PHOTO COURTESY OF SQUONKAPALOOZA

According to Pennsylvania folklore, the Squonk is a piglike, melancholic cryptid that roams the Commonwealth weeping and, when frightened, dissolves into a puddle of tears.

The Squonk should be the official mascot of Seasonal Affective Disorder.

For now, at least, it’s got its own festival.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SQUONKAPALOOZA

The fourth annual Squonkapalooza will take place on Saturday, Aug. 1 at the Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center in Johnstown, about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh. The day includes speakers, vendors, live music and performances, cosplay, photo opportunities, children’s activities, concessions and games, including the Best Compliment Contest, where participants spout uplifting one-liners in an attempt to cheer up the perpetual crybaby.

I need that kind of encouragement on a daily basis — not to mention a Squonk Burger topped with pulled pork and bacon.

Artists and co-founders Joe Fogle and Lisa Russell describe the event as an all-ages, family-friendly cryptid carnival that promotes positivity. The friends were inspired by other creature conventions in the area, including the Kecksburg UFO Festival and gatherings in West Virginia that celebrate Mothman and Bigfoot. I visited a mythological miniature golf course in the Mountain State that can elevate anyone’s mood.

Although the Squonk’s not as popular as Sasquatch (who has a brewery in Monroeville!), the inaugural Squonkapalooza drew about a thousand people. In 2026, they’re expecting between 3,000 and 4,000 folklore enthusiasts in need of a hug.

Fogle says people find the Squonk relatable. You’ll often find Russell in her handmade Squonk costume, working the crowd for affirmations.

The shy, self-conscious loner sure sounds like a Gen Xer, but first appeared in print more than a century ago in “Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, With a Few Desert and Mountain Beasts,” a fantasy field guide written by William Cox.

The legend of the forest-dwellling Debbie Downer eventually made its way to Johnstown, where Fogle was raised on comic books, ghost stories and campfire tales.

“The Squonk isn’t a big, scary supernatural monster; it’s kind of this sad, little being. Growing up, most of us were part of the outsider groups — the nerds, the geeks, the ones who didn’t fit in. We’re all just Squonks inside,” says Fogle, who really needs to put that last sentence on a T-shirt.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SQUONKAPALOOZA

Squonkapalooza is basically a group therapy session.

This week, as I dug my car out from a mountain of snow, I made a vow to attend the summer festival so I can soak up the sun with other mopey misfits, a.k.a. Gloomers. In the meantime, I’ll try to boost my serotonin levels at SAD BAR, a wellness-focused pop-up designed to fight Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Located at 3701 Forbes Ave. in Oakland, SAD BAR serves non-alcoholic cocktails in the glow of warm spectrum lighting. You can fight the winter blues from 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

I can’t wait to sit under a Vitamin D lamp and raise a zero-proof drink to my hero, the Squonk!

IMAGE COURTESY OF HEINZ

Every time I receive a Heinz press release, I have to stop and make sure it’s not a satirical article from The Onion.

This tomato story is true.

For the first time in the Pittsburgh-born company’s 150-year history, it’s kegging its ketchup. The Heinz KegChup holds 114 ounces of the condiment, stands 19.5 inches tall and has an easy-to-use spigot. The limited-edition receptacle will be released at the start of the 2026 NFL season.

Heinz teased the KegChup concept on social media last fall and tailgaters across the globe went ga-ga for it. If you’re attending a non-alcoholic keg party in Pittsburgh, this would definitely be the one to bring. It almost makes up for the rebranding of Heinz Field.

Can’t wait for the next Steelers kick-off? Visit the Heinz Instagram page through Jan. 29 to try and win one before the Feb. 8th — that’s Super Bowl Sunday, the second-largest food holiday of the year behind Thanksgiving. You can also pre-order a keg online.

Over the years, we’ve covered a lot of the company’s wacky antics, from Heinz-themed wedding attire and haute couture to ketchup smoothies, an app that helps you locate the Red Zone in the wild and a squeezable gravy bottle inspired by the sitcom “Friends”.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

This PR stunt proves Heinz is tapped into their audience.

APTEKA PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

Pittsburgh made a strong showing when the James Beard Foundation announced its 2026 Restaurant and Chef Awards semifinalists this week.

Apteka was named a semifinalist for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. Jamilka Borges, co-owner and chef at Lilith, earned a semifinalist nod for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic, a category that spans Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The honors place Pittsburgh squarely in the national culinary conversation ahead of finalists being announced on March 31. Winners will be revealed at the James Beard Awards ceremony on June 15 in Chicago (at the Lyric Opera of Chicago).

PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

Apteka’s Beverage Program Gets Its Moment

While Apteka has long been celebrated for its plant-based takes on dishes rooted in Polish, Ukrainian and broader Eastern European traditions, the James Beard nod shines a spotlight specifically on its wine and beverage program.

The Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program category is specifically about a restaurant’s beverage program, and the James Beard Foundation notes that eligible restaurants must have been operating for at least three years, making the semifinalist nod a signal of sustained excellence and longevity.

Opened in 2016 by Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski, Apteka operates not just as a restaurant but also as a ‘Vinoteka,’ with a tightly defined philosophy guiding what makes it onto the list. The wine program focuses exclusively on natural, organic, and biodynamic wines, typically fermented with native yeast, unfined and unfiltered, vegan, and kept to low sulfur levels.

Apteka regularly highlights small producers from lesser-represented European regions — including Austria’s Weingut Jurtschitsch, France’s Olivier Cousin and Burgenland’s Wachter-Wiesler — alongside a rotating selection of similarly minded bottles.

The restaurant also runs VINOTEKA on Thursdays, a wine-forward service with a shortened food menu designed around the bottle list rather than the other way around.

Wine is only part of the picture. One of the program’s most distinctive elements is its foraged tea and non-alcoholic beverage program, led by kitchen team member Zach Rihn, who harvests wild plants across Western Pennsylvania.

“He picks a bunch of wild Western Pennsylvania teas — things I’ve never seen anywhere else as beverages,” Lasky says. “Things like sycamore or bark tea; they’re exceptional, and he does them seasonally.”

APTEKA PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

That same foraging ethos carries into Apteka’s cocktail program, which is built almost entirely from scratch. During the summer months, the team gathers “hundreds and hundreds of pounds of fruit,” Lasky says, which are later transformed into house-made cordials, juices and ferments that form the base of both cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks.

Recent examples include a fermented rose hip soda paired with Slavic bitters, and a poppy seed milk cocktail made with house-ground poppy seeds, raisins and rum.

Wine decisions are handled collaboratively yet deliberately. Lasky and Skowronski select all bottles, and the front-of-house team plays a central role in translating those choices to guests.

Longtime front-of-house manager Kolin Smith, who is wrapping up his tenure at Apteka, helped shape the program’s service approach.

“Our approach to wine education isn’t about memorizing regions or grape varieties,” Lasky says. “It’s about understanding how wine is made and learning about producers and their projects — especially in Central and Eastern Europe, which a lot of places overlook.”

That philosophy also shapes how Apteka talks about wine with diners.

“The world of wine is so vast,” Lasky says. “We’re more interested in people approaching it with curiosity than coming in with fixed expectations.”

LILITH PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

Jamilka Borges Recognized for Culinary Leadership

At Lilith, chef Jamilka Borges’ semifinalist nod for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic reflects both the restaurant’s rapid ascent and her long-standing influence on Pittsburgh’s dining scene. Now in its third year, Lilith represents a culmination of Borges’ nearly two decades in Pittsburgh kitchens.

Borges learned about the nomination while on a winter break in San Juan, Puerto Rico, during the one week Lilith is closed each year. She was out on a run with Lilith’s co-owner, Dianne DeStefano, when Nick Forsberg, chef and owner of Fet-Fisk, texted to congratulate her.

“I was completely surprised,” Borges says. “We work really hard, and our staff works really hard, so it felt really good to see that collective effort recognized.”

The timing carried extra meaning: Borges turns 40 this week, making the recognition feel like a personal milestone layered onto a broader moment of reflection.

Named one of Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best Restaurants in 2025, Lilith opened in 2023 as a deeply personal project for Borges and DeStefano, drawing on Borges’ Puerto Rican roots and DeStefano’s Sicilian heritage.

Borges has been careful not to frame Lilith as a traditional Puerto Rican restaurant. Instead, she describes her cooking as personal, shaped by what she learned from her mother and grandmother and adapted to local, seasonal ingredients.

PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

That personal history shows up in specific ingredients Borges returns to again and again — plantains, taro root, guava, tamarind, passion fruit and sofrito-driven aromatics — folded into seasonal cooking rather than presented as strict reproductions. Recent menus have included dishes like crab and halibut cakes with taro root purée, tuna tartare with pan sobao crostini, and ricotta ravioli layered with pork ragu, sofrito, and saffron.

Borges has been in Pittsburgh for 19 years, with leadership roles at Legume Bistro and Bar Marco, alongside years of community work focused on food education, preservation and fundraising. Outside the restaurant, Borges has long tied her work to community causes, including fundraisers for 412 Rescue and Action Against Rape, as well as an annual multi-chef fundraiser in Kentucky that supports women in the industry.

In the kitchen, she leads by example.

“I show up and I work really hard,” she says. “I’m not afraid to jump on the dish pit or do anything in the restaurant. That’s what I expect from others, too.”

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

The Brinery is back in business in Sharpsburg after a month-long kitchen renovation and menu overhaul.

My daughter and I were the first customers to patronize the Main Street spot during its grand re-opening on Jan. 16 and we ordered like it was our last meal: a cheeseburger and fries, three gigantic chicken wings with Never Ending Hot Sauce, pickle tots and a honey butter cornbread biscuit served in a cast-iron skillet.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

I would’ve ordered the fried chicken skins as well but I was too busy chewing the fat with Joe Bardakos, who co-owns the eatery with his partner, Madi Donaldson. If the couple’s adorably chatty kids had been on site, I’d still be there talking with my mouth full.

If you’ve never been to The Brinery, the scratch-made menu still boasts some bangers from its beginnings as a food truck, including The Graceland sandwich, pickle-brined fried chicken thigh, chili peanut sauce, napa cabbage, pickles and banana ketchup on homemade bread.

There’s a lot to love at The Brinery (which is located a few doors down from Love, Katie Distilling), so it’s appropriate that the BYOB-establishment is hosting a Valentine’s Day dinner for two on Feb. 15, complete with a “chicken skin flight.”

I’d take that over a box of chocolates any day.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALBERTA’S PIZZERIA

If deep-fried finger foods aren’t romantic enough for you, try Tapas Tuesdays at Alberta’s Pizzeria.

From 5 to 9 p.m. each week, chef/owner Beau Mitall serves up a rotating variety of small, savory dishes to share and pair with thoughtfully curated glasses of wine. No reservations are accepted and it’s bar-service only, but I think it makes the evening feel more intimate.

During a December visit, my date and I enjoyed Manchego cheese, potato paprika soup, smoked fish and prawn pintxos, pimientos fritos, pan de tomate and gildas, skewers stacked with green olives, anchovy and pickled pepper. A gilda is my favorite flavor combination and my favorite “Saturday Night Live” cast member.

If you visit Alberta’s on a Tuesday, tell ‘em Roseanne Roseannadanna sent you. And then order the gildas.

PHOTO BY AARON JACK

(Due to the impending weather forecast, Con Alma’s Fundraising Gala has been moved from Sunday, Jan. 25 to Sunday, Feb. 1 with renowned pianist Orrin Evans. Tickets are available online.)

Con Alma

“If you want to experience something authentically Pittsburgh, come to Con Alma,” says John Shannon, the Downtown jazz joint’s co-founder and music coordinator. “There’s a connection that happens between musicians and listeners through improvisation.”

In the 1940s and ‘50s, the Steel City was a hub for jazz musicians. Fans packed multiple clubs to hear standards such as Dizzy Gillespie’s “Con Alma,” which means “with soul.”

Shannon and his business partners, chef Josh Ross and beverage director Aimee Marshall, founded the Con Alma concept in 2019 to breathe new life into the scene, give world-class artists a home base and serve high-end food, cocktails and wine in a deliberately low-tech environment. Pittsburghers got hip to the place (which is devoid of TVs but has a large collection of vinyl records) thanks to word of mouth.

But, like a lot of live music venues in the post-pandemic era, Con Alma is struggling to attract a crowd six nights a week.

On Sunday, Jan. 25 from 5:30 to 9 p.m., guests are invited to a fundraising gala featuring internationally acclaimed trumpeter Sean Jones & Friends, elevated cuisine, hand-crafted cocktails and some good, old-fashioned human interaction. Tickets are available online.

For folks who can’t make it to the event, a GoFundMe page was launched in December 2025 with a goal of $150,000. Proceeds support Con Alma’s continued commitment to the arts, including live jazz programming and artist collaboration, while also sustaining the chef-driven restaurant and beverage program.

