Magic night at Spaghetti Warehouse, originally uploaded by Mike @ pittsburgh.metblogs.com.

Full post to come once I get to a computer

Sometimes I realize that I’m not a good Pittsburgher.  Case in point, last night was my first trip, ever, to the Spaghetti Warehouse.  I was supposed to go to a wrap up party for NaNoWriMo last year but couldn’t make it (I’m going to guess I was camping, as that tends to be my default), so when I had the chance to go yesterday night, I jumped on it.

The food was awesome, and I remember commenting, it feels like my grandma’s kitchen.  The whole place.  It just felt right, in that crazy, eclectic, stuff hiding on the walls sort of way.  I loved it.

So every Monday is magic night, and even though we didn’t have any kids at our table (which we lamented because we wanted to see some magic), the magician came over and did a few illusions for us, one of which included fire, which made us all very happy, as secretly we are moths…or people who enjoy camping.  Take your pick.

Epiphany church in the Hill District has been robbed five times recently; as reported by KDKA, the robber is one of their volunteers at their fish fry.  On the noon news today, they reported that this last time, money wasn’t stolen, instead the man took fish and shrimp.  How oddly appripriate for Lent.

We don’t have a cafeteria here at work, and sometimes it can be hard to find places who deliver to us, or at least, places who will deliver that we haven’t ordered from the last ten times (thank goodness for Franktuary).  Epiphany is close enough to walk to, and their Fish Fry runs every Friday, not just in Lent, so it’s a great place to grab lunch.  If you’re looking for a good, cheap lunch, head on up the hill and grab a bite some Friday, you won’t be disappointed.  Although you may not be able to get seafood at the moment…

In a recent New York Times article, John Schwartz discusses the CEOs of the big three automakers and their road trip from Detroit to D.C.:

The prospect of the executives motoring along more than 500 miles of highway to Washington — a trip of about nine hours, not counting a possible stop in Pittsburgh for a sandwich at Primanti Brothers — introduces an element of ritualistic public relations gamesmanship

Who knows, maybe the secret to economic success is hidden somewhere in the delicious coleslaw and fries.

(h/t to PR Junkie)

Food Network Challenge (which is airing right now, and as I speak, being recorded since I knew I would miss the beginning of it) is featuring City Skylines, one of which is Pittsburgh.  I noticed it during one of the commercials earlier in the week, there was a stack of cake that looked like the USX Tower.

Since it is early in the compeition, I don’t know if the “UPMC” sign will be added (I guess it also depends when the episode was filmed), but I’ll update later when there is a winner and hopefully get a picture of the finished cake.  Right now, of the four teams, Pittsburgh seems to be in third in terms of progression to final product, but who knows how that will change by the end of the hour.

UPDATE: Well, the Pittsburgh cake didn’t win (Seattle did, although I am going to go ahead and call shenanigans as all but one of the buildings were made of cardboard, not cake), but they looked pretty bad.  All the competitors said the same thing, eight hours isn’t enough time to do a skyline cake.  The plans looked great, but I think they’re right, just not enough time.

Of the bottom three cakes (of four), I think Pittsburgh looked the best, and the fountain at the point worked, which was cool to see, but there wasn’t any detail on the USX Tower.  Oh well, it was still a cool challenge to watch.

I have occasionally boasted to some of you about my cooking prowess. Now’s your chance to put your money where my mouth is. Next Monday, October 13th, from 7 to 9 PM at the Shadow Lounge in East Liberty, I’ll be serving up various items (mostly vegan, one chicken dish) from the Indian subcontinent. $15 gets you all you care to eat, and the Lounge’s bar will be open to quench your thirst. I’ve looked over their coolers, and there’s several beers that’ll go very nicely. Proceeds from the event benefit Everybody VOTE, a nonpartisan organization working on voter registration, election protection, and youth involvement.

Come on down, have some food, and join in the good times!

Ten months ago, I quit smoking. It’s one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. You wouldn’t think so, because quitting something is all about not doing something, and procrastinators like me find it extraordinarily easy to not do things.

But those Cholinergic receptors that form ligand-gated ion channels in cells’ plasma membranes are powerful little buggers. They make you do funny things, like strangle a hobo with his own pants for a puff of his savory dog-end*.

