Willow, Pittsburgh

Hey y'all. It's been a while, but I'm back in action! I've obviously eaten in dozens of different places in Denver since I've last posted, but I thought I would make my "come-back" entry about an enjoyable dinner I had one evening during the AASL conference in Pittsburgh last week.

The restaurant is called Willow, and it's in the North Hills outside of downtown Pittsburgh. It's on this windy road with trees everywhere. I wish the trees were a little farther along on the color-turning, actually, but what can you do.

It was a vendor dinner, so they pre-ordered the appetizers and wine. I enjoyed the seared tuna appetizer the best, and the white they chose paired quite nicely with it. I ordered the duck they had on the menu. It was a little different than I expected it would be. It was more dark meat than the classic duck dish you would expect, but it was excellent. The berry chutney complemented the duck very nicely, and the side of mushroom orzo that I chose was great. A couple of ladies at the table shared the apple pie. The cinnamon ice cream was good, but the apples were a bit undercooked.

I can't help but also comment on the very well done decor at Willow. Modern but warm, trendy but with a natural element that keeps it down to earth. If I lived in Pittsburgh, I would probably spend quite a bit of time at this place.

E.O.D. Bathroom Rating: I give it four and a half out of five flushes. The coolest part of the bathroom was the sink. It was a rather narrow, trough-like structure that reminded me of the very cool sink in the bathrooms of Kona Grill in the Cherry Creek Mall. Not too much, but maintaining the design aesthetic of the entire restaurant.