I see two possible use cases for the FoodBurgh Meetup.

1. An opportunity to revisit some of my FoodBurgh favorites
2. An excuse to try out completely new destinations

I suspect most of my meetups will lean more toward (1), but I leave (2) open as a possibility. In fact, the first (pre-announcement) outing of the FoodBurgh Meetup was to a completely new place: Avenue B. As you can see form my write-up, heading out with a group gave me a chance to see far more menu items than I could have possible ordered alone.

That outing included mostly friends of mine that I had roped into the outing. Now that I’m actively promoting the group, I’m hoping that some of my readers will be inspired to come out and give it a try. I view the outings as an excellent way to meet people with a common culinary interest.

If a Meetup group sounds like a good idea to you, why not stop by the Meetup page and join the group. If your not a member of Meetup, it’s free and easy to sign-up. Some groups are better than others, but I’m a big fan of the overall operation.

The event was well covered already, but I was there and taking pictures, so I wanted to take the time to post my thoughts here.

Penn Brewery and Restaurant
www.pennbrew.com

800 Vinial St
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
(412) 237-9400

Though positioned as a special “sneak preview” the event was pretty well publicized: invitations were posted on multiple brewery Twitter accounts as well as the main page of the Penn Brewery site. As a result, the place was packed. Everyone, it seems, is excited to see an old favorite return. The event featured beer samples, (extremely) light snacks, and ongoing tours of the brewery. I was there for the first two hours (of 4) and the place was packed to the point that I had trouble moving around.

So how was the beer? Four different beer options were available for sampling: Penn Pilsner (unfiltered), Penn Weizen, Allegheny Pale Ale, and St Nicholas Bock (from a previous year). A free ticket available in in the rear claimed that the first sample was free, and most everyone I talked to expected that to be a full glass. It wasn’t: just tiny sample in a plastic sampling cup. Luckily, you could buy a full glass for $3—though it was also served in plastic cups. In an effort to avoid hitting the 25-minute line twice, I pro-actively ordered two glasses: Allegheny Pale Ale and unfiltered Penn Pilsner.

Though I’m still not hugely confident in my beer evaluations, I can say that I enjoyed both. Due largely to equipment availability and timing, the Pilsner was served unfiltered, which was a new and therefore welcome experience. Basically, this was the same clean, bright lager you have probably come to expect from Penn—only with a slightly yeasty flavor to keep it interesting. The newly released pale ale was…very hoppy (in the true American style). I picked up a heavy dose of hop bitterness plus the familiar citrus flavor typical of American hops. From my perspective, the bittering here was almost too harsh, but that’s really the style in this case. If anyone was pondering the style of hops, I seem to remember Tom mentioning Chinook during the brewery tour—though I didn’t notice any of the piney flavor normally associated with that variety.

A tour of the brewery. One of the better aspects of the event was the brewery tour—except for that part where I waited out in the cold for it to start. The tours were running every 30 minutes, and the tickets being passed out inside assigned a particular time. No one was really checking tickets, but the tactic did lead to a relatively small tour group—which I appreciated.

The tour was really just standing just inside the brewery entrance and listening to an overview of the brewing process from Tom Pastorius himself. I don’t think he showed off much beyond what you can see from the dining room’s window into the brewery, but it was interesting to hear his spiel and pick up some details regarding their brewing operation. Most of description was geared more toward the non-brewing crowd, but there were some interesting operational tidbits thrown in for good measure.

Here are some of the more interesting announcements I picked up…

• The restaurant will open when they have enough beer to satisfy demand
• Tom has no idea (or isn’t saying) when that time might come
• There’s a good chance another “preview” will occur in a few weeks
• A new German bottling line has been ordered (and paid for)

A founder’s plea. Another interesting aspect of Tom’s “tour” was a plea for support. His major request: buy a case of Penn beer. Yes, that means it will have been brewed in Wilkes-Barre by the Lion Brewery, but there’s a lot of Lion-brewed Penn product in the pipeline, and he can’t push out his new stuff until that has worked through the system. In his words, he needs us to “take one for the team” (no really, he said exactly that). In the spirit of supporting our local, independent brewers and restaurants, I can support that request. If I’m buying a commercial beer for an event at my place, I’d be happy to make it a case of Penn.

100% local—without even asking. I provided only minimal guidance for what type of restaurant to include, so I was thrilled to see such a wide variety of really great contributions. Every submission was local to the Pittsburgh Region, and many of them had managed to fly below my RADAR up to this point. Basically, I would be excited to visit any of them.

