Second Place for Pittsburgh Restaurant Week, Arpino Trattoria. Located in Scott Township in the plaza at the intersection of Green Tree Road and Cochran Road, this restaurant sits in the back of the plaza. If you are not from the area, it's quite hard to locate; however, if you go tothe end of the parking lot, park your vehicle and Arpino's is located in the middle of the shopping area.
This little place has limited seating, making for a nice, quiet romantic feel, along with a sense that you are dining with your family. It is also BYOB, helping to keep you on your budget. Although they had a full menu, I decided to go with the $30 three course fixed price menu: Proscuitto Wrapped Mozzarella with a spicy marinara, Roasted Chicken Thigh and Leg Quarter with Root Vegetables atop a bed of Pecorino Romano Risotto and for dessert, Cranberry Walnut Torta. Along with these choices, were a cup of wedding soup and the chicken saltimbocca with Marsala sauce (proscuitto wrapped chicken).
Proscuitto wrapped mozzerella, in my opinion, a little salty for my taste. I am not a salt lover. However, it did aid in my consumption of multiple glasses of wine! But, I do like spicy and the sauce, although great flavor, it was not spicy enough for me. The wedding soup: I have never had chicken in my wedding soup, so I didnt care for that as much, plus there were not enough noodles. The noodles are my favorite part and I usually eat the meatballs sparingly. But, the broth had good flavor.
Chicken Thigh and Leg Quarter with Risotto: I love the dark meat of the chicken so this was definitely up my alley. It was moist and because of the bone, had very good flavor. The risotto was made perfectly and the flavor was delicious; however, it was entirely too much. I took home leftovers and it didn't even look like I ate anything. Root Vegetables: Celery and carrots. there wasnt much flavor to them but they did add to the coloring of the dish.
Chicken Saltimbocca: Presentation was on point. It came with broccoli with the entire stem, which, the stems in my opinion are very, very bitter. The chicken itself had good flavor, but it was a breast of chicken, so it was a little dry. The mushrooms and the marsala sauce. To me, it was very syrupy and thick and much too sweet for my palate. A starch, rather then a vegetable, would have paired well with this dish to help the flavor of the marsala sauce.
Cranberry Walnut Torta: The torta itself was delicious and I loved the texture and flavoring of the walnuts; however, I am not a huge cranberry lover so there were a little too many cranberries for me. But all together, the dessert was delicious. I just picked off or ate around the abundance of the cranberries.
Again, like Pino's, the chef emerged from the kitchen to see how the meal tasted and he was very nice and friendly. At the end of the meal, he included a shot of Sambuca. Overall, this is definitely a place for a nice, romantic dinner or a quick, hearty meal. Check out it, they have a large menu and something for everyone! Let me know what you ordered and the experience of your culinary journey at Arpino's!!!!!
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