A recent misfortune that resulted in my getting lost for an hour around the West End Bridge led to a happy mistake: finding the California Taco Shop in Overbrook.

This place has been on my mind since I moved out here about two months ago from San Diego and it did not disappoint. And since I was the only person in the joint, I chatted with the owner, Gustavo, who’s also a fellow (former) San Diegan.

Gustavo opened the shop about three months ago and made it a point to serve “San Diego-style” Mexican fare, which means California burritos (meaning there’s a big-ole smack of fries thrown in), carne asada fries and the San Diego staple: the breakfast burrito.

Our friend Gustavo was born in Ensenada and because of this claims he makes a mean fish taco. I have yet to try one, but I can only imagine.

This place is pretty reasonably priced, a little out of the way along Route 51, but still worth it if you want to try a West Coast specialty.

I recommend my favorite, the pollo asado fries, they’re even great reheated the next day.

You can find the California Taco Shop on Yelp here.

Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District

• Friday, September 30, 2011 5-8ish pm
• FREE fun, food, drinks and more
• Check out CANstruction with the Food Bank @ 937 Penn Ave.  Artist work created from canned goods which are then donated back to the Food Bank.

Octoberfests For All the Rest –  Art, Bikes, Dogs

• Artobertfest - Saturday afternoon block party in Bellevue (1-5).  Wine and gallery tour (5-8pm). After party at Bite Bistro (8-10pm).
• Biketoberfest – Saturday on the Steel Valley Trail – starts at the historic Pump House, 5, 10, 20 and 30 mile bike rides
• Dogtoberfest – Saturday, Southside works – fall fun for you and your four legged friend

A Few Steps Up For a Great View

• This Saturday – Fineview’s Step-a-thon
• Next Saturday - South Side Slopes Step Trek

Head of the Ohio

• 25th Annual Rowing Regatta held in Pittsburgh every October
• Teams from all over the country will compete on a course that runs between the Point and Washington’s Landing
• Open to the public to watch

RAD Days =  FREE Fun for Everyone

• Saturday – October 1
  • Heinz History Center = Free Admission
  • Riverquest
• Sunday – October 2
  • Carnegie Museum of Art = Free Admission
  • Children’s Museum = Free Admission
  • Mattress Factory = Free Admission
• Tuesday – October 4
  • PNC Park = Free Tours

Wood Fired Words

• a new literary event organized by the folks who brought us the Gist St. Reading series
• Author Josh Barkan, Braddock’s writer in residence will be reading
• Pizza from the community oven
• Saturday, October 1st, 7PM – 10PM.  5$.  BYOB.  Reading will being at 8PM.
• UnSmoke Systems ArtSpace is located at 1137 Braddock Ave, Braddock, PA 15104.

Pittsburgh Ghost Tours

• Haunted Pittsburgh Ghost Tours is back with tours scheduled every weekend in October
• Tours meet at Grand Concourse and the Carnegie Library
• $15 per person

Please join us for an evening of fiction, art, music, books, and homemade pizza (an unbeatable combination)!!

Featuring: a fiction reading by Josh Barkan, Into the Furnace writer-in-residence, live music by the Emily Pinkerton Trio, paintings by John Fleenor, the East End Book Exchange, Pittsburgh’s pop-up used bookstore, and pizza from the wood-fired community pizza oven.

Saturday, October 1st, 7PM – 10PM.  5$.  BYOB.  Reading will being at 8PM.

UnSmoke Systems ArtSpace is located at 1137 Braddock Ave, Braddock, PA 15104.

For more information, please visit:

UnSmoke ArtSpace: http://unsmokeartspace.com/home.html

Josh Barkan: www.joshbarkan.com

Into the Furnace: http://intothefurnace.wordpress.com/

Emily Pinkerton Trio: http://www.emilypinkerton.com/

East End Book Exchange: http://www.eastendbookexchange.com

John Fleenor: http://www.johnfleenor.com/

• Fundraiser for Carnegie Library
• Friday, September 23, 2011 @ the Oakland Branch
• Drink, snacks and live game of Clue!

Oktoberfest at Penn Brewery

• last weekend for drinking beer in the beer garden
• Friday, Saturday, Sunday
• Beer, music, german food = perfect Pgh weekend

City Growers – Community Farm & Garden Tour

• Saturday, September 24, 2011 – 10am-2pm
• Self Guided Tour of 16 community gardens
• Map and route suggestions available here

Urban Hike Heads to Sharpsburg

• Free guided walk through Sharpsburg – with some unique stops along the way
• Saturday, September 24, 2011 – 10am
• Meet at Silky’s Crows Nest 19th and Marina in Sharpsburg

Allegheny Green + Innovation Fair at Hartwood Acers

• Free day of green friendly activities for kids of all ages
• Plus hay rides and fall festival activities
• Saturday, September 24, 2011 11am-5pm
• Stop by the pair Networks’ table and enter to win an iPod touch

Little Italy Days in Bloomfield

• All Italy all the time
• Food, music and family fun spills into the streets for Little Italy Days and there will be bocce
• Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Carnegie Science Center for FREE!

