INGOOD TASTE
Scott Croyle, Executive Chef,
Table 86 by Hines Ward
Candid conversations with the dining scene’s most engaging chefs
Table 86 by Hines Ward
530 Northpointe Circle, Seven Fields;
724.741.0860, hineswardstable86.com
On the Menu: Freshly prepared made-fromscratch entrees, from pasta and seafood to
steak, specialty sauces, salads, soups and
desserts. A variety of dishes include Butcher
Block burgers, Korean BBQ ribs, pulled pork,
smoked ribs and chicken wings. A full wine
bar includes Riesling, Chardonnay, Merlot and
Cabernet Sauvignon, to name a few.
Why did you become a chef?
I was raised in a food-oriented
family and I could always be
found in the kitchen with my
mom, Marguerite, or my grandma,
Katherine. I grew up in my grandma’s kitchen—
she was one heck of a cook. Being that she was
Syrian and Italian, my grandmother would
make everything from stuffed grape leaves to
meatballs—every Sunday. I loved cooking and
attended the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute.
I started my career at Scoglio’s and went from
making salads to becoming one of the chefs.
I jumped around downtown quite a bit after I
worked there and ended up opening Piccolina’s
Restaurant in Upper St. Clair as one of the chefs.
After Piccolina’s, I went to work at Atria’s in
Murrysville, Mt. Lebanon and Pleasant Hills for
three years.
QA
What led you to work at Table 86 by Hines
Ward?
I reached out to Hines Ward’s partner, Howard
Shiller, and before I knew it I had a meeting with
their general manager, Howie Gardner. We had a
quick phone interview and a follow-up meeting
and I got a phone call the next morning with
the great news. We opened in August 2015, and
once or twice a month Hines will come in and
enjoy the food, plus his Vines Wine Bar, which
is adjacent to the restaurant, where we sell Hines
Ward’s Napa Valley Cabernet. I think a lot of
people expect Table 86 to be a sports bar—and
there are flat-screen TVs available for sports—but
it’s a great family-oriented restaurant and is priced
accordingly. There is something for everyone,
even for kids.
Who has influenced your cooking the
most?
Gary Komoroski, the chef and owner at Scoglio’s,
taught me a great deal about having a strong work
ethic—and how to make delicious soups and
sauces. I was 20 then and I still use everything I
learned from Gary today.
What kitchen
tool can’t you
live without?
I have 15 line
cooks working
for me now,
but when I was
cooking on the
line I had a sauté
fork made of
wood and steel
that I couldn’t live
without. I used it so much, every day, that I joked
with our line cooks that nobody was allowed to
touch it. I could change a tire with that fork.
What is your best cooking advice for a
novice?
Find a durable sauté fork—and buy a good pair
of shoes. This career is rewarding, but it can have
long nights and weeks. For me, it’s also about
endurance. No matter what, at
the end of a 15-hour day,