How did I pick the winners? As promised, I’m pulling all of those entries together into a bit of a collaborative post (below). For the purpose of drawing winners, I didn’t want to just pick favorites and label each entrants opinion as better or worse than the others. I sidestepped the issue and used random selection powered by random.org to pick four winners. Everyone who won a gift card has already been contacted and will receive gift cards from Giant Eagle shortly.

For everyone who made a contribution, thank you!

Submit your own. Even if you didn’t get a chance to enter the contest, you’re more than welcome to add to the comments below.

Disclosure: This post is based largely on my opinion after coming out of a new tour/reception for new media types at the new Giant Eagle Store. I came out of the event having received a free dinner and an enormous gift basket from Giant Eagle. Keep that in mind while you’re reading the rest of this.

With that out of the way, here we go…

Giant Eagle Market District
100 Settlers Ridge Center Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15205
marketdistrict.com/robinson
(412) 788-5392

I didn’t actually receive an invite to the blogger reception, so I owe big thanks to Lauren over at Burghilicious for letting me tag along as her guest. Thanks! I was in contact with a marketing consultant that Giant Eagle had brought in to cover the “new media” marketing angle. That’s the contact that brought you the first ever FoodBurgh collaborative post and contest. I’m not sure why I never received an invite, but I’m glad it all worked out. If you haven’t checked out Lauren’s site, you should definitely check it out.

While you’re at it, there’s still time to submit your favorite Pittsburgh restaurant and win $25 to spend at the new store.

The three-phase reception. The reception was broken down into three parts: first, they set us free in the prepared foods area to gather up a dinner of our choosing. After an extensive period of wandering through the myriad prepared options, we joined up for dinner in the cafe. Finally, after dinner, we followed along with a Giant Eagle rep who gave us the grand tour. My camera batteries actually died while touring the prepared section, so the photos lean more on that side. The good news is, that was probably the best part of the event to capture. You can also head over to eatPGH and Burghilicious for their photo work.

Prepared foods to suit every taste. As a general rule, I’m a big fan of Giant Eagle as a fall-back salad bar when I don’t get a chance to pack a lunch for work. You can’t beat it for consistency in  availability of fresh and healthful salad components (when they have a salad bar, that is). Every once in a while, I even grab a sandwich at some of the other Market District locations (typically Shadyside). The Robinson Market District is really just the explosion of that concept to the extreme. Every time I thought I found the end, I ran into yet another dining possibility.

Here’s my list of all the options…

• coffee (and other hot beverages)
• fruit juice (fresh squeezed)
• cold bar (salsa / middle eastern salads)
• hot bar (casserole / roasted chicken / veggie stir fry)
• salad bar (fresh raw veggies in salad portions)
• stir fry (made to order)
• salad (made to order)
• soup (4 varieties + 3 seafood options elsehwere)
• crepes (both savory and sweet)
• pizza (complete with pizza oven)
• Italian (with an abnormal number of vegetarian options)
• sandwiches (lots of pre-pared—more meat than veggie)
• gelato (interesting flavors / made in house)

Some prepared food hits and misses. Keep in mind, each bullet in that list was a completely different station. Not all of it was excellent, but you have to keep in mind that it was a cafeteria. I tried the prepared veggie stir fry from the hot bar and really liked it, but the two middle eastern salads I picked up were a little bland and lifeless. The crepes looked pretty good, but I didn’t go there. The salad bar had lots of fresh and crisp options, but most everything was cut into large enough pieces that it was difficult to eat as a salad.

Overall, I would say the prepared food section had a lot of good options—both healthy and unhealthy. There’s a pretty good chance that at least one of the stations will be at least somewhat exciting to any given person. Even so, it was still just a high-end cafeteria. It’s worth checking out and vastly better than any fast food option, but still not a place to meet people for dinner.

Heading upstairs to the mezzanine. Yes, this Giant Eagle actually has a second floor—or at least a mezzanine level over part of the store. That level had everything from cafeteria-style tables to a small number of coffee-shop style seats where you could enjoy your coffee. Speaking off coffee shop, can you say free WiFi? Because they definitely have it setup and wide open for use without any type of login or annoying terms of service page.

