Natural, minimally processed wines and drinks made from locally harvested plants have earned Pittsburgh’s Apteka another nod from the prestigious James Beard Foundation.
Apteka in Pittsburgh Earns Recognition for Wine Program and European Fare
With four Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic nominations to its name since 2021, the Bloomfield eatery, which features vegan renditions of Central and Eastern European fare, has now received a semi-finalist thumbs-up in the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages category.
“It’s an incredible honor; we’re humbled,” says Tomasz Skowronski, who opened Apteka with his partner, Kate Lasky, in 2016.
“We spend a lot of effort on being an original voice, which is something the Foundation looks for.”
Foraging and Ingredient Philosophy
Apteka creates teas and other drinks (both alcoholic and zeroproof) from wild fruits, herbs and tree barks. The couple — along with Skowronski’s father, Marek, and kitchen member Zach Rihn — makes regular foraging trips throughout western Pennsylvania and as far north as lakes Erie and Ontario to gather ingredients for the beverages. From spring through fall, people harvest hundreds of pounds of edible plants, both native and invasive, and make them into tinctures, juices and ferments for spirited cocktails — or dry them to be steeped as hot beverages.
“We have a pretty knowledgeable relationship with the natural world,” says Tomasz. “Zach knows a ton and has a knack for finding weird roots and leaves and taking cuttings and drying them the right way. He’s creative in knowing where to look for interesting ingredients.”
On Thursday nights, meanwhile, Apteka transforms into a vinoteka with a pareddown, wine-centric menu of small plates and sandwiches like the signature Baba Jaga — a seared, vegetable-pate patty with smoked onion remoulade, Polish pickles, pickled beets and mustard on housebaked bread. Furthermore, in particular, the signature Baba Jaga stands out.
Natural Wine Program and Bottle Shop at Apteka
Apteka’s bottle shop includes an expansive collection of organic and other chemical-free wines made with minimal intervention by small producers in Europe and the eastern United States, “each with their own take and story,” Tomasz says.
Many use grapes from biodynamic vineyards, which farmers manage as self-sustaining ecosystems. Winemakers ferment the wines with native (or ambient) yeast and also keep sulfur levels low. They typically leave the wines unfined and unfiltered to retain the natural particles that add to their texture and complexity.
“There are a lot of cool producers out there we’re building relationships with because we’re small, too,” Tomasz says. “The wines they are making are somewhere between iconic and idiosyncratic. They are unique.
Story by Deborah Weisberg
Photos By Dave Bryce