in January 2021. If you’ve not yet been, crisp sunny days present another reason to go—riverfront patio dining.
Martorano’s Prime features elevated Italian-American cuisine, prime cuts of beef and other high-end steakhouse staples. Among many culinary accolades, Martorano’s meatballs have been known to be the best in the world. Martorano’s restaurants elsewhere have become equally famous for attracting celebrity clientele, and Steve himself is a favorite guest on morning news and late-night TV shows.
Pennsylvania is familiar territory to this renowned cook, who greets everybody with “Yo Cuz!” and still works in his own kitchens. “I’m South Philly born and raised,” said Steve Martorano. “I learned to cook at my grandma’s elbow, and a lot of our menu is built on those family recipes.”
Rivers Casino Pittsburgh guests can expect luxe aesthetics inside Martorano’s Prime. Caramel-and-white marble facades intermingled with floor-to-ceiling glass walls frame the main dining area. Intimate tables for two dot the perimeter, while four- and six-tops are on the main floor. Martorano’s Prime also features a central bar and private dining area. Interiors are sumptuous: crystal chandeliers, rich mahogany, cream-colored leather, crisp linens and highly-polished silver. There is seating for approximately 200, including the patio.
Summer through fall, guests are encouraged to enjoy their meals outside on the patio adjacent to the main dining room. Sweeping views of the Ohio River and Mt. Washington adds a dramatic Pittsburgh backdrop to any meal.
“Martorano’s Prime is our Italian-American steakhouse that’s ideal for special occasion dining, date night, or just to reward yourself after a long week,” said Andrea Kleinrock-Marmion, vice president of food and beverage at Rivers Casino Pittsburgh. “This is an original Steve Martorano concept that’s only available in Pittsburgh.”
Patio seating is limited, and reservations are recommended.
A variety of fabulous fall cocktails - The PA Market
Like the leaves from trees in autumn, fall cocktail menus are beginning to drop all over the city. Come out of the cool brisk air and visit one of these local establishments, order a fall cocktail, and let the autumnal flavors provide you a little warmth from the inside out.
The Strip District’s two-story European-style market offers six counter-style restaurants and four bars between both levels. Grab a seat inside the cozy wine bar featuring custom leather couches made perfect for enjoying wine from their curated selection of over 150 wines from around the world. The PA Market will feature Fall cocktails throughout the season in The Tavern, the 2nd-floor cocktail bar, and the courtyard bar. Experience a variety of unique cocktails crafted with fresh ingredients and seasonal housemade syrups.
Vallozzi’s, located in the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh, has all the traditional elements of a Vallozzi family restaurant, but with the vibes and energy of the a vibrant city. In addition to their award winning wine list, Vallozzi’s offers a variety of craft cocktails. Enjoy a nip alongside a meal in one of their dining areas, or in the lounge for a livelier experience. Try this ideal cocktail, When Figs Fly, to knock off the chill of Fall. This beautifully crafted cocktail features fresh figs and prosciutto infused Breckenridge Bourbon, smoked fig simple syrup and orange bitters!
Bloomfield’s Modern American eatery recently finished updating its bar just in time for the new season. With Fall right around the corner, guests will be able to enjoy new seasonal cocktails along with Station’s newly crafted cozy bar. Try one of their fabulous fall cocktails like the Ephemeral – Maggie’s Spiced Falernum, hibiscus, and orange.
Smooth & Passionate. The bartenders at Cioppino in the Strip District put careful thought in to each and every seasonal cocktail. They take spirits from local PA purveyors like Maggie’s Farm, Big Spring and Resurgent to make a Pumpkin Spiced Latte Martini, or for the whiskey fans a Rye Not? After adding in fresh purees and housemade syrups, you’ll experience the taste of fall with each and every sip.
The colorful and inviting East Liberty eatery will be feeling festive this Fall! The bar will be offering two Autumn-inspired cocktail specials throughout the month of October. Guests can enjoy their Harvest Mimosa crafted with apple cider, pomegranate juice, and prosecco, garnished with frozen pomegranate seeds. Rum Cider Punch will also be available. Spiced rum, apple cider, triple sec, ginger beer, and finished with an apple garnish.
