In the final days of Pittsburgh Restaurant Week, my closest gal pals and I decided to leave the boys behind and have a night out on the town. So obviously we picked the most romantic place we could find and headed to East Liberty to get our French on.
The moment we walked into Paris 66 we felt like we were transported to France (well,
E1 and
MM -whom you've met in previous posts) have been there, so they confirmed. To me, it felt like Paris in EPCOT, and that was good enough). We were greeted by baked goods and macaroons galore and the smell of fresh crepe batter filled the air.
The walls of the charming bistro are littered with Parisian trinkets and art. Even the chairs seemed French.
Here's a heads up: Paris 66 used to be BYOB. It's not anymore. But no matter, we were excited for French wine! We started with a nice Bordeaux. Not the best wine I've had, but it was Bordeaux. So I didn't whine about my wine.
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| Chateau Cabo Bordeaux - $36 |
A few girls started with a light salad with a delicious, refreshing, citrus-y vinaigrette...
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| House Salad |
...but I had one agenda for the evening and one agenda only: to get ESCARGOT. And I escar-got it. The parsley-anis infused butter sauce was completely out of this world. If you've never tried escargot, I encourage you to do so. It's like the slightly chewier cousin of calamari, with a more earthy aftertaste. Soak it in a butter sauce like Paris 66 and you've got shell-shucked heaven. Just writing this post makes me drool in anticipation of going back and snagging another order of those slippery little suckers (10 points for Pretty Woman reference).
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| Escargot Bourguignon - $12 |
E1 went for the Crevettes Provencales, or seafood linguini. Sauteed shrimp are tossed with linguini, fresh herbs, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes in a perfectly balanced white wine sauce to pull together this lovely Tuscan inspired dish.
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| Crevettes Provencales - $19 |
MM channeled her inner Ramsay and went with the Beef Wellington and steamed asparagus. This was a PRW menu item and can't be found on their day-to-day menu, but should be. Her only complaint was that it could have use a touch more flavor, but the steak was cooked wonderfully!
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| Beef Wellington - part of PRW $30 pre-fixe |
LSpan, a F.O.R.T. I'm proud to finally introduce, decided on the Herb Crusted Salmon Salad. It was cooked just slightly over, but had great flavors and a nice sear. The crunchy pomme pailles (or "shoestring potatoes") gave the salad a nice assortment of textures.
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| Herb Crusted Salmon Salad - $18 |
In my attempt to keep my calorie count down after 3 glasses of wine and butter-soaked snails, I took a minimalist approach to my entree and went with the delicious Roasted Beet Caprese salad. Paired with heirloom tomatoes, red onions, buffalo mozzarella and a balsamic reduction, the beets truly shined. It was a truly unique spin on a beet salad and - despite the smaller size - I really did feel satisfied afterward. Maybe it was the wine.
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| Roasted Beet Caprese - $14 |
Of course, no respectable foodie can visit an authentic French bistro and leave without trying the macaroons. We chose the salted caramel, Rose and Pistachio flavors. Each unique in their own way and each with the perfect fluffy, creamy texture that you die for in a macaroon. If you go here for nothing else, go here for them.
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| Left to right: Rose, Pistachio and Salted Caramel Maracoons - $11.70/ half dozen |
Restaurant Information:
Paris 66
Address: 6018 Penn Circle South in East Liberty
Phone: 412.404.8166
Reservations: Taken (over the phone or via OpenTable)
Hours:
Monday - Thursday 11am-10pm
Friday + Saturday 11am-11pm
Sunday BRUNCH 10am-3pm
Overall Opinion:
As you know, I'm forever and always a huge fan of any establishment that sources local ingredients. Paris 66 is one of them, and it makes me proud. The ambiance and general aura of this place is brilliant. I felt happy just sitting there. It was a completely perfect girls night and would make an even better romantic date night. The food was excellent as well. I've had crepes there months prior and they were also spot on. Both times I've visited Paris 66 I've been blown away. I can't wait to go back!
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