“We are the only place in Pittsburgh that can call ourselves a jazz club,” says Shannon, a guitarist who grew up in the jazz scene. “I don’t book any other type of music. All the greatest jazz musicians in Pittsburgh have played here multiple times. It’s home for the music.”

Con Alma is at 613 Penn Ave., Downtown. Hours are 4:30 to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 4:30 to midnight Friday, 4 p.m to midnight Saturday and 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CESINA’S SAUSAGE CO.

Cesina’s Sausage Co.

For a lot of Pittsburghers, Christmas 2025 just didn’t taste the same.

On Dec. 15, a late-night fire destroyed the Cesina’s Sausage Co. building in Aliquippa. John Costanza, who owns the third-generation family business with his sisters, Annette Costanza Patterson and Charlene Costanza Tranelli, says he was about to prepare a 2,000-pound order of fresh, all-natural pork products when the blaze broke out.

Local residents, along with expats who have Cesina’s links and patties shipped to their new homes in California, Texas and South Carolina, had to host their holiday parties without the beloved Italian staples.

The Costanzas didn’t even have any for their yuletide celebration.

As the siblings figure out a way to carry on the culinary legacy launched by their Italian grandparents, they’re once again churning out five flavors — Hot, Medium, Sweet, Sweet ‘n Sassy and Breakfast — at Silver Star Meats’ production facility in Coraopolis.

You can find Cesiana’s at area grocery stores and businesses such as Al’s Pizza in New Brighton, Jenny Lee Breakfast Nook in Coraopolis and Shulligan’s Sports Bar & Grille in Aliquippa. John recently dropped off a specialty sausage blend to longtime customer Frankie’s Extra Long in Lawrenceville. It gets my vote for the best hot sausage sandwich in town.

The Costanza family says they’re humbled and inspired by the outpouring of love from the community.

A GoFundMe account set up by their cousin has raised more than $10,000. On Feb. 22, the San Rocco Foundation is offering take-out spaghetti dinners, including pasta, meatballs, salad and desert, to raise money for the family. From 1 to 5 p.m., you can pick up your pre-ordered meal at the MPI Club, 101 Grand Ave.

Cesina’s sausage has been a part of the annual San Rocco Festa for nearly a century.

The company’s Italian namesake, Cesina Costanza, immigrated to the United States in the 1920s — and brought her family’s time-honored sausage recipe along. Cesina and her husband, Oresto, raised six kids in Aliquippa.

In 1969, their son and daughter-in-law, Charlie and Rosella Costanza, opened a small deli called Chapel Superette, where they made and sold small batches of the sausage. High demand for the product – dubbed the “filet mignon of sausage” — led them to launch Cesina’s Sausage Co. in 1978. The building that was destroyed by fire opened in 1998 and was undergoing renovations.

Charlie and Rosella’s children — who took the reins of the operation in 2018 while maintaining their regular jobs — are determined to rebuild the business that put their family on the map and in the hearts of Pittsburghers everywhere.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HAROLD’S HAUNT

Harold’s Haunt

“At least once a week I have someone tell me that this place is life-saving,” says Athena Flint as we belly up to the bar at Harold’s Haunt.

Since 2022, the Millvale “They-Bar” has provided a safe space for everybody from sober-curious crafters and neurodivergent witches to members of the LGBTQIA+ community. There’s even room for a few friendly ghosts in the Grant Street building (even if their otherworldly antics may have contributed to some costly repair bills).

The calendar is packed with events, including gender-affirming clothing swaps, full moon rituals and an all-ages Sober Sunday, which is supported by New Sun Rising, a Millvale-based nonprofit organization offering programs and services that uplift social enterprises throughout the Greater Pittsburgh Region.

The boozeless bash, held on the first Sunday of each month, features a full and affordably priced menu of Fauxions (mocktails), non-alcoholic beer from Garfield’s Two Frays Brewery and dietary inclusive food, although you don’t have to sip to stay. If you simply want to hang out in a nurturing environment, your cup will runneth over. On sunny days, the fun spills out onto Harold’s back patio.

Harold’s team of mixologists has concocted quite a catalog of tasty beverages over the years and often take the bar on the road to private parties and public events.

Flint, who also owns Maude’s Paperwing Gallery, the neighboring metaphysical shop that’s on hiatus, says Harold’s launched a GoFundMe campaign last November to keep the lights on. So far, it’s raised more than $23,000. They hope to open the small, but licensed kitchen to local chef pop-ups or perhaps share the space with a day-time vendor, as coffee purveyor Lemon Tree PGH did before moving into the Millvale Food & Energy Hub a few blocks away.

As a for-profit business, Harold’s isn’t raking in the dough, but its mission of inclusivity and kindness is priceless.

“The No. 1 goal is still community,” Flint says. “We are trying to find out how to make that work financially. We’re finding other ways to make money to keep doing the things we’re doing. I can’t see us being anywhere else other than Millvale. People have your back. There’s a free fridge, a tool library, the Millvale Community Development Corporation— they want to see us here for the long haul. I think the universe helped me land here and I’m incredibly grateful.”

Link, a 42-year-old regular, sees Harold’s as a homebase on a journey of self-discovery.

“My therapist gave me one goal that I took to heart: find queer community. So I started going to a little witchy They-Bar in my old hometown, Harold’s Haunt,” Link says. “My spouse and I started with Trivia Nights and a few other events at the bar. Through community, I eventually found the courage to come out to everyone in my life on Facebook as trans femme/non-binary. I don’t think I would have found that courage had I not been inspired by so many folks at that bar living their truth.”

Harold’s Haunt is at 142 Grant Ave., Millvale. Hours are 5 to 11 p.m. Tuesday, 5 p.m. to midnight Wednesday through Friday, 2 p.m. to midnight Saturday and 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

My happy new year started at Glads Deli.

I’d been eyeing the Glassport shop’s Facebook posts for the better part of 2025. I especially enjoyed the photos of customers posing with their subs as if they’d hooked a whopper at a big-game fishing competition.

A few “Star Wars” fans wielded the sandwiches like lightsabers. I had to get in on this action, even though Glassport seemed like a galaxy far, far away from my place in the North Hills.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

When I finally visited Glads on Jan. 4, the Valentine’s Day decorations were already up. I typically don’t like it when businesses jump the gun on holiday celebrations, but, in this case, it was appropriate since I have a lot of love for their food.

In addition to affordably priced options that can satisfy an average appetite, Glads’ menu features some seriously huge hoagies, including three-footers that you have to order three days in advance. They’ll probably take you just as long to eat.

If you’ve cut carbs, you can order a salad, a grazing box filled with meats and cheeses, a hoagie bowl or any sandwich on a giant pickle instead of bread, which, to repeat the most overused pun in Pittsburgh, is kind of a big dill.

The Yea Buddy includes 11 meats, eight cheeses and 13 toppings on a 12-inch Breadworks roll. It’s approximately 5.5 pounds, which is more than my daughter weighed at birth. There are snapshots on the wall depicting the dozen or so hungry souls who have attempted to consume this beast onsite solo in 30 minutes or less.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Only one person — a competitive eater who also downed a bag of chips — has succeeded and earned a Glads T-shirt and the right to walk away without paying the $55 bill.

Since I’m “dieting,” I opted for the slightly more modest 12-inch American-Italian with cooked ham, turkey, salami, prosciutto, mortadella, hot capicola, provolone, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, salt and pepper, oregano, balsamic, red wine vinaigrette oil and roasted red peppers. I had planned to have half of it for lunch and save the other for dinner, but ended up consuming the whole thing in one sitting. Where’s my T-shirt?!

I had to take a nap afterward. In my opinion, that’s the hallmark of a great meal.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Owner Jason Billingsley opened Glads in 2023 as a change of pace from a long career in the kitchen-and-bath remodeling business. He spent his teens working at area pizzerias and, in his early 20s, launched his own. This father knows how to feed people and often donates to area schools and struggling families.

His heart is bigger than his hoagies.

Billingsley wanted Glads — named after his grandmother Gladys and the South Allegheny School District’s gladiator mascot — to stand out from other eateries. I believe he’s accomplished that goal, since you can benchpress a Yea Buddy to build up your biceps.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

The business itself is also growing; a second location is slated to debut next month in Westmoreland County. Billingsley is in the process of renovating the storefront at 3535 Route 130, a space that formerly housed a Subway.

I asked him to open a spot in West View so I can walk to it from my house and burn a few calories before eating a few feet of sandwich. He says he’ll think about it.

Yea, buddy!

Glads Deli is at 614 Monongahela Ave., Glassport. Hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

BRIANA EALY AND JAKE FAIR. PHOTO COURTESY OF BUTLER COFFEE LAB

Terry Kaiserman and Nadine Tripodi are spending their retirement years making sure your morning cup of joe has meaning.

In 2023, the couple launched the non-profit Butler Coffee Lab to provide dignified employment for adults with disabilities, including veterans, while giving profits back to the community.

Workers at the facility on East Cunningham Street in Butler pocket a paycheck as they weigh, package and seal small batches of ground coffee into 16-ounce bags and single-use Hot Pods similar to Keurig K-Cups. Once customizable labels are placed on the products, they’re ready to be shipped to area restaurants, grocery stores and farm markets, including Butler’s Freedom Farms and Shenot Farms in Wexford.

Through a partnership with Procure Impact, a business that acts as a connector between hospitality companies, Butler Coffee Lab works with River Inn in Washington, D.C. and Airlie Hotel in Virginia, with hopes to expand further.

Along with light, medium, dark and espresso roasts with different additives such as non-dairy creamer, sugar, cinnamon and Carolina Reaper pepper, there are various teas, lemon beverages and hot chocolate pods.

TERRY KAISERMAN AND NADINE TRIPODI. PHOTO COURTESY OF BUTLER COFFEE LAB

Last December, Butler Coffee Lab received a $200,000 grant from The Heinz Endowments, enabling it to launch Keystone Talent Bridge, an adaptive workforce training and empowerment program that pairs job seekers with inclusive employers throughout Western Pennsylvania.

Who knows, some of these folks could end up working for inclusive businesses such as Penn Hills-based Spectrum Fudge or Cookie Cookie Ice Cream in Kennedy.

Through a 10-week cohort at Butler Coffee Lab, participants will collect a real wage while receiving hands-on production experience, classroom instruction and workplace skills. At the same time, Keystone Talent Bridge will help employers build practical, inclusive hiring systems and provide support.

The program is in its pilot phase with plans to take flight in 2027, complete with a larger retail area where participants can learn how to handle money while they earn it. While Kaiserman and Tripodi aren’t spending their golden years, these globe-trotting retirees are jet-set in their own community-focused way.

They both have a love for fine coffee and decades worth of business acumen. Tripodi, whose daughter Tess has special needs, founded Butler Technologies Inc. in 1990 and Kaiserman spent his career in product design and development, including drink pods.

BRIANNA EALY AND JAKE FAIR. PHOTO COURTESY OF BUTLER COFFEE LAB

After extensive research, they partnered with an infrared coffee roaster. The process of heating the beans using radiant energy rather than hot air and open flames reduces acidity and enhances flavors.

Once they settled on the perfect product for their mission, they hired Luke Gilligan as executive director to help them navigate the nonprofit world; the Indiana native was born into it.

Gilligan’s mother was a social worker, so he grew up interacting with people of all ages and ability levels. At 16, he started a nonprofit called Huggable Happiness, teaching teenage entrepreneurship in underserved areas. During his freshman year at Grove City College, he founded Resense, which creates innovative and restorative products for individuals living with dementia or memory loss.

Operations Manager Sharon Vollmer has a background in food service and nonprofit work and also organizes Butler’s annual Witches Day Out event. She not only oversees the four-person coffee-packing crew, she watches them thrive in a positive atmosphere. Eight individuals have already found jobs outside of the facility. There are 30 people on the waiting list and Butler Coffee Lab hopes to run four cohorts this year.

Brianna Ealy, who joined Butler Coffee Lab in 2025, has been promoted to trainer. She’ll help onboard new employees, set the pace on the production line and continue building her own skills that will lead to long-term employment opportunities.

“You can work here four hours a week,” Tripodi says, “if those four hours make a difference in your life.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISTY GRAVER

Howdy, partners. If yer fixin’ to mosey into Primanti Bros. to watch Monday Night Football, management kindly asks y’all to remove your cowboy hats before ordering a Cap and Cheese.

“Listen, according to my mom, it’s bad manners to wear a hat inside,” Primanti’s spokesperson Ryan Wilkinson said in a press release. “This ban is about ensuring our restaurants remain a classy place to be. It has nothing to do with the incoming Houston Texans. Along those lines — we’re also totally cool with painted faces, black and gold Zubaz pants and hard hats. You know — pure class.”

