A Place at the Table

Look to a locally affiliated company for your glass and tableware.

Photos by Laura Petrilla
 

Whether you’re looking for flatware, tableware or glassware, you can find plenty of top-tier options from a company close to home. When you dine in some of the finest restaurants in Pittsburgh — and around the world — chances are good that the tableware you’re using comes from western Pennsylvania.

The distribution center for all of North and South America for the United Kingdom-based manufacturer Steelite International is located in New Castle. Founded in 1983, the company provides table settings for Perlé, Butcher and the Rye and Il Pizzaiolo, as well as nationally acclaimed restaurants.

“I can’t tell you how many people go to a restaurant and see our product and ask where they can get it,” says marketing manager Alison Clingensmith, noting customers can go online [tabletopstyle.com] to place personal orders.

The award-winning, rustic Craft line is inspired by handcrafted country pottery. Clingensmith says many clients want to see more color on the table, and Steelite has added gray and white to the four main hues in this line: blue, green, brown and terracotta. Craft is one of Steelite’s most popular products. Its pieces work as accents or for an entire place setting in a high-end restaurant as well as a more casual atmosphere.

Here are examples of coupe, square and rectangular plates, coupe bowl, freestyle bowl, club jug, low cup, saucer and pourer.

Enjoy fine dining with this classic yet contemporary Rene Ozorio Sonata set, with a name inspired by music. Embossed lines on the plateware lead the eye straight to the food. Deeper plates and bowls with varying heights add contrast to the table.

Examples include signature plate, rimmed cereal bowl, signature gourmet tall bowl, signature gourmet mini-bowl, stacked coffee cup and saucer.

Ancient Japanese Tenmoku glazes inspired Steelite’s Distinction Koto line. Andrew Klimecki, Steelite head of design and product innovation, collaborated with David Kinch of Manresa restaurant in California to create the pieces, which are hand-finished with a rich iron-red glaze. The plateware, popular for Asian foods such as sushi, can be used as accents — perhaps for a dessert or appetizer to complement an all-white setting — or stand on their own.

Pictured are rectangular plate, four unhandled cups, rectangular plate with bowl, square plate, coupe plate and coupe bowl.