For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a picky eater. Now, I’m not talking a “gets chicken tenders and curly fries at the Mexican restaurant” picky eater, maybe just a “gets a chicken quesadilla with extra queso and no other toppings” type.
As I get older, I realize how inconvenient this is for me and how annoying it is for those around me (I’m sorry, Mom and Dad).
I decided to challenge myself and get some food at Piyola, Mt. Lebanon’s new Uzbek restaurant. What could be more terrifying to a picky eater than an entirely new cuisine to me?
The restaurant itself was well decorated and comfortable, and the wait staff was nice, though they had no idea of the epic journey I was about to embark on.
Holding the menu, my eyes scanned everything I would normally be attracted to: raspberry meringue roulade, honey cake and Napoleon. Yes, the only things that looked safe were the desserts. This was going to be rough.
I ordered the hummus and pita to start because, well, I had to eat something familiar to ensure I didn’t starve that night. It came to me with some orange powder (which I later learned was paprika) on top, which I would ordinarily eat around or knock right off. Instead, I took a bite.
It was good. I still favor the plain Trader Joe’s hummus, but I definitely enjoyed this one enough to eat the whole plate of pita. Unfortunately, once my safety food was gone, it was time for the real challenge: trying some meats.
For context, I’ve been a chicken eater my whole life, and I’ve only recently branched into the world of hamburgers, so meat of the non-bird variety freaks me out.
I ordered two equally intimidating dishes, the lamb shank and the beef shashlik.
The lamb shank was not to my personal preference. It came out soaked in sauce with some rice, and I gave it my all. The meat fell off the bone, I put it in my mouth and I swallowed quickly. Right as I swallowed, I looked down … a big mistake.
I could see the bone and I couldn’t help but see the resemblance to the bones I give my dog. Understandably, this doesn’t bother some people, but I don’t even eat chicken wings for fear of seeing tiny little bones. Suffice to say, I left the lamb alone after that first bite, though I’ll admit it tasted a lot like chicken, and the rice was tasty.
Next up was the beef shashlik. The menu described this item as a tenderloin kebab, and I’m a big veggie kebab fan, so I said why not? Looking forward to the fun of eating food off a stick, I was a little disappointed to find that the restaurant had disassembled the kebab for me.
I let that slide, because the dish smelled so good. This was my first time trying beef tenderloin and now I can safely say it’s a food I’ll eat. Piyola did a great job with the seasoning and cooking.
The real challenge was the three items plated with the tenderloin: rice (with a mystery sauce), onions (with a mystery garnish) and a salad (with a mystery dressing).
Clearly my picky eating fears lie primarily in the unknown. The sauce was red and sweet, and the dressing seemed to be a mix of vinegar and oil. The garnish, however, remains a mystery to me. Maybe next time I should ask the server what I was eating.
I even tried a grape tomato on the salad, which is a food I’ve been convinced I didn’t like since childhood. I was wrong. I actually really enjoyed the sweet taste and subtle crunch of the tomato. Cue my mom saying, “I told you so.”
The one item a coworker recommended I try, but didn’t this time, was the pumpkin samsa, a savory pastry with a pumpkin and onion filling. As I said, much to her amusement, pumpkins are for carving and decorating, not for eating.
I’m no longer scared of the food on the menu, but I can’t say my palate is refined enough yet to fully appreciate it. Aspects of each dish were good, but I think next time, I’ll try the chicken tenders!