Nakama enjoys a great reputation for being one of the best teppanyaki restaurants in the city. It’s a trendy hot spot located in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Southside.

I CAN’T believe I had never been to Harp and Fiddle before! I’d always wanted to go, but somehow, I never made it down to the Irish pub in the Strip District. Finally, Saturday night (afternoon), Ryan and I met up with John and Dana and friends and had a ROWDY time.

I’ve lived in Pittsburgh for 17 years now, and had never been to LeMont on Mt. Washington until recently. Besides being a Pittsburgh landmark, LeMont is also a Five-Star Diamond Award-winning Fine Dining Restaurant with amazing views of Downtown Pittsburgh.

A co-worker has been telling me about Harry’s Pizza for a long time. A couple Saturdays ago, one of the first autumn-ish days of the year, Ryan and I took the thirty minute road trip to Harry’s in McMurray.

Tonight I made a nice salad with green leaf lettuce from my garden; summer is finally here! If you have a garden, you too will be able to enjoy fresh vegetables and fruits during the summer months. Try finding a local farmer’s market if you don’t have somewhere to plant vegetables; they’re abundant this time of year! Fresh grown produce and fruits have a quality to them that is absent in store-bought fruits and vegetables; the rich taste and purity is something that you and your family will surely enjoy! During this time of the year spend time with your family and friends- eat well, and shoot off some fireworks if you have them… just be careful!

I’ve always loved Mexican food. Growing up in San Diego, I was lucky to be exposed to so much authentic Mexican cuisine. Since moving to Pittsburgh several years ago, I was finding good Mexican food to be elusive. My sister told me about a restaurant she had found in Monroeville, El Campesino. She went on to tell me that this was the closest to good Mexican food that he had sampled since leaving the West Coast; I was ready to give it a try.

I’ve been going to the East End Food Co-op for several years now. There’s something appealing about supporting small, local, member-owned food stores that appeals to me. The Coop was updated several years ago to help it keep up with the competition- Whole Foods mostly. The renovation expanded the size of the Coop, and also made room for more product- all good things

Today at work, we ordered a cake from Eadie’s Catering to celebrate some office birthdays. Eadie’s Catering is located at One Mellon Center (the humongous Mellon building downtown), but you can order a variety of food from their website. I ordered a 1/4 sheet Chocolate Whipped Cream Cake and OH MY GOD THIS IS THE BEST CAKE I’VE EVER HAD!!!

Over the past few years, it seems as if cupcakes have become more popular than ever. They’re all over the place; even replacing traditional cakes at weddings. Why the renewed popularity? Is it that the cupcake is small, and easy to eat? Maybe it’s because they come in so many different flavors, and just as important, colors. If you really enjoy a cupcake (as most people do) Dozen Bakeshop in Squirrel Hill should be on your short list of places to visit. It’s a very small space, but it’s loaded with charm, and sweet aromas.

On my continued search for authentic Italian food in the city of Pittsburgh, I stopped at Del’s in Bloomfield on Sunday evening with my family and friends.