Spirit
Pizza | vegetarian- and vegan-friendly | fun
Banh Mizza pizza at Spirit. (John Colombo/For the Post-Gazette)
Chicory Salad served on the patio at Spirit. (John Colombo/For the Post-Gazette)
In 2015, Tom Barr, Leigh Yock and a cadre of compatriots (the Spirit “family” holiday stockings range the length of the beautiful bar in the downstairs lodge) took an old Upper Lawrenceville Moose Lodge and turned it into an of-the-now hangout for contemporary Pittsburgh nightlife culture.
Spirit might be best known as an entertainment venue, but its roots are as culinary as they are celebratory. Barr, who also serves as the primary chef of the venue, cut his teeth at the acclaimed pizza and more restaurant Roberta’s in Brooklyn and former Pizza Boat chef Jeff Ryan (also of Roberta’s) helped launch Spirit’s Slice Island kitchen.
“One word that came to my mind was that we’re a bit of a chameleon. Because we do so many things at Spirit, it allows us to be creative in our offerings, more so than a typical restaurant,” Barr says.
This means that, in addition to Spirit’s everyday pizza-centered menu, special meals such as a multi-course New Year’s Eve dinner, St. Patrick’s Day feast and even an occasional spaghetti disco complete with free servings of spaghetti and meatballs at midnight, are part of the mix.
“It’s comfortable. It’s not like a normal restaurant but it’s not a dive bar. It’s the perfect in-between,” Barr says.
Sure, Spirit is hip, but its core is infused with the essence of the social clubs and gathering spots that preceded it, including nearby, now-closed Nied’s Hotel. Barr’s maternal great-grandfather was an officer at the Lawrenceville Moose, and his paternal grandfather, Joseph M. Barr, served as mayor of Pittsburgh from 1959-1970.
Spirit added a large, all-weather tent in 2021, which now serves as the space’s de facto dining room. That means that even when the upstairs and downstairs areas are busy with concerts and dance parties, there’s always somewhere to eat. (The whole menu is available in the downstairs space during many events and on regular bar nights, too.)
In a city devoid of late-night and Monday dining options, having a menu available until 11 p.m. Mondays and slices served until midnight on weekends is a boon. Spirit’s menu is one of Pittsburgh’s most vegetarian- and vegan-friendly in Pittsburgh
The order: It’s never a bad idea to get a pizza, which, as Barr says, “is continually and will always be a work in progress.”
In its early days, thin-ish tray pizzas were the primary offering from the kitchen. Later, the acquisition of an electric PizzaMaster oven allowed for the addition of 12-inch neo-Neapolitan round pies and started working with a sourdough starter. Now, Grandma-style trays and a refined version of the round styles are offered, and the mozzarella cheese is pulled in-house.
Classic pizza toppings such as pepperoni, pickled peppers and anchovies are available on customizable pies. But the kitchen also gets pretty bold with excellent non-traditional permutations such as Banh Mizza, a vegan pie with barbecue seitan, candied jalapeno, Sriracha-lime veganaise, pickled vegetables and cilantro. Spirit leans heavily into the local agricultural community, and those ties are reflected on the pizzas during the growing season.
Don’t overlook Spirit’s salads. They’re layered and thoughtfully composed, with attention paid to seasonality and texture. Even in the depth of winter, locally grown chicory shined when paired with orange segments, pickled fennel, spicy pepitas, currants soaked in the Pittsburgh-imported amero Super Punch and a citrus-black garlic vinaigrette. Bar-friendly food such as wings, artichokes and fried potatoes round out the menu, and there often are specials, too. .
Spirit’s bar program is robust, blending specialty cocktails, corner bar friendliness and high-volume-club efficiency.
242 51st. St.; spiritpgh.com
Eat Pittsburgh: Essential Lawrenceville restaurants - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment