Chaz & Odette on Baum Boulevard is a great teamup with delicious results

There's an old saying “two heads are better than one” — meaning that two people can solve a problem easier together than apart. The same sentiment could be applied to accomplishing a goal or achieving a dream. Like opening a restaurant, perhaps?

Chefs Charles “Chaz” Smith and Odette Smith-Ransome are out to prove that two chefs also are better than one at their joint venture, Chaz & Odette, which opened in October. I think they are on to something.

Before the duo teamed up, Chaz owned a catering business, and Odette taught at a culinary institute. The two chefs now bring decades of combined experience to the 100-seat restaurant in the former Toast space on Baum Boulevard. This new project affords many opportunities to combine minds from the completed, cozy interior design to the ever-evolving food offerings.

“It's all about collaboration,” says chef Odette. “It's very much an ‘I have this thing that can go here, and that can go there…' approach from design to what's on the menu.”

And what's on the menu is truly eclectic, pulling from each chef's collective backgrounds and culinary skills. Entrees have a Southern emphasis, with fried catfish, brisket macaroni and cheese, and spicy wings paired with waffles. Flatbreads play a prominent menu role, as well, and take taste buds on a trip around the world with preparations like Korean barbecue, Mumbai curry chicken and Spanish sausage. Every item is made in-house, from the cured sausage in the shrimp and grits to the signature cheesecake.

For starters, there are two salads, one with a house-smoked bacon and a fried egg and one that is stamped with the C&O signature that includes toasted flax seed, a hearty helping of olives and feta, and garbanzo beans. Other small plates include a smoked whitefish crostini, lamb meatballs and charred brussels sprouts. The brussels sprouts, while not an adventurous dish, are prepared well, just crispy enough with a sweet glaze made with honey and balsamic.

Make sure to order a flatbread, either to share or to slam down on your own as a meal. Plenty of restaurants offer flatbread, but I dare you to find one that is doing it as well as Chaz & Odette. The secret is a good base.

When my first flatbread arrived, goat cheese and mango topped, I thought: “There is too much crust.” Wrong. The crust, slightly puffy and wood-fired, could stand on its own without the toppings. The four cheese and garlic flatbread is also worth a taste, and allows you to squeeze a whole head of roasted garlic onto your pie.

Entrees are at once comforting and bold. The take on chicken and waffles, with a cayenne waffle, sriracha maple syrup and whole wings in a spicy coating, is killer. Be prepared to get the wing sauce everywhere — do not order on a first date. But, do indeed order. Other options include a creamy macaroni and cheese with smoked brisket, ratatouille, and a very large Berkshire tomahawk pork chop resting lovingly atop collard-green mash.

While the menu is planned to change with the seasons, the team has added and edited as they go.

“We have no problem with reinventing and replacing,” Odette says. “Experimentation helps.”

On a recent trip, I had finished up my meal and out walks chef Chaz from the kitchen with a small treat for each table: a tiramisu that was not yet on the menu. He wanted feedback from the patrons to see if it indeed should find a menu spot. Experimentation at its finest.

As Chaz & Odette continues to find its footing in the culinary landscape here in the 'Burgh, it will surely be a delight to enjoy the fruits of the continued experimentation and shared vision of the chefs. The fusion of these two culinary minds has only just begun.

Laura Zorch is one of the food-savvy ladies of eatPGH.com, who contribute a weekly dining column to Trib Total Media.