The Commoner’s bar is home to creative craft cocktails year-round and this coming Fall will be no different. Guests will be able to sip on a variety of seasonal cocktails. They’re really heating things up with their Pumpkin in the Rye, a blend of Michter’s Rye, Cardamaro, plum bitters, chocolate bitters, saline solution, and an expressed and flamed orange peel to finish.
At Kingfly Spirits, conveniently located in the Strip District, Apple Cider Slushies are back on the menu. Made with Kingfly Bliss Spiced Rum and Trax Farms cider, these bad boys are the perfect flavor combination of crisp fall apple with warm baking spices. Visit Kingfly between 3-5pm Wednesday – Saturday for Cocktail Happy Hour, and warm up with a spirited coffee drink in partnership with Commonplace Coffee.
Shooters is the place you meet friends to unwind on a night out. It’s where you want to practice your golf game, track your swing or simply escape for the big game. This fall you can expect seasonal cocktails by the fire (pits). Whether you prefer a S’mores Martini or Fall Mule, it’s just like home … but better.
LINCOLN PARK PERFORMING ARTS CENTER OPENS OUR 8-SHOW 2022-2023
Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Subscription Series with one of the late Stephen Sondheim’s most popular works, Into the Woods, an enchanting and touching tour-de-force of musical theatre! October 7-9 and 14-16. Tickets available at:
Come join The Maridon Museum to celebrate The Harvest Moon Festival Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Butler Country Club in Butler, PA. The Harvest Moon Festival is an Asian celebration of the harvest during a full moon. Family, food, and decorative lanterns all make this event one of the most popular celebrations in Asia. What better place to celebrate locally than with The Maridon Museum, an Asian-focused museum right in your backyard. Contact us for details.
PITTSBURGH OPERA’S 2022-23 SEASON HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE.
From timeless classics like Mozart’s comic The Marriage of Figaro and Verdi’s epic Il Trovatore, to cutting-edge contemporary productions, Pittsburgh Opera will thrill and delight you. Tickets start at just $15; kids and teens are half-price. English supertitles are projected above the stage at all performances. Experience what makes opera the ultimate performing art – perfect for date night, an evening with friends, or a fun family outing.
Play with the awesome Silver Clouds. Browse the coolest museum store around. Recreate Warhol’s iconic red couch pose and snap a pic. Meet Cecil, Warhol’s stuffed Great Dane. Check out Warhol’s collabs with Basquiat. Make like Edie Sedgwick and mug it up in the photobooth. Take the elevator to the 7th floor—Warhol’s early life and art—and work your way down.
The Pittsburgh Playhouse is presenting the most extraordinary artists from around the globe that are sure to be of special interest for the discerning, creative, and curious readers of the TABLE. The diverse roster includes innovative dance, inspiring speakers, and lively performances. Join us around our table at the Playhouse, where every performance will entertain and inspire deeper conversation and exploration. Don’t miss our season. You’ll love it.
MATTRESS FACTORY SHIFTS AWAY FROM “SEASONAL” MODEL TO BETTER SERVE ARTISTS
The Mattress Factory’s mission is to aid artists at all stages of their career in producing dream projects. To better serve that mission, the Museum is shifting away from traditional “season” models, which frequently saw spaces closed to artists and visitors.The Museum is restructuring exhibitions, events and education programs to a staggered calendar, while continuing to support to artists as they open their practices to new possibilities and connect their ideas with audiences.
Nestled in the South Hills, Trax Farms has provided Pittsburghers with fresh fruits and vegetables for decades. They boast that they have the “Best Apple Cider in Pittsburgh,” and you can sample and purchase freshly-pressed apple cider from the farm’ s cider mill, which started churning apples into cider in 1964. Note: Trax’s apple cider must be kept refrigerated, but you can also freeze it so the chilled (or mulled…and spiked!) apple cider can be enjoyed during those long winter days.
