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Last night my wife and I and another couple went to dinner at Legume in Regent Square, a relatively new French restaurant located on South Braddock. We had been meaning to try Legume for a few months now but unfortunately they only take reservations for parties of 6 or more and the few times we had tried before we were stymied by extremely long waits. This time, determined to get in we set off with a plan of showing up at 8pm and then waiting as long as necessary to get seated (while consuming beverages at a bar across the street). The plan worked, after an hour and a half and several beers we finally were seated at Legume. Legume, like many restaurants in Pittsburgh is BYOB. This suits us perfectly as we are always happy to bring a bottle from our home collection. As soon as we sat down the waitress opened our bottle and brought us four glasses and this is where things got a little interesting. The glasses that she brought for our wine could best be described as small juice glasses normally reserved for OJ at breakfast, hardly what I would expect or hope for when consuming a pricey pinot noir. Our companions informed us that when traveling in France they had seen this type of glassware used so I assume this is what Legume was going for but I have to wonder, do the French not like to swirl their wine and enjoy both the bouquet as well as the taste? My next observation however was a pleasant one. At the bottom of the menu they had a small note pointing out that for the first time all of the meat on the menu was from local area farms with the exception of the rib-eye and even that was produced humanely without any hormones. I love to see this type of commitment to using local produce and judging by the variety of meats on the menu (lamb, chicken, rabbit and duck) I can imagine that the chef makes an effort to find quality ingredients from a variety of sources. After perusing the menu for a few minutes we were then informed that several of the items were no longer available because it had been a busy Saturday night. Aren’t all Saturday nights at a restaurant busy? This was particularly interesting given that the menu only had five or six appetizers and entrees, but I will chalk it up to the fact that they are new and trying hard to source their ingredients locally (and that we sat down at 9:30). The rest of the evening went very well. My appetizer was excellent, a pork and rabbit terrine served with pickles and a zesty mustard. My friend had the yam ravioli which she exclaimed to be the best ravioli she had ever tried. I enjoyed my rib-eye, a refreshing take on a 12oz steak (especially if you are used to steak being topped with gorgonzola butter like it seems to be at many places in Pittsburgh). Overall and enjoyable evening and I look forward to going back to see what it can be with a few more months of operation under their belts. Oh, and I think we’ll get one more couple to come along so we can make a reservation and not worry about the wait.
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Bob, A few comments: The
Bob,
A few comments: The reason Legume runs out of some items is because Trevett, the owner and chef, shops daily in the strip at which point he sees what's available and sets the menu. This also means that each time you go there will be something different - which could be frustrating or refreshing, depending on your personal point of view.
As for the appetizers, you should really try the duck con fit, it's Trevett's specialty and from what I understand takes 2 weeks of preparation. I've had it and it's excellent. Oh, beware, one order is not enough for two to share.
Finally, let me know next time you go...
Bob, I spoke with Sarah, the
Bob,
I spoke with Sarah, the owner, yesterday. And has answers for you.
Wine glasses: There were several reasons for not carrying wine glasses. Like you hypothesized, the glasses are part of the ambiance. But they did, at one point, carry some wine glasses. Unfortunately they break too often and, because the space is so small, they just don't have room in the kitchen to store the stemware. She said most of her oenophiles bring their own glasses, and you're free to do the same.
Items no longer available: Sarah said they are definitely getting better, but it's a very hard problem to solve. They really want to make sure everything stays fresh and that little gets thrown away. Shopping is done daily and they think they've got a good handle on demand, but it will never be perfect. Hopefully it will be better next time.
Reservations: I can't remember what she called it, but you can phone anytime after 5pm to get put on the wait list. Not quite a reservation, but it should eliminate some of the wait.