I didn’t actually do that, but I did develop a strong dislike of the smell of cigarette smoke, a dislike that began as a dislike for the smell specifically while I was eating.

And although the state legislature has passed an inherently anti-freedom, anti-smoking law, it won’t start forcing business owners to stop people from smoking for a few weeks yet, you should still know your options. If you’re like me, and you’d rather eat a meal without people smoking around you, you can do things the old fashioned way and vote with your wallet.

Despite its misleading name, SmokeFree Pennsylvania is not in the business of distributing gratis tobacco products. They’re much more concerned with giving customers the ability to find those restaurants that are capable of making the to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke decision on their own without government influence – and they’ve given you a handy guide to it. I give you a direct link to their restaurant and bar listings, but only so you don’t have to suffer through their pro-ban boostering on the front page, since it’s perfectly possible to be against a behavior and still support another person’s right to do it.

* that’s a British term for a cigarette

I’m posting from Farmington, on assignment for the summer, so posts will be fewer and further between for me (internet access is sometimes hard to come by).  And on a quick side note, I do have another Village Voice in the works for New Stanton, I’m still working on getting the picture I need for it though, hopefully it’s a feature I can keep going.

Anyway, on my way here for the summer, I stopped at a Subway on 119 for dinner near Connellsville.  While enjoying my tuna sub, I overheard a strange conversation, and of course realized, that I’ve probably had conversations just as strange, and things really don’t change as much as I think as I get further away from home, they just pull things into perspective.

So I was sitting there, and I overheard the statement: “ men are like pizzas, you can put cheese and pepperoni on them.”  Now I really don’t understand that statement, nor do I think (or hope) that it is supporting a cannibalistic lifestyle.  However, I was at a loss, so I quickly finished my sub and headed down the road, through construction of course, letting the statement replay in my head.

Driving into work this morning I heard a commercial from Ohio’s tourism department touting different things to do in Ohio, such as the Rock ‘n Roll hall of fame, art museums, zoos and the like.  One caught my ear however: going to the birthplace of the banana split.

Maybe I’ve been lied to for the last six years, maybe the Food Network is wrong…but I was under the impression that the banana split was invented in Latrobe at Valley Dairy.  Guess I’ll have to do some more digging and see what I can come up with, and until then, my shattered dreams will just have to be comforted by some other ice cream…maybe a Blizzard of some sort…

I believe other Metblog cities have done it, so I’m taking a cue from them and introducing you to the village of Farmington.  The idea struck me when I was on the road this weekend (camping and running events for work) and I thought it would be a fun idea.  I tend to travel to Farmington quite a bit (and live there over the summer), so if nothing else, it may provide some inspiration for you to come visit.

 For me, the quickest way to Farmington is to hop on the Turnpike to New Stanton and then take 119, which turns into 40.  But it is also accessible via 381, which also makes for a nice trip through Ohiopyle and the opportunity to stop at Falling Water, or even 281, which will put you through Confluence.

 Farmington is south of Uniontown, up on the mountain, and home to Nemacolin Woodlands.  Other points of interest (which are at least near, and I believe in the same township of Wharton) are Jumonville, The Summit Inn, the Stone House, Fort Necessity National Battlefield and Laurel Caverns.  Summertime also brings a giant flea market worth checking out.  I want to say it’s the first weekend of each month, but I’m not positive on that.

 Driving up 40 will take you up a winding mountain highway.  On the way up there are two pull-offs, one for Lick Hollow picnic area (which is rarely, if ever open, a sign eternally proclaiming “closed for season”) and one which provides a scenic overlook of Uniontown.  The scenic overlook, as well as a pull-off on the way down with a spring are both home to geocaches.  And even though I generally try not to encourage the park-and-grab variety, these two are worth it, both providing very interesting locations to visit and beautiful and unique scenery.

More after the jump, including eateries and entertainment! (more…)

I know it is a little chilly today. But free ice cream is a good thing. April 29 is Free Cone Day at Ben and Jerry’s. Pittsburgh only has 1 Ben and Jerry’s Location in Sq. Hill – 5885 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Thanks to Tom at the DC Metblog for the reminder.

If cupcakes are your thing – check out $1 cupcakes at Dozen tommorow.