Wine lists are shrinking as restaurants offer more beer and cocktail choices(1)
Chef Adam Manculich pours 21st Amendment Back in Black IPA, one of the beers on tap at Yo Rita on the South Side.
The restaurant experience is constantly in flux: Where white tablecloths, dress codes and European food were once the norm, today we're embracing (or adjusting to) the prevalence of bare tabletops, loud music and influences so varied that fusion doesn't begin to cover it.
Another apparent casualty of the shifting dining landscape? The wine list. In Pittsburgh and beyond, wine lists are shrinking and cocktails and beer seem to be eating up some of wine's traditional territory.
In the past year, almost every restaurant that has opened with a liquor license seems to tout its cocktail or beer offerings or both, from burger joints such as Winghart's, Burgatory and BRGR to more upscale spots such as Salt of the Earth, NOLA and Meat & Potatoes.
Whether this change is good or bad, like all things in the world of restaurants, is a matter of personal taste and perspective.
Jesse Seager, co-owner of the Belgian-beer focused restaurants Point Brugge in Point Breeze and Park Bruges in Highland Park, isn't surprised by the growing interest, especially in light of the current economy. Beer is "more approachable and more affordable," he said. The highest-rated wines fetch hundreds, even thousands of dollars a bottle, but "Anybody can afford the best beer in the world."
Since Point Brugge opened in 2005 it has consistently been one of the busiest restaurants in town, proving that there is a substantial audience in Pittsburgh for good food paired with good beer.
And since 2005, that market has only grown. "When I talked to bars six years ago, I would get brushed off," said Scott Smith, owner of the East End Brewing Co. Now, he goes back to those same bars and they are not only selling craft beers (including his) but also seeking out information and training their staff to make recommendations and answer questions.
These changes aren't limited to bars or casual restaurants, either. At Eleven Contemporary Kitchen in the Strip District, a recent special-event dinner included courses paired with East End Brewing Co.'s Big Hop Harvest, a Collins made with Bluecoat gin from Philadelphia and wines from Briar Valley Winery in Bedford, Pa.
These mix-and-match pairings are becoming ever more common. "That idea, 'I started with wine, I'm locked into wine for the evening,' that's out the window," Mr. Smith said.
Where beverage programs once focused on offering diners their usual drinks -- a vodka martini, say, or a glass of merlot -- today's are designed to complement the style of the restaurant. At Verde Mexican Kitchen and Cantina, set to open in Garfield next month, "We want the focus to be as specific as possible on the cuisine that we're going to be serving," said bartender Nathan Lutchansky. All the bottled beers will be Mexican and they'll have Negro Modelo on draft. The margarita list will be the core of the cocktail program, and they hope to have more than 150 tequilas on the shelf when they open.
