Sunnyledge Boutique Hotel and Tea room
5124 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
(412) 683-5014
Built in 1886, Sunnyledge was originally the home and office of Dr. James H. McClelland. According to an article that appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the residence was too large and gloomy for a family home and too historically and architecturally significant to demolish. Realizing the enormous potential of the site, attorney and businessman Avery Abrams subsequently snatched up the building at auction. With his friend, Patricia Romeo, serving as both general manager and decorator, the two began a massive renovation.
What emerged from the year-long project was a small, elegant, and luxurious European-style boutique hotel: eight uniquely decorated guestrooms replete with spacious marble bathrooms, Jacuzzis, and mini bars. The downstairs public areas include a library with original ornate oak paneling and tile fireplace, diminutive bar/lounge, and intimate 30-seat dining room.
Sounds enchanting, does it not? And yet... our experience here was anything but idyllic. In point of fact, it hit a sour note even before we arrived. Since my wife is affiliated with a major pharmaceutical company, we booked well ahead through their corporate travel agency at a slightly reduced rate. The agency indicated that a deposit equivalent to one night's stay was required to hold the room; thus, we authorized the representative to confirm our booking via the American Express card... So imagine our surprise when our AX statement put in an appearance several weeks later and we discovered that the hotel had billed us in advance for THREE NIGHTS, the entire length of our stay. When the travel agent called to seek clarification on this matter, she reported that the person with whom she spoke had been a good deal less than cordial.
But there are several other ghosts in the machine that rear their ugly heads at the time of departure. If you cart along a laptop, for example, be advised that you are charged by the minute for all Internet connections... which is nowhere stated in the hotel's literature and can add up to a mighty hefty sum ($200.00 plus in our case). Another sore point is the fact that you are charged $12.00 per night for the privilege of parking your car in the hotel's lot... Once again, this fact is nowhere stated in the establishment's propaganda. You come away with the distinct impression that Sunnyledge is attempting to gouge every last farthing from its unsuspecting clientele... Which, not surprisingly, leaves an extremely bad taste in one's mouth.
And speaking of bad taste... that brings us inevitably to the food. Restaurant critic Jim Quinn once noted that one should never eat in an empty restaurant... everybody who's not there must know something. Trust me, truer words were never spoken. For while there was a small corporate function underway in the library, my wife and I were the only guests in the dining room for the entire evening... And after sampling the inferior quality of the cuisine, I can certainly understand why.
The sole hit, on a menu filled with misses, is the Key West shrimp salad -- an interesting amalgam of crustaceans, creamy asparagus, smoked corn, tomato concassé, scallions, and rice -- after that it's all down hill. Another prelude, the so-called "Bong-Bong Duo," a satay-like combo of grilled ginger beef and chicken, was inordinately dry and nearly inedible... And the accompanying Szechwan peanut sauce was thin and watery.
A complimentary salad was included with the entrée, mixed greens wrapped in a thin slice of English cucumber. A novel ideal, and quite a lovely presentation... but the greenery was strictly generic and the balsamic vinaigrette had nothing special to offer.
Main courses hardly distinguished themselves. Indeed, those sampled were overpriced and overwhelmed with a variety of heavy-handed accoutrements. The veal mignonettes, for example, were encrusted with peppercorns, wrapped in prosciutto, and served over mozzarella cheese with a warm relish of tomatoes, oregano, scallions, onions, and garlic. Any natural flavor that managed to survive this assault was purely coincidental. As if to add insult to injury, the veal was extremely chewy. The duck medallions, incredibly dry and tough, suffered at similar fate at the hands of a cloying apricot compote.
The bread pudding was, to put the matter as charitably as possible, unspeakably horrible... and the coffee did absolutely nothing to ameliorate the situation (the restaurant did not serve espresso).
All in all, an unmitigated disaster at table... And this place came highly recommended! So much for word of mouth.
If you happen to be in the Pittsburgh area, Sunnyledge's beautifully restored interior is certainly worth a look-see, so you might consider a brief stopover for afternoon tea. But do your palate and your pocketbook a favor... stay and dine elsewhere.
Bon Appétit!
The
Artful Diner
August 2002