Central produce space with some notables. Because prepared foods take up so much space, the produce section falls near the center of the store. Surrounded by the mezzanine, it was well lit with a two-story ceiling. All that space offered up some veggies I hadn’t seen in a Giant Eagle before (fava beans, striped eggplant). Interestingly, they didn’t seem to have any more apples than any other Giant Eagle. I’m sure local Apples are hard to scale up to that extent, but at least a few different options would have been a nice touch.

The hydroponics area. Yep, you read that correctly. There’s a hydroponics area that is currently used exclusively for growing bibb lettuce. The produce guys were quick to point out that doing this in-house is fairly experimental: they have no idea how it will turn out. They don’t have any lettuce ready yet, but they’re hoping to get into a 4 week rotation to get a fresh crop each week. I’m not sure where I stand on whether this is a good idea or not, but I’ll probably be sticking to the green leaf along the sides. It’s not clear to me what advantages one finds in growing in this environment, but I’m sure it makes for good marketing.

Everything else: a store inside a store. The prepared foods and produce sections combine to take up about half the store. The other half of the store is roughly what you might expect from another Market District location with a few notable options—including an olive oil bar where you can pick from among about 8 different olive oils and fill up a container to take home. There were a few other notable product stations, but many others didn’t quite receive the attention I would have liked. Most notably, I didn’t find any non-standard brands of yogurt or anything beyond a single brand of molasses. Even the somewhat large scale Brown Cow yogurt was completely missing (as it is in most Giant Eagle locations). That’s a shame, because it’s my personal favorite and was at one point far more readily available.

High end kitchenware. For a kitchen geek like me, one of the more notable sections of the store for me was kitchenware. Giant Eagle always has a few utensils and pans to help fill a gap in a pinch, but in most other stores, none of those items is at all “high end.” The new Market District actually offers up a completely different spread: I noticed high some beautiful slate coaster sets, stainless steel brand name utensils (think Cuisinart and Mario Batali). They even had a whole book shelf of some fairly well-known cookbooks. Of course, Rachel Ray was front and center, but there were other options as well.

Real cooking classes. The other Market District locations have demo stations, where guest chefs can show up and walk through the process of using a particular ingredient while customers stand and watch. That’s all well and good, but it’s a far cry from a cooking class. Well, the new market district has a separate cooking classroom set aside upstairs. I’m actually somewhat interested in how they’ll use that space and what type of courses will be offered. If you happen to give one of their courses a try, let me know what you thought.

Price and label your own bulk goods. You know that drill when you go to Whole Foods or the Food Co-Op for bulk goods, right? You find a product number, then awkwardly find a place where you can write out the number and use it to close off your bag. For exactly that reason, I absolutely loved the streamlined process at Giant Eagle. There’s a scale with built-in label printer right beside the bulk goods. Just fill up a bag, type in a product code, and you can print out a price sticker right there. That means you can pick up bulk goods and make use of the self checkout without too much trouble. This was easily one of my favorite parts of the store.

Overall. If you live in the area, you owe it to yourself to make a trip out to the new Market District to check it out for yourself—if for no other reason than a conversation piece around the office. I imagine that the new store will fit some consumers better than others; it really all depends on what you’re aiming for. Those who have been opting for the CSA approach, are likely to stick with that, but there’s a big part of the foodie world for whom the new store will be a big hit. Grocery shopping tendencies are extremely personal, so the only way you’ll really know is to check it out for yourself.

Disclosure: This post was prompted by a request from Giant Eagle to help spread the word about their new Market District location in Robinson. Be sure to keep reading for details on how to win a $25 gift certificate, and be part of the first community-driven FoodBurgh post.

But here’s the rub: I can’t always fit those places into my schedule. Some are too far away for a quick week night stop; many are simply closed by the time I get home from work; and some (notably Good Apples), require a little bit of planning. More often than not, I buy what I need at Giant Eagle—and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I’m just as much a fan of G’Eagle as any of the other places I mentioned. Well, it turns out, they’re opening a new Market District location this weekend, and they’re sponsoring a first-ever FoodBurgh contest to help spread the word.

Giant Eagle is trying to generate buzz. Last week, I was contacted by a marketing consultant for Giant Eagle who was hoping to spread the word about a new Market District location. I’m guessing that most readers have checked out either the Shadyside or Bethel Park examples of the Market District concept. The idea is to create a store targeting foodies and health nuts (and I’m guilty on both counts). It’s hard not to like a store that specifically targets your exact demographic.

