A & E

Sam Badolato has been in the restaurant business since 1984, when he and his brother Frank opened Bado's Pizza Grill and Ale House in Mt. Lebanon.

Frank Badolato still has that business, but Sam Badolato ventured into newer territory two years ago in Peters by opening Bado's Cucina, a tapas restaurant on Washington Road.

"I spun off from there to be a little more creative with my food," says Sam Badolato, 47. "We have no entrees and cook everything but pasta in a wood-fired oven."

The huge brick oven, measuring about 5 feet by 6 feet, is the focal point of the restaurant. The kitchen is in the open, where Badolato and his cooks can see who's coming in and where they're seated.

"I built the restaurant around the oven," Badolato says with a chuckle. "It took me and four guys four or five days to build the oven. It was a fun process.

"I didn't know how (wood-fired cuisine) would be received in suburbia, but we've done very well."

Fruit wood is used to fire the oven, he says, and he lets it season for three to four months before using.

"I don't use a lot of sauces, but dry rubs," Badolato says. "The wood gives meats and fish a phenomenal flavor."

His Italian and Mediterranean menu is adventurous, with appetizers such as banana peppers stuffed with sweet sausage and herbs, wood-fired with mozzarella cheese. The tapas menu features items such as brasciole, wild boar spare ribs, lamb chops and wild-game sausage.

"All my game sells very well," he says.

Badolato designed his restaurant to resemble one in Badolato, Italy, a small town in Calabria where his ancestors come from. Dusky golden walls and bronzed floor tiles, smooth Italian jazz playing in the background and muted lighting make the tiny restaurant a welcoming place for diners. The restaurant has just nine tables and 28 seats.

"I try to make the atmosphere really nice," he says. "I have 12 employees, mostly part-time moms who really enjoy working with food. I also have a couple of chefs who have the same passion for food as I have, which is good."

His passion began as a young boy, when his grandmother found out he had the warmest hands of his siblings. She equated warm hands with the ability to cook well, and so started teaching him.

"I'm self-taught -- no culinary school," he says. "I believe in fresh, comfortable food inspired by local ingredients. I try to use local farms as much as possible, and I like to use organics."

Badolato also believes in giving back to the community. On the second Saturday of every month, he cooks lunch for workers who are building a Habitat for Humanity house in Canonsburg.

The first Tuesday of every month, Badolato does a chef's tasting of a six-course menu priced between $65 and $85.

When Badolato is not at the restaurant, he lives in a schoolhouse from the 1800s in Seven Springs, high in the mountains. That's where he gets creative, he says, and keeps all his recipes.

"It's a one-hour commute," he says. "That's the hardest part about this business -- the hours. I'm here all the time. But it's my passion. I love what I do."

Elk is a very lean meat, with no fat, and resembles lamb or venison in flavor. The way Sam Badolato prepares it has the meat falling off the bone.

Elk chops can be purchased at Jomahr Meats in the Strip District. Or you can substitute lamb or pork.

• 1/2 cup flour

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 2 elk chops

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1/4 cup red wine

• 1 clove garlic, chopped or minced

• 1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped

• 2 cups marinara sauce, any kind

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Mix the flour with the salt and pepper in a wide bowl. Roll the elk chops in the mixture and shake off the excess flour back into the bowl and put aside for later use.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat, and brown the chops on both sides.

Add the wine, garlic, basil and remaining flour mix to the marinara sauce.

Using oven-safe cookware with a lid, add the sauce and elk chops into the container and cover.

Braise for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes, turning the chops every 15 minutes.

When the meat is falling off the bone, take it out of the oven and strain the reduction sauce.

Pour the strained sauce into center of the plate.

Place the elk chops facing up, bones crossing, in the middle of the sauce.

Serve with Butternut Squash (see Recipe) and 1/4 cup Pumpkin Seeds (see Recipe).

Makes 1 serving.

Butternut Squash

• 1/2 cup diced butternut squash

• 1/2 teaspoon sage

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Sprinkle the sage and nutmeg over the diced squash. Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat, and brown the squash.

Pumpkin Seeds

• 1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• Paprika, to taste

• Worchester sauce, to taste

• Garlic, to taste

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Dry the pumpkin seeds thoroughly. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, paprika, Worchester sauce and garlic -- the more spices, the better -- onto the seeds.

Place the seeds on a cookie sheet and bake them until browned, for 10 to 15 minutes.

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