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

The Steelers’ showdown with the Houston Texans starts at 8:15 p.m. (not high noon!) at Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore.

The ban, which remains in effect through the final whistle of the Wildcard match-up, includes Western-style headgear such as cattleman, pinch front, brick crown, open crown, flat brim, rolled brim and, of course, 10-gallon.

As a wide-brim-hat-wearnin’ yinzer, I’m slightly offended, but it won’t stop me from asking Stip District Manager Toni Haggerty, my Primanti Bros. soul sister, to rustle me up a sammich topped with fries and slaw.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAFE MOMENTUM

The holidays may be over, but true foodies know that a second season of joy is upon us: Pittsburgh Restaurant Week.

This is the time to try restaurants in a cost-effective way — many of the Restaurant Week menus include multiple courses that typically would have been priced higher if ordered during regular service.

The Winter edition of Pittsburgh Restaurant Week features restaurants such as Hyde Park Steak House, Paris 66, Alihan’s Mediterranean Cuisine and täkō — among many others.

A few of us at Pittsburgh Magazine scoured the menus to find the options we’re most excited about.

Kristy G., Food Editor

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAFE MOMENTUM

With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season behind us, I’m looking forward to relaxing at Cafe Momentum.

Since 2023, Downtown’s non-profit, BYOB restaurant has served delicious dishes while doubling as a paid training facility for justice-involved youth ages 15 to 19.

Not only are participants learning from culinary experts in both the back and front of the house, they’re receiving mental health services, legal assistance, financial education, management skills and self-esteem.

I’ll eat to that!

Texas chef Chad Houser launched the Cafe Momentum concept in 2015 after teaching kids at a local juvenile detention center how to make ice cream. Feeling inspired, he partnered with local justice departments and community partners and opened the flagship eatery in Dallas. There’s another Cafe Momentum in Atlanta and a Denver site is planned for 2026.

Cafe Momentum’s Restaurant Week lunch and dinner menus read like my belly’s greatest hits list.

A bread and butter board! A burger topped with short rib and bacon! Smoked fried chicken! Mushroom ravioli! Mashed potatoes!

For the record, Chef de Cuisine Robert “RC” Carter makes the best spuds in the city and I cannot resist them. When it comes to Cafe Momentum, I guess you could say I’m restaurant weak.

268 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Jess S., Editor

PALM PALM | PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Ever since Palm Palm opened in East Liberty last summer (and I watched reel after Instagram reel of patrons enjoying decadent desserts and drinks accompanied by sparklers), I’ve been wanting to take my girls there.

Yes, the oasis-like aesthetics are a vibe (especially for my 12-year-old and 9-year-old daughters), but the menu looks even more amazing; and what better time to try it then Pittsburgh Restaurant Week?

As a sushi lover, I’m most intrigued by the Tuna Sushi Tots — a combination of cumber, yum yum sauce and avocado — in the first course offerings.

For the second course (which includes a range of soup and salad options), I’m definitely opting for the Fat Crab and Corn Chowder, while for the third course — which features the restaurant’s main entrees — the Wagyu Ragu sounds irresistible. The dish consists of slow-braised Wagyu beef in a savory sauce served over pipe-rigate, a shell-like pasta.

Palm Palm’s coastal-inspired cuisine is meant to be shared, but I don’t know if I’ll be feeling that charitable when it comes to dessert. I have my eye on the mini key lime pie, a tart and decadent way to finish up the Winter Restaurant Week experience.

5996 Centre Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15206

Aidan M., Digital Director

The view from atop Mount Washington alone was enough to interest me in Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, then I looked at the menu for Winter Restaurant Week.

That sealed the deal.

The special menu offers soup and salad options as starters, but I’m most interested in the “She-Crab Bisque” — cream sherry, crab, creme fraiche and chives.

Entree options range from a New York strip steak to grilled salmon to shrimp and cod.

I’ll try to save room for dessert — an “angel food grilled cheese sandwich.”

A grilled cheese sandwich for dessert? It’s described as an “individual portion of caramelized angel food cake, cream cheese filling, berry compote, vanilla bean ice cream, toasted sweet & salty almonds.”

Sign me up.

1411 Grandview Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15211

Huck B., Creative Director

Winter Restaurant Week is when I want a menu with conviction, and EYV (Eat Your Vegetables) is delivering exactly that. This is vegetables with swagger.

The opening snacks set the tone. Broccoli “Chicharrons” with beer-cheese dip announce crunch and salt over restraint. Hummus Fritters with harissa yogurt and za’atar bring heat and depth, and a loaded Baked Potato Gougère feels like a brilliant collision of French technique and Midwestern comfort.

Course two leans into clever excess. I’ll most likely order the Farmers Salad mixed with ranch mousse, and tater tots, which sounds delightfully unhinged in the best way. Or maybe I’ll pivot to the Curried Apple Pierogi, balancing sweetness, spice, and creaminess.

Then course three goes big. The Fungal Farms Lions Galette with truffle-rutabaga coulis and creamed winter greens sounds like pure cold-weather luxury. I’ll make my husband order the porchetta-spiced squash with polenta and provolone crust so I can try that one too.

EYV isn’t proving vegetables can be “good enough.” It’s showing how thrilling they can be when treated like the main event.

424 E. Ohio St.
Pittsburgh PA 15212

“OK, I might need a trip back to Pittsburgh to go to Hemingway’s and hang out.”

That’s the text message I received from my sorority sister last night, hours after the owner of Hemingway’s Cafe — the Oakland institution where we fell in love with cheap beer and chicken wings — announced that he’s shuttering the beloved bar in May.

My Gen X heart can’t take much more of this; I mean, I’m still reeling from the loss of Fuel and Fuddle three years ago!

Hem’s has been a haven for Pitt students and faculty since 1983. I arrived on campus in 1997 and was thrilled to discover the restaurant was located directly below my dorm.

A PAGE FROM MY COLLEGE SCRAPBOOK. PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

“We are incredibly sad to be closing this chapter, but we are deeply grateful for over 40 years of memories, laughter, late nights, friendships and traditions shared within these walls,” owner John Elavsky said in a heartfelt social media post.

It’s fitting that he used the word “chapter.”

Thanks to its namesake nod to author Ernest Hemingway, it was a popular spot for collegiate bookworms like me. My favorite professor, the late Bruce Dobler, used to conduct creative writing classes at a big table in the back. It’s no wonder I write so much about beer!

Together with fellow English department faculty member Ed Ochester, Dobler founded Hemingway’s Poetry Series. The long-running literary event lives on during the summer months at Lawrenceville’s Hop Farm Brewing Co.

PRO DOBLER GRAFFITI. PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

In his post, Elavsky asked fans to share their “Hems Mems” online and drop by the Forbes Avenue bar for one last round.

While you’re there, you can pay respects to the spirits of CJ Barney’s, Zelda’s Greenhouse, Peter’s Pub, the Beehive, The Decade, The Attic, the Upstage, The Original Hot Dog Shoppe and the original Mad Mex, then boost your mood by drinking an Old German at Gene’s Place (the venerable Louisa Street watering hole turns 21 on Feb. 11. I hope!).

If I had the money, I would swoop in and save this Oakland landmark the way my fellow Pitt alumni rescued Dave & Andy’s Homemade Ice Cream from extinction. Alas, I’m a writer, so all I can offer is a haiku for Hem’s:

Goodbye, Hemingways!
Thank you for the memories.
I’ll take a pitcher.

DRIFTWOOD OVEN. PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

I tried, I really did, but my New Year’s resolution to eat healthier dropped faster than the ball in Times Square.

I was strolling (I mean, jogging!) through Lawrenceville when I got a craving for a cruffin.

On weekends, Driftwood Oven on Butler Street bakes a different iteration of the croissant-muffin mash-up. In the past six months, flavors of the Frankensteined desserts have ranged from apple pie, lemon poppyseed and berry parfait to PB&J, pumpkin cheesecake and peppermint mocha.

Unfortunately, my cruffin craving occurred on a Tuesday. I made a vow to return for my sweet treat on a Sunday — and then I (obviously) ordered a slice of classic cheese pizza to get me through the week.

My willpower was also challenged by a sign in front of Little Tony’s Mini Mart on Ross Street Downtown. It advertised a hot sausage sandwich lunch special. After chewing it over for a few seconds, I walked in and placed my order. They had just sold the last link!

Once I regained my professional composure, I asked for a cheesesteak with grilled peppers and onions and white cheddar cheese sauce on a six-inch Breadworks hoagie roll. Wrapped in foil, it kept me warm during the walk back to my car, tantalized me from the passenger seat on the ride home and was gone mere moments after I snapped an obligatory picture of my meal.

Little Tony’s, which opened in 2023, bills itself as the original Pittsburgh bodega — a place where you can grab a quick lunch, a cup of coffee, a pack of smokes or a lottery ticket. You’ll also meet a lot of friendly people there. Before I left, I was cracking jokes with the staff and admiring a fellow customer’s beautiful photography, which is much better than mine.

Another promise I made to myself was to cut back on buying coffee every time I leave my house, but, at this point, my resolutions are breaking like a Kit Kat bar.

I was at The Block Northway in McCandless, putting groceries (including probiotic tea) into my trunk, when I saw what looked like a large, rectangular orange looming above the packed parking lot. I took this as a sign to get more Vitamin C.

Turns out the strange object was the Clementine’s Coffee trailer; I took this as a sign to buy a latte. A lot of shoppers felt the same way and we all made a beeline for the rolling fruit at the same time.

Despite the freezing temperatures, I ordered two iced lattes, although they can also be prepared hot. The iced versions are served in sealed plastic cans, so you can save them for later and even juggle them without spilling a drop. I had a Banana Brulee with espresso, white mocha syrup, mocha drizzle, milk and chocolate cold foam and a Let’s Get Toasty, a combination of espresso, toasted marshmallow syrup, mocha drizzle, milk and toasted marshmallow cold foam. Downing both of them in rapid succession should keep me going well into 2027.

The multitude of flavored syrups — which are used in the dirty sodas they sell as well — are housemade with certified vegan pure cane sugar and no artificial dyes.

The inspiration behind Clementine’s Coffee is Clementine Blackham, a local girl who was diagnosed with a rare genetic mutation and underwent chemotherapy and a life-saving bone marrow transplant in 2023. Through the mobile business, her family raises money and awareness, hosts events (including a holiday toy drive benefitting UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s hematology/oncology inpatient unit) and assists others in need.

Reading that humbled me and got my health-related goals back on track — but I’ll definitely spring for a Clementine’s Coffee each time I see that adorable orange trailer. My fellow latte lovers should resolve to do the same.

PHOTO BY RYAN MICHAEL

New year, new chew.

Capozoli’s

The new BYOB Italian restaurant on the South Side mixes home-cooking, family tradition and technical precision.
2516 East Carson St., South Side

Commonplace Coffee

The revamped Northland Public Library houses the Pittsburgh-based chain’s newest location. In addition to a full beverage menu, there are scratch-made baked goods and grab-and-go breakfast and lunch items.
300 Cumberland Road, McCandless

F&F Pizzeria

Famous chefs Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, known as “The Franks,” brought their Brooklyn-based pizza concept to the former Bado’s Pizza Grille & Ale House in Mt. Lebanon. It’s the first location outside of the original New York hotspot. Other sites are planned for the Strip District and Shadyside.
307 Beverly Road, Mt. Lebanon

Foxhole Tavern

This inviting watering hole in Aspinwall offers beer, wine, cocktails, oysters and classic dishes. It’s a new place that’ll make you feel like you’ve been a regular forever.
211 Commercial Ave., Aspinwall

Haveli

Enjoy traditional Indian cuisine with modern presentation.
245 Mall Plaza Blvd., Monroeville

La Dolce Vita

Authentic Italian flavors — from soup and flatbreads to pizza and pasta — abound at this new addition to the East Carson Street dining scene.
2104 E. Carson St., South Side

Lao Sze Chuan

A staple in Chicago’s Chinatown since 1998, Lao Sze Chuan offers Sichuan dishes and private karaoke rooms. Sing for your supper!
936 Sheraton Dr., Mars

Leona’s Ice Cream

Katie Heldstab and Christa Puskarich, who have been making real dairy, lactose-free ice cream and dessert sandwiches for more than a decade, now have their own scoop shop in Garfield.
5119 Penn Ave., Garfield

Mad Anthony’s Bier Stube

Named after Revolutionary War hero “Mad” Anthony Wayne, a general known for his fighting spirit, the 200-year-old building is once again awash in beer and German-style dishes.
1239 Merchant St., Ambridge

Moonlit Burgers
What started as a pandemic pop-up now has locations in Dormont, Uptown and Sewickley. A fourth eatery is slated for a January launch in Garfield.
5491 Penn Ave., Garfield