The apple cider fun extends beyond the fall season at Soergel Orchards. The farm’s cider press runs all year round. In September and October, you can also pick your own apples to eat or use in apple sauce, apple pie, or whatever recipe your heart desires.
Apple cider and chocolate? You’ll find both at Shenot Farm, a must-add to chocolate lovers’ to-do list. Plus with 25 apple varieties across 15 acres, you’ll be hard-pressed not to find the perfect apple in this orchard’s diverse selection. In addition, Shenot Farm offers freshly-pressed cider and a Fudge Room with over 50 homemade fudge flavors.
Looking for apples of the heirloom variety? Norman’s Orchard grows a variety of heirloom apples and pears, characterized by their distinctive taste and appearance, which are not readily available elsewhere. Visitors are welcome to pick their own fruit straight from the tree or to purchase freshly picked fruit from the farm market. Apple butter and local honey are also available.
Whether you’re looking to eat or bake your apples, you can pick your own at Triple B Farms, as well as flowers and pumpkins for a little more fall fun. Triple B Farms also offers activities for the kiddos, including the Squirrel Hill Tunnel Slide and the Farm Playground.
Take a two-hour drive outside the city, and you’ll be rewarded with a freshly-pressed apple cider slushie from Godfrey Run Farm. Of course, while you’re there, you might as well stock up on cider, apples, and more.
Apple cider donuts with real apple chunks? Enough said. Apple Castle also boasts a large selection of apples, a playground for the kids, and other locally made products.
Started in 1997 and only open during the autumn season, Emmett’s Orchard’s Facebook bio says it best: “a family run business, open in the fall for apples, cider and other fun things!”
Simmons Farm boasts all the fun farm activities: hayrides, fresh produce and greenery for purchase, and pick-your-own excursions for apples, pumpkins, flowers, peaches, and strawberries.
Not only can you purchase freshly-pressed apple cider and apple butter from Sally’s Cider Press. If you bring your own apples, Sally’s will press them into your own refreshing cider!
At this family-owned and operated farm and retail market, you can pick your own apples or snag a premade grab bag. They also offer beeswax products and cider pressed and UV pasteurized at Sally’s Cider Press.
You’ll find apples, peaches, plums, Asian pears, and cherries growing on the 65 acres at Sturges Orchards and Farm Market. Kick it up a notch with their homemade hard cider.
On top of their diverse pick-your-own options, you can divulge in local milk products, eggs, cheese, water kefir, wheat flour, corn meal, and sometimes organic grass-fed meats at Morris Organic Farm.
Peppers, tomatoes, and a variety of apples: stock up on all your favorite fruits and vegetables and fresh apple cider during the fall season, which Barbers Orchard presses itself.
Find fresh pies all year round and yummy apple cider in the fall at this Westmoreland County farm. The Daugherty family hand sows, grows, and picks the most produce available themselves.
We’re more than a little in love with Stanley Tucci’s series “Searching for Italy.” It’s not only the sight, sound, and taste that comes with traveling, it’s the experience of food prepared among centuries of tradition, innovations that evolve organically, and ingredients that are either grown or handcrafted to perfection. Most importantly, it’s the pasta, the wine, and the simple pleasures of eating delicious food narrated by Tucci and knowing that when he takes a bite, closes his eyes, and smiles we are right there with him.
Inspired by the series, we’ve created four pasta dishes for TABLE readers. The first, Spaghetti alla Nerano, is a playful dish that only requires a handful of ingredients and solves for your overabundance of late summer zucchinis. It’s crisp, creamy, and best enjoyed with the slight and dry acidity that comes with a Greco di Tufo or Vermentino di Gallura.
When you make it for yourself, picture this: The August sun sets at a shoreline restaurant on the Italian island of Ponza, turning the sky coral and orange. Candle lanterns are hung from the rafters of a striped canvas awning. Deep fuschia wisteria blooms all around you. The wake of boats returning to harbor break gently on the pebbly shore just feet away. As if this isn’t already paradise, a waiter brings out a bottle of cold Greco di Tufo. And quickly thereafter plates of spaghetti dotted with thin slices of zucchini that are somehow both crispy and tender, caramelized and juicy. He provides final flavor flourishes with a twist or two of black pepper and a blizzard of freshly grated cheese. You can imagine the rest: a feeling of well-being deeper than the sea itself.
