{PGH Dining} La Vite Ristorante at La Casa Narcisi Winery

Husband and I desperately needed a date night a few weeks ago.
A coworker of mine {Hi, Cathy!} mentioned La Casa Narcisi Winery a few months ago as a potential date or girls night location, and I pulled that thought out of the depths to give it a try. A quick look at their Web site events page told me that we were in luck - it was jazz night at the winery. We made the scenic 25-minute drive from Upper Lawrenceville along Saxonburg Boulevard and turned onto Gibsonia Road to find a decent-sized winery to our left.

{Over The Weekend} Cooking School, Cakes and Cat Tipis

I know it's already Monday again, but I wanted to share my past two weekends with y'all. {This post is weekend #1.} A friend of mine gave us tickets to a Market District Cooking School Class {as her husband was sick and couldn't go}, so we headed out to Robinson Township two Friday evenings ago. The class was structured around tasting the intricacies of wines and beers with food. 

Just Starting

We arrived in the large classroom above the wine and beer area of Market District, and sat down among approximately 30 people. A good size class, I thought. {If the class is too small, it can seem awkward at times!} We were offered appetizers of grapes, cheeses, lobster and red pepper dip, and water crackers.

It's a bit pricey at around $35 a ticket, but you get food, drinks, information and good company. {Go Pittsburgh food community!}

{Dining} Finger Lakes Food

Per usual, our recent travels to the Finger Lakes in upstate New York centered around nature and the local food that results from those surroundings.  Both were gorgeous.  

Our weekend trip started in Northwest PA, but that evening we made it to our destination.  We started the night off with drinks and small bites at Dorothy's Music Room in Trumansburg, NY. {T-burg to the locals.} We sat down at the bar and was greeted by Dorothy herself.  As our first stop in the NY wine country, Dorothy did a fantastic job of setting the stage for the wines of the region.  After pouring us what seemed like our own local wine tasting, we chose glasses of Hosmer's Estate Red and one of Lamoreaux Landing's reislings {easily my favorite winery of the trip}. We listened to a truly unique band, Technicolor Trailer Park, a duo who sang everything from Alanis Morrissette to their own songs about squirrels. Loved them.

PGH Dining: Jergel's Rhythm Grille

Jergel's Rhythm Grille opened just a few short weeks ago, and everyone at Husband's office park in Warrendale heard about it. We all went for an office happy hour, and were welcomed to sit in the upper deck since we had a party of 12. The place has a nice, wide patio for those that want to be outdoors, and a floor full of tables ringed by a second floor {complete with bar}. Smart setup, especially on concert nights. {Check out their upcoming bands here.}

We were told by our hostess there was a rush on the kitchen right when we got there{?}, so we were asked to wait for 45 minutes before we ordered our food. This is odd, but not uncommon for newly opened restaurants. We ordered our happy hour-priced drinks {good deals!}, and Husband and I settled on the half-priced bottle of wine. {Red Guitar Spanish Temrapanillo, $14.50.} Great wine for a good price.

The ceiling of the upper deck.

Once we were able to order {it went by fairly quickly}, the two of us ordered chicken and waffles,

 and a trio of meatball sliders.

The sliders were bland and the meatballs were far to small for the amount of bun. The chicken and waffles were great! Crispy fried chicken wings {interesting/convenient choice of meat!}, fluffy waffle and warm syrup.

  Around the table, others had rich, creamy pasta dishes:

a Buffalo Chicken salad, later to be "Pittsburghed,"

 and a scalloped potato casserole {with three cheeses}. 

 Jergel's was fun, the menu was surprising, and featured good happy hour deals. The wait for food, however, wasn't a good move. We'll have to go back in a month or so, once they've gotten the high volume down pat!

Neighborhood: Cranberry Township/Warrendale

Good For: Happy Hour, Concerts

Gems: Seating Options

Drawbacks: Food Wait

PGH Dining: The Naked Grape Enoteca

I'm going a bit out of order, and I'm skipping other reviews to write one on the Naked Grape Enoteca. It's worth it. 

We received several recommendations from Husband's coworkers that live in or near Sewickley to try the Naked Grape while we were there on our stay-cation this weekend. We walked in at 5:00PM on Saturday evening, and were immediately seated at our table of choice...outside. The weather was lovely. The tables were not fully extended because the restaurant had just opened for the evening, but the tables could seat up to 5 or 6 people. 

But before we get to the wine and food, take a look at the decor on the inside:

Gift sets and wine accoutrement. 

We sat at the table close to the door, and enjoyed the sunset while looking over their order form menu. The Naked Grape works differently than other wine bars/bistros. They are a wine tasting room, with the availability to order bottles or cases of wine. In PA, that's a beautiful thing. {The laws/regulations here are super strict.}

Our sommelier/owner/waitress/lady friend, Ryta, explained that they serve guests wine flights, which feature the wines they frequently order. Great! Sounds like a plan for dinner to me. Pour me a glass, let me hold my Husband's hand, and I'll take in the air while watching the pedestrians, bicyclists and baby strollers go by. 

Our first wine selection was a Sauvignon Blanc from Chafen Vineyards from California. This was one of our favorites, and so much so that we ordered a bottle to take home. {A white wine that Husband actually likes?! Unheard of!}

$24.79/bottle

We then dove into ordering light bites, starting with the biggest thing on their menu: the cheese and meat plate. And, WAS this a PLATE! Salami, Capicola, salted grapes {how rustic Italian!}, artichokes, three cheese wedges {one cow, one sheep and I think another cow}, almonds, walnuts, apricots, olives, and caper berries. Absolutely worth the price {$14}, and perfect with the white wine. 

We then had the Latah Creek Chardonnay {$15.79/bottle}, followed by the Gold Ring Vineyards' Cabernet Sauvignon {16.49/bottle}.

Ryta, one of the owners, was there each step of the flight, sharing her knowledge with us. She was easy-going, and I enjoyed having her to guide us through our hour and a half dinner.

Ryta with the Gold Ring Vineyard's Cab Sav.

I stopped to snap a photo of their plates. Look at that color!

We finished the meal with a plate of hummus, and the bonus pour they were serving for the evening. It was a Chilean wine, which rank among my top picks. {The Consul Chileno Carmenere to be exact. $15.89/bottle.}

Hummus, served with cracked black pepper crackers and olive oiled toasts.

You can view their wine menu here, which while from December 2011, it still features many of the wines we had on Saturday. 

We are so pleased to have made it to the Naked Grape Enoteca and tasted a few of their wines and bites. From the great prices to the detailed selection of the wines they offered, I'm sure we'll continue to order wines from Ryta and her husband, and visit each time we're in Sewickley. Thanks for a lovely meal!

Neighborhood: Sewickley

Good For: Dates, Happy Hour, Group Dinners, Weekend Activity

Gems: Owners, Wine Quality

Drawbacks: Waiting for your ordered wine to come in!