Wining and Dining at Willow

Some restaurants just have a classy air to them… Willow, on Camp Horne Road, is one such restaurant. Fellow eatPGH blogger, Sarah, and I made reservations last Saturday and had ourselves a nice little date night. It provided us a chance to dress a little fancy and truly enjoy a nice relaxing meal. I have heard good things about Willow and have driven past the homey place too many times to count without giving it too much thought. I was sold as soon as I walked through the doors… here’s why:

1. they have outside seating and plenty of it
2. they have a bar and lounge downstairs
3. they have a separate room upstairs for private parties, complete with another bar
4. the lighting was perfect, the tables were perfectly spaced giving us room for our own conversation
5. the staff was ridiculously friendly (our waitress in particular)
6. they have a fantastic Parmesan cheese/Olive Oil dipping sauce to accompany their equally fantastic fresh Chibatta bread
6. the FOOD was so beyond that I almost cried tears of joy

I can never pass up a glass of Shiraz, so I got to work on that while perusing the menu, which was not too big, not to small but just right. I finally decided on the Caesar Salad and the Bay of Fundy Salmon, pan seared and served over chive mashed potatoes and pea tendrils with a citrus butter sauce that (I won’t lie… I kinda wanted to drink with a straw). My lovely date for the evening indulged in a glass of Pinot Grigio, a Caesar Salad and their Sweet Corn and Polenta Ravioli. The ravioli came drenched in a pea puree with caramelized Vidalia onions, red bell pepper and basil leaves.

Ok, let’s talk about the salmon. I’ve had some salmon in my day… some ok salmon, some really good salmon and some VERY good salmon. This salmon… blew my mind. I think it was citrus butter sauce that put it over the edge for me. It was the perfect combination and I’m not entirely sure I can have salmon any other way ever again. So, thanks Willow… Onto the taters. I love mashed potatoes… they’re carbs, so of course I love them. CHIVE mashed potatoes!! They looked interesting, almost like play-dough because they were green… but they tasted great, so who am I to judge?

Because my friend likes me so much, she let me have a ravioli! Thank goodness because it was delicious too. I can only describe it by saying that it was your everyday ravioli filled with cornmeal (sounds weird as I type it out… but trust me, it was light, summery and fresh tasting!).

We felt way too silly taking pictures of our food in such a nice place, so if you want to see for yourself, you’ll just have to go! We will definitely be back, next time for one of their divine looking desserts…probably their homemade carrot cake!