The Art of Food (and Actual Art!) on 5/19/24

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Thank you for your interest – the dinner is SOLD OUT. Please send a note if you would like us to add you to the wait list. We look forward to sharing more events later this summer.

Pairing wine and food can be interesting and thought provoking (and taste good!) Adding contemporary art to the mix makes for an even more compelling experience. If a broad, thought-provoking blend of food, wine and art sounds interesting to you, please join us for an evening starting at the Alma Lewis gallery and proceed to dinner next door at Black Radish Kitchen.

The Art: Alma Lewis founder and chief curator Kilolo Luckett will start the evening with comments about the gallery’s founding (along with bubbly and passed bites). Be among the first to see the new solo exhibition titled, My Memory is a Machine by Ambrose Rhapsody Murray and meet resident artists (Maria de los Angeles Rodríguez Jiménez and Stephen Towns).

The Food: Black Radish Kitchen, now a Pittsburgh institution, we cannot say enough about the BR Team, will artfully craft a memorable menu.

The Wine: Jack curated a group of high-quality wines, ALL produced by women with diverse backstories in Spain, USA, Italy and Chile.

We hope you can join us for a memorable meal and very special evening. Space is limited – so sign up soon if you’d like to attend.

Art Bites
crostini with white bean and sardine & prosciutto rolls

Campo Viejo Cava Rose NV, Spain

First Course
grilled scampi bruschetta

CVNE ‘Monopole’ Blanco Rioja DOCa 2021, Spain

Oak Farm Vineyards Chardonnay Lodi 2022, USA

Second Course

arugula salad with pancetta, goat cheese, crispy shallots, chive and fried crouton 

Third & Fourth Courses

mushroom cavatappi with ramp and black pepper mascarpone cream 

roasted chicken leg with roasted tomato and olive ragu

I Fabbri Chianti Classico Red Label Lamole 2020, Italy

Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Selection 2020, Chile

Fifth Course
macaroons dipped in sea salt chocolate 

Please note that all sales are final. If you find you are unable to use your seats, please contact Kate and Jack and they will see if there is someone on the wait list who can use them (although this is not guaranteed).  Thank you.

Aussie Day 1/28/24

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January in Pittsburgh is cold – so let’s celebrate a summer holiday along with Jack’s heritage. Jack grew up mostly in the USA, but also spent time in his mother’s hometown of Hobart, Tasmania, where he played cricket for his primary school and solidified his love of meat pies.

Australia Day is a middle-of-summer national holiday commemorating the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet (a trip that took 7 months!). Much like the 4th of July in the United States, Australia Day traditionally is a barbecue at the beach and hang out with family and friends sort of holiday.

No beach hang out for us, but Jack has two 93 point wines to share along with a fantastic Australian style meal.

We will have a Zoom gathering at 6:30pm.

Dinner for Two 
Whitefish: Cod whipped into a savory, creamy dip

Artichoke Parmesan: Artichokes churned with nutty parmesan cheese, olive oil, and peppers

Rocket Salad (Aussie term for arugula) with Pears and Shaved Cheese with a lemon Dijon vinaigrette

Meat Pies: Two individual steak and ale meat pies in pastry

Apple Walnut Cake: Fresh apples baked into a bundt pan with quality olive oil, walnuts and spices

  • White Wine – Devil’s Corner Chardonnay from Tasmania, Australia 2021 (93 points James Suckling) 
  • Red Wine – Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon “Filius” from Margaret River, West Australia 2020 (93 points Wine Spectator)

Please note that all sales are final. If you find you are unable to use your seats, please contact Kate and Jack and they will see if there is someone on the wait list who can use them (although this is not guaranteed).  Thank you.

Tuscan Takeout 11/19/23

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Tuscany… known for beautiful landscapes, incredible art museums, eight World Heritage designated sights, AND incredibly tasty food and wine.

We recently met the owner of Buonamico Winery when he visited Pittsburgh and loved the wines – SO, we thought it would be fun to share a Tuscan style takeout dinner and introduce you to the wine.

Exuberantly enthusiastic chef Jen Saffron and her Sprezzatura team have created a tantilyzing Tuscan dinner and you’ll have two Tuscan Buonamico wines – Fun right???

We will have a Zoom gathering at 6:30pm.

Dinner for Two 
Frantoiana – flavorful, herbaceous bean and vegetable soup from the Tuscan region

Tuscan herb crusted pork 

Homemade ricotta gnocchi finished in sage butter

Grilled local radicchio with pistachios and citrus balsamic glaze, shaved cheese

Handmade rosemary and olive focaccia

Mini tiramisu

BOTTLES – yep – TWO BOTTLES – of wine 

  • White Wine – VIVI VERMENTINO IGT TUSCANY 2022 IGT (100% Vermentino)
  • Red Wine – ETICHETTA BLU 2019 DOC (Blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon)

Sicily Firriato Wine Dinner on 6/25/23

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So many planets aligned for this very special dinner to come together.

