Heinz Hall's Garden Cafe an outdoor oasis
Summer brings with it some specific pleasures.
Trips to the beach. Sitting in shorts and a polo shirt at a Pirates game. Having a workday lunch outside in an attractive setting.
The Garden Cafe at Heinz Hall, Downtown, offers one way to get the latter.
The courtyard next to the concert hall takes on a new role in the summer months that elevates it beyond a place to hang out for a drink before shows.
Managed by Truffles & Flourishes Catering, the company that runs Heinz Hall's Mozart Room, the Garden Cafe offers a pleasant oasis in a downtown that sometimes is more of a desert.
It is at an intersection fairly busy with car and foot traffic, but the red brick wall surrounding the cafe keeps out noise enough that a waterfall creates a seething rush as it seems to tumble out of the side of the building.
Generally, the cafe seats about 150, but there is enough space to boost that. At the usual level, the courtyard has a fairly comfortable feel with enough space for a duo to provide palatable versions of jazz standards.
Most of the tables have umbrellas to ward off brightness, but some rely on the small trees in the courtyard. Some are out in the sun, but they, too, eventually coast into shade.
Because it's in the middle of Downtown, the crowd generally has a business look. Sure, there are some folks who look like tourists or shoppers, but most of the clientele wears clothes that bespeak escape from the office.
You probably won't find many students. The Garden Cafe, in price, feel and music, seems to aim at a different audience. For instance, a vegetable wrap of a flour tortilla stuffed with asparagus, alfalfa sprouts, portobello mushrooms, peppers and onions is $8.25. That's not a killer, but it's more than a burger and fries.
Many of the items are around that same price and style. The whole grain chicken salad ($8.95) has grilled chicken, green beans, cherry tomatoes and toasted almonds for $8.95. There also is a classic Caesar salad ($7.25), a garden tuna salad ($8.25) and a salad trio ($8.25). The latter mixes the tuna salad, grilled chicken and pasta salads.
The cafe has a selection of sandwiches, too. The cultural bistro burger ($7.95) has lettuce, tomato and onions on an 8-ounce burger with cheese, bacon or sauteed mushrooms available as options for 75 cents each. The Monterey grilled chicken sandwich ($8.25) has Monterey jack cheese, lettuce, tomato and black bean guacamole on a grilled chicken breast.
A turkey club sandwich ($8.25) and Capri sandwich ($8.20) of roasted mozzarella and oven-roasted tomatoes round out that category.
Daily specials also are offered along with glasses of wine, martinis and Manhattans. While the alcoholic beverages seem attractive on a warm summer day, they were not to be seen one recent afternoon. It was a reminder of how the "three-martini lunch" has become midday history.
Service isn't excessively fast at the Garden Cafe, but it's still easy to wrap up lunch in an hour.
Additional Information:
Details
The Garden Cafe at Heinz Hall, Sixth Street and Liberty Avenue, Downtown, is open from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays through September. (412) 392-4879.
