Restaurant Scene in Regent Square (Pittsburgh, Forest Hills: fit in, sales, house)

[BrianTH]

So by way of background, several years ago my wife and I were talking about what sort of restaurant we would like to see move into Regent Square, and we described a nice little bistro-style place, maybe Italian or French. A very short time later, Legume opened up, and we felt like the Universe had answered our prayers. Although there are other good places in Regent Square, in my opinion Legume was really our calling-card establishment, and we enjoyed many, many meals there.

So it was very bittersweet for me to learn earlier this year that Legume was moving from Regent Square to a much bigger space in Oakland. I couldn't be more thrilled for Legume's owners/operators, who are a great couple and deserve all this success. But I saw it as a blow to Regent Square--now where was I going to be able to walk from our house for creative, reasonably-priced meals?

Well, apparently the Universe is still looking out for us. Thanks in part to efforts by the owners of Legume, an exciting new place called Root 174 is moving into the former Legume space:

Root 174 Plans for Summer Opening - Forest Hills-Regent Square, PA Patch

[Keith] Fuller, 31, of Polish Hill, has been the noted chef of downtown’s Six Penn restaurant for about six years. . . . Fuller described the food as contemporary, modern “food with fun.” Brunch and dinner will be served at Root 174. “They will be concepts of food taken apart and being put back together, like a BLT Risotto and weird stuff like that,” Fuller said.

On top of that, we are also getting yet another new place, an upscale Italian restaurant called Cibo:

Italian Restaurant Slated for Regent Square - Forest Hills-Regent Square, PA Patch

Chef Chuck Page, formerly of the Elbow Room and Girasole, both Shadyside restaurants, along with experience at Point Brugge in Point Breeze, is creating a seasonal menu of fresh dishes that will include fishes handpicked from the markets in the Strip District. . . . “We will do a selection of eight to 10 appetizers – a tapas, some antipastas, main entrees, fresh pastas,” [owner Dino] DeFlavio said. “The chef makes his own pasta and we have the mixings from doing the pizza dough. This will be traditional Italian with contemporary flair.”

So it appears all the love the community has shown to places like Legume is paying off after all. As discussed in the two articles, I think we have established ourselves as a neighborhood that will support good food, and if the worst thing that happens is that we keep incubating new places that occasionally move on to bigger and better things, I can live with that.

As a final aside, that Cibo space is an interesting story. I appreciate all the investments Dino has made in the neighborhood, but to be blunt, a lot of people were pretty mad when he decided to move out the bakery that used to be in that space so he could start his own venture. Venture #1 was a deli, and Venture #2 was a pizza place, and apparently neither worked out as planned. As the article says, Dino is hoping Cibo will finally get it right, and I have a feeling it will.

[Mr. Mon]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

So by way of background, several years ago my wife and I were talking about what sort of restaurant we would like to see move into Regent Square, and we described a nice little bistro-style place, maybe Italian or French. A very short time later, Legume opened up, and we felt like the Universe had answered our prayers. Although there are other good places in Regent Square, in my opinion Legume was really our calling-card establishment, and we enjoyed many, many meals there.

So it was very bittersweet for me to learn earlier this year that Legume was moving from Regent Square to a much bigger space in Oakland. I couldn't be more thrilled for Legume's owners/operators, who are a great couple and deserve all this success. But I saw it as a blow to Regent Square--now where was I going to be able to walk from our house for creative, reasonably-priced meals?

Well, apparently the Universe is still looking out for us. Thanks in part to efforts by the owners of Legume, an exciting new place called Root 174 is moving into the former Legume space:

Root 174 Plans for Summer Opening - Forest Hills-Regent Square, PA Patch



On top of that, we are also getting yet another new place, an upscale Italian restaurant called Cibo:

Italian Restaurant Slated for Regent Square - Forest Hills-Regent Square, PA Patch



So it appears all the love the community has shown to places like Legume is paying off after all. As discussed in the two articles, I think we have established ourselves as a neighborhood that will support good food, and if the worst thing that happens is that we keep incubating new places that occasionally move on to bigger and better things, I can live with that.