  • Our good friend and Italian tour guide Marco will be passing through town
  • Sicilian Firriato wines are available to us through a special arrangement
  • Senti Restaurant is able to open for us on a Sunday evening

All of these wonderful factors have led us to offer a dinner featuring the best wines of Sicily from Firriato. Jack will have his projector set up to share vineyard photos (of course he will!), Marco has tons of great Sicilian stories to share too!

We hope you can join us for a memorable meal and very special evening. Space is limited – so sign up soon if you’d like to attend.

First Course
Arancini allo Zafferano

Firriato Gaudensius Blanc De Noir Etna DOC

Second Course
Polipo Bollito

(octopus, crispy garbanzo beans, red pepper sauce, pickled onions parsley, lemon)

Firriato Etna Bianco, Cavanera Tre Bicchieri 2021

Third Course

Brodetto di Pesce 

(calamari, shrimps, mussels, lite tomato and fennel sauce, parsley, olive oil, toasted bread)

Firriato Etna Rosso, Cavanera Due Bicchieri 2018

Fourth Course

Pesce Spada alla 

(grilled swordfish, fennel, orange, mixed olives, olive oil – orange dressing)

Firriato Quater Vitis Bianco, Due Bicchieri IGT Terre Siciliane 2020 

Fifth Course
Dolce

Firriato Favinia Passule’ Bianco Passito 2016

Box-a-Palooza (6/09/23)

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Join us for an Ecologically Friendly, French-inspired Box-a-Palooza tasting event.

France’s food culture is known for sophisticated cuisine AND high quality table wine often served from a box – that’s right the BIB (Bag in Box)!

It makes sense – one box equals 4 bottles of wine with the packaging weight of less than a single bottle = less waste, less expense. Plus, the BIB design doesn’t allow air to reach the wine, so the wine won’t oxidize in a few short days (as it would with an open bottle).

Join us on Friday, June 9th to taste some good quality French wines (you may recognize one that was served in bottle at a previous OTG dinner!) available at great savings in a super convenient box along with bites from Sprezzatura – let’s break the Franzia-created stigma and enjoy wine from a box!

And yeah – New York Times wine writer Eric Asimov just wrote an article on (good) box wine, and yeah, he suggests a box wine that we already arranged for this tasting – apparently great minds enjoy good wine in a box!

Here is our line up:

Rose  Chateau Tassin Bordeaux Rose 2022

White Maison du Grand Pre Bourgogne Blanc 2021

White Chateau Tassin Bordeaux Blanc 2021

Red   Maison du Grand Pre Bourgogne Rouge 2020

Red   Chateau Moulin de la Roquille Bordeaux Cotes de France Cuvee l’Esperance 2018

LOGISTICS: The price is person. Stop by anytime between 5pm-7pm (note we will stop pouring at 7pm). We will send location details with confirmation the week of the event.

Tour of Spain (3/31/23)

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It’s been a minute – and we are starting small – but we are venturing back to IN PERSON gatherings. You are invited to a very special (and space limited) event of 6 Wines paired with 6 Tapas.

When an opportunity came up to taste a new range of Spanish wines at Joe Barsotti’s secret Strip District location, we jumped at the chance to put together SIX Spanish wines with SIX Spanish Tapas (from Chef Jason Sicher) with lots of good information about both so we all learn while we sip and taste. 

Note that for this event the price is person. Tasting will start at 6:30pm and we’ll send location details with confirmation the week before the event.

Please note that all sales are final. If you find you are unable to use your seats, please contact Kate and Jack and they will see if there is someone on the wait list who can use them (although this is not guaranteed).  Thank you.

New year, New adventures (2/12/23)

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Welcome to 2023!!! We still aren’t geared up for in-person gatherings – but thanks to Kate Romane and her team at Black Radish we can still bring you fabulous food and of course – wine.

Speaking of wine – we hope you are sitting down – because Jack was able to find two wines that he had never tasted before … and with the white wine he had never heard of the grape before … WHAT?!. But don’t worry – both wines are now fully vetted and Jack-approved.

We hope you’ll join us on this veggie-inspired adventure and start the year exploring new wines. We will have a Zoom gathering at 6:30pm.

