Culinary WHIRLED / CHEF

Zao Factor

Celebrated Chef Toni Pais continues his mouth-pleasing Portuguese tradition in the Cultural District with a demeanor more delicious than his smoked salmon wrapped scallops.

By Victoria Bradley | Photography by David Bachman

I’m sweetly sipping cold plum soup out of a tiny teacup in the Cultural District when my friend, Chef Toni Pais, comes to the table. He leans over the white linen, his big brown eyes smiling wider than his cheek-pinching grin, and, in his romantic Portuguese accent, he tells me the plums were picked from the tree owned by Carl, his executive chef.

“How do you like it?”

“It matches your shirt,” I say, smirking at his purple. He laughs, and I know it’s going to be a wonderful meal.

Pais has been one of the city’s most celebrated chefs for 30 years. He was born in Caiscais, a coastal village of Portugal, perfectly situated for exquisite seafood, where he cultured an early love for simple cuisine. He cooked for socialites and world travelers aboard luxury cruise ships before coming to Pittsburgh in 1978 and joining the fine dining frontrunners at the former La Normande restaurant. In 1992, he opened the award-winning Baum Vivant (which has now closed). In 2003, he won the Cultural District’s competition to come up with a restaurant concept for its 3,000 square foot space as part of a $3 million Theater Square renovation. Pais called it Café Zao, “big café” in Portuguese. The cuisine is a sincere tribute to Portugal — rich with Mediterranean flavors, bleeding with olive oil, infused with herbs and tomatoes, but spicy.

All are apparent in his tomato chopped salad. The small bowl is stewing with juicy heirloom tomatoes — four or five kinds, all different colors, chopped red onions, and basil. It’s crunchy and has enough of a kick to arrest the insides of my ears, warming them.

The diver sea scallop wrapped in smoked salmon is memorable and an immediate favorite — on Pittsburgh menus at large — for its woodsy, rustic flavor. Grape tomato puree is smattered across the plate. The dish is small; three bites would be a stretch, but I draw them out. I want it to last longer.

Toni returns at the climax of each course, his lips curling with pride. It’s not until the third course that I realize he’s not wearing his trademark baseball cap over his short raven hair. He tells me it’s a kitchen thing and a Strip District shopping thing. Tonight, he’s dressed to impress. He makes his rounds to all of the soft-talking tables and waves every once in a while at one of the Penn Avenue passersby outside of his grand, gaping windows.

The main course is quail, roasted beautifully and without those tedious teeny bones. Instead, it’s stuffed with wild rice, fois gras, and bits of crunchy apple. Most interesting, though, is the sunny side up quail egg, delicately oozing and daringly dip-worthy. The egg is a Pais signature: Sometimes he dishes up two on a plate with a side of risotto to soak up all of the juices.

Dessert is a gooey contrast to the rest of the meal. Far from pretentious or pristine is the burly puff pastry with globs of strawberry preserves, a painting of apricot glaze, and a clobbering of mascarpone. It lends itself to fork-smashing messiness, delicious conversation, and at least two cups of coffee. It’s big enough for two.

Pais uses my dessert meandering as an opportunity to give a soccer update. The chef has played on the Norwin International League of the Western Pennsylvania Soccer Association for years and is psyched about his Sunday game. I can’t image his sweetness dissolving into intimidation or aggression, though he assures me he’s very tough on the field.

When the evening wanes, the after-theater crowd files in for cappuccinos and late-night snacks. Candlelight casts a flattering glow on the green-garbed Wicked after-party and dances in the gold glasses of Champagne. The restaurant’s soft suede chairs are as persuasive as Pais himself: Stay all night. Even as I’m gathering my things to leave, he comes to the table with one more offering. “How ‘bout a cookie?”

I oblige, of course, never one to say no to a cookie, and the chef produces a small plate of handmade treats. I crunch into the chocolate chip, buttery and crumbly, and order another cup of coffee.

Café Zao, 649 Penn Ave., Downtown. 412.325.7007.

Chef’s Dish

“Couscous-encrusted scallops”

Celebrated ingredient: “Saffron.”

Celebrity diners: “Kendall Simmons, Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, and Jerome Bettis, from the Pittsburgh Steelers.”

Celebrity Idol: “Wolfgang Puck.”

Couldn’t live without: “Vita-Mix Juicer.”

Carving on Thanksgiving: “Goose.”