INGREDIENTS
4 zucchini, medium, thinly sliced into rounds
1 1/2 cups vegetable or neutral oil
½ cup of Provolone cheese, finely grated
1 lb of pasta
2 tbsp of Butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Fresh basil, gently cut to avoid bruising
Salt and Pepper
DIRECTIONS
Fry zucchini rounds in vegetable oil until golden brown. Rest on a paper towel. Season with salt.
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water.
In a deep pan, sauté the garlic in butter. Add al dente pasta directly from boiling water. Add a ladle of pasta water.
Cook the pasta over med heat for two minutes then add the provolone. Blend until creamy. Turn off heat. Add pepper and basil and gently fold into pasta.
Serve immediately and enjoy.
Story by Gabe Gomez/ Photography by Dave Bryce/ Food styling by Veda Sankaran/ Prop styling by Keith Recker/ Bowl by Billy Ritter/ Wine pairing by Adam Knoerzer.
In honor of Stanley Tucci’s television travel series Searching for Italy, we’ve created four pasta dishes for TABLE readers. This week we bring you Stanley Tucci Inspired Pasta alla Norma. This dish incorporates lightly fried eggplant, which adds a wonderful texture to the rigatoni pasta dressed in a very simple red sauce. We recommend a Cerasuolo di Vittoria, a dry Sicilian red, or a fruit-forward Etna Rosso to accompany this Stanley Tucci Inspired Pasta alla Norma recipe.
Check Out Our Other Stanley Tucci Inspired Recipes:
Recipe and Story by Gabe Gomez Prop Styling by Keith Recker Food Styling by Veda Sankaran Photography by Dave Bryce Fabric by @foundandforagedfibres Wine Pairing by Adam Knoerzer
Behold, we bring you Penne all’ Arrabbiata, a “pantry dish” perfect for last-minute entertaining or a late-night craving. We’ve created four pasta dishes for TABLE readers inspired by Stanley Tucci’s television travel series Searching for Italy. We recommend that you enjoy this dish with a Rosato of Sangiovese, a pitch-perfect rosé from Toscana, or Bardolino, a delicate red that balances well with the heat of this version of the dish, which is made with chili-infused olive oil.
Cooking the Italian Way: A Mix of Old and New
As you prepare your dish, picture this: Imagine a young American arriving to start a job in Rome. He knows little Italian and has arrived completely unprepared for life outside the office. He steps into a mom-and-pop grocery shop hoping to find something edible and becomes an eyewitness to a conflagration of epic proportions.
The elderly proprietress is engaged in finger-pointing, chest-beating, top-of-the-lungs argument with a customer about whether one CAN or CANNOT eat penne all’arrabbiata at room temperature on a hot summer evening. The prim, pale rose housecoat of the lady behind the counter shakes with rage: NO! Absolutely not. It is incorrect. A sacrilege.
The customer shifts the bags of wine and bread she’s bought at the neighboring bakery and enoteca so that she can signal her total dismissal of that prudish idea: NO! That is an old idea even for you. I’ve known you for 40 years and I didn’t think you were this old. Let’s hope the salami I need to buy from you is fresher.
This provokes a laugh from the other customers, but it does not settle the argument, which continues at lower volume but not calmer emotion over the slicing, weighing, wrapping, and checking out. And into the street afterward.
The young fellow realizes he is in an entirely new place, where food is not a matter of tradition or convenience. It is religion, to pursue with fervor and precision… even if it means that you have to defend what’s right. This is why Italian food is so good. It’s about commitment to what’s truly the best way to do things.
About Penne all’ Arrabbiata
Like the attitude of the shopkeeper above, penne all’arrabbiata is a dish of righteous anger. Penne all’arrabbiata gets its name from the Italian word “arrabbiata,” which means “angry.” The dish is known for its spicy tomato sauce, typically made with garlic, tomatoes, and red chili peppers. The heat from the chili peppers is said to evoke a sense of “anger” or intensity, hence the name.
