Tune in to the Cultural District buzz. As eating options multiply, young chefs add edginess to a happening scene. Here are four fresh faces to watch.
Passionate and notably a maverick, chef Rick DeShantz describes his restaurant, Nine on Nine, as food-focused, not money-focused. “I’m happy doing food I love,” he says, “taking pride in the place and making enough money to cover expenses.”
The Pittsburgh-born DeShantz, 35, started cooking at 14. He and twin brother Ronny studied art at Langley High School, but ultimately Ronny became an electrician while Rick attended the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute.
On graduating, he worked and traveled, collecting experiences. Vacations were stages –
gratis cooking stints – with such chefs as Charlie Trotter, Keith Luce and Norman Van Aiken. He touched down for three years at Hyeholde in Moon, then took a detour into artisanal bread baking and Café Richard in The Strip. Now he’s focused on his fine dining restaurant, its sophisticated décor and contemporary menu. And, partnering with designer Courtney Lynch, he keeps expansion plans open-ended.
Space in an adjoining building has already morphed into a stylish lounge offering trendy cocktails and cutting-edge small plates—salt cod lollipops, creative carpaccios. In the former lounge, a dessert bar entices with a six-course pastry menu of bite-sized sweets, matched to dessert wines, sherries, ports or champagne. Next up: a basement wine cellar catering an elegant nine-course tasting menu.
DeShantz admits to working over 100 hours per week – then hitting the gym. “That’s all I do,” he says. “Cook and work out.”
Curial Bame, Seviche
Seviche rocks to a salsa beat. The décor blends Art Deco South Beach with vivid, vintage Havana. The Nuevo Latino menu stars seviche (or ceviche—raw fish “cooked” in citrus juice) in seven different preparations, plus tapas, salads, sassy finger sandwiches (bocadillos) and mucho mojitos.
Executive chef Curiel Bame, 23, exudes the steamy energy of this tropical mirage. Talented and kinetic, he’s been cooking since tot-hood. But growing up in El Paso, with a Mexican mother and an American father (who is, by the way, a martial arts icon), was hard. He says, “As a Chicano, I was never accepted.”
So at 16 he migrated north to the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, doing his externship at Steelhead Grill. At 17 he helped open Eleven. Next, teaming with chef Yves Carreau and Uriel Marcovitz, he opened Sonoma Grill, rising swiftly to sous chef. Last spring Carreau opened Seviche, with some inspiration from Bame’s heritage, and put this precocious young man in charge of the hottest kitchen in town.
“It sometimes gets crazy,” says Bame. “But we keep focused on the food – the best sushi-grade fish, the freshest produce.”
Ryan Racicot, Palate
Ryan Racicot, 29, was born to cook, and half his genes are French. Not surprisingly then, he describes his current position as executive chef of “French fusion” Palate as “the fulfillment of a dream.” In a tri-level space with sleek décor, he and restaurateur John Valentine create a casual, comfortable bistro. Distinct interior areas accommodate a broad clientele. The menu also offers diverse eating options: a little, a lot or the fixed price pre-theater special. Self-taught but chef-mentored, Racicot employs French technique but gives the classics surprising innovative twists. He’s rapt, he says, over local products, fine ingredients and honest flavors. His signature tartare can be either a traditional beef tenderloin or yellow fin tuna, with cucumber, chickpea puree, harissa vinaigrette and yogurt. Tossing in some wit and playfulness, Racicot has fun with his food. And diners should too. The upstairs lounge attracts a spirited crowd.
Chris Jackson, Six Penn Kitchen
Though he’s been in Pittsburgh since 2005, executive chef Chris Jackson, Six Penn Kitchen, qualifies as a “fresh face” by constantly staking claims in progressive territory. A graduate of Johnson & Wales College of Culinary Arts in Providence, R.I., he’s worked around the U.S. – Maine, Memphis, New Orleans, Richmond, San Francisco and, most recently, Jake’s in Philadelphia. Each stint added heft to his repertoire, but, at the core, his culinary impact lies in his farmer’s soul. How many chefs cure their own olives, make grenadine for the bar from pomegranate seeds and macerate their own maraschino cherries? “Made in-house” takes on huge significance here, where it includes ketchup, mayonnaise and drying corn husks to make tamales. Yet Jackson takes another leap forward in seasonality and sustainability with the garden he’s growing on Six Penn’s rooftop: heirloom tomatoes, chilies, peppers, salad greens – all to add quality to the restaurant’s roster of updated American classics. You can’t get more locally produced than just upstairs.