Anyone been to Avenue B in Shadyside (Pittsburgh)?

[madelyn84]

Has anyone been to Avenue B in Shadyside? Where Istanbul Grille used to be? It just opened up a couple weeks ago (I think). Trying to figure out if I should give them more time to "work out the kinks". Looking for info on menu/food quality, price range, management/service skill... I know it's BYOB, which is attractive. Thanks!

[skoledin]

I visited Avenue B on Friday night.

Overall, a nice update to the space, but it can get really loud. There were only a couple other small groups there when we went, but it was hard to hear your own conversation over the others in the room.

Service was generally pretty attentive without being over-bearing, although a little too eager to clear plates at times.

The menu consists of a pretty small set menu, along with a decent number (10ish) of dishes listed on two chalkboards on the walls.

In general, the food was pretty flavorful and interesting, and nice to look at, with excellent ingredients, but not overly complicated. Definitely has an upscale bistro feel. I felt the prices were a little high for what was delivered, but probably reasonable given the BYOB setup (around $20-25 for an entree, $6-10 for apps, desserts). Pretty solid portion sizes, I can't imagine anyone going hungry.

I did see some some issues with execution on most of the dishes we had. Not big enough problems to send anything back, but just seemed like an overall lack of effort/focus. Things like overly tough pasta (pequillo lasagna w/arugula pesto) took away from an otherwise nice dish. Biggest disappointment was that there was nothing but quick sear on the proteins (both beef, fish) which left them feeling rather uncooked. I generally like things med rare, but cooking everything like a piece of seared ahi doesn't really do it for me. Perhaps I'm being too picky, but not really sure whether this is "working out the kinks" or how things are "supposed to be", so figured I'd mention it.

Chef/Owner is Chris Bonfili, formerly of the Red Room.

BYOB charge was $5/bottle + $2.50/person, with decent stemware provided.

It wasn't very busy when we were there, but reservations are probably a good idea, since there really aren't all that many tables. On Friday, they were open until 11pm. They can be reached at 412-683-3663. I saw a website listed on the card, but can't remember/find it at the moment. Anyone have a link?

Overall, I would say it's worth a trip back and certainly worth checking out now. A pretty solid mid-range BYOB place for when you'd like to bring along a nice bottle or two, but not break the bank.

[skoledin]

Oh, and no real website yet, and doesn't pop up on google, but should end up with something at http://avenueb-pgh.com/ eventually. Looks like there's just an email signup form right now.

[grapevine]

The web site is www.avenueb-pgh.com