For Joe Reale, arancini has been a favorite food since he was kid.
The recipe for the large balls of lightly fried risotto formed around a soft center of savory meats and/or vegetables was something his family had brought with them when they emigrated from Sicily.
In Sicily, arancini are a popular street food, a hand-held snack to be eaten on the run. Local fans of Southern Mediterranean food may have encountered them in restaurants as a smaller, meatball-sized appetizer that better represents the name, which is Italian for “little oranges.”
But Reale was always puzzled why no one offered them in their authentic, softball-sized form.
He decided it was up to him to fill the void, “not only to serve the food I love so much but to educate the world that arancini is not small. It's supposed to be more a meal than an appetizer,” he says.
Last November, he and his father-in-law, Emanuel Lacommare, opened Arancini House on the lower level of an office building on Washington Road in Mt. Lebanon.
The arancini are made fresh daily, and, unless you come late in the day when inventory is low, you're likely to find arancini with at least two different fillings, one of which is vegetarian.
The Original and Al Burro ($4.50 for either) are staples.
The Original has a center of Bolognese ragu with peas. Al Burro is filled with bechamel sauce, peas and prosciutto. A third choice ($4.50) varies from day to day. Recent choices have included broccoli and mozzarella with olive oil; and mushrooms and truffle with fontina or beans and greens.
Also offered are small, chewy, freshly baked bread rolls with a variety of fillings and served with a small side dish of red sauce; the familiar pepperoni roll ($3.50) stuffed with pepperoni and whole-milk mozzarella; a sausage, pepper and onions roll ($4.25) with bits of Italian sausage, vegetables and mozzarella; and a richly flavorful eggplant parm roll ($4.95) with silky chunks of eggplant and melted mozzarella held together with marinara sauce.
Everything is made in-house, including desserts such at The Donnoli ($3.95), a tubular doughnut filled with cannoli cream.
The rolls and arancini are ample enough to satisfy a snacker. Add a house salad ($3.95) and/or a dessert, and the snack becomes a reasonable meal.
Reale is in the process of installing a pizza oven that he hopes to have operational by the first week in July. He plans to use the oven — imported from Italy — to widen the menu by making authentic, thin-crusted, chewy, New York-style pizzas.
Service is casual, friendly and swift.
Orders are placed at the counter after checking out the day's selection of rolls and arancini. There's virtually no waiting for an order. Rolls and arancini are served at room temperature, which makes them a good choice for carry-out or picnicking. You can also eat in at one of the tables. Flatware is plastic. Paper napkins are abundant. San Pellegrino waters and soft drinks ($1.95) are available from a glass-fronted refrigeration unit.
There's also a BYOB policy for those who prefer a glass of vino with their meal. Glasses are provided with no corkage charge.
First-time customers may have a challenge in finding Arancini House. While large signs alert you to the building entrance, once inside, you're on your own. The website advises that the restaurant is on the terrace level, but fails to tell you that's one level below the street. It is accessible by elevator and stairs.
“I like the challenge of being a hidden treasure. Being in this spot didn't scare us. We always knew we were different enough that people would find us,” Reale says.
Arancini House, 615 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays to Thursdays and Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays. Details: 412-561-0400 or arancinihouse.com
Alice T. Carter is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-320-7808, acarter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ATCarter_Trib.
