Troy Hill’s Scratch Food & Beverage debuts Revival Nights

If you’re missing some of the cuisines from Market Square’s now-closed Poros or the Cultural District’s Six Penn Kitchen, you’re in luck; because you’ll be able to relive the dishes and cocktails at Scratch Food & Beverage starting next month.

Scratch Food & Beverage’s owner Don Mahaney and the restaurant’s executive chef Chris O’Brien were chatting one day and realized they have crossed paths at least 10 times in their careers.

They reminisced about restaurants past and thought about an idea on how they can celebrate the relationships and friends that they’ve made while working around the Pittsburgh culinary scene. Revival Nights was born.

“We want to stop time for a minute and recognize some really outstanding dishes, drinks and talent,” says Mahaney. “We want to make a party out of it.”

Classic Poros dishes, drinks

The first Revival Night is set for April 8 and will feature the culinary and beverage team from Poros. O’Brien was the former executive chef at Poros and will be recreating classic dishes from the menu, like the Lavraki, a Mediterranean sea bass paired with tabbouleh and grapefruit yogurt as well as Flu Medames, a Mediterranean dip made with fava beans, garlic, lemon, cumin, coriander, tahini and dill. On this first Revival Night, O’Brien will also be debuting new dishes he is adding to Scratch’s menu.

Spencer Warren of Downtown’s The Warren will be mixing up cocktails inspired by Poros’ beverage menu, including The Elvis Parsley, a vodka-based cocktail with hints of habanero shrub, cucumber and lime. This cocktail is a riff off of an old Poros cocktail that now has a home on The Warren’s cocktail menu.

Greta Harper, Poros’ former bartender and now Breakthrough Beverage rep, will serve a boozy- inspired dessert: a red velvet cupcake drenched in a Woodford Reserve Boulevardier sauce and iced with a Bruto Americano frosting, served alongside a Woodford Reserve Boulevardier.

“I have had the privilege to work with some of Pittsburgh’s talented people in the area of the restaurant industry, like Spencer and Greta, and working with these talents has been some of the most enjoyable times of my career,” says O’Brien.

“I loved the camaraderie and desire for excellence each possess day in and day out being the best at their craft.”

Having both worked at Six Penn Kitchen, Mahaney and O’Brien are asking some of their former colleagues from the restaurant to come through Scratch on other Revival Nights.

Coming up

In May, Cory Hughes of Fig & Ash, a new farm-to-table restaurant opening this fall in Deutschtown, will be popping up at Scratch. He’ll be cooking up some of the dishes he will be serving at his new restaurant, as well as paying homage to the pork shank from Six Penn Kitchen’s menu.

Plans for more Revival Nights are in the works with talks about Brian Hammond from Restaurant Echo and others.

Follow Scratch Food & Beverage on Facebook to keep up to date on guest chefs and Revival Night dates.

Reservations for the Poros Revival Night can be made online at OpenTable.com.