Author Archives: Maya

Pit Stop

Coconut Cream and Lemon Meringue

You know when you are famished and you pull over at the first place you have seen for miles and you don’t know whether you will be glad you did? Well, the AH and I were glad to stop at the Lone Star Restaurant in Markleysburg where we were able to fuel up for our visit to the Christian W. Klay Winery. The cheeseburger special was served on homemade rolls with crispy fries. We couldn’t help but order two slices of pie from the mirrored display – at the Lone Star those are made from scratch too. Our choices were too numerous to count: chocolate, peanut butter, peanut butter AND chocolate, apple, Dutch apple, cherry, peach, raisin, pumpkin, blackberry, and raspberry. We went with old staples coconut cream and lemon meringue and were not disappointed. The lemon meringue was tart without being cloying. The coconut cream was a rich pudding with a cloud of meringue topped with toasted coconut. By the time we left the Lone Star our bellies were full and we were ready to move on the the next stop. The Lone Star doesn’t have a website but you can visit on your next trip to the Laurel Highlands at 4922 National Pike, Markleysburg, PA.

It's Just Honey and Water, Honey

Labels wait to go on the bottles at Glades Pike Winery

After a leisurely morning at the Summit Inn (yes, free coffee and they had a fire going) we headed to the first winery on our itinerary. Glades Pike is about an hour away – and watch those rural routes, signage can be difficult to see. We arrived at Glades Pike, open since 2002, around 12:30, and were welcomed by the staff, despite the fact that there were several customers already at the tasting bar, Liz, our contact, quickly had us set up with a tasting menu. We explained that we didn’t have a lot of experience with wine, but having lived in the Finger Lakes region we were aware that in certain regions of the United States, grapes grow differently and local wineries tend to excel at certain grape blends. In my experience, drinking white in the Finger Lakes can be trancendental, but drinking reds is like sneaking your friend’s grandmother’s Manechewitz when you are 13 – grape juice with a kick.

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Hit the road, n'at

Wanting to wake up in wine country ready to get to some serious tasting, me and the almost-husband (AH) decided to head down to the Laurel Highlands after work on Friday. With our reservation confirmed at the gloriously historic Summit Inn Resort and armed with the news that the dining room closed at 9pm, we planned to hit the road by 7. This gave me enough time to properly pack. For a weekend devoted to wine tasting I reasoned I really only needed five things: sundresses, sunglasses, sunhat, and sunscreen. Oh, and a swimsuit for the indoor and outdoor pools and jacuzzi at the Summit. Fortunately, I decided to throw in some jeans and a sweater at the last minute because sadly the weather did not cooperate with my packing plan. Leaving by 7 allowed me to attend my Friday workout class to prepare for a weekend devoted mostly to eating and drinking.

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Get out of town!

I prefer the dry whites

As with many Pittsburghers, I fled the city for the weekend in the hopes that when I returned I would find the city free of riot police and jersey barriers and navel-gazing news coverage. I may not have much trouble crossing a river to get to another neighborhood but I do rarely make it beyond the City Limits. I need to be reminded of the rich amenities and recreation just beyond. So how about a trip through wine country? And no, I did not fly to Napa or visit the Finger Lakes region. This weekend I was tipsily traipsing through the Southwest Passage Wine Trail and blissing out in one of Western PA’s greatest assets, the Laurel Highlands. The region (through the PA Winery Association) is working on highlighting the wineries as a great asset to grow the tourism industry and as part of that initiative invited IheartPgh to visit, all expenses paid! Interested in purchasing wine for my upcoming nuptials I quickly signed on to report from the grape-soaked trenches.

Here is a link to the Google map I made of the wineries and restaurants I visited, which I’ll be writing about throughout the week!
View Southwest Passage Wine Trail in a larger map

What does Lawrenceville Taste Like?

Find out tomorrow when Fe Arts Gallery hosts The Taste of Lawrenceville III, Thursday, September 17th from 6:30 – 9:30PM. Billed as Pittsburgh’s yummiest fundraiser the event will benefit the city’s hottest non-profit art gallery. Enjoy great food, great art, and great company. Participating Lawrenceville Restaurants include Piccolo Forno, Remedy, Deli on Butler Street, Round Corner Cantina, Tamari, The New Amsterdam, and Coca Cafe. Participating Lawrenceville Artists include Joshua Space, Paul Roden, Garry Pyles, Juliana Morris, Lauren Lampe, Valerie Leuth, and David Grim. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, you can call 412.860.6028 to reserve tickets (leave a message if no one answers) Fe Gallery is located at 4102 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201.