Mr. Friez

Get fresh-cut, double-cooked Belgian fries (and more than 15 dipping sauces) at Lawrenceville’s late-night carboloading spot that’s open until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
4213 Butler St., Lawrenceville

Mr. Mister Supper Club

Experience upscale city dining in the heart of the suburbs. Mr. Mister knows all about handmade pasta, fresh seafood and cocktails in a posh setting.
1686 Route 228, Cranberry

PHOTO DANCING GNOME

Nine Two Five

The Sharpsburg spot where Dancing Gnome brewery got its start in 2016 is back open as a post-work haven serving cocktails, beer and small bites Wednesdays through Sundays. Dancing Gnome operated out of the Main Street location before debuting a new, 10,000-square-foot production facility a block away in 2021.
925 Main St., Sharpsburg

Origin Story Coffee

Start your mornings with a hero-sized specialty latte and a pastry at this original cafe.
309 Smithfield St., Downtown

Phat Bagel

The popular pop-up for hand-rolled bagels moved into the space long-occupied by Baby Loves Tacos, which relocated to the neighboring storefront. Burritos and bagels on the same block! Oh, boy!
4508 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield

Pre Amp Coffee Studio

The Richard DeShantz Restaurant Group cafe serves locall roasted coffee, bakes pastries and spins vinyl records in a warm and chic atmosphere.
5840 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill

Poulet Bleu

After a nearly five-year hiatus, the Richard DeShantz Restaurant Group’s beloved French bistro reopened in October and re-lives up to the hype.
3517 Butler St., Lawrenceville

Ruckus Cafe Downtown

Shaler-based Ruckus Cafe’s second location opened in the former Au Bon Pain near Morton’s in the EQT Tower. Customers will find coffee, espresso, scratch-made menu items, grab-and-go bites and office catering.
625 Liberty Ave., Downtown

Sea Monkey

The DeShantz Restaurant Group opened this elevated lounge in the Strip on New Year’s Eve, melding island vibes and city life to help you beat those winter blues in style.
2305 Smallman St., Strip District

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAKE SHACK

Shake Shack

The modern-day roadside burger stand is now a member of the Ross Park Mall food court. The national chain recently opened a location in the Center Core at Pittsburgh International Airport.
1000 Ross Park Mall Dr., Ross

Spirit Pizzeria

After a decade in business, Spirit Hall – a former Moose Lodge — upgraded its food and beverage offerings with a pizzeria and rooftop garden bar with a separate entrance from the venue’s lodge and event spaces. Spirit’s cozy, booth-lined eatery has a more expansive menu that includes classic pasta dishes, entrees, desserts and seasonal salads with ingredients plucked from the rooftop vegetable garden, which will be a great spot for sunset toasts when the weather warms.
242 51st St., Lawrenceville

Standing Wave Coffee

In November 2025, the popular coffee truck opened a storefront where you can hang 10.
2024 Sarah St., South Side.

Sushi Tomo
Since 2001, Sushi Tomo has been a go-to for North Hills residents craving Japanese and Chinese cuisine. The owners have carried their traditions to a second location on the South Side.
2122 E. Carson St., South Side

Tapville Social

After successfully testing the concept in Wexford, the self-pour bar and restaurant chain opened its latest Pennsylvania location in the Strip District.
1447 Smallman St., Strip District

Yinzer Dogs

Since unleashing a food truck in 2021, Yinzer Dogs has been feeding Pittsburghers hometahn comfort food, including hot dogs, pierogies and haluski. Now you can sit and stay with them at a brick-and-mortar in Butler County.
2085 MacKenzie Way, Cranberry

YOYO Panda

Yo! Sample an array of scratch-made Asian cuisine at this storefront in Duncan Manor Plaza. It’s located next door to Allusion Brewing Co.’s North Hills taproom
1701 Duncan Ave., Suite 5, Allison Park

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

In the dozens of times I’ve walked down East Ohio Street over the past five years, I’ve cast my gaze upon Park House, hoping to see the landmark bar teeming with patrons raising pints and swaying to live music. Instead, I saw a shuttered entryway. With a sinking heart, I trudged on.

On Dec. 5, 2025, my view of Park House stopped me in my tracks. The cozy bar was filled with people! The red-and-green neon sign was blazing! Light and laughter poured through the windows! My dream had become a reality! Standing there in the snow, I felt like Ebenezer Scrooge peering through a pub window into his joyful past. The sight humbled my bah-humbug.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

It’s fitting that the beer-slinging business launched in 1933 was reborn on Repeal Day, an annual celebration marking the date in 1933 when the 21st Amendment was ratified, ending Prohibition in the United States and legalizing the production, sale and consumption of alcohol once again.

Proprietors Gary and Michelle Lynch – who live on the North Side and own the 132-year-old building — have spent three years upgrading the cozy, landmark bar while maintaining its historic charm, ever mindful of its place in people’s hearts.

During our Dec. 23rd interview, the Park House was empty, save for the staff and a few stragglers from a private party held for the small army of contractors, friends and family who helped with the renovations. As someone who experienced many raucous, pre-pandemic bluegrass jam sessions at Park House, it was strange to see the interior so still, so quiet.

I didn’t have to muscle my way to the bar for a drink or shout over the sound of banjos (beloved parts of the Park House experience), but it was nice to walk around and see the love that’s been poured into the place, little details that throngs of revelers might miss.

The Lynchs refinished the original bar top, reupholstered the furniture, replaced the tap lines and electrical wiring, sandblasted the brick, painted the ornate ceiling, put up new wallpaper and a mirrored backbar, added antique decor and installed a prep kitchen in the basement, where Chef Isaac DeBoer is perfecting his Irish-Italian pub menu.

“We don’t feel like we own it, we’re just the caretakers,” Gary says. “People are so happy to have this back. The amount of joy that is generated by this space is remarkable. There’s a magic to it.”

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Former operator Zamir Zahavi put the business up for sale in 2020 after 16 years. It was on the market for a whhile when the Lynchs purchased it and began a painstaking preservation process. Like The Original Oyster House in Market Square (which celebrated its 155th anniversary last October), it represents a quintessential page in Pittsburgh’s boozy backstory. You can add your own Park House memories to the annals via an online form.

Park House was issued one of the first liquor licenses in Pennsylvania when Prohibition ended and was named after the adjacent Allegheny Commons Park. Established in 1867, Pittsburgh’s oldest recreational area got its own upgrade during the pandemic.

The couple says the history of the building is a mix of fact and folklore, which adds to its enduring mystique.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

It was erected in 1892 as a home for James Marshall, Allegheny County Jail’s deputy warden. Over the decades, it housed a bakery, a candy shop and, according to legend, a theater and a speakeasy. The apartments on the upper levels haven’t been occupied since the 1940s.

I’d move into one of those abandoned dwellings sight unseen if it meant I could catch the scent of Guinness stew wafting up through the floorboards each day. Other food offerings include meatball and sausage sandwiches, salads, and flatbreads.

Service industry veteran Lauren Serra serves as assistant general manager and bar manager. Order a beer or a glass of wine or ask her to whip up a classic cocktail or one of Park House’s specialities such as Crosstown Traffic. While I despise the thought of a gridlocked roadway, I enjoyed this blend of bourbon, coffee liqueur, maraschino and lemon.

On that frigid December day, it warmed my heart to connect with the Lynchs and their team, raise a toast to the ghosts of Christmas past and dream of all the boisterous, music-filled nights at Park House to come.

Park House is at 403 East Ohio St., North Side. Hours are 4 p.m. to midnight Wednesday through Saturday.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

“I‘ll have what she’s having.”

I’ve heard and said that line a lot in my career as a food writer.

The quote, from 1989’s “When Harry Met Sally,” delivered by director Rob Reiner’s mother during a (ahem) climactic scene at New York City’s Katz’s Delicatessen, is part of the pop culture lexicon.

There are a lot of memorable foodie moments in that flick, from the complicated way Sally orders pie à la mode to the way Harry pronounces “pecan pie.” I’ve watched it twice since hearing about the death of Reiner and his wife, Michele, earlier this month. I needed to laugh through my tears while eating a star-shaped Smiley Cookie.

I also watched Nigel Tufnel throw a rock star-sized tantrum backstage over miniature bread in “This Is Spinal Tap” and Annie Wilkes obsess over Spam in “Misery.” I also heard 12-year-old Vern in “Stand By Me” professing that, if only permitted to eat one food for the rest of his life, it would be cherry-flavored Pez.

Sometimes, out of nowhere, I’ll bellow “Anybody want a peanut?” in my best Andre the Giant voice to see if any other fans of “The Princess Bride” are in the vicinity.

Row House Cinema owner Brian Mendelssohn would undoubtedly answer my call by uttering another line from that iconic film. “The Princess Bride” is his favorite, which is why he hosts a screening of it every June to commemorate the Lawrenceville theater’s anniversary.

Row House Hollywood, the century-old movie house Mendelssohn restored in Dormont, will host a Rob Reiner Retrospective this weekend.

Make it a dinner-and-movie date night by visiting Moonlit Burgers across the street from the theater.

Co-owner Mike McCoy, who grew up eating In-N-Out Burgers in Southern California, wanted to create a Pittsburgh version of the fast food chain that’s beloved by Hollywood stars. In 2021, he and fellow chef Derek Stevens opened their joint on Potomac Avenue. Since then, additional locations have opened in Uptown and Sewickley.

I’m sure Sally would order her Moon Sauce on the side.

My favorite Reiner movies, “Stand By Me” and “Misery,” were adapted from the work of author Stephen King.

As an early Christmas gift to booklovers like me, the revamped Northland Library has reopened in McCandless, complete with a Commonplace Coffee cafe, where I plan to do a lot of my own writing.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHLAND LIBRARY

Located in the new lower-level library building extension, Commonplace Coffee Northland serves coffee, tea, smoothies and shakes, scratch-made baked goods and grab-and-go breakfast and lunch items.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The cafe is open Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. during Northland’s regular schedule — a.k.a the weekend after Labor Day through Memorial Day weekend, when the library is open on Sundays.

Go to Commonplace’s website to watch “Craft and Care: The Story of Commonplace Coffee,” a film that celebrates the company’s 20th anniversary.

Movies, like food and coffee, are my fuel — and Rob Reiner’s brilliant catalog will keep me chuggin’ along for the rest of my life.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

I toasted the new year with a beer in Bellevue, a borough that, until 2015, was dry for eight decades.

Lincoln Avenue Brewery has become a community hub thanks to the tasty food and beverages. They’re now open for lunch Tuesday through Sunday. (I recommend the Almost Famous Pickle Dip.) In 2026, the inspiring Saylor family will open their new production facility, a former post office on nearby North Sprague Avenue, so they can churn out even more beer and good vibes.

PHOTO BY LISA RAY

On Feb. 1, I joined Pittsburgh TubClub at Allegheny City Brewing on the North Side. I spent more than five minutes in an ice bath. I highly recommend it if you’re a fellow 40-something woman who gets frequent hot flashes.

In March, Sir Pizza in Ross celebrated 50 years of serving party-cut pies in Western Pennsylvania. I’ve been dining there since I was able to eat solid foods, so I feel like part of the family.

By day, Gene Ney is a business professor at Carlow University. At night, he changes out of his suit and tie and into a T-shirt and jeans to sling drinks at his namesake bar in Oakland, which marked 20 years in 2025. He’s basically the Mister Rogers of Beer.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SILVER PERK COFFEE CO.

I’m a big coffee drinker, so, of course, I’m a fan of Silver Perk Coffee, a 12-foot-tall, 8-foot-wide moka pot that Sue and Art Cohen tow around town with their Ford F-150.

Bigfoot is also an obsession of mine, so Monroeville’s Squatch Brewing is the stuff of legend in my eyes.

During the Lenten season, I joined Eat’n Park veterans John Frick and Joe Hull in the company’s Homestead test kitchen to learn how to make one of the restaurant chain’s iconic Whale of a Cod fish sandwiches. For a lifelong Pittsburgher, it was a religious experience.

Don’t look for Chantal’s Cheese Shop on social media; the Bloomfield business ditched the daily content-creating grind to focus on selling some of the finest fromage in town.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

If cheesecake is more your speed, Millvale’s Kyle’s Cakes N’at will put your appetite into overdrive. Kyle Rozycki makes the best Golden Girls-inspired desserts I’ve ever had. Thank you for being a friend, sir!

I would undoubtedly win a cheesecake-eating competition and Andrew Lazarchik, owner of Wildcat Championship Belts in Latrobe, would undoubtedly make my wearable award. He also makes belts for Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, the Qdoba World Burrito Eating Championship, Toronto Wingfest and the Picklesburgh Pickle Juice Drinking Contest.

