Casbah   

Say the phrase "Mediterranean food" and a range of delights comes to mind: Greek veal, Italian pasta, Sicilian seafood. In Pittsburgh, the discerning diner thinks Casbah, the chicest locale for a diverse range of Adriatic and North African plunder. Particularly luxurious in the summer, when Casbah's shaded outdoor portico is open for warm-weather lounging, this eatery is built of baked-clay walls, constructed in the shape of a Moroccan mosque, and decorated with statues, pillars and potted ferns. Under the expert supervision of its kitchen, Casbah prepares an incomparably exotic brunch, lunch and dinner menu, including banon cheese with warmed thyme-honey, petite crab sandwich, pan-roasted sturgeon, sea scallops with asparagus and figs, and yes, the requisite Elysian lamb with sausage made on the premises. Not to be outdone by Shadyside's stiff restaurateur competition, Casbah also serves up one of the best wine lists in the region, with Arianna Chardonnay, Beringer Rivefort de France and an Amazir French blend from Morocco.