Friday Five - The Out-of-Town Edition

So, to celebrate the opening of the newest Sex and the City movie (I'm kidding - we planned the trip long before we knew the opening date, it just conveniently worked out that way), my husband and I shipped off to New York City for the last week of May. We took the train up and stayed at the unique Hotel Chelsea (which was not entirely coincidental with respect to my favorite Ryan Adams song).

The Chelsea was one of those things that grows on you. It's grungy, smelly in some places, like that old-building-who-has-suffered-so-much-in-its-years kind of way, but there is a vibe there that you can't deny. It has been home to so many famous writers, artists, and musicians, and it's like each person has left behind a little piece of inspiration for the people who would come next. We had the best conversations, the funniest jokes, and the most productive writing sessions of recent memory while we were there.

That said, I still compulsively checked the sheets and mattresses for cleanliness and a lack of bedbugs. Oh, and I started checking the city for resassuring sights that reminded me of home. That's what this blog is - five Pittsburgh references in New York City. Believe me, this was harder to find than I thought it would be!

#5. Steeler Guy on the Train:

There were a ton of backwards Pirates hats floating around, but this was one of the rare Steeler shirts we could spot in our travels. Thanks, Steeler guy on the F Train!

#4. Pierogies on the Menu:

Our last night in the city, we searched for a bar in Chelsea with cheap bar food and stumbled upon Flight 151. They had pierogies on the menu, and a whole mess of flavors to choose from. They were slightly more fried than the traditional Ukrainian ones we make, but man were they still good! I thought we only put pierogies on the menu here in the 'Burgh, but I was glad to see them out of state!

#3. Pittsburgh Publishers:

We hit up the famous Strand Bookstore in the East Village, and what was on the poetry shelves but a Pitt Poetry Series compilation by Kathleen Norris, published by our very own University of Pittsburgh Press.

#2. Thunderbolt:

We walked into a random dive bar in the Lower East Side after dinner, and although it was a bit too crowded for us to stick around and have a drink, we saw this picture hanging over the door. Not sure if it's truly the Kennywood Thunderbolt (there is also a Thunderbolt ride at Coney Island, but it's much more like a Music Express than our famous wooden coaster), but it counts!

#1. Hibernia:


On the hottest day of our trip, when it was in the mid-90s with 100% humidity, we found ourselves wandering up near Hell's Kitchen and dying for a cold drink and some lunch. Lucky for us, we were just a few blocks from a true NYC Steeler bar, Hibernia. An interesting piece of trivia: the guys who used to run Scruffy Duffy's (the awesome Steeler bar just a few blocks away that closed down a few years back) now run this place. And they are super wicked kind to Yinzers. Just let them know you're a Steeler fan, or a current or former Pittsburgh resident, and see what I mean. :) We were not disappointed, and now have yet another Steeler Bar added to our list. Someday, when I'm rich and famous and have nothing better to do than travel, I'm going to hit every one and tell you all about it.

For now, I'm going to get back to the lengthy task of captioning and posting all of the trip photos, but I'll be back soon with some captivating hockey discussions and Arts Festival reviews!

The View

I wanted to share a few pictures I took of the city from LeMont restaurant last month. LeMont is the ever-classy restaurant at the top of Mt. Washington, famous for proposals and fancy work banquets and proms. Despite the stereotypical picture this may paint, it's really a fantastic restaurant, with excellent service, delicious food, and of course, some of the best views of the city.

Also, from now until June 6th, LeMont is offering some unbeatable dinner deals in honor of their 50th anniversary (dinner for two at $50, and a whole list of $25 wine bottles). If you've never been, I really have to recommend checking it out. And if you go, ask if you can sit in Marco's section. He was our waiter the last two times we were there, and I really think he's one of the top waiters in the whole city. Never once did we feel rushed through our meals, and he was funny, charming, and knowledgeable about the entire menu. He even got the bartender to open a special bottle of wine for me so I could try a single glass (it was a Paso Robles wine that is typically only available by the bottle, but being the Central Coast wine afficionado I am, I had to ask).

We went just before sundown, so we were able to enjoy the sky changing colors over the city. The view is so crystal clear from LeMont that you can almost see what's showing on the big screen at the Buccos game across the river at PNC Park. Almost any view from Mt. Washington is beautiful on the right day, but the entire city and the Point are just perfect from this restaurant.



The view at the beginning of sundown.



Looking into PNC Park across the Ft. Duquesne Bridge.



The Point and the city behind it after dark.

