Tag Archives: Southside Flats

Do some holiday holiday shopping at APARTMENT

On the second floor of 1113 E. Carson Street is APARTMENT – an independent clothing store featuringZETO clothing and the artwork of Brian Holderman. Brian and Nami have set up a really great store – it is like shopping in your living room, but it is their living room. Be sure to sign up for their email list so that you get updates about art openings. If you can’t make it over to APARTMENT you can buy ZETO clothing from the website www.zeto-clothing.com.
For more info on Brian Holderman’s art check out – http://www.cloud8.info
apartment

SANTARCHY!

santa

So. Before you go you go curling or see Mamaspell this Saturday, Dec. 10, you need to check out the first annual Pittsburgh SANTARCHY. This Santastic event has been held everywhere from Tokyo to San Francisco. The evidence at left is from McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Good Lord, I never thought I’d see the day where Pittsburgh was playing catch-up to Antarctica on a cultural trend. But anyway. We got it, finally.

From the organizer’s post at craigslist:

What is it? Santarchy is a nonpolitical, non-religious, not-for-profit (i.e. free), demented Santa Claus convention — a mass gathering of Santa Clauses that will spread a little disruptive, holiday cheer to everyone we encounter. It’s part pub crawl, part culture jam, and part prank.

Meeting place: Southside, Beehive Coffee House, corner of 14th and Carson.
When: 3:00 p.m., this Saturday
Until: ??? (But plan on a long day.)

The itinerary will be kept secret until the actual day, but expect the following:
— It will start and end in the Southside.
— Lots of walking
— Use of public transportation system
— Visits to Station Square and Downtown.
— Pub hopping
— Lots of funny looks

This event is free and open to all Santas, however, the drinks and food along the way will not be.

In order to participate you MUST dress like Santa Clause. Here is some advice from Pittsburgh Cacophony Society:

“Santa apparel is mandatory. A Santa hat is not enough. Get a Santa suit. Make a Santa suit. Steal a Santa suit. Buy a Santa suit. If you don’t have any money, be creative. If you don’t have any creativity, slap yourself three times and ask your mom to help you. Glue cotton balls to red long johns. Make it purple. Make it pink. Already have a Santa suit? Make a spare so Santa can assimilate strangers. Past examples: pimp Santa/Santa garcia/Santa’s naughty little helper/misfit toy/elf/reindeer. Traditional suits can be bought at local party stores or ordered online for $12 and up.”

I am looking forward to the insantaty.

Loova

In college, I studied abroad in London. And I spent too much money I didn’t have. Too much of this money was spent on soap. Yes, soap. You see, in London, there is a wonderful boutique chain called Lush. Lush specializes in fresh, hand-made, all natural, super-good smelling soap and beauty products. Their products are ridiculously expensive, yet addictive.

Thanks to Lush, I returned to Pittsburgh a soap addict. But Bath and Body Works did not fulfill my needs. The Body Shop was too far away. I wanted my soap and beauty products with expiration dates. I wanted to see my bath scrubs made and packaged right in front my eyes, made with fresh ingredients.

So imagine my surprise when I entered LOOVA, located in Station Square in the South Side. Could I believe my eyes? It was exactly like Lush – but (slightly more) affordable! And more importantly, local!

Soap by the slice? Check!
yum

Soap kebabs? Check!
soapy soap soap

Home-made bath cup cakes? Check!
tub cakes

Creatively packaged bath fizzies? CHECK!
fizz fizz

You can also buy Loova products online (orders of $50 get a 15% discount.) And … if you can’t afford the soap, I highly recommend visiting the store. The smells are free. (But don’t be surprised if you walk out wondering why you just bought a dozen bath fizzies.)

shop local: the southside

as one of our many riverfront neighborhoods devastated by the end of steel, the south side has come leaps and bounds in the last twenty years. perhaps the poster child for business district revitalization, the south side boasts a huge diversity of independently owned businesses and is known for its “both types of blue hairs” culture.

for a directory of businesses and activities, click here.

some personal favs:
thai me up – best cheap thai food in the city.
apartment – awesome original art and clothing, by brian and nami [who are awesome too].

The place for Sunday brunch

When you think of the finest in Pittsburgh cuisine, you tend to think of delicious foods that go straight for the old ticker. Perogies and onions dripping in butter, sandwiches stacked six-inches high with fries. You probably don’t think of organic vegetarian fare served up on thick painted glass inside an antique store. The Zenith Café on 26th and Sarah in the South Side serves up some amazing grub. Sunday brunch done right. For 10 bucks, you get a choice of entrée, coffee, and access to the buffet. My recent Zenith experience was all about their egg and veg creation. Not sure what it was but damn was it good. Now there’s all sorts of stuff on the buffet, but the cake and pie selection is phenomenal. Vegan chocolate cake, peanut butter pie…

So the food is amazing but the vibe is what makes the place. I recently brought an out-of-towner to Sunday brunch and we sat at a table with four others. We shared eggs with two artists, a computer engineer, and bartender/singer. Good people, some hilarious stories, and helpful info (I learned about Free Ride — a non-profit recycle-a-bike shop in Point Breeze.).

Yeah, Pamela’s knows pancakes, and the egg sandwich at Ritter’s is immortal, but Zenith is worth a visit. Go there once and you’ll be back.

Check out their website at http://www.zenithpgh.com.