As a final aside, that Cibo space is an interesting story. I appreciate all the investments Dino has made in the neighborhood, but to be blunt, a lot of people were pretty mad when he decided to move out the bakery that used to be in that space so he could start his own venture. Venture #1 was a deli, and Venture #2 was a pizza place, and apparently neither worked out as planned. As the article says, Dino is hoping Cibo will finally get it right, and I have a feeling it will.

I wish Legume all the best in their move. They basically started the restaurant that relies on their food and not liqueur sales movement in the East End. However, moving to a giant space with a full bar seems questionable to me, especially since the quality of food at their present location seems to have not kept pace with other new restaurants. Plus moving to Oakland - a neighborhood not many of their traditional customer base goes to in the evening - is a gamble.

Regardless, best of luck to them. Legume was the necessary kick in the pants for Pittsburgh's restaurant scene.

[BrianTH]

I'm sure there is some risk involved in the move, and over-expansion is an ever-present threat in this industry. On the other hand, I don't think there is anything wrong with the quality of their food. Generally, there are more and more good restaurants all the time in Pittsburgh, so in that sense any one good restaurant has less and less of a competitive advantage, but I also think there is still plenty of room for that market in general to expand. In other words, I still think that on the whole, Pittsburgh's restaurant scene is undersupplied relative to the ever-growing potential demand.

[Sideblinded]

I will miss Legume, I hope they don't get lost in the shuffle. It was a place I didn't feel about worrying if I dressed great or felt like I was trying to fit in. Clean jeans, nice blouse & my black boots with minimal make-up and I was ready to walk 5 blocks to have a great/fantastic dinner.

I wish them the best of luck! I look forward to going to Root 174.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Sideblinded

I will miss Legume, I hope they don't get lost in the shuffle. It was a place I didn't feel about worrying if I dressed great or felt like I was trying to fit in. Clean jeans, nice blouse & my black boots with minimal make-up and I was ready to walk 5 blocks to have a great/fantastic dinner.

That's exactly how we felt about Legume. It will be interesting to see if that feeling translates to their new location, and unfortunately it may become less neighborly/casual. On the other hand, if the new business model makes them a bunch of money, good for them.

I look forward to going to Root 174.

Me too! Fuller did a really nice job with Six Penn, and I am excited to see what he does with his own place. I'd actually be excited if he was getting his own place anywhere--the fact it is within walking distance of our house is fantastic.

[Sideblinded]

I wished Legume would have picked Murray Ave! It is missing a bistro. It is filled with pizza, pizza, thai, bar, thai, coffee house, deli, thai, indian, thai, chinese, deli, pizza, coffee house, chinese, ice cream & a donut shop.

There are some great thai, indian, chinese and deli restaurants, but when one thai or indian place closes another one moves in. That area needs a legume or a point Brugge. (ok, we all need a point brugge)

The area is not all college kids!

[trotter_rej]

I hope Legume does well in their new location too, but I do think it's a risky proposition. I work across the street from the new location and it certainly does not have the foot traffic or destination feel of Regent Square. Parking may also be an issue. The street parking is much more limited. I believe 'More (the previous restaurant in Legume's new space) validated parking at the garage in the basement of my building, but that will be an additional cost for Legume if they decide to continue the practice. Of course, if the development at Centre and Craig ever moves forward and CMU does something with the old Giant Eagle building, then Legume's move will probably look brilliant.

As an aside, I feel bad for the large elderly/assisted-living population in this part of North Oakland as they have lost two restaurants that catered to their tastes in Duranti's last year, and now 'More.

[SteelCityRising]

Well, Brian's loss will certainly be my gain as it appears that Legume will be opening its doors much closer to my own home! Now if only I had the income to dine out more often! LOL!

[Sideblinded]

Steel,

Legume was/is a nice treat. The BYOB made it a more affordable treat. I was amazed we could bring in our own bottle of wine and have a spectacular dinner for around $50.00 for 2! It is hard to get out of most mid-range restaurants for less than that if you add 2 beers or pop and a glass of wine to your tab.

I can assure you a 50-60 dollar dinner is an expense that we budget for. Quality vs. Quantity. We enjoy a great night out. If we are investing a chunk of our entertainment budget we appreciate knowing it
was well spent, even though we will most likely go out less that month.

[Copanut]

Dunning-McNairs used to be 3 deep at the bar on Friday nights back in the mid-80's, is that still the case?