Dinette: Pizza with goodies from its own rooftop garden

My favorite pizza on the planet right now comes out of a tiny, handsome glass cube called Dinette dinette-pgh.com, an unexpected gem in the part of East Liberty that is becoming hip once again.  I love everything about this space, from the panda white and lobster orange colors and the neat Jasper Morrison chairs, to "Dinette" spelled out in neon cursive and the sweeping, multidirectional views. It seems like San Francisco, though it's the corner of South Highland and Penn Circle South. 

Owner Sonia Finn has seized the high ground and given us a view of the world, or at least Pittsburgh's East Side, in a situ that would make founding father George Washington (who carved Fort Necessity out of western PA wilderness) envious. Take a beeper and go browse Border's if it's busy. 

"It's all about the crust, the tomato sauce and the cheese. Anything else is a bonus," reflects Finn, who says she loves bread, and everything about making bread.  With a beautiful thin crust and ultra fresh toppings strewn about carefully, the pizza is so pristine it would make it in the city where even the weather is hip. 

Finn, by the way,  loves East Liberty, and ironically did a college thesis on East Liberty's urban renewal in the 60's and 70's, way before she ever imagined owning her own restaurant.  The area's resurgence is not lost on Finn, an East End native.  

The pizza  (somewhere between Tuscan and Neopolitan-style), made with finely milled OO flour and ultra fresh goodies, is inspired by a favorite spot Finn and her boyfriend used to frequent in San Francisco, Pizzeria del Fina. Cooked in a gorgeous Marcal pizza oven completely lined in stone 2 inches thick, the thin, crispy crust has a slight chew, a terrific canvas for seasonal ingredients.

The latest addition to the smart little room is a grand rooftop garden, inspired and installed by Finn's garden-loving father, Seth Finn.  An avid gardener for 35 years, he saw the "unobstructed sunshine" beaming down on Dinette's roof as perfect for growing summertime veggies.  Mr. Finin personally designed a self-timed watering system for the individual needs of home-grown herbs, along with peppers, cucumbers, arugula, and lots of tomatoes. Sonja's summer version of srpska salata, a fresh Greek chop salad, is served on grilled bread with onions, feta, olive oil and grilled peppers.  

Though the ingredient-driven menu is small, it suits the whole feel of Dinette's rotating mix of seasonal small plates, squeaky fresh salads and soups. Don't miss the fritto misto, done in an ethereal batter straight out of Zuni Cafe, where Sonja once worked.  "If you look at my Dinette menu, you can tell I worked at Zuni. There's no way to hide it, " she quips. 

Just to tempt you, today's fritto: squash blossoms with tomatillo salsa verde. There's portobello soup, summer panzanella, new potato salad with beans, radicchio, watercress, red onions and pesto vinaigrette. Today's pizza list includes grilled corn pizza , with PA sweet onions, rosemary and fresh mozzarella; salt-cured anchovy; sweet potato, fresh ricotta; roasted Sungold and Ice tomatoes with sheep milk feta and fresh mozzarella. 

If you do it right, you'll have a little room left for Finn's famed pot au creme with dark Belgian chocolate, or mother Olivera's excellent baklava. None of the sweets are precious or cutesy.   

The open kitchen, the shiny metal wine bar, the diminutive service, in a casual room sans pretensions; well, I'm no pizza snob. I love a rich gooey Mineo's (www.mineospizza.com) pizza as much as any dyed-in-the-wool Pittsburgher. But  Finn's cutting edge vision of a charming little pizzeria cum wine bar comes to life in historically rich surrounds. 

Meantime, what a triumph, people in East Liberty dancing in the clean, urbane streets again.

Dinette, 5996 Penn Circle South, East Liberty. 412-362-0202. Mon.-Thurs 5-10p.m.; Fri. &Sat. 5-11 p.m. dine@dinette-pgh.com