OK, so "local food" sounds suspiciously like just another food fad -- especially when snotty-sounding words like "locavore" get coined. But, really, it's just common sense.
Most agree that fresh food usually tastes better than frozen or artificial-preservative-packed food. When you're trucking apples in from Oregon, or shipping them in from New Zealand, well, that's a long time in transit. Shipping food in from elsewhere also creates significant pollution and wastes gasoline.
Becoming a hardcore locavore -- who only eats food that's in season locally -- certainly wouldn't be easy to do around here. It's not necessary to go to such extremes, though. A great place to start is just to begin noticing where things are made. It's not just food, either. Buying just about anything locally made is good for the local economy and helps strengthen the things that make the region unique.
A number of Pittsburgh restaurants got on the local food bandwagon fairly early, like the Big Burrito Restaurant Group (Mad Mex, Kaya, Casbah) and the Cafe at the Frick. Even Eat'n Park has begun to promote their use of locally sourced ingredients in their dishes.
Then again, it's all a matter of degree -- limiting your menu to things that can only be found locally (and in season) is a bold step that few restaurants are willing take. Mostly, it's a combination of local and trucked-in food, though better restaurants tend to find ways to include more and more locally sourced items.
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Pittsburgh has a very strong, nationally recognized system of farmer's markets, and there's one going on somewhere on most days of the week.
The Farmers@Firehouse Saturday farmer's market in the Strip District -- next to the Firehouse Lounge -- is one of the best, and focuses largely on organic produce. It was begun in 2002 by the Penn's Corner Farmer's Alliance, but expanded to include a wide variety of unique foods. It's a particularly good place to buy fresh-cut herbs and greens like kale, spinach, Swiss chard and arugula.
Some interesting vendors include Najat's Cuisine -- small, handmade batches of Lebanese staples like hummus and baba ghanouj -- and heirloom tomato sauce, peach butter and spiced apple sauce from Mott Family Farm.
Unfortunately, Farmers@Firehouse doesn't open until May -- but it's worth waiting for.
Farmers@Firehouse, 2216 Penn Ave., 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. (May through November) or online .
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The new Bella Sera Urban Trattoria, Downtown, is of only two Pittsburgh restaurants certified by the Green Restaurant Association: It uses energy-efficient appliances, composts, recycles fryer oil into biodiesel and uses locally sourced food.
In Italy, a trattoria is less formal than a restaurant, but more so than a bar, and Bella Sera seems to get this laidback, candlelit demeanor just right. It focuses on light, fresh, uncomplicated fare, especially salads and rustic European-style sandwiches.
Much of the produce -- peppers to tomatoes, basil, zucchini -- comes from chef-owner Jason Capps' mother's Greene County farm. Dishes like Farm Fresh Penne Pasta use her basil to make the pesto. And the homemade pickles, served with every sandwich, are the best I've ever tasted.
Bella Sera Urban Trattoria, Market Square, Downtown. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Fridays; private events Saturdays and Sundays. 412-281-6363.
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There are a number of area grocers that offer a better-than-average array of local produce. Right By Nature in the Strip, the East End Food Co-op in Point Breeze, the Trax Farms store in Findlay and the various McGinnis Sisters stores are great places to find local produce.
Soergel Orchards is a particular favorite -- a local farm and grocer that has stayed strong, even as suburban sprawl has devoured most of its Wexford neighborhood. There are so many good things here, from blueberries grown in walking distance of the store -- you can pick your own, in season -- to incredible chocolate milk from Brunton's Dairy in Beaver County. No trip to Soergel's is complete without buying apples -- or their unbeatable apple cider.
Soergel Orchards and Garden Center, 2573 Brandt School Rd., Wexford. 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. 724-935-1743.
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For locally brewed beer, it's worth seeking out the East End Brewing Company on the border of Point Breeze and Homewood. This is about as micro as microbreweries get -- just one guy and his little beer laboratory. But East End's brews have become favorites at many local pubs and restaurants, and you can stop by and pick up a half-gallon growler's worth straight from the source.
The Big Hop IPA and Black Strap Stout -- an American stout brewed with black-strap molasses and brown sugar -- are good places to start.
East End Brewing Company, 6923 Susquehanna St., Homewood. Growler Hours: 5-7 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.; noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays.
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Legume in Regent Square attempts to incorporate locally sourced food as much as possible, from Mildreds' Daughter's Urban Farm down the road in nearby Stanton Heights to Ron Gargasz's organic grass-fed beef from Volant, Lawrence County.
The menu changes fairly often, but some things crop up frequently, like Jamison Lamb Shoulder Chop. Jamison Farm in Latrobe supplies lamb to some of the top chefs in America, like Ken Frank from La Toque in California and Daniel Boulud's Cafe Boulud in New York City. Also, look for special events, like the recent "Spring Equinox Dinner with the Jamisons," a prix-fixe seafood-and-lamb dinner, and "Penn's Corner Over-wintered Vegetables Night," featuring local cheeses, meats and vegetables from the Penn's Corner Farm Alliance.
Legume, 1113 S. Braddock Ave., Swissvale. 5:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays to Thursdays.; 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. 412-371-1815 or online .
