Tina’s dinner service demands your full attention

“Phones down, forks up.” This philosophy is emphasized in the newly launched dinner service at Tina’s, long a popular haunt for those seeking intimate conversation and excellent, budget-friendly cocktails. The seven dishes on the coursed, family-style tasting menu are meant to be shared and bonded over, not photographed and posted. What’s important is “human connectivity and a departure from an over-digitized world,” and “a return to the pleasures of Earth,” Sarah Shaffer, Tina’s owner and operator, tells Pittsburgh City Paper .  Entirely vegetarian and focused on ingredients that are micro-seasonally available in the region, the new menu supplants the conserved fish options Tina’s has grown famous for over the past decade. Regulars will be happy to hear these are still available during happy hour and after the kitchen closes at 10 p.m. Personalized welcome note for dinner service at Tina’s Credit: CP Photo: Ian Riggins Leading this culinary transition, which started in early June, is Chef Daniele Brenci, author of Advanced Bread Baking at Home and a Bloomfield resident for the past seven years. Originally from Rome, Chef Daniele has worked in the service industry for over 20 years, including Michelin-starred restaurants, luxury hotels, and catering across Europe and the United States. After publishing his cookbook in 2022, he joined the Bloomfield Farmers Market, selling sourdough baked goods, seasonal pastries, focaccia, and a mortadella sandwich that, after my recent dinner at Tina’s, I must try. I tend to favor starters, and the first course didn’t disappoint. The bread and cheese dish recalled a deconstructed baked brie, with a creamy mound of applejack surrounded by a cheong made from macerated strawberries and rhubarb. It’s served with toasted focaccia, the perfect vessel for scooping up the salty cheese and beautifully sweet cheong.  The zucchini roulade was the most aesthetically impressive dish o