Lazarchik’s dad owned Strickler’s Drug Store, birthplace of the banana split, so, of course, he makes mementos for the town’s Great American Banana Split Celebration, too.

Since sweets will be the death of me, it’s nice to know that tombstone designer Dolores “Dee” Carioto is nearby. She’s been making her mark (in stone) since 1949.

Another local institution, Gus and Yia Yia’s, the bright, orange ice ball cart that’s been helping Pittsburghers beat the summer swelter since 1934, had an honorary street named after it.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHUBREW

Speaking of high temperatures, I spent the Fourth of July dressed as a chili dog in Zelienople’s Independence Day parade. You are what you eat.

I spent an August morning helping a bunch of babushka-wearing women make 400 dozen pierogies in a church basement.

My most moo-ving interview of 2025 was with the owners of Brunton Dairy, whose business was destroyed by a 2023 fire. The family (and their beloved cows) are back producing milk, cream, cheese curds and other products in Independence.

Another Pittsburgh institution that’s experienced more than 155 years of ups and downs, is The Original Oyster House in Market Square, the best place to soak up yinzer culture and Iron City Beer.

I ended the spooky season by attending a pet costume party at The Dog Penn, a bar/dog park that opened in the Strip District in 2024. My bacon costume was a big hit with the four-legged participants. This is my favorite photo from that event. Or, possibly, ever.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

I’m a creature of habit when it comes to salty snacks, so it’s rare that a new munchie enters my longtime lineup of go-to favorites. Northsiders Aric Christensen and Molly Krichten introduced me to their whole fried peanuts you eat shell and all, knocking my perpetual bag of Doritos off its pedestal.

When the Christmas season rolled around, California transplant Nikk Alcaraz became the Santa Claus of Brownsville in Fayette County.

For a journalist who loves to write about the amazing people and places of Pittsburgh, 2025 has been a gift. I’m looking forward to a new year of adventures.

PHOTO COURTESY ARTIE’S HOT SAUCE

“People who love to eat are always the best people,” Julia Child once said. Pittsburgh has long taken that sentiment seriously, cultivating a community of food makers who value flavor and craft.

The region’s small-batch makers also rise to the occasion with sauces, salts, chocolates, spirits and snacks that make holiday gifting feel both easy and thoughtful. From widely loved pickles and punchy spice blends to beautifully packaged chocolates and locally distilled rum, each one delivers big flavor with a strong sense of place.

If you are shopping local, or just shopping last-minute, these Pittsburgh-made picks offer a simple, delicious way to give your loved ones a gift that will actually be enjoyed.

PHOTO COURTESY ARTIE’S HOT SAUCE

Artie’s Hot Sauce

Pittsburgh native Arthur “Artie” Pitt brings the same creative energy that once fueled an indie music career to this small-batch hot sauce line, now a favorite among local heat seekers.

Standouts include Pizza Shop, a tangy banana-pepper ode to neighborhood slice joints; Fiery Jerk, built on Scotch bonnet heat; Lemon Fire, bright and citrusy; Arbol Insanity, smoky and chile-forward; and Honey Sting, a sweet-heat sauce that somehow works on everything from chicken to roasted vegetables. It is an easy gift for the friend who puts hot sauce on absolutely everything.

Where to buy: Order directly on the Artie’s Hot Sauce website, with local delivery available in the Pittsburgh area. Bottles also pop up at select restaurants, shops and markets around the city, depending on the season.

Pittsburgh Popcorn Company

This is popcorn that understands the assignment. Pittsburgh Popcorn Company’s popcorn is freshly popped all day, ridiculously snackable and sold in fun flavors such as Candy Cane Gingerbread and Spicy Bacon Cheddar. Whether you are shipping a tin to friends out of state or grabbing a few flavored bags as stocking stuffers, Pittsburgh Popcorn Company delivers fresh, generously portioned popcorn in flavors that please everyone.

Where to buy: Available at several local Pittsburgh Popcorn Company shops, including the Strip District, Oakland, Ross Park Mall, Monroeville Mall and Bethel Park. Order tins and gift packs online on the Pittsburgh Popcorn Company website.

PHOTO COURTESY STEEL CITY SALT CO.

Steel City Salt Co.

Founded by Pittsburgh native John Tarallo, Steel City Salt Co. has grown from a humble folding table in the Strip District into a Millvale staple known for some of the city’s most inventive small-batch seasonings. Inspired by his Sicilian grandfather’s pantry and a childhood spent around Italian cooks, Tarallo now hand-blends more than 100 salts with his wife, Candy, that are each designed to transform a dish with just a pinch.

Highlights include the flagship Black & Gold Blend with activated charcoal, garlic and sea salt; the garlicky Pierogi Salt; smoky favorites Hickory Smoked Sea Salt; citrus-forward blends; Jordanian-inspired za’atar salts and chile-driven options infused with ghost pepper, habanero or sriracha.

Whether your recipient cooks every night, or just loves a good finishing flourish, these salts reward a light hand and elevate even the simplest meals.

Where to buy: Shop the full lineup at Salt HQ (206 Grant Ave., Millvale) or order online at the Steel City Salt Co. website. Seasonal Strip District setups may also be available.

The Chocolate Moose

A Squirrel Hill staple for anyone with a serious sweet tooth, The Chocolate Moose offers classic truffles, artisan chocolate bars and beautifully packaged gift boxes. From 32-piece truffle assortments to mint lentils, chocolate-covered pretzels and seasonal specials, the shop’s offerings are cozy, local and gift-ready. This is the kind of chocolate you are happy to give and even happier to eat.

Where to buy: In person at the shop’s location at 5830 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill. The shop does not currently offer online ordering, so stopping by is the best way to shop.

Oakmont Olive Oil Company

A bottle of oil or vinegar might sound simple, but the offerings from Oakmont Olive Oil Company bring real personality to the kitchen. The olive oils range from bright citrus and herbal infusions to smoky and spicy profiles, while their balsamic vinegars include fruit-forward and aged varieties.

A standout is the Dark Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar, a glossy, truffle-like pour that tastes rich and decadent without being cloying. Drizzle it over strawberries or vanilla ice cream, splash it into a cocktail or serve it with hunks of crusty baguette.

Where to buy: Visit the shop at 640 Allegheny River Blvd., Oakmont or call 412-689-1358 to place an order. Online ordering is limited, so in-store pickup is recommended.

JOHN PATTERSON, CO-FOUNDER OF PITTSBURGH PICKLE CO. | PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

Pittsburgh Pickle Co.

Based just outside the city in Verona, this family-run maker produces bold, crunchy pickles with a strong local point of view. The lineup ranges from the salty-sweet Pittsburgh Style to spicy Brimstone, classic Original Dill and deli-leaning We The Pickle.

Widely available around the city, and easy to grab at the last minute, a single jar or a three-pack makes a fun, briny gift that pairs perfectly with sandwiches, cocktails or a charcuterie board.

Where to buy: Available online at Pittsburgh Pickle Co’s website and at grocery and specialty stores throughout the region.

MAGGIE’S FARM RUM | PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

Maggie’s Farm Rum

Maggie’s Farm Rum was founded by Tim Russell, who recognized an opportunity in Pennsylvania’s spirits scene after craft distilling was legalized in 2011. In 2013, he opened Maggie’s Farm in the Strip District, producing the state’s first commercially available craft rum since Prohibition.

Today, the distillery has built a national reputation for rum with real depth, fermented from raw cane sugar and distilled in small batches. The lineup covers a lot of ground, from a clean, elegant White Rum that shines in daiquiris to a richer Dark Rum with warmth and body. There is also a cult-favorite Pineapple Rum that brings just enough tropical brightness to winter cocktails, along with a Coffee Liqueur made with locally roasted cold brew that’s perfect for after-dinner drinks.

Where to buy: Purchase bottles at the Strip District Barrelhouse (3212A Smallman St.) or at the South Hills distillery location. Select products are also available through the Maggie’s Farm Rum website and Pennsylvania Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores.

PHOTO BY SHANISE MCMILLON

You can now raise a caffeinated ruckus Downtown.

Co-owners Christine Rauktis and Daryl Kuczynski, who launched Ruckus Cafe in Shaler in 2021, just opened a second location at 625 Liberty Ave.

PHOTO BY SHANISE MCMILLON

Located in a former Au Bon Pain near Morton’s steakhouse in the Cultural District, the new Ruckus will serve breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Customers will find coffee, espresso, scratch-made menu items, grab-and-go bites and office catering. Take-and-bake dinners are coming soon, so you don’t have to spend your evening commute wondering what to make.

A Colossal Cup o’ Cheer at Kennywood

Kennywood is pouring a little more holiday cheer into its annual Holiday Lights celebration. Make that a lot more.

On Dec. 19, the amusement park will unveil a Colossal Hot Chocolate Cup that stands 14 feet tall, can hold 800 gallons of cocoa and includes giant-sized cookies, candy canes, a dollop of whipped cream and 54 feet of popcorn garland. Sadly, none of it is edible. Bah humbug!

In addition to being a festive photo op, the massive mug is part of an online sweepstakes. Guests can take their best shot at guessing how many mini marshmallows it would take to fill the thing. Entries are open through 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 15, and every guess is an entry for a sweet prize package that includes four Kennywood tickets to the big reveal, two 2026 Gold Season Passes, a souvenir hot chocolate cup and a ride on the Gingerbread Express with Santa.

Turner’s cARTon Contest

When life gives you lemons, make art!

Turner Dairy is once again calling on local creatives to give its Premium Iced Tea cartons a makeover. Submit your design online and you could win a cash prize of $2,000 and have your handiwork featured on half a million cartons and limited-edition merchandise.

The submission deadline is Feb. 18. Public voting takes place Feb. 23 through March 6 and the winner will be announced on March 13. The stylized cARTons hit the market this summer, when the yinzer refresher is in high demand. Artists may promote their work on social media with the hashtag #TurnerscARTon.

Founded in 1930, the Penn Hills-based company started producing its iced tea in 1972 and the recipe hasn’t changed in that time. The iconic paper carton has since become as synonymous with Pittsburgh as the Steelers logo. Turner’s churns out 20,000 gallons a day, distributing it within a two-hour radius of Downtown.+

Turner’s launched the cARTon contest in 2022 to celebrate the tea’s golden anniversary. The company even has a ‘64 Thunderbird, the Tea-Bird, with a trunk that doubles as a cooler.

In 2023, Turner’s partnered with Pittsburgh Brewing Co. to create IC’D Tea, a blend of iced tea and Iron City Beer. It clocks in at 4.2% ABV, but if yinz want something stronger, a new, limited-edition treat just hit the market: Turner’s Hard Egg Nog.

The 14% ABV sipper is a mix of vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and a kick of alcohol from L’Uva Bella Winery in Ohio. It’s available exclusively at Giant Eagle this holiday season.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAPS, AXES & GAMES

There’s never a dull moment on Pittsburgh’s craft beer scene.

To prove this point, Tim Stivers and Brandon Horvath opened Taps, Axes & Games, or TAG, a South Hills recreational facility that will soon double as an Abjuration Brewing Co. taproom.

The McKees Rocks-based beer brand, known for its flavor-forward sours and hoppy ales, will start as a Thursday through Saturday pop-up offering canned beers at TAG’s location in Mt. Lebanon; future plans include adding six to eight taps and a cocktail program.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAPS, AXES & GAMES

“First and foremost, it’s an axe-throwing, dart-slinging gaming space,” says Dave Hallam, who opened Abjuration with Tom Glover inside the Parkway Theater & Film Lounge in 2018. “We are just a beautiful sidecar to a vibe that Tim and Brandon are bringing. That said, it’s going to be a great space for a pour and for groups.”

Abjuration has more big things on tap for 2026 that will increase their output and put them on the, ahem, cutting edge of the local beer scene.

In addition to being a longtime axe-throwing aficionado who’s competed in tournaments all over the world, Stivers is a Level 1 Cicerone, or Certified Beer Server, who managed Creekside Beer in Sewickley. Before the pandemic, he served as a coach at several LumberjAxes venues throughout Pittsburgh.

TAG’s building on McFarland Road was a LumberJaxes site until December 2024, when the owners closed it to focus on their new business venture, the Butler Street Derby, a Lawrenceville bar and event space.

It was then that Stivers and Horvath decided to start their own company.

At TAG, you can toss axes, steel-tip darts and knives. There are six lanes and a mezzanine overlooking the action, so you don’t necessarily have to participate to have a good time. Sip a sour while watching folks age 10 and over chuck cutlery or play Dungeons & Dragons with your buds in the soon-to-open gaming lounge. You’re welcome to bring your own games from home and settle in. There are snacks available, plus you can order in grub from one of TAG’s local restaurant partners.