A Food Festive Day

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, and like many other Americans, I choose to celebrate this holiday with margaritas and delicious Mexican food despite not really understanding what the point of the holiday is. (Because I don't like to be 'that guy', I looked it up and have learned that its original intent is to simply commemorate the Mexican victory against the French in the 1862 Battle of Puebla, although it is presently celebrated more in the US just how I thought, as a day to appreciate Mexican heritage and culture, and consequently give us an excuse to overindulge in all that fantastic cooking).

However, we Pittsburghers are fortunate enough that we can cross over into two ethnic food worlds, as the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral runs its Greek Food Festival the first week of May, coinciding nicely with the holiday. And yesterday, I was one of those lucky Pittsburghers who got to experience both.

My husband and I decided to hit up St. Nick's for lunch, and we took advantage of the beautiful weather by walking from our house in Squirrel Hill through Schenley Park into Oakland. It was quite a hike, but the scenery was just unbeatable. Here are two pictures we took from the Panther Hollow Bridge in Schenley.





We had missed lunch by the time we got to St. Nick's, but the a-la carte menu runs straight through the day. We wound our way into the church basement (I could write a whole blog about how I love church basements and their random stages and feel of a Bingo game about to begin) and tenatively approached the food.

I am going to admit this right now: those big rotating meat-slab things at the Point during the Regatta have always made me a little terrified of gyros. Even though I lived within walking distance of the Greek Food Festival for six years, I had never been there, and really, the only Greek food I can think of that I've ever eaten was feta cheese and mini spanikopitas at someone's wedding reception. I was a little intimidated.

Lucky for us though, each food name had a description next to it on the order sheet, so I was able to see what sounded like things I'd like and pick those. After we paid and headed upstairs with our selection, I also had to try out the things they were advertising as 'Greek fries.' I don't know how authentic those were, but I was not going to pass up a chance to eat fries under the excuse of supporting a local Pittsburgh organization.

In the end, we decided on these choices:



The bottom left corner is the spanikopita (fillo pastry filled with feta cheese and spinach), above that is souzoukakia (meatballs in tomato wine sauce), next to that is a dolmathe (herbs and rice in a marinated grape leaf), and of course, those fantastic Greek fries (which were really just fries with feta cheese on top). Oh, and that's my carton of raspberry iced tea (I'm really a Marburger farms kind of girl, but so far, the only place in town I can find that serves those besides my old high school is Wholey's). If I'm going to celebrate, I'm *really* going to celebrate ;)

I really can't say enough good things about this food. That spanikopita was fantastic, and I'm really picky about meatballs, but this one was just melt-in-your-mouth good. The grape leaves were probably my least favorite, but even they were still tasty. And the fries? It was as if they had been snatched from the Potato Patch itself. Oh man.



Thankfully, we were a few miles from home with no car, so we got to walk off some of that meal and get ourselves prepped for Food Splurge #2 of the day.

Last night, we headed up Murray Avenue to Cuzamil, which is a tiny Mexican restaurant and bar that you would probably miss if you weren't walking right past it. And that's a shame, because now that La Fiesta is gone (bless its little soccer-game-supplying soul), this is probably the best Mexican restaurant in the city. The El Campesino on McKnight Road is a close second, but if you're staying within the city limits, Cuzamil is really fantastic.

They were packed (as expected), but the Buccos game was on, and we were feeling quite patient, so we ordered a pitcher of margaritas and set to work on the chips and salsa. The pitcher took a little while to arrive, but it was well worth the wait. The blend was light and delicious, a perfect balance of mix and tequila, so it wasn't overpoweringly sweet.

I had the chicken quesadilla, and my husband had the mahi mahi milanesa (I do not really know what 'milanesa' means, but I can only guess it means something like 'lightly breaded and fried in a batter made of amazing'). All the meals come on those huge plates with refried beans, rice, and salad topped with guac and sour cream, just like La Fiesta used to make. This is quite dangerous, as this place is literally less than half a mile from our house, and I no longer have the metabolism of my early twenties when I lived two blocks down from La Fiesta.

The best news of all? Somehow, our day's worth of gluttony spurred the Buccos to beat the Cubbies. I was going to make a comparison about the underdog Buccos being like the underdog Mexicans in the Battle of Puebla, and get all metaphorical to tie things together at the end here but... really, I'm still just working off that pitcher of margaritas ;)

Also, it's only 2.5 hours until the puck drops, and I've got to get my game face on! Let's Go Pens!!

First Night

Apologies again for the hiatus. This time, my excuse is our lovely little pooch Lucy. We just adopted her, and she's a very cuddle-starved baby mutt who is taking up all of my time. I may not be a kid person, but owning a puppy has certainly solidified the fact that I'm a dog person. She's my little sweet angel doggy. I will surely post some pictures of her at some point, but first, I wanted to do my long-overdue post about First Night (apparently now with a sweet little red dog on my lap).

