A Charcuterie Feast at Elements Contemporary Cuisine

Nibbles & Sips
October 27, 2011 0

By: Clara of Food Collage

From the outside, one might think that Elements Contemporary Cuisine in downtown Pittsburgh is just a casual lunch hotspot catering to the working crowd. The $5 pizza signs out front are a bit deceiving—it’s actually quite upscale on the inside. I was seated at one of the tables by the window overlooking the patio and atmosphere was great.

If there were a prize for “The Toughest Menu to Choose From,” Elements would definitely win top honors because there are so many delicious sounding choices that it took me a really long time to settle on a decision. Aside from various seafood, chicken, red meat, and pasta dishes that all sound amazing, the backside of the menu is devoted to cured meats, cheeses, and “more.”

I understand that meat curing is a specialty of Element’s former executive chef Justin Severino. I’m glad to see that the restaurant has continued to highlight charcuterie as part of their offerings after Chef Severino’s departure.

I decided to select six items on the “Meat | Cheese | More” menu for $22 as a meal. But with eight meats, 11 cheeses, and 12 “mores” to choose from, it was not an easy task. After much deliberation, I picked the following:

  1. Duck speck - cured duck breasts cold smoked over peach wood chips.
  2. Venison prosciutto - whole hind leg of venison packed in salt for weeks and hung to dry for months.
  3. Venison - mildly spicy and sweet venison salami with chocolate and port wine.
  4. Pleasant Ridge Reserve Cheese - a raw cow’s milk, wash-rind Wisconsin cheese; firm, nutty-sweet, similar to Swiss Gruyere.
  5. Pierre Robert Triple Cream Cheese - 75 percent fat content, hyper-rich pasteurized cow’s milk from France; very creamy and has a spicy kick, too!
  6. Apple mostarda - mustard apple sauce.

The six-item charcuterie plate doesn’t look like much, but don’t let it fool you. I was quite full by the time I finished. But despite being full, how could I resist dessert?  Especially one called Tempura Chocolate Cherries?

This decadent dessert consists of three deep fried balls filled with a super rich and soft chocolate and cherries, served with a scoop of chocolate bourbon ice cream. The tempura was sinfully delicious and made me wish I hadn’t already been so full from all the meats and cheeses.

I found out as I was leaving that Elements offers validated parking at the building’s garage, which is good to know for next time. Because there WILL be a next time.

Restaurant info:
Elements Contemporary Cuisine
444 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 251-0168
On the web: http://www.elementscuisine.com
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elements-Contemporary-Cuisine/153688294685618
On twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ElementsPgh


Clara moved to Pittsburgh in 2010 and has been eating her way through town ever since.  She blogs to document the restaurants she likes, as well as what’s cooking in her kitchen. Visit http://www.foodcollage.com for more musings.

 

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