How to win a $25 Gift Certificate. Courtesy of Giant Eagle, I have four $25 Giant Eagle gift cards to hand out on this site. To help figure out the winners, I’m collecting contributions for a bit of a collaborative “best restaurants” post. Use the contact form to send me a brief explanation of your favorite Pittsburgh restaurant. All entries are due Saturday, when the new Market District store is slated to open. I’ll round up all the presentable submissions and post here next week.

Some ground rules…

• Submissions must be less than 200 words.
• Entrants should list their name and neighborhood of residence
• All entries must be received by midnight on Sunday, 11/8.
• Winners will be drawn at random and notified via email.

That’s all there is to it. I’ll randomly select 4 winning entries and Giant Eagle will send a gift card to each of them.

All about the new store. Because this little contest is sponsored by Giant Eagle, and their new Market District store, I’ll give you a little background. According to the Post Gazette, the new location has been in the works for some time now. While Market District locations are fairly large stores, this one dwarfs both the others in the area at a whopping 150,000 square feet. It sounds like it will have all sorts of amenities not currently available ab the other stores—including an in-house creamery serving up fresh gelato.

Did I mention they’re allowed to sell beer and wine? It’s true. Until I did some digging, I didn’t even realize that this was the “new store” that has been battling the PLCB for the ability to sell alcohol. The details of how that will work are still a little murky, but I’m definitely intrigued. Having grown up in Ohio, and still traveling back on a regular basis, I can say that the Giant Eagle stores out there tend to have an exception selection of craft beer—so I’m definitely hopeful.

Enter first, then check out the new store. So what are you waiting for, use the contact form to submit your favorite Pittsburgh restaurant. While you’re waiting for your entries to appear on a post to this site, be sure to stop by the new Giant Eagle Market District in Robinson. It’s at least worth heading out there to investigate.

For today only (starting at 10:00am), you can join me in supporting the food bank, or any local charity of your choosing, by participating in the Pittsburgh Foundation’s Match Day event. The process is easy; just follow a few quick steps…

1. Create an account on the PittsburghGives site.
2. Search or browse for a charity you want to support
3. Look over the efficiency/volume data provided by the site
4. Click donate now and submit your contribution.

That’s it. Starting at 10:00am on Wednesday, October 28, the Pittsburgh Foundation will match your gift (up to a limit of $300k). The offer is good for one day only.

I’m actually somewhat surprised that the entire first half of her article focused on FoodBurgh, but it was a welcome bit of PR for the site. That said, I owe it to everyone else to list a few of my favorite food blogs.

• Bite of the ‘Burgh (w/ Julie, Laura, Sarah, and Mandy)
• Snickie: “Just another foodie blog”
• Burghilicious: “Pittsburgh’s yummiest blog”
• Pittsburgh Needs Eated: “Cooking, Baking, and Eating in Pgh”

It’s worth nothing that China missed “Bite of the Burgh.” That one is probably the most recent addition to the local food blog scene, but the four contributors have been throwing up great content so far. Definitely check them out!

The article also mentioned a few blogs I hadn’t heard of and will definitely be following. My favorite new finds: “Eat the Cookie” and “Brown Eyed Baker.”

We all owe a big thanks to the PG’s China Millman for shining a brief spotlight on the new media contributors to Pittsburgh’s food scene. Thanks China!

Franktuary Brings Local, Organic, Grass-Fed Beef Downtown
Locavore frank debuts during National Hot Dog Month

Pittsburgh, PA – Franktuary, a gourmet hot dog shoppe in Pittsburgh, PA, proudly introduces its newest menu item, the Locavore, a grass-fed, nitrate-free all-beef frankfurter from Ron Gargasz Organic Farm of Volant, PA. The Locavore will debut on July 1, as the kick-off to a month-long celebration of National Hot Dog Month.

This organic treat will complement the restaurant’s critically acclaimed traditional frankfurter and add to a growing list of locally made products — soda from the Natrona Bottling Company, pretzels from the Southside Pretzel Shop, and Miller’s Mustard. Weighing in at a sizable fifth of a pound, the Locavore will cost $4.75 but will be offered at a special July introductory price of only $4.25.

Consuming Franktuary’s Locavore has advantages beyond supporting sustainable farming practices and the regional economy: organic grass-fed beef offers a perfectly balanced ratio of Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids, a health benefit more commonly associated with wild-caught seafood. When essential fatty acids are consumed in proper balance the human body is less likely to experience inflammatory diseases. Ron Gargasz, a 30-year veteran of organic farming, has studied the Omega EFA content of his own beef in conjunction with Penn State University and knows these benefits to be the direct result of raising his cattle entirely on their natural diet of field grasses.