For the second year in a row, my husband and I decided to attend Pittsburgh's First Night with another one of our couple-friends on New Year's Eve. For those of you who are unfamiliar, First Night is an all-ages event held downtown on New Year's Eve, culminating with our version of the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball Drop. Because we're Yinzers and thus have to do everything our own way, our ball goes up, instead of dropping.

The city shuts down most of Penn Avenue downtown and puts up fire barrels on the street corners to keep you warm as you wander around and look at the events. This year was relatively warm (in the 30s), but a light snow/rain was falling the whole time, making it seem somehow colder than last year's below-zero windchill. The majority of the events are inside, but you do spend a good deal of the evening outside traveling between exhibits.

At last year's event, we'd been back in Pittsburgh for just over two months, and the excitement that I felt wandering around First Night was just electric: I was finally back with my people, back on the correct coast and in the proper time zone. Every time I heard a Yinzer accent or saw Steeler hats and jackets my heart jumped a little. Even the sound of the sax guy who can't play "Here We Go Steelers" in tune brought a tear to my eye. I was home.

So this year, being fully re-citizened to the 'Burgh, and now even being a homeowner within the city limits, I wasn't expecting the same kind of feeling. I was looking forward to the night, but I wasn't planning on feeling extra alive or hopeful or anything like that.

So thanks, my city and my neighbors, for continuing to surprise me :)

We started the night off with dinner at the Sonoma Grille. Neither of us had been before, and being the Central Coast wine country fanatics that we are, we were really excited to check it out. It was absolutely worth the price. I swear to you, the meal was an entire experience. If you go, I highly recommend getting the tapas platter, just so you can check out a variety of delicious flavors in small portions. And the wine? We picked a Paso Robles bottle that was so delicious we're planning on visiting the winery when we're in the area next month on vacation.

With that excellent start to the night, it was off to take in as much as we could of what the city had to offer. Probably my only complaint about First Night is that there is just SO much to see that unless you are very quick and working on a pre-determined schedule, it's basically impossible to see everything you want to see. I'll just touch on a few of the things we loved.

The Pillow Project's Present. Perfect. Tense. The Pillow Project is a dance company headed by Pearlann Porter, who is one of the most incredible choreographers of the present moment. I'm a little biased, maybe, because I used to take her class at Point Park, but her style is so innovative and the way her pieces have been experimenting with light recently is just fascinating to me (we also took in her piece in December at Dance Alloy, The Itch of the Key, which was incredible). This performance featured a male and female dancer behind the glass window of an otherwise-empty shop, dancing and interacting around two squares of light. It was set to Radiohead and Adele songs, and just very creative and enjoyable.

The Pennsylvania Culinary Institute. We made a point of stopping here after a tasty snack last year, and we were not disappointed at all. They had several different soups to choose from, hot chocolate and apple cider, and my personal favorite, brownies. This year's brownies had peanut butter icing with cashews. Sweet and salty and delicious, and only $1.50. I love that place.

WYEP Studios - Good Night, States. As I'm highly allergic to hipsters (those eight months we lived on the border of Lawrenceville were very tough on me), I'd been kind of avoiding ever seeing the Good Night, States, despite the good press they get locally. I guess I just assumed they were 'one of those hipster bands' whose crowd at a show makes me want to avoid the bar at all costs. However, the couple we were with wanted to check them out, so I decided to give them a chance. I was honestly pleasantly surprised. They've got a great sound, which is very catchy and not bored or whiny. Lots of instruments, but all of them have a unique sound and contribute to the songs. They reminded me a lot of one of my favorite little acts, Norfolk and Western. I could tell that these were actually talented musicians, and I think we will definitely check them out again around town.

Fireworks. I seriously wanted to do an all-fireworks blog. The way we Yinzers love our fireworks is something almost fanatical. The fireworks were set off between Fifth Avenue Place and the old Hornes building, and it was a little scary in those tight quarters, but still cool.

Overall, we had a great time. We didn't get to check out as much stuff as we would have liked to just because of time constraints, but the things we saw were really neat. I know it's a year away, but I really recommend everyone checking out First Night 2011 at the end of December.

And now, it's off to tend to the little red dog and get some sleep before my weekend of work begins. Here are a few parting pictures from First Night:

a resolution sculpture titled "Welcome Love" by Kyle Fischer, woven with ribbons of people's New Year's resolutions

Penn Avenue is closed down to traffic so First Night attendees can walk up and down the street

fireworks above the old Hornes building at the start of the new year

Sunset Over Lawrenceville

These pictures are not from tonight, but I wanted to share them anyway. I was making a last-minute liquor store run on Butler Street, June 13, just before 9pm, and this was the sky above Lawrenceville. Just perfect.