• RADical days 2011 starts on September 24 and runs until October 16
• Sunday, Spetember 25, 2011 – FREE admission to Carnegie Science Center
• Complete 2011 RADical Days calendar available here.

Image via Wikipedia

One of my all time favorite movies is Clue – yes the Clue with Mrs. White, Professor Plum and the singing telegram – so I love that the upcoming fundraiser at the Carnegie Library includes a live action version of Clue.  This Friday, September 23, its After Hours @ the Library.  The Carnegie Library has been hosting these occasional fundraisers at different Libraries around town – this week the After Hours party is at the library in Oakland. For $25 you can support the library, have some snacks, enjoy some drinks, listen to the musical stylings of Joy Ike AND play live action game of Clue.

What’s Live Action Clue you ask? It is our optional, super low key and awfully fun way to win some cool prizes and help Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh solve a murder mystery. You’ll stroll through the party enjoying your drinks and some great snacks donated by local restaurants and may see Mrs. Peacock, Mr. Green or Colonel Mustard having a fabulous time at the library too. You also may see the rope bartending and the wrench reading a magazine… Your job is to ask these characters if they have a clue for you. Once you get all the clues (or lack of clues, hint, hint), you’ll be able to figure out who done it, with what and in what room. It is easy, fun and optional.

Event Details:

After Hours @ The Library
Carnegie Library in Oakland
September 23, 2011, 6:30 – 9:00 pm

Tickets are $25 but there are still tickets available on Groupon here  for $13.

For my fellow Clue fans – the singing telegram…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Related articles

• Deconstructing the Carnegie Libraries (lib.niu.edu)
• Carnegie Libraries: The Future Made Bright (cr.nps.gov)
• The Next Page: Preserve Pittsburgh’s legacy with library tourism (post-gazette.com)
• The Library History Buff (libraryhistorybuff.org)

In the meantime, we hope you will continue supporting Pittsburgh’s current pop-up stores (and alerting us to new arrivals).  East End Book Exchange recently announced three new pop-up events:

• Saturday, August 20th at Commonplace Coffeehouse in Squirrel Hill. 10-4pm
• Saturday, August 27th at Assemble (5125 Penn Avenue in Garfield). 10 – 4PM.   We will be joined here by Tech-To-Go, the tech pop-up project from BirdBrains Labs.
• Sunday, August 28th at Pittsburgh Public Market in the Strip District. 10-4PM.

Check their blog for more details and updates: www.eastendbookexchange.blogspot.com

The Batcycle – Bicycle Ride

Sunday, August 14, 2011
6-8pm
Meet at Dippy The Dino in Oakland

Image via Wikipedia

To celebrate the new Batman movie being filmed in Pittsburgh, we will go on a Batman themed ride. Dress up like Batman, Robin, or any other Batman character, although costumes are not required. Decorate your bicycle if you’d like. This is a no-drop ride at a relatively slow pace. We will swing by downtown filming locations, and get as close as we can to the road closures. This ride will end at Dippy. Bring your family and of course kids are more than welcome. Rain does not cancel, helmets are required, and our route length will be around 10 miles or less.

Click here for the entire BikeFest Calendar.

This is last minute, East End Book Exchange just confirmed their location for this weekend:

We’ll be at Commonplace Coffee in Squirrel Hill (5827 Forbes Avenue, near Murray Ave).

TOMORROW, Saturday, August 6th from 10am-4pm.

Visit their website for more information: http://eastendbookexchange.blogspot.com/2011/08/east-end-book-exchange-at-commonplace.html

Buy some books, try some excellent coffee, help support two great local businesses!!

I’m working on a great new project and I need your help!  Recently, Pittsburgh has suffered from a shortage of bookstores.  I’ve started the new East End Book Exchange hopefully to remedy all that!

East End Book Exchange will debut at the Pittsburgh Public Market in the Strip District on Sunday, July 31st, 10am-4pm

Browse and buy from a great selection of fiction and nonfiction

Exchange your used books for store credit

Come down on the 31st and help support Pittsburgh’s newest used bookstore!
For more information on current inventory, contact information, etc, please visit our website and blog: http://eastendbookexchange.blogspot.com/

Questions, comments, concerns?  I would love to hear from you!  Email us at eastendbookexchange@gmail.com

The Pittsburgh Public Market is located in the Produce Terminal Building near the intersection of Smallman and 17th Street in the Strip District.