Blog Archives
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.
There’s a peculiar stretch of road in Edgewood/Swissvale- amidst this rural, quiet neighborhood sits a small, commercial lot with a few businesses- there’s a chiropractor, Laundromat, used car lot, convenience store, and Thai restaurant… Curry Away- that’s the name of the restaurant that resides here, and pay attention, or you’ll drive by without ever knowing it was there. The outside of Curry Away looks similar to the other businesses that it sits next to- inconspicuous. The inside is small….very small- six tables in all, with seating for 18-20, max. The walls are a pleasant orange-ish color, with a few framed photographs on them; that’s it for the décor- minimal to say the least.
When you walk into Buffalo Blues, you’ll notice a few flat-screen televisions, and a large bar. Past the entry way, there’s a small dining room, and behind that, another large room- probably enough seating to accommodate 100 people comfortably. The large wooden planked walls are ornamented with various beer signs and other typical bar-type memorabilia. I was mostly interested in the faint smell of hot oil cooking- that meant something was being deep-fried!
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love a thick, buttery filet mignon as much as the next carnivore. But I gotta say, hot dogs have a special place in my (cholesterol-saturated) heart.
I have been hearing about Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe for years. Like the O in Oakland and D’s SixPax & Dogz in Regent Square, Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe specializes in wieners. I find it odd that a restaurant would stake it’s whole business model on a food that is probably the easiest food in the world to cook. You could cook your dog with a Zippo, if you really had to. I suppose that speaks to what the hot dog means to us as a country: fast to cook, easy to eat, and lots and lots of choices when it comes to condiments.