Despite the preponderance of deadly weapons, the family- and dog-friendly place is all about community and inclusivity. Stivers’ 11-year-old daughter, Joey Lynn, and dog, Betty White, are regulars.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAPS, AXES & GAMES

League play started Dec. 11. Many Lumberjaxes members volunteered their time and elbow grease to help Stivers and Horvath breathe new life into the old space. TAG will soon organize a summer youth league, a Wednesday night ladies’ league and the city’s first knife-throwing collective.

Groups ranging from six to 72 people can reserve lanes for up to two hours. If you stop by solo, you can grab a beer and toss a hatchet for 30 minutes. Visibly intoxicated patrons won’t have access to sharp objects.

TAG coaches will teach you the proper techniques to maximize your fun and safety. Stivers says the sport was male-dominated for years, but is now a popular pastime for just about every demographic. He’s coached everyone, from local scouts to retirees.

Shaler’s Adeline Kubicsek, a metalsmith who helped design TAG’s logos and a beertender at Acrospire Brewing Co. in Glenshaw, is arguably the top female axe thrower in the world. She took first place in the Slayer Series of the 2025 International Axe Throwing Championship in Toronto, Canada, which was open to female, transgender and nonbinary participants.

Axe-throwers also give back to the community. Each year, Chill Axe in North Huntingdon hosts a two-day fundraising event for the Special Olympics in honor of Stiver’s sister, who died two years ago.

“I’ve found that the craft beer world is just like the axe-throwing world,” Stivers says. “Community matters.”

Taps, Axes & Games is at 1689 McFarland Road in Mt. Lebanon. Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The Abjuration Brewing Co. pop-up operates from 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, with expanded hours coming in the new year.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ZEITNOT BREWING CO.

Apis Mead debuts Zeitnot Brewing Co.

Dave Cerminara, owner of Apis Mead & Winery in Carnegie, is putting the beer industry in check.

Zeitnot Brewing Co., a 3.5-barrel operation located in the same facility as his 11-year-old fermented honey business, specializes in classic German, English and American ales. The name is a chess term meaning “time is of the essence.”

Before opening Apis, Cerminara was a homebrewer who worked for South Hills Brewing Supply. He spent five years honing his craft professionally at Penn Brewery. After dedicating more than a decade to mead, the avid gamer decided to dive back into the world of barley, malt and hops.

Zeitnot’s production space is separate from the meadery’s, but the large taproom, located in the former Holy Souls Church on Mary Street, is open to fans of both beverages. Customers can enjoy a hybrid of the two (a style known as a braggot) while they enjoy pub fare, play pinball or select a board game from Cerminara’s extensive collection. Chess pieces are available.

Zeitnot won’t can its beers (at least, not right now), but folks can sign up for the Mug Club to get first dibs on small-batch bottle releases and discounts on drafts and growler-fills. Offerings include everything from an English dark mild and a German festbier to an American stout. The low-ABV beers that are in stark contrast to the boozier Apis meads.

Whatever customers choose to imbibe, Cerminara just wants them to enjoy some good, old-fashioned human connection.

“Basically, we’re looking for the old-school brewpub vibe,” he says. “If you walk in any day, you’ll see people playing games.”

Apis Mead & Winery and Zeitnot Brewing Co. are located at 206 Mary St. in Carnegie. Hours for the 21-and-over venue are 4 to 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FORGE FRIED

Aric Christensen and Molly Krichten knew it was nuts to start a new business in this economy, but the couple also knew they had a great product.

Forge Fried sells whole, seasoned peanuts fried in 100% peanut oil that you eat, shell and all. They’re a common snack in Florida, where Christensen spent 20 years of his life. Like most northerners, Pennsylvania-born Kritchten was skeptical at first. You might as well chew on tree bark, right?

But once she tried the peanuts, she melted like butter.

The frying process makes the shell crispier than the roasted version, but without drying out the nut itself. Think fried chicken, but with peanuts instead of poultry. The Forge Fried mascots, as-yet-unnamed cartoon peanuts created by GamerHeroine, are what caught my attention on social media. My taste buds soon followed suit.

IMAGE BY GAMERHEROINE

The couple buys whole, washed legumes wholesale, then fries them and dries them in small batches several times a week in their state-inspected and licensed home kitchen on the North Side. Due to the high demand, they’re already looking to expand.

The satisfyingly crunchy munchies are available in a variety of flavors, such as Simply Salt, Garlic dusted with Uncle Jammy’s Garlic Lovin’ Rub, the ginger-soy-based Golden Boy and Spicy made with dried Scotch Bonnet peppers from Sewickley-based KizzleFoods. You can buy them in 14-, 12.5-, 8- and 4-ounce bags online, at The Grand Candy Shop in Mars, Cookie Cookie Ice Cream in Kennedy and at events throughout the region. On Dec. 13, Forge Fried will be shelling out snacks at the annual Christmas market at North Country Brewing Co.’s production facility in Slippery Rock.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FORGE FRIED

I interviewed Christensen and Krichten at Four Points Brewing in Allegheny West and can attest that fried peanuts and craft beer are the perfect combination.

Since launching the company last summer, the couple has been experimenting with different local seasonings and hopes to collaborate with area bars, restaurants and, of course, ballparks.

PHOTO BY DAVE DICELLO

When I talk about Pittsburgh, it’s usually over the sound of my growling stomach. I see opportunities for culinary bliss around every corner of the city — but there’s always room for outlandish innovation.

Below are some ideas for aspiring restaurateurs who want to make me eat my words.

Revisit last year’s list here.

Don’t Drop the Ball

Pennsylvania is known for ringing in the new year in wonderfully weird ways. Who needs a ball dotted with Waterford Crystal and LED lights when you can drop a big bologna like they do in Lebanon County? Folks in Dillsburg lower a giant pickle from a fire truck. Bethlehem boasts a fiberglass Peep. A colossal chili dog heats up Carlisle, while Kennett Square, the Mushroom Capital of Pennsylvania, is known for its festive steel fungi. Of course, in Hershey, everyone gets a midnight Kiss. This year, at 11:59 p.m., I want to see an enormous Mancini’s Twist begin its slow descent from the top of a mast at Penn Avenue Place, touching down in 2026 with an explosion of bread crumbs.

Iron City Beer Truck

When I was a kid, beer commercials were as entertaining as the shows they sponsored. My favorite local spot — the winner of a citywide contest —  featured a bunch of neighborhood dads mowing their lawns in the hot sun. Suddenly, they hear the bells of the Iron City Beer Truck in the distance, ditch the yardwork and, after begging their wives for a few bucks, clamor in front of the idling vehicle to get a cold brew. As a lactose-intolerant yinzer, I don’t want ice cream on a sweltering summer day — gimme an IC Light!

Dip In

My dad likes to reminisce about all the times we rode the Dips roller coaster at West View Park. That place closed before I was born — but, as a Pittsburgher raised on Rick Sebak’s Steel City documentaries, I hunger for stuff I never got to experience. This is called noshtalgia. Since I live in West View and would rather have a snack than a full meal, I’m all for opening a restaurant called The Dips. Peruse amusement-park memorabilia while eating various dips and dippable bites. You might want to let your stomach settle before taking the fast track down memory lane.

ATMmmmmm

At the No Vacancy Bar in Fort Worth, Texas, they’ve got an ATM that dispenses tacos. Outside the Perrystead Dairy in Philadelphia, there’s a 24-hour cheese vending machine. Carlo’s Bakery, the New Jersey-based sweet shop chain featured on TLC’s “Cake Boss,” has automated cake dispensaries throughout the United States and Canada. Kelly’s Bar & Lounge in East Liberty should convert an old MAC machine into an automat for their famous mac-and-cheese.

Chills & Thrills

Custard’s First Stand, a walk-up dessert shop on Camp Horne Road in Kilbuck, is located across the street from a horror collectibles shop called Time Bomb Toys. An ice scream collaboration is a no-brainer.

One Foot in the Grave

I’m trying to convince my family to open a fast-casual eatery called One Foot in the Grave (there will be a ® at the end as a nod to our surname). This anti-health food establishment will serve nothing but cheeseburgers on 12-inch-long hoagie rolls. Plates and to-go containers will be coffin-shaped and a hearse will make all deliveries. Bonus points if the place is located near a cemetery.

Buzzard’s Nest

Now that I’m pushing 50, grocery shopping is a miserable, time-consuming slough (more so). Giant Eagle should bring back The Eagle’s Nest, the bygone children’s activity centers that once sat at the front of each store — but revamp the concept for aging yinzers like me. After handing my shopping list to a young, spry employee, I can head to The Buzzard’s Nest to play shuffleboard, do shots of Geritol at the bar and enjoy complimentary Werther’s Originals as I punch out a curmudgeonly letter to the editor on a typewriter while “The Golden Girls” plays on a grainy, knob-and-tube TV.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Pittsburgh isn’t too far from the fictional town of Hawkins, Ind. Heck, a bunch of Iron City Beer cans make a cameo in a season-four episode of the hit Netflix show “Stranger Things.”

Now the portal is opening again.

On Nov. 26, the first half of the fifth and final season premiered (and crashed the streaming service), so local businesses are helping satisfy fans’ hunger for the series.

Among them are Over & Under, a “Stranger Things”–inspired pop-up bar at City Kitchen Food Hall’s patio in Bakery Square that lets folks 21 and over unwind in the light and dark side of the Byers family living room … and the Upside Down. It’s open through Feb. 28, 2026. Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday. Sip a Demogorgarita, Eleven’s Eggo-Fashioned or Vecna’s Spritz while you nerd-out with your pals in Larimer.

Fans may also binge-watch the show while binge-eating grub from Pittsburgh Sandwich Society’s special menu, available in the Strange Roots Experimental Ales taproom in Millvale. Items include The HellFire Club, grilled chicken breast, bacon, pepperjack cheese, crushed Takis, spicy avo, tomato, spring mix and aioli on toast brioche. It pairs perfectly with some Surfer Boy Pizza Fries.

Elsewhere, Allusion Brewing Co. is offering The Upside Down, a 6.5-percent IPA made with Eleven pounds of Amarillo whole-cone hops and is available on draft and in cans at both the Vandergift and North Hills locations.

Want Christmas lights without the frights? Visit these holiday pop-up bars.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Feeling uninspired is an occupational hazard for folks like Marla Solnik, an Emmy-winning creative director for numerous local brand campaigns.

Traditional coworking spaces didn’t do it for the freelancer, so she designed one that was more like a club — specifically, The Club, a New York City art space where Mid-Century Modern artists gathered to share and spark ideas.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Located in the century-old Creative Chemical Company building in Bloomfield, Creative Chem Co.’s second-floor coworking club offers flexible work spaces, meeting rooms and a wet studio, shared equipment including a laser printer, a full kitchen with free coffee and tea, lockers and the good vibes that go along with working around other artsy types. It’s open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Solnik calls it coworking without the commitment.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Potential coworkers may visit the website or download the app to book a designated hot desk for a few hours, purchase a day pass or spring for a multiple-day pack that lets you cherry-pick your visits over a two-month period. Hell, I’d go just to sit in one of the soundproof call booths and scream. I bet this foodie Clark Kent would emerge feeling like Superman.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Speaking of heroes, artist Jeremy Raymer painted a mural of Pittsburgh native Jeff Goldblum on the wall of the downstairs cafe, which will open to the public in 2026 with seating for 30, caffeinated beverages from Commonplace Coffee and locally sourced pastries.

In 2023, Solnik purchased the building from Sapling Press and has been breathing new life into the building’s old bones with the help of interior designer Kacie Cope.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

The place is a treasure trove of vintage goods, including furniture, fixtures, decor, gadgets and books. Every piece — from the steel-back chairs and knob-and-tube TVs — has a story to tell. In some cases, detailed auction tags are still attached to the item so you can read all about it.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

In addition to the Jeff Goldblum masterpiece, Creative Chem Co. has designated spaces where local artists can display their work on a rotating basis. It could even be something they create on site.

Creativity loves company.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

“I’ll be working here along with everyone else,” Solnik says. “This is a small business. My husband and I, we aren’t a corporation and don’t plan on franchising. It’s very from the heart. I grew up in Pittsburgh and we live in the neighborhood. We are here to make something for the neighborhood. That’s really important right now for the state of the world.”

Creative Chem Co. is at 4618 Friendship Ave. in Bloomfield.

PHOTO BY RYAN MICHAEL

A week before Spirit unveiled its long-awaited, full-scale pizzeria and rooftop patio, I attended the Lawrenceville haunt’s Market of the Beast, where I bought a spooky Chuck E. Cheese sculpture from artist and food mascot aficionado Jeff Bertrand.

I have an otherworldly connection to pizza.

That’s why I’m glad Tom Barr and Leigh Yock, co-owners of the decade-old business, are finally going above and beyond with their food and beverage offerings.

