Author Archives: breen

good old uncle sam

you may have seen an uncle sam’s, either in oakland, squirrel hill or at the waterworks. you may have thought that it’s a chain restaurant with it’s thorough decor and teenage staff. the only thing that may have tipped you off is the fact that they only take cash. uncle sam’s is a locally owned and operated business offerring yummy subs to several parts of the city. you always get a foot-long and they offer thin fries as a side [included when dining in]. for me, a foot-long portabella sub is two meals, and for a total of $7, that’s a deal.

check out other restaurants from the same owner: fuel & fuddle and joe mama’s – both in oakland

hot diggity dogma!

today i patronized one of downtown’s few independent and reasonably priced lunch vendors. hot dogma serves up fresh and tasty meals with a mission. today i had a veggie el greco- this is a veggie dog covered with artichoke hearts and feta cheese, and boy is it good. i like it so much that i haven’t ventured beyond it on the menu but, for the reasons mentioned above, i will be going back. there are salads and soups and smoothies for me to try too. plus, they give you one of those punch cards, so you can get a free dog one day. if all of that isn’t enough, it’s also a nice place to hang out. they’re on oliver avenue in the basement of a church. go check it out!

pittsburgh candle company

located just outside city limits is a successful woman-owned business called the pittsburgh candle company. susan miller manufactures and sells 100% soy-based candles at her west view shop.

so, for those people that you don’t know what to get for them for the holidays and were going to buy the generic candle anyway, please consider making a trip to west view for a locally-made soy candle from a locally-woman-owned business.

the circus of time, a dance alloy production

local dance company the dance alloy kicks off their 30th anniversary season with “the circus of time” at the kelly-strayhorn theatre in east liberty. this program will feature two pieces: “time & again” by guest coreographer claire porter, and “selective memory” by dance alloy artistic director beth corning. the second piece will feature a guest performer, jeff gordon, also known as “clown gordoon” formerly of the ringling brothers barnum & bailey circus.

more information on the show can be found in a recent city paper article, or by following links to either the dance alloy or kelly-strayhorn theatre websites.

arsenal lanes, lawrenceville

a favorite of young and old alike, arsenal lanes has become to the place to bowl. in fact, i would venture to say that it has spurred a resurgence of bowling. it’s got a fun theme each night of the week, is really affordable and has new surfaces on its lanes.

here’s the low-down:
sunday…dj night
monday…live bands [a.k.a. rock’n’bowl]
tuesday…college night [0.50 bowling and drafts]
wednesday…ladies night [women bowl free]
thursday…80s night
friday…karaoke
saturday…super saturday [noon-three]

except where noted otherwise, all events are $7 all-you-can-bowl and/or run 9pm-12am.

arsenal lanes is located at 44th and butler streets [enter on 44th]. contact: 412.683.5992.

a source close to me says that the best thing about arsenal is the atmosphere…”it’s not too serious. it’s not full of people going crazy about bowling. it’s a good atmosphere for fun, nerd fun.”