Dinner for Two 
white fish pate with crostini

classic caesar salad with spinach, radicchio, and romaine, bread crumb, parm and pepper

eggplant parmesan with tomato, basil, fresh mozz, parsley, and parm

flourless chocolate brownies with berry mess

BOTTLES – yep – TWO BOTTLES – of wine 
Jack curated two wines (one white – one red).

  • White Wine – Cantina di Tortona Piccolo Derthona Timorasso – “the White Barolo” Piemonte Italy 2020
  • Red Wine – Kellerei Bozen, Lagrein, Südtirol Alto Adige DOC Italy 2019

OTG is back for a year-end celebration 12/04/22

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Join us for a final dinner in 2022 with Chris and Beth Barnes from Chris James Cellars!

Many of you enjoyed the dinner a year ago when we featured a 2016 Chris James Cellars Oregon Pinot Noir with a Pittsburgh Connection (Co-Founder Beth is from Pittsburgh!). We received many comments that the Chris James Pinot Noir was fantastically smooth, fruitful and satisfying – and hundreds of bottles were purchased afterward.

SO… It’s BAAACK, in a new vintage!   This time we have the opportunity for the founder/owners Chris and Beth to share the story of Chris James Cellars and specifically their commitment to making world class Oregon Pinot.  (Don’t fret, we’ll have a white wine as well!).

Making everything taste yummy together is our dear friend Jen Saffron and her team at Sprezzatura.

We will have a Zoom gathering at 6:30pm.

Dinner for Two 
Carrot spread and crostini

Lamb ragu and tagliatelle 

Roasted squash

Citrus fennel salad with green Sicilian olive

Lemon almond cake

BOTTLES – yep – TWO BOTTLES – of wine 

  • White Wine – Left Coast Estate White Pinot Noir 2021
  • Red Wine – Chris James Cellars Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton (Estate) Oregon 2018

Please note that all sales are final. If you find you are unable to use your seats, please contact Kate and Jack and they will see if there is someone on the wait list who can use them (although this is not guaranteed).  Thank you.

Return of the Radish (4/24/22)

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In Pittsburgh spring can mean a lot of things – snow, sun, rain, wind – but one thing is guaranteed … we will have a fabulous meal thanks to Kate Romane and her team at Black Radish.

Jack was up to the challenge and is surprising us with interesting wines from the west coast (an albariño from California – what?!). We hope you’ll join us on this adventure as we transition seasons.

We will have a Zoom gathering at 6:30pm.

Dinner for Two 
antipasto box (calabrese, fresh mozz, olives, pickle, roasted veg)

house bread

romaine wedge. lemon vinaigrette. bleu cheese. focaccia crumble. prosciutto crumbs. cucumber. radish

cavatappi with hot sausage bolognese. feta. oregano

flourless chocolate mess. nutella. hazelnuts 

BOTTLES – yep – TWO BOTTLES – of wine 
Jack curated two wines (one white – one red).

  • White Wine – Oak Farm Vineyards Lodi Albariño 2020 
  • Red Wine – Chris James Willamette Pinot Noir 2016

Please note that all sales are final. If you find you are unable to use your seats, please contact Kate and Jack and they will see if there is someone on the wait list who can use them (although this is not guaranteed).  Thank you.

Midwinter Cozy with Sprezzatura 2/13/22

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Welcome to fridgid friggen 2022!   As we write this note, we feel like everyone could use a winter warm-up.

Our incredible community-focused-friend/chef Jen Saffron and her Sprezzatura Team have curated a menu that will surely keep us warm until the spring thaw arrives. To meet the quality of the menu, we’ve curated equally solid wines from one of the world’s great and most historic regions: Bordeaux. Check out the details below for the first Off the Grid of 2022.

Each purchase includes dinner for TWO PEOPLE, and TWO BOTTLES of wine. If you would like to join us – please purchase, and we will send confirmation and pick up directions.

We will have a Zoom gathering at 6:30pm.

Dinner for Two 
Homemade grissini and olive feta mint dip

Italian farro with blistered cherry tomatoes 

Beef, caramelized onion and mushroom stew

Citrus fennel arugula salad

French chocolate espresso mini tart 

BOTTLES – yep – TWO BOTTLES – of wine 
For this round Jack has curated two wines from France (one white – one red).

  • White Wine – Chateau Tassin Bordeaux Blanc 2020 (85% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Semillon), a lovely crisp, fruity white from the right bank of the Gironde
  • Red Wine – Le Bordeaux de Dauzac 2018 (56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot), red table wine from uber-famous Margaux “Fifth Growth” producer with documented history dating to 1190 and “King Richard the Lionheart”

Please note that all sales are final. If you find you are unable to use your seats, please contact Kate and Jack and they will see if there is someone on the wait list who can use them (although this is not guaranteed).  Thank you.