Spirit Garden Bar (which officially opens next spring, but keep your eyes peeled for winter pop-ups!) and Spirit Pizzeria are separate from the performance venue’s lodge and event spaces. You no longer have to fret about paying a cover charge or becoming an unwitting audience member when all you want to do is eat a slice and sip a local brew.

PHOTO BY RYAN MICHAEL

Upgrades to the 10,000-square-foot former Moose Lodge (where Barr’s great-grandfather was a member) include a separate entrance to the new spaces, more bathrooms on all floors, a spruced-up back patio and an elevator.

Spirit’s cozy, booth-lined pizzeria has an updated and more expansive menu that includes classic pasta dishes, entrees, desserts and seasonal salads with ingredients plucked from the rooftop vegetable garden. Grab a beer or browse the new wine list. The cocktail program focuses on fresh-squeezed juices and housemade amaro and limoncello.

PHOTO BY RYAN MICHAEL

When I first interviewed Barr in the summer of 2019, he mused about creating a rooftop bar and garden that would be the perfect place to chill and watch the sunset. Seeing that dream finally come to fruition is more uplifting than that new elevator.

Spirit is at 242 51st St. in Lawrenceville. Pizzeria hours are 5 to 11 p.m. Thursday, 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday and 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday and Monday.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DOS REYES

Brunching with Dos Reyes

Last Sunday, I woke up craving Sonoran-style Mexican food.

This very specific need could only be met by Dos Reyes. Thankfully, the Lincoln Place eatery is now open on weekends and will further expand hours of operation in 2026.

It’s shaping up to be a great new year!

Rich and Carlyn “Chuck” Santistevan and Erin and Eddie Lilliock, co-owners of the popular food truck, opened the Interboro Avenue storefront last spring. I’m a big fan of Sunday brunch, and Dos Reyes delivers. The burro with green chile con carne, refried beans and cheddar cheese in a flour tortilla topped with enchilada sauce, even more cheese and a dippy egg warmed my soul.

Chuck’s late grandmother Elvira Manriquez  (aka Nana Vera) operated a Mexican restaurant in Apache Junction, Arizona, for 60 years. She still plays a role in the family business thanks to the recipes she passed down.

There are nana-approved omelettes served with home fries and grilled Italian toast, biscuits with a side of jalapeno jelly and breakfast plates that range from chorizo hash to chilaquiles con huevos. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, they’ve got French toast casserole.

You might want to order a double Dos.

Dos Reyes is at 5203 Interboro Ave. in Lincoln Place. Lunch and dinner are served from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Brunch is offered Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIRACLE ON 7TH

Warm up on a winter night at one of these seasonal hotspots.

Miracle on 7th

Downtown, 130 Seventh St.

For a decade, Miracle’s been generating holiday cheer and raising money for charity in the process. From Light Up Night (Nov. 22) through New Year’s Eve, enjoy fan-favorite cocktails such as the Snowball Old Fashioned or try a new concoction created by one of the resident elves. Not a fan of ice and cold, Sippin’ Santa, Miracle’s Tiki-themed counterpart, is also poppin’ up for the season. Be naughty, be nice, but please don’t steal the kitchy glassware, which is available for purchase.

Jingle Bar at Eleventh Hour Brewing

Lawrenceville, 3711 Charlotte St.

Buy a ticket for Eleventh Hour’s Jingle Bar before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. Wednesdays through Sundays in December, the brewery’s German Village display will be decked out for the holiday. There will be family-friendly activities and fun for folks 21 and over, along with beer, cocktails, non-alcoholic options, hot cider and food trucks.

A Very Barry Christmas at Barry’s Pub

McCandless, 9566 Perry Highway

North Hills’ beloved dive bar is now a holiday wonderland. Enjoy the yuletide merriment daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

The Aspen at The Spritzery

Downtown, 960 Penn Ave.

It’s après all day at this elegant and cozy pop-up bar with ski chalet vibes and creative cocktails that’ll warm you up.

Good Cheer at Rugger’s Pub

South Side, 40 S. 22nd St.

You don’t have to play rugby to experience Good Cheer at Rugger’s Pub, but it helps if you like Iron City. Sponsored by Pittsburgh Brewing Company, the beer-fueled, yinzer fun runs through Jan. 1, complete with tributes to the new Iron City Beer clock up the street and the old Iron City Beer sign on Mt. Washington. The bar’s open from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 2 a.m. Friday through Sunday.

A Very Merry Mixtape at Mixtape

Garfield, 4907 Penn Ave.

When Mixtape commits to a theme, they go all out. For A Very Merry Mixtape, the cocktail bar’s been transformed into the North Pole, a snowglobe-esque atmosphere with in-character hosts and elaborate set pieces such as Santa’s Candy Cocktail Bar, the White Winter Wonderland Parlor and the Cozy Christmas Cottage Lounge. Tickets are available online. Some sessions before 7 p.m. are open to all ages when accompanied by a guardian.

Snowflakes and Spirits at Eliza, A Hot Metal Bistro

Hotel Indigo, Oakland, 331 Technology Dr.

Soon Snowflakes and Spirits will swirl again at the Hotel Indigo with winter cocktails, food and a flurry of photo opps.

Holiday Tavern at The PA Market

Strip District, 108 19th St.

Starting Nov. 28 at 11 a.m., The PA Market’s Holiday Tavern will be open on select dates throughout the season. Enjoy the hustle and bustle of the Strip, then relax with a cup of cheer.

Atomic Tinsel Cocktail Club at The Rebel Room

Downtown, 405 Wood St.

From Nov. 22 through Dec. 31, kick back in a blast-from-the-past Christmas pop-up bar at the Industrialist Hotel’s hotspot.

Wigle Wonderland at Wigle Whiskey

Strip District, 2401 Smallman St.

Wigle Wonderland will open on Nov. 21 from 5 to 11 p.m., followed by select dates through Dec. 27 to meet all of your festive whiskey needs. May I recommend the May I Have S’more, cocoa-infused Wigle Whiskey Blend, graham simple syrup, molé bitters and a roasted marshmallow garnish.

Shorty’s Santa Shop at Shorty’s

North Shore, 343 N. Shore Drive; West Homestead, 244 W. Bridge St.

This North Pole-themed pop-up returns to both Shorty’s locations from Nov. 17 through Dec. 30.

Elf’d Up Again at Pittsburgh Marriott North

Cranberry, 100 Cranberry Woods Dr.

From Dec. 4-6, the lobby of the Pittsburgh Marriott North will get a holiday makeover. Folks 21 and over and chill out from 5 to midnight. Admission $10, with a portion of proceeds benefiting TRY, A Special Needs Organization.

Krampus Vacation at Lorelei

East Liberty, 124 S. Highland Ave.

The Alpine-inspired cocktail bar, beer hall and wine shop welcomes Krampus, the anti-Santa, on Nov. 26 with Krampus Vacation. The pop-up will feature seasonal mischief and a special menu filled with continental Europe’s holiday flavors.

Bob’s Garage

Blawnox, 1372 Freeport Road

There are holiday pop-ups and then there are holiday landmarks — Bob’s Garage is in the latter category.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Sister Donna Marie Dorfner chuckles as she recalls the day a child criticized her sandwich-making skills.

Taking heed, she upped her game and now evenly distributes peanut butter and jelly to the very edge of each slice.

On the third Tuesday of every month, the Sisters of Divine Providence gather to make PB&Js for folks in need. It’s a simple meal — creamy Jif and Smucker’s Concord Grape on white bread — but one that nourishes the mind, body and spirit.

With donated supplies, the women get to work; everyone has their own technique, but they’re joyful and chatty as they assemble the snacks.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Sister Kathleen Angel, who spearheads the mission, delivers 100 sandwiches to Jubilee Kitchen in the Hill District. Co-founded in 1979 by Sister Liguori Rossner, Joyce Rothermel, the Rev. Frank D. Almade, Sister Cornelia Racs and the Rev. James W. Garvey, it’s open 365 days a year. There, folks can find hot meals and those providential PB&Js, along with services ranging from homelessness prevention and child care to job assistance.

Sisters of Divine Providence have supported Jubilee for decades, but the “jam” sessions began during the pandemic. About a dozen elderly nuns report for duty in the dining room at The Commons at Providence Heights, a new senior residence and healthcare facility located behind the century-old McCandless motherhouse.

“People want to help the poor, but whenever you get to be in your 90s, it’s hard to do that,” says Angel, who entered religious life in 1961 and spent 17 years teaching biology at La Roche University, which was established by the Sisters in 1963. “Our founders were always involved in working for justice. We see this as justice for people.”

In 1851, Bishop Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler and Mother Marie de la Roche founded the community in Germany to serve the poor and sick, and to teach girls in rural areas of the country. In 1876, six pioneer nuns were sent to North America to carry on the mission.

Today, there are provinces in Germany, the United States, the Caribbean, Korea and Peru. The Marie de la Roche Province is headquartered in Pittsburgh, where about 70 nuns live, teach and try to make the world a better place.

Before I left, they gave me a sandwich to take to my dad, a proud Catholic, cancer survivor and La Roche graduate who was receiving immunotherapy at neighboring UPMC Passavant Hospital.

Sometimes, thoughts and prayers are the best medicine.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE KRAFT HEINZ CO.

Happy Friendsgiving!

The Kraft Heinz Co. dropped a new product inspired by the Moist Maker, a post-Thanksgiving sandwich with a gravy-soaked slice of bread in the middle featured in an episode of the NBC sitcom “Friends.”

Leftover Gravy, the first-ever squeezable bottle of Heinz Homestyle Turkey Gravy is the perfect addition to your obligatory Day After Turkey Day lunch.

In other words, Heinz’ll be there for you.

According to the company, which has corporate offices in Pittsburgh and Chicago, 94% of Americans stuff Thanksgiving leftovers between bread. A lot of those same folks will probably binge-watch “Friends” as they stuff their faces with Moist Makers this Nov. 27.

It’s what Ross Geller would want.

In a press release, Heinz said it was “celebrating the fans who share an irrational love of the nostalgic sandwich.” I’m not a “Friends” devotee (I preferred to spend Thursday nights in 1994 watching “My So-Called Life” on ABC), but I appreciate the company’s efforts to make indelible pop culture moments edible.

If you order a 12-ounce jar of Heinz Homestyle Turkey Gravy on Walmart.com, you’ll receive a limited-edition Heinz Leftover Gravy Kit. It includes the new squeezable bottle and a recipe card for the “Ultimate Thanksgiving Leftovers Sandwich.” Supplies are limited, so don’t wait until Black Friday, friends.

If you miss out on the Leftover Gravy offer, perhaps Heinz will release a follow-up to last summer’s Ketchup Smoothie.

As a Graver, I’d be down to try another ice-cold condiment. But, like Joey Tribbiani, I don’t share food.

PHOTOGRAPHER ADAM MILLIRON AND LEAD STYLIST ANA KELLY AT IRON MILL STUDIO IN NORTH POINT BREEZE. | PHOTO BY ELAN MIZRAHI

Adam Milliron throws elaborate parties five days a week that nobody attends.

His restaurants and grocery stores are devoid of patrons, but he’s one of the most successful figures in the local culinary world.

At IRON MILL — a custom-designed, 4,000-square-foot commercial photography studio in North Point Breeze — Milliron and his team turn food brands into bonafide stars.

You’ve no doubt seen IRON MILL’s work in magazines and catalogs, on billboards and websites — and while scrolling through social media on your phone. A dozen clients a day visit Milliron’s East End HQ to brainstorm ideas and watch their products get the celebrity treatment.

When I stopped by on a sweltering August afternoon, Milliron was hosting another desolate, yet upbeat, soiree. Music blared, snacks were abundant and Iron City Beer flowed like the three rivers. Lead stylist Ana Kelly fawned over a bottle of I.C. Light Mango as if she were preparing it for a boudoir shoot.

As a 46-year-old suds-lovin’ introvert, this is the only kind of party I need.

Pittsburgh Brewing Co. is the latest client to join IRON MILL’s portfolio, which also includes GNC, Giant Eagle, Sheetz, Bruster’s Ice Cream, Sarris Candies and Courtyard Marriott. In addition to global companies, the six-member team works with local eateries including Jimmy Wan’s Restaurant & Lounge, Girasole and Pusadee’s Garden.

At IRON MILL, a Primanti Bros. sammich is considered a supermodel.

Milliron grew up in the Greensburg area, with a camera in one hand and a Turner’s Premium Iced Tea in the other. Generations of his family worked for Turner Dairy Farms, so from an early age, he knew the importance of brand identity.

Although he didn’t excel at academics in a traditional sense, Milliron launched a website-design company when he was just 13 years old. In high school, he worked at a photo processing lab and parlayed that experience into a career in the paint- and color-design industry, all the while snapping food pictures for local magazines including Table and Whirl.

