Pittsburgh embraces farm-to-fork era with local producers and tours

Pittsburgh’s food scene has shifted from industrial past to farm-to-fork present, drawing chefs, small producers and visitors to a network of neighborhood restaurants, urban tours and nearby farms, a recent 48-hour visit found. The city’s culinary offer ranges from century-old Italian bakeries and ethnic delis to castle-like restaurants and family-run dairies a short drive from downtown.

At an Italo-American bakery in the Strip District, a server described the local pepperoni roll as “like a Stromboli,” advising customers to dip the dough-wrapped pepperoni and cheese into marinara. That pastry is one of many regional specialties that populate tasting tours and market stalls across the city. Tours by local operators highlight staples such as cold cuts from Parma Sausage, pepperoni rolls from Sunseri’s, Goat Rodeo cheeses at Stamoolis deli and biscotti from Enrico Biscotti Company.

A prominent example of the farm-to-table network is Goat Rodeo Farm Dairy, a family-run operation on about 130 acres in Allegheny County, roughly a 20-minute drive from downtown. The farm keeps about 100 goats and sells a range of cheeses to city restaurants and shops. Butterjoint, among other eateries,...