Brew, Sweets & Gentle Rain: The Cuisine Of Pittsburgh's Countryside - Feature

Food can be the standard from which all other things are judged. The balance between the perception of urban and countryside becomes purely one of essence of product and connection to the land. Unlike its urban cousin of Pittsburgh, the surrounding countryside offered surprises and paradoxes galore within its tendrils allowing the visitors to perceive beyond their entering doors.Three separate counties (Washington, Butler & Lawrence) bordering Pittsburgh through their culinary elements offer perception of their different forms of idealism.Within Washington County, the essence of sweet necessitates the pure. Approaching the Spring House, which is a hearty country cooking establishment, the food laid out before represents a cross section of freshly made Americana.From the creamy cucumber salad to the baked potato salad to the broccoli casserole to the creamy chipotle covered shells topped off by their own farm made chocolate milk, owner Bev Minor, who sits down to discuss her family's generational continuing of life, shows a genuine happiness for her business.Heading down to the farm where the cows are milked and the birthing of a new calf only twenty minutes before shows the circle of life, a unqiue water filtration and flushing systems adds to the efficency of the milk production from stop to go.The balance of sweets in Washington County is traversed within family establishments of note. The Toffee House is an evolving business that is heightened by a recipe called “The Dangerous Stuff' (seen above) which blends three layered elements of chocolate, crumbles and grated almonds that create an addictive crave.Sarris Candies, by comparison, is a much larger operation with its loving sundae essence of “Kissing Cousins” which involves “two scoops of vanilla [snuggling] under a blanket of hot fudge, chocolate jimmies and a maraschino cherry”, making the melting afternoon ever so sweet.Lawrence County, by comparison, has a little more of a narrow line to walk which makes its angle even more interesting. The county is home to many of the Amish Townfolk whom you can see in their buggies toiling throughout and outside of town. The dolls they make, sold inside the Volant Mills shop, have no facial features which adhere to the essence of their religion to be not photographed.Even more interesting is the presence of the Volant Hills Winery across the street run by a former engineer. The wine and bottling process is contained in a small but utterly efficient line in the back of the building. Due to the inherent nature of Pennsylvania's alcohol laws, this kind of liquor cannot be shipped over state lines. Add that to the fact that Lawrence is a dry county concedes a whole new layer of perspective.But angles allow for loopholes. The jewels of the Volant Winery lie within their delicious fruit wines, specifically the Volant Red (seen above) and the Blackberry, one of which was consumed over the table at lunch at the Tavern On The Square Restaurant, which has been around since the mid 1800s but was originally a place of safe harbor for slaves since the original owners were abolitionists.The food, combined with the Red Volant, allowed for hearty laughter and company. Perogies again graced the table with their grilled happiness before a delicious and green filled bowl of Wedding soup layered over with mozarella cheese gave way to a luscious and crispy piece of cod that simply simmered with great taste.After driving through the Amish Countryside with silent houses, quiet hills and even an ancient bathtub buried half in the ground, the Apple Castle and its orchards crest along a quiet road. Inside the store, a precious combination of a sweet Apple Wheat doughnut brings together the force vision of a homemade country Krispy Kreme while an apple cider slushie refined in the vividness of its ice reflects the thunderstorms brewing in the afternoon sun.Butler County, as the final of the trilogy of counties, offers a bit of the previous two with its own unique spin.Within the small town of Slippery Rock, which also plays host to the local college, the North Country Brewing Companymakes its range in purpose. Bob Cafferty, who created the establishment, discussed the multi pronged thought process in the creation of the business. He graduated with a degree in environmental science so the entire set up of this very sustainable brewery is evident from the composting to the architectural structure of the building to, in obviousness, the food.Originally a house and bridged by a local tavern before becoming a carpentry shop and eventual funeral home, the brewery land is replete with history. The influx of college kids, their parents and locals simply fill the establishment with energy.In terms of culinary, the Stone House Snout rolls through the tongue as cajun flavored mussels based in the brewery's Northern Lite Ale combines the chewy briskness with the Backwoods Country Dip whose garlic and artichoke creaminess crackles from the crisps.After the warmth of the potato vegetable soup, the specifically ordered grilled Mako Shark with a light pinneaple marinade offers an alternate glimpse with a comparative to swordfish. However when combined with the acidic citrus element of the Stinky Hippie Pale Ale, the flavor powered up to an effective spectacle.After a rainy moisture-filled night sharing a bottle of Polant's Blackberry along with Troyer's Pepperoni Cheese (from the local Cheese House) and a mild cigar before retiring at the quiet and comfortable Apple Butter Inn, the day began anew.A paradoxical combination of two interesting cultural crossroads proved irony again distilling through this time in Butler County.After a delicious breakfast of potato pancakes and the aptly named Bob's Mess (which swirled an egg bound skittle concoction with the right amount of hash brown and condiments) within the stillness of the Kaufman House, a winding road up into the hills led to the Evans City Cemetary, which was the filming location for the original “Night Of The Living Dead”.Winding through the fog covered hump of hills hidden with the stretches of trees and surrounding forest, the cinematic essence of that black and white classic stretches into color, a gem hidden from sight.The latter half of the paradoxical combination involved a last minute stop at the Sunset Hills Alpaca Farm in the middle of the roving tundra. A cousin of the camel, but originally from Peru, this animal is interesting in terms of its intelligence and protectivity.As it is grown for its fur, it is interesting to see these creatures in social groups (especially the females) as one squats in the pen and watches their minds work as the rain bellows outside. Along with a trusty farm cat named Vader (for those Jedi from the Dark Side), the farm is a hidden empire, an anomaly hidden in view.After enjoying a hearty roasted red pepper stew topped with parmesan and a tangy futinelli putenesca mixing spinach, pasta and grilled chicken within a veiled sauce at Siba Cucina, the circle of three was complete.The Countryside Of Pittsburgh in its culinary stylings has its ironic points of reverie. However it is the different sides of personality within its distinctive counties that feeds its identity. From the winery in Lawrence to the farm in Washington to the Alpaca pilgrimmage in Butler, this triumvirate offers a taste of Pennsylvania both different and divers