A decade ago, he moved into a vacant space in The XFactory, a century-old, industrial warehouse that’s now home to a bunch of eclectic businesses. Chef Kate Romane’s Black Radish Kitchen is directly across the hall from IRON MILL, so lunch breaks often include decadent meals.

His climate-controlled studio has its own 500-square-foot kitchen with commercial fryers, convection ovens, double-door refrigerators and walk-in freezers — so the food on display for the paparazzi will be as fresh and photogenic as possible.

Last year, Milliron shut down the studio for three weeks to focus on producing visuals for “Food Is Love: Plant-Based Indian-Inspired Recipes to Feel Joy and Connection” by Palak Patel, a classically trained chef, restaurant owner and winner of Food Network shows “Chopped” and “Beat Bobby Flay.”

Capturing gourmet grub in all its glory isn’t easy or appetizing. Products are photographed from every conceivable angle. As soon as the shutter clicks, the images are sent to a digital dark room for review, but the real magic happens IRL.

There are several multipurpose sets that can be manipulated to look like anything from a five-star restaurant to a convenience store — or your grandmother’s country kitchen. In the adjoining 1,600-square-foot prop room, Milliron stores thousands of high-end plates, glassware, utensils and linens, along with furniture, holiday decorations, a fog machine, an outdoor grill and even a swimming pool.

In the event of a zombie apocalypse, I plan to ride out the end of the world in style at IRON MILL. I’ll be in good company. Kelly, a native of Brazil who speaks five languages and earned her culinary chops at Downtown’s Duquesne Club, will spend hours adjusting pickle chips and ketchup drips to create the most eye-catching burger imaginable. She’s been working with Milliron so long that the pair act more like siblings. As the flashbulbs pop, they dish out equal amounts of love and sarcasm.

The deliciously witty barbs they trade back and forth add to the creative and familial atmosphere.

“It’s a ‘Romper Room’ for the brain in a way,” Milliron says with a laugh. “It’s very bustling; people are moving everywhere, different backgrounds are coming in and out, things are changing constantly. I enjoy that kind of energy. It’s cool to work with brands that are excited to work with us.”

On a blustery November day in Garfield, Katie Heldstab and Christa Puskarich opened an ice cream shop.

Warm wishes, they say, are best served frozen.

Leona’s, a local brand known for real dairy, lactose-free ice cream and dessert sandwiches, opened a brick-and-mortar at 5119 Penn Ave. after a brief stint at Lawrence Hall, a bar and food hall in Lawrenceville.

This sweet-cream and pumpkin sandwich matched my hat, which is exactly how I like to accessorize when it’s cold aht.

The grab-and-go freezers are filled with fresh pints and colossal ice-cream sandwiches that rival Primanti’s in height. Have we tried putting fries on these things?

Since 2013, Leona’s has been cranking out classic ice cream and cookie flavors, crafting signature creations such as plum ice cream on ginger molasses, sweet corn on oatmeal lace and Sichuan peanut streusel with caramel — and also letting customers create their own flavorful combinations.

In addition to the jaw-dislocating masterpieces, you’ll find seven rotating dairy flavors and two rotating dairy-free scoops in cups or cones with toppings galore. The menu also includes floats, Dippys (ice cream coated with a chocolate shell — on a stick!) and Krispwiches, gluten-free ice cream sandwiched between two Rice Krispie treats.

Snap, crackle and pop your way into winter!

Go on a cookie tour

If you want to add a little sweetness to your holiday shopping trip, the Lawrenceville Cookie Tour will put you on a path to enlightenment.

On Dec. 13 and 14, dozens of neighborhood businesses, from restaurants and retailers to barber shops and breweries, will welcome visitors with open arms and homemade cookies.

Now in its 28th year, the Cookie Tour will feature complimentary gift wrapping stations set up along Butler Street from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m., printed and digital maps to guide folks to the next sweet spot and a free shuttle service. There will also be free parking options in the neighborhood throughout the weekend.

That sweetens the deal.

Goodbye, “little Eat’n Park”

The Eat’n Park on McKnight Road southbound is closing on Dec. 1 after 46 years and I can’t help but frown — it’s as old as I am!

Maybe that’s why I feel at home there. I think the location at 7671 McKnight Road (my family refers to it as “little Eat’n Park”) is cozier than its larger, northbound counterpart a half-mile away, and has more of a classic diner feel to it.

Dual Eat’n Parks are a North Hills anomaly; there are no other locations within the company’s footprint that sit that close to one another.

In September, when my favorite band Rilo Kiley played Pittsburgh on their reunion tour, I stopped to grab a dozen Smiley Cookies — the final piece in a yinzer care package I had curated for them.

Thanks to my obsessive fangirling, the employee who rang up my order heard all about the band and their music. She further fueled my enthusiasm by throwing in an extra Smiley Cookie for me to enjoy after the show.

Just thinking about it puts a grin back on my face. Big thanks to little Eat’n Park.

PHOTOS BY LAURA PETRILLA

“Do you like to get pie after you see a good movie?”

This is the question Patricia Arquette asks Christian Slater in the 1993 film “True Romance,” and I’ve adopted it as my own litmus test to determine if I’m compatible with someone or not.

If you don’t like to get pie after you see a good (or bad) movie, we can’t be friends. Cake has cornered the market on birthdays, but pie is ageless and — in my opinion — the star of the dessert show.

Here are five go-to sources for grabbing great, locally made pies — whether you’re wrapping up the evening after a film or planning or a big event.

Eat’n Park

My favorite season is fall, but I love to usher in summer with a song. If you know the words (and I know you do!), please sing along:

In the merry, berry month of May
There’s a deal at Eat’n Park every day
On berry sundaes, berry cakes, berry pies and berry shakes
In the merry, berry month
The merry, berry month
The merry, berry month of May!

That jingle’s been implanted in Pittsburgh’s collective ear since 1980, but Eat’n Park’s been dishing out its signature strawberry pie for 71 years. In fact, the original recipe was developed by Claire Moore, daughter of company founder Larry Hatch.

To this day, Eat’n Park’s strawberry pie features two pints of fresh strawberries. From late April through Labor Day, yinz can stop in at one of Eat’n Park’s 56 locations until 11 p.m. to grab a slice.

In the ’60s, the restaurant chain was one of the first in the country to have its fruit delivered via air freight from Plant City, Florida, so strawberry pie could be served throughout the winter. (The Great Pumpkin steps in every autumn to fill the gap.)

Other Eat’n Park pie offerings, baked fresh at each site, include apple, Dutch apple, blackberry, peachberry, lemon meringue, cookies and cream, chocolate crème and coconut crème.

Although strawberry is seasonal, it remains the most popular slice and whole pie on the menu. The dessert, like the jingle, is addictive.

Multiple locations

Sidecar

PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

Times are tough. Thankfully, Sidecar on North Craig Street in Oakland makes a delicious “desperation” dessert!

Butterjoint’s neighboring coffee and bake shop’s biggest seller is vinegar pie. In a town that likes to pickle everything, the name shouldn’t be a deterrent. I mean, it’s still pie.

Pastry Chef Robin En. Wizard, who also specializes in other nostalgic sweets such as apple Pop Tarts, apple hand pies and oatmeal cream pies, says it’s a simple thing to make, requiring just a handful of ingredients that even the most incompetent of home chefs (like me!) have on hand.

It was a popular and economical treat during the Great Depression, when fresh fruit was scarce. Vinegar is meant to mimic the tartness of apples or lemons.

And, you know what, it totally fooled me!

The look and consistency is similar to pecan pie, and Sidecar’s housemade sour-cream crust gives it an extra-tangy kick. Make your ancestors proud and order a slice.

North Oakland, 200 N. Craig St.

Soergel Orchards

PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

Soergel Orchards’ apple pie ranks right up there with my mom’s. I’ve been visiting the North Hills farm my entire life, so we’re practically related anyway.

German immigrant John Conrad Soergel began planting apple trees on the site in 1850. This family knows a thing or two about the fruit.

Whether I’m at the farm to purchase spring flowers, pick out a Halloween pumpkin or play with goats at the petting zoo, a trip to Soergel’s always involves a stop at the full-scale bakery, which debuted in 1987.

My appetite changes with the seasons.

In addition to its core of apple-based pies (classic, apple-cranberry, apple-walnut, Dutch apple and sugar-free apple), the business offers blackberry, blueberry, cherry, coconut cream, French silk, lemon meringue, mince, peach, peach-blueberry, peach-praline, pecan, pumpkin, red raspberry, strawberry-rhubarb and very berry.

I swear the air inside the bakery has a calorie content.

Franklin Park, 2573 Brandt School Road

Fat Butcher

PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

I’m not getting sweeter with age — and the same can be said for my taste in pie.

Fat Butcher in Lawrenceville is my source for all things savory. James Griffin, a veteran cook who joined the crew last February to run the butcher shop’s stellar sandwich bar, likes to experiment with different meat and pastry combinations in his spare time.

I’m glad he chose this hobby because it benefits local carnivores.

Griffin has put his own spin on U.K. favorites such as Cornish pasties and British pork pies, as well as Jamaican beef patties that sell out as soon as they hit the takeout freezer.

The mixture of ground beef, habanero pepper, ginger, garlic scallion, onion, soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, allspice, cinnamon, thyme and olive oil is sealed in a dough made from flour, butter, sugar, beef tallow and Jamaican curry powder. This hand pie is a powder keg of flavor.

Another Frankensteined dish is the Beef on Weckington, a cross between Beef Wellington, a staple of English cuisine, and Beef on Weck, a sandwich made famous in New York state. I don’t need a birthday cake for my 47th; just stick a candle in one of these.

Lawrenceville, 5151 Butler St.

Page’s

PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

Cake and ice cream go together like black and gold, but Page’s Dairy Mart has just as much love for pie.

The beloved business, which this year is closing in mid-October — earlier than usual — for building maintenance, introduced ice cream pies in 2024 — and they sold like hot cakes. If you managed to snag and freeze one for Thanksgiving, be extra thankful.

The rest of yinz will have to wait until 2026, Page’s 75th anniversary season.

The 9-inch pies begin with the company’s rich vanilla ice cream that’s blended with either housemade pumpkin or apple butter from Triple B Farms in Monongahela. The mixture is put into a graham-cracker-crust pie mold and topped with the shop’s signature whipped vanilla “Bettercream” icing and then drizzled with caramel.

One bite is worth the brainfreeze.

South Side, 4112 E. Carson St.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

This week’s Dig In starts with a somber toast to the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.

Nov. 10 marks the 50th anniversary of the ship’s sinking beneath the waters of Lake Superior with 29 crewmen during a storm. A freighter, it was the largest ship ever to sink in the Great Lakes. One of the souls lost on that fateful day was Chief Engineer George J. Holl, who hailed from Cabot, Pa.

I also grew up in Butler County, but, until recently, didn’t know about the local connection to the tragedy.

Allentown’s Commonwealth Press is producing commemorative T-shirts with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point in Michigan, where the Fitzgerald’s 200-pound bronze bell — recovered during an underwater expedition on July 4, 1995 — is on display.

The folks at Cork Harbour Pub on 43rd Street in Lawrenceville will lead a toast to the “Mighty Fitz” on Monday at 7:10 p.m., the approximate time it sank. Listen to Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot’s song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” (which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1976) while sipping a pint of Edmund Fitzgerald Porter from Cleveland’s Great Lakes Brewing Co.

It’s the least we landlubbers can do to honor a fallen resident of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Brewing support for Community Kitchen Pittsburgh

On Nov. 8, New France Brewing Co. at Hazelwood Brew House is releasing “From Chef Missy, With Love,” a brown ale inspired by the sweet potato pies baked by Chef-Instructor Missy Terrell at Community Kitchen Pittsburgh, a nonprofit culinary training center in Hazelwood.

During Saturday’s launch party from 5 to 9 p.m., $2 from every pint and $4 from every four-pack sold will be donated to CKP. Following the event, $1 per pint, $2 per four-pack and a portion of wholesale proceeds will go to the organization that gives disenfranchised people culinary arts training while helping them find stable employment in the food service industry.

Beer 101

Love beer and want to learn how to make it? There’s a scholarship for that.

The Pittsburgh Brewery and Diversity Council is accepting applications for the 2026 Bey Scholarship, which provides full tuition for one individual to enroll in Point Park University’s Brewing Science Academy Certificate Program.

The council, which formed in 2020, is made up of a group of industry professionals who want to include, celebrate and elevate underrepresented groups — such as women, people of color and members of the LGBTQIA+ community and those with disabilities — in the city’s craft beer scene. The fund is designed to remove financial barriers and increase diversity in the brewing industry.

Application forms are due by Nov. 30. A winner will be announced in mid-January.