When it came time to decide on a venue for a group dinner during the recent Nebula Awards weekend, one restaurant stood out above all others—Morcilla, which had been named the best new restaurant in Pittsburgh by Pittsburgh magazine and last year’s #4 best new restaurant in the country by Bon Appetit.

And I wasn’t alone in that conclusion—for when I reached out to agent extraondinaire Barry Goldblatt about whether he wanted to join me, he said Morcilla was on his radar as well.

Which is how I ended up there Friday night at a table with, as they say, more stars than there are in Heaven, including Christopher Barzak, Bo Bolander, Joe and Gay Haldeman, and Fran Wilde.

We didn’t quite eat the entire menu—but we came close!

Bay View oysters
(with ramp mignonette)

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