Acorn

"Scott Walton, the chef who helmed Chicago’s Markethouse and Howells & Hood, has relocated Pittsburgh with his wife to open an ambitious New American neighborhood restaurant in Shadyside. Service is tight at the mellow little bar with a short list of straightforward cocktails, craft beers, and wines by the glass. The dining room references Nordic minimalism, where Walton is serving lively dishes like smoked beets with a hint of barbecue potato chip flavor, or sausage plated with mustard seeds that sidle up to halved links dressed with celery and chives. Larger plates include lasagna riffing on pastitsio with bechamel and mushroom ragout, while trout is swaddled in a chickpea aquafaba infused with maple. As for dessert, don’t miss the baked Alaska that’s flambeed tableside." - Melissa McCart