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Friday, June 21, 2002

By David Templeton Post-Gazette Staff Writer

The fact that Coal Baron Restaurant has blocks of coal in its rock garden might make the wary diner wonder whether it's a metaphor for the cuisine rather than a tribute to local coal fields. Will dinner be square? Does it forebode something heavy or burnt?

	Waiters in white tuxedo shirts work the room with stunning efficiency at the Coal Baron Restaurant in Menallen. (Robert J. Pavuchak, Post-Gazette)

Inside, especially on a Sunday afternoon, the dining room with bland brown wallpaper and low ceilings perpetuates the metaphor with a dark, tight atmosphere despite 1,600 tiny light bulbs burning overhead. Yes, I counted them. It almost prepares one to dine in a mine.

What's next? A pick and shovel instead of a knife and spoon?

But this unassuming little restaurant along Route 40 in Menallen, Fayette County, just west of Uniontown, does not have to dig for compliments. This place offers good fuel. And you don't need a United Mine Workers membership card to work over this menu.

In operation since 1977, the restaurant was started by coal barons of sort -- James and Lawrence Filiaggi -- who continue strip mining throughout the region where coal is king. The theme continues inside with artwork of a coal tipple on the dining room's back wall and a photograph of a drag line -- the large crane-like machine that scoops up coal.

Once you are satiated by coal, other nuances catch the eye.

	COAL BARON RESTAURANT 7606 National Pike (Route 40) Uniontown 724-439-0111 HOURS: 4 to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. BASICS: Continental cuisine at small restaurant that comfortably seats about 70; Appetizers are around $5.95; entrees range from tortellini ($8.50) to the seafood platter ($29) with lobster served at market prices; Prime rib is featured Fridays and Saturdays; 10 wines for $3.50 a glass and 25 wines by the bottle ranging from $20 to $35; Smoking permitted in restaurant and lounge, but cigars forbidden; Reservations are recommended; Wheelchair accessible; Major credit cards accepted. Critics Call: .

Although the restaurant has a hostess, it exclusively uses waiters -- tall, thin men with tuxedo shirts and black pants who succeed in creating a formal air and generating anticipation of gourmet fare, even if customers are encouraged to dress casually.

These fellows turn diners into food barons. They spoon out the dressing. They provide ground pepper from white, high-tech pepper mills complete with battery-powered grinders and a spotlight on the bottom to keep track of the sprinkle action.

They also have such exquisite timing, we could swear they were hiding somewhere in this room-and-pillar operation and watching for the precise moment to present the next course. The endless courses continue long after one's belly has been back-filled. This amount of food never could fit into a coal bucket.

But there's not much at Coal Baron for culinary adventurers.

The Reagan-era conservative menu features continental dishes with an emphasis on traditionally prepared meats. But the prime ribs, steaks, veal, chops, seafood and traditional pasta dishes are quality cuts prepared with such precision they need no sauces, gimmicks or sleight of hand.

Executive chef Don Newhouse has credentials including his stint at the Watering Trough Restaurant, a fine restaurant east of Uniontown that burned down years ago.

Appetizers we tried included stuffed mushroom caps, scallops wrapped in bacon, langostinos sauteed in garlic and garlic butter, and steak tidbits (bits of filet deep-fried with green peppers, onions and mushrooms). All were fresh, tasty and nicely prepared, but our favorite was the scallops that were as plump and tender as we've ever tasted.

A delicious cup of pasta fagioli proved this restaurant was determined to give homage to coal field favorites. This was on par with Mom's. On another visit, French onion soup au gratin was among the best we'd ever gotten. Nothing pushing the envelope, mind you, but this rich bouquet of onion flavor steamed up from under stringy cheese not sweet enough to be Gruyere and almost requiring scissors.

Dinner salads were saved by the dressings -- the recommended Italian with a dollop of bleu cheese. Iceberg lettuce was the key suspect in this mild misdemeanor, but the tomato was ripe, the croutons were adequate and the onion was fresh, so the salads drew a light sentence.

But the food never ended. Appetizers are optional, but each menu item comes with salad, soup, spaghetti and a side dish. We chose the steamed vegetables. I was determined just to nibble on the small plate of spaghetti. But I ended up cleaning off the plate. I was impressed by the zesty sauce and fresh pasta that tasted homemade.

Then I used the warm homemade rolls and breadsticks to do some reclamation work on the plate.

Next came the entrees as the waiter, and sometimes two, did wind sprints from the kitchen. The seafood platter, a broiled crew of lobster dainties, scrod, shrimp, stuffed oyster, clams casino and sea scallops served with drawn butter, was fresh, quality seafood served in timely fashion.

The tortellini and meatballs headed a faction of traditional pasta dishes on the menu. It was tasty but unremarkable. I would recommend the tortellini at $8.50 only for those showing up with a big hunger and skinny wallet.

In a place almost void of sauces, the veal Oscar would win an Academy Award. It included the required asparagus spears, however green rather than white, crab meat, and a bearnaise sauce bolstered by white wine sauce and tarragon. Again, nothing unusual here. The veal was sauteed, then the entire ensemble was baked. The sweet, rich sauce was interesting but not quite compatible with the bedrock veal.

The filet mignon was succulently prepared medium rare with a crown of portobello mushrooms.

All dinners are supposed to include sherbet, although we never received ours. But frankly, we didn't want any.

Everything but the desserts is made from scratch at the restaurant, and the results demand praise. Although desserts were delicious enough, only the 14-layer chocolate volcano that could pacify even the most hopeless choco-holic, caught our attention.

We headed to Coal Baron rather cautiously, unsure of what we would find there. But we left impressed with its traditional menu taken to new levels by top-level service -- almost fanatical service -- and food prepared to perfection. It proved to be an experience devoid of oversights beyond the sherbet.

Don't expect surprises, other than that Coal Baron exceeds expectations and may leave you feeling, as we did, like fat cats.