Organic pasture-raised beef is also free of unnecessary antibiotics, hormones, and pesticides. Franktuary owner Megan Lindsey, who enjoyed an early spring visit to the farm, was full of praise for the natural state of the barns and fields, and the generous nature of Gargasz himself. Lindsey remarks, “Ron is a wonderful person, setting an incredible example of hard work which supports the health of humans, animals, and the earth. He accomplishes all of this in a beautiful, peaceful setting, and Franktuary is proud to support his vision for farming.”

Franktuary is located at 325 Oliver Avenue, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is open Monday through Friday, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. The establishment is a member of Pennsylvania’s Buy Fresh, Buy Local (www.buylocalpa.org). To learn more about the restaurant please visit www.franktuary.com.

For the original press release, visit Franktuary’s site, or just grab the PDF directly.

Trib: Storm-damaged slots cause Rivers Casino to delay grand opening

In addition to the 3,000 slot machines, Rivers Casino will provide the culinary opulence found along the Las Vegas Strip and Atlantic City’s Boardwalk.

The Andrews Steakhouse — named for the city’s famous Andrews of Carnegie, Mellon and Warhol — will be a fine-dining restaurant with steak and seafood.

Ciao will offer on-the-go sandwiches, salads and desserts, and the West End Cafe will serve sandwiches, pizzas and other cuisine inspired by Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods.

Grandview Buffet will accommodate up to 450 diners and offer made-to-order meals from Italian, Asian, American and barbecue stations. Selections include freshly made pasta and pizza from a wood-burning oven, ribs and brisket from two smoker ovens and grills offering Mongolian- and Argentinian-style meals.

(continues…)

Who knew from the title that they’d be talking about food for several paragraphs?

Quite honestly, I hadn’t really thought about the culinary aspect of the Casino. I also have no idea whether the restaurants listed will be any good. I actually tend to shy away from the behemoth restaurants common to casino’s (and, frankly, have not interest in gambling what-so-ever). That list is intriguing, but I still have a background suspicion that the listed restaurants will try too hard to be “prim and proper”—only to present an unnecessarily stuffy environment.

That all said, I am interested in what the sandwich shops and casual facilities will provide. Will they provide healthful and interesting menus or just revert to nothing more than glorified fast food? I suppose I’ll have to give them a shot to see.

TRASH XIX: Annual Homebrew Competition
Entry Fee: $6 (plus three 12oz samples)
Entry Deadline: July 6
Competition Date: July 18

Is this an “event.” In short, no. That issue seems confuse people when they first hear about a competition (myself included). I like to think of this as a “mail-in competition.” Beer is difficult to ship (not to mention, expensive), so we have 6 drop-off locations throughout the area: 5 local homebrew shops and the competition site (Rivertowne Pour House). The competition itself is held at the Rivertowne Pour house on July 18th, and involves certified beer judges from around the area. They sample all the entries, rate them, and we select the award winners based on these ratings.

Professional feedback. If you brew beer (or do just about anything), then you know all about self-doubt. You are your own biggest critic, and brewing is no exception. You probably brew beer and notice every flaw (even the ones that don’t exist). Your friends are just happy to get free, half-way decent beer and they pile on the praise (“this is fantastic” and “great job”). What’s wrong with that? First, they’re your friend, they’re not going to say it sucks (because even flawed homebrew is pretty good). They’re also probably not certified beer judges and haven’t developed any real beer tasting skills or vocabulary. A competition overcomes that issue by giving you real, honest, and anonymized feedback. Judges have no idea who brewed what they’re drinking. They also carry a certification from the BJCP that can only be earned by passing a rather rigorous test.

Want to submit an entry? Good. I’m glad you understand. Just print out and complete out the entry packet available on the event web site and drop off three bottles of homebrew at any of the participating drop-off locations. Each entry requires three bottles, each wrapped with bottle identification form that has been attached with a rubber band. Drop them off with the entry form on or before July 6, and we take over from there. If your homebrew shop of choice isn’t open on July 6, then you better find time to drop it off on the last day it is open before the holiday weekend. Winners will be notified in the following week, and all participants will receive complete judge feedback. That feedback makes events like this just as much about education as they are competition.

When you make your next batch, be sure to bottle at least a few and drop them off at your local homebrew shop (or other participating drop-off locations).