Check out our other Stanley Tucci Inspired Recipes:
In honor and shameless infatuation, we’ve created four pasta dishes for TABLE readers inspired by the Stanley Tucci television travel series Searching for Italy. This week we bring you Stanley Tucci Inspired Bucatini all’ Amatriciana. This dish is very similar to our recipe for Penne all’ Arrabbiata with the exception of one key ingredient, guanciale, heavenly cured pork cheek that adds a smokey and crispy element to each bite. We recommend an inky Chianti Classico or Rosso di Montalcino to enjoy this beautifully simple and heartwarming dish.
6 ounces of guanciale, pancetta, or bacon, cut into strips
2 tbsps olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flake
3/4 cup onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 canned whole peeled tomatoes
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano
12 ounces of bucatini or spaghetti
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
In a sauté pan over medium-low heat, add olive oil, onion, garlic, and guanciale (or pancetta or bacon). Add the pepper flake when the guanciale lightly crisps and browns. Crush the tomatoes in a separate bowl before adding them and all their juices to the pan and simmer low until the sauce reduces slightly and thickens.
Cook the dried pasta in nicely salted water, like the sea, until al dente. Add the pasta to the sauce directly from its water, adding a touch of the starchy salty water in the process to help the sauce stick to the pasta. Toss the sauce and pasta until covered evenly. Turn off the heat. Add the Pecorino Romano and gently fold it into the pasta.
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Story by Gabe Gomez
Prop styling by Keith Recker Photography by Dave Bryce
Food styling by Veda Sankaran
Fabric by Found and Foraged Fibers Wine pairing by Adam Knoerzer
It all starts with a board. Wooden, metal, or stainless steel, maybe sporting ornate handles or fitted with grooves, dips, and valleys, crafted for holding sweet jellies and savory jams. Then comes the cheese: gouda, manchego, or brie, whatever you fancy. Meats fill in the open space, swirled into roses and rivers trailing around piles of nuts, grapes, and dried fruit. And, there you have it – the perfect, crowd-pleasing, present-at-every-event appetizer. A cheeseboard.
As a Greatestarticle once said, to make a fantastic cheese board is to know adulthood. But designing the perfect, paired board is not as easy as it sounds; there are textures and flavors to pair, along with the challenge of choosing cheese and meats to please even the pickiest eaters.
If you’re planning on crafting a charcuterie board this holiday season, keep reading. We chatted with a few of Pittsburgh’s cheese experts to get the lowdown on cheeseboard do’s and don’ts.
Photo courtesy of Blanket & Board.
THE DO’S
Colleen Peddycord and Tierra Thorne, the friends behind Blanket & Board, Pittsburgh’s premiere picnic service, follow a simple formula when crafting a cheeseboard. “We always include a baguette or crackers, at least three cheeses, grapes, berries, jam, pickles, and salami. We think it’s important to include one of each taste: sweet, savory, and salty,” explains Colleen.
The Blanket & Board team emphasizes it’s important to have options for everyone. Bring in a few different kinds of cheeses onto each board, thinking about texture and taste. Cover the basics with something approachable, and grab something adventurous to cater to your exploratory eaters. Mix a soft brie, a firm cheddar, a semi-soft fontina, and a crumbly bleu.
Texture comes into play with pairings, too. Stone-ground mustard, fresh and dried fruits, pretzels, jams, and jellies add a bit of depth to every board while adding flavor elements to the cheeses.
THE DON’TS
Tierra stresses the importance of cutting. It’s unappealing visually, she says, but it also makes it difficult to eat if guests have to get through a block of cheese to fill their plate. Slice every cheese, pull apart your meats, and make everything accessible.
But that’s it. Cheeseboards are for experimentation, Colleen and Tierra say. You can’t do much wrong with some good cheese and fresh fruits, so don’t overthink it.
Looking for local goods for your board? Check out these Pittsburgh purveyors: