About a month ago the City Paper profiled Duncan Prahl – by day he works at a green building company, at night he can be found at local watering holes (often Kelly’s) setting up arrangements of plastic toys. Check out his website BarAnimals.com
to see some of his arrangements.
Click here to see the City Paper interview with Duncan – http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/archive.cfm?type=Local%20Vocal&action=getComplete&ref=5012
Category Archives: Neighborhoods
Pierogi Madness
Compact, tasty, and filling, pierogies are perfect food for a Polish girl on the go. That’s why they’re my FAVORITE! While I prefer making them at home, I do occasionally have to buy them.
For out-of-towners who have stumbled upon this page:
pie·ro·gi also pi·ro·gi n. : A semicircular dumpling with any of various fillings, such as finely chopped meat or vegetables, that is often sautéed after being boiled.
There are a couple of places I like to buy them in bulk in the ‘burgh:
First up is Pierogies Plus owned by Helen Mannarino, located in a former gas station in McKees Rocks, and staffed by the sweetest Ukrainian and Polish ladies and gents. Second up is Clara’s Pierogies, which is owned by Kathy Davis (daughter of Clara!) The business started out as a catering company and is now located in the South Hills on Route 51.
Both Pierogies Plus and Clara’s have similar menus, offering some crazy fillings like apricot and jalapeno, while staying close to traditional favorites the kraut, potato, and cheese. They also offer kielbasa, potato pancakes, and other fixin’s.
Helpful hints: you can print out coupons from both websites. And and now you can order from Pierogies Plus online! And DEAR GOD, Helen can even show you how to Make Your Own Pierogies on DVD. (Best PGH-esque stocking stuffer EVER Award.) Someone please take away my credit card.
Any other places to stock up on pierogi? Let us know.
Wild Turkeys
Some days on my way to school, I am lucky enough to see a bunch of turkeys bopping around on the side of the road. They are very cute and make me smile. Take that, Manhattan!
I was curious as to what a “flock” of turkeys is called, and so I found this handy dandy website:
“Benjamin Franklin wanted wild turkeys to be our national symbol instead of the bald eagle. He felt that the stately, majestic qualities of the wild turkey would make it a fine symbol for the new country.
“Most people are familiar with the term “flock of pigeons” and even “gaggle of geese,” but did you know that a group of turkeys is called a “rafter”? And baby turkeys are called poults.”
You can see a happy, safe rafter of turkeys at the South Park Nature Center in South Park, PA (about a 20 minute drive outside the city). The Nature Preserve also has pheasants, ruffled grouses (our state bird!), peacocks (which make the weirdest noises ever) deer, and … buffalo! That’s right, buffalo. You can attempt to feed the animals grass and seed without getting your hands pecked or bitten off. It’s pretty fun. The Center also has nature programs incorporating the trails, streams, and other resources of the park.
Check out other nature programs at Parks in Allegheny County here:
http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/parks/2005/ncenter.asp
Hmm. I still haven’t found out why I only see turkeys in the fall. What are they doing during the rest of the year? Hiding? Mating? Sleeping? Any turkey experts in the audience?
Directions to the Center:
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The Cut
Carnegie Mellon, I love thee, oh how do I count the ways?
Before I actually started attending CMU, I had never taken the time to walk across its campus. That was really too bad. It’s a really cool campus, with neat buildings, interesting topography, and lots of nooks and crannies to explore. I find new places to study (and new robots) every week.
This time of year the Cut (the big grassy lawn in the middle of campus) is really gorgeous, with marching bands and frisbee players scampering around. The weather is perfect this time of year, so the whole university community is competing for a space on the green, from pale physics PhDs to the sorority girls. Despite the faint views of the downtown skyline and the Cathedral of Learning, it doesn’t feel like its right in the middle of the city at all. Ahh, surrounded by ivory towers. Awesome …
So next time you’re wandering around the area, take a walk across the Cut (and bring a picnic lunch.) It sure is purty (and will make you wish you were back in school.)
Pitaland
So, let’s just admit it. A lot of our East End friends don’t know how to cross rivers (and vice versa.) But let’s not forget about the Pittsburgh neighborhoods beyond tunnels and bridges. One of them being the lovely Brookline, in Southern Pittsburgh (just across the Liberty Tubes.) Brookline in itself is awesome. Think plenty of shade trees along a wide boulevard filled with quaint family owned businesses.
One of the many reasons to visit Brookline is Pitaland, the Middle-Eastern grocery store, a Lebanese-born, Pittsburgh-made family business.
I stop buy to stock up on staples like hummus, baba ghannouj and (of course!) pitas, but you can also buy everything from baklawa to syrian cheese. They produce about 4,000 pita pockets a day!
Wanna read more about the store and get some recipes before you explore? Check out this PG article.
The store Pitaland is located at 620 Brookline Boulevard. Store hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. Phone: 412 531-5040.
scratch and sniff the pita:
