City Dining with Dad: Sausalido

For Christmas, I got my dad a deck of City Dining Cards. The plan was to take him out for lunch and dinner at new restaurants now and then. Tonight, I treated my dad to a dinner at Sausalido, a small bistro on Liberty in Bloomfield. I've lived in this neighborhood for nearly three years, and I've walked by Sausalido many times and wondered. When I told my boss I was taking my dad out to dinner in Bloomfield, it was her second suggestion.

A lot of the restaurants with Dining Cards in the deck were more bar-food type places, and I wanted to buy my dad a nice dinner, because we were actually making a trade. He gets a good meal, and I get about four loads of laundry done. As in, he took my laundry home with him, and will be dropping it back off here in a few days all nice and clean.

Did I mention I have a pretty cool dad?

This was a most excellent meal. Both my dad and I enjoyed every single thing put in front of us.

There was bread and a white bean dipping sauce, that was great cause it came quick and I was starving. We each got a cup of the night's tomato basil bisque, and I think we both wished we had ordered the bowl instead. (Seriously, delicious.) My dad had a beet something salad. I stopped paying attention when he started talking about beets. He looked delighted with it though. We each had fish for our main course. He had halibut over some rice and stuff (I never claimed this was a food blog!) and I had salmon over a caesar salad. My dad cleaned his plate, but I saved half of mine for lunch tomorrow.

The only drawback of the night was finding out the white chocolate espresso cheesecake hadn't been made yet! We had apparently arrived at the start of a new seasonal menu, and the restaurant had been too busy (a definite good thing - let's keep this place around!) to make the new desserts.

Getting a slice of that heavenly sounding cheesecake is a reason to go back, but obviously not the only one. My dad and I talked about how good it was as we walked the way back to my apartment.

Then he took off into the night. Belly full of good food and truck full of my dirty laundry.

Take a Walk: In the Snow

Last Sunday I had a lot of walking to do. I had to return something to Filmmakers. And then I had to trek from Bloomfield to Regent Square to meet up with Zack and Kate for an afternoon adventure. I didn't get past East Liberty though, as our exciting plans were sadly cancelled. I intended to take pictures throughout my snowy Sunday walk, but as I didn't get very far before turning back home, I only have a couple photos to share. Fortunately, they're both excellent.

Taken on Melwood, down the road from Filmmakers.

Robot on the Millvale Ave bridge into North Oakland.

PGH's Best Night of the Year: The Bloomfield Halloween Parade 2012

Well, folks. Another Bloomfield Halloween Parade is in the books. This year's parade took place on the tail end of our lovely Indian summer, which meant it was warm and dry outside. Perfect conditions for beers on the street while the wonderfully odd parade went by. Words, honestly, cannot do the parade justice. So this year I took short videos of some of the parade's best moments:


Shark! Shark! Shark! (As well as a "never forget" with regard to the Zoltan costumes.)


The Tamburitzans!


A very, very creepy Mr. Rooter. That costume is...just creepy. Also, Mr. Rooter has an arm on him. He really whipped that candy into the crowd.


The little AAA car is ALWAYS a Halloween Parade highlight.


WHO YOU GONNA CALL? (Honestly, Ghostbusters is really a favorite song of mine. Like, in general.)




So much going on in this clip. Steeley McBeam, a Here We Go Steelers chant, Nightmare Dancing, and  a Gooski's chant. This is why the parade is the best thing that happens all year.


We hate crime, McGruff.

I've saved my top three moments of the parade for last.


The Polish Hill Zombie Band.


The C.S. Kim Karate Demo - BREAK SOME BOARDS.


And, finally, USA USA USA UNION UNION UNION BOOM. 

Anyone who thinks there is a better nighttime experience in Pittsburgh is crazy. The Bloomfield Halloween Parade is reason enough for me to never ever leave. The only bad thing is that when it's over, there's another year to go until the next one.

Happy Halloween!

It's a Great Day for a Parade: Bloomfield's Columbus Day Parade

I. Love. Parades.

Seriously. Is there such a thing as a bad parade? I love seeing people hanging out on the sidewalks, chatting with their neighbors, watching marching bands, dance troupes, floats, and a whole bevy of other colorful things travel slowly down a main drag in a business district. Bloomfield delights with not one, but TWO parades in October. (The second parade...The Bloomfield Halloween Parade...words cannot describe how excited for it I am.) I was biking around the East End on the Saturday morning of the Columbus Day Parade, and was lucky to get back to my neck of the woods before the festivities ended. Below are some photos of the parade as I caught it going by. Bloomfield kicks some serious butt in October, and the Columbus Day Parade is a great way to start off the best month.

If you've never noticed, the mural here incorporates Bloomfield's parade traditions. The little girl even has a jack-o-lantern candy bucket. Further proof that the Bloomfield Halloween parade is the best night of the year. Beyond the mural, folks gather up and down Liberty to watch the entertainment.

It's Franco! Right there, in my neighborhood. One of those PGH-figures who everyone seems to respect, admire, and want a handshake from. Can't say watching him give high-fives to the youngsters surrounding his convertible didn't choke me up a bit. Especially thinking about how some of those youngsters have yet to grasp just who Franco is and what awesome thing he did.

Reason no. 1 why I love parades:

Because you don't see insane nonsense walking down your street any ol' day of the year. I'm still not even sure if this was a part of a float or group or if this nightmare-clown was a rogue participant. Either way, I love it.

Why was this gentleman riding inside the truck? Doesn't he know this is Pittsburgh? We are furry-friendly! No need to be ashamed, sir!

These guys are the best. 

There's only a couple more weeks till The Bloomfield Halloween Parade. The Columbus Day Parade whets the appetite. The Halloween Parade is the main course AND dessert. It's that good.

Take A Walk: Blocks of Penn

I've been meaning to take more walks. I feel like I've neglected nice walks when there's nothing else to do. So I made a point to walk down to Target this past weekend along Penn. There had been a few things I wanted to capture on a list in the back of my mind. So, with the sun beginning to set, I took a walk.

Sun beating down on Gross Street.

If I had money to spend on such things, this map painting would be mine. Maybe one day.

Mural on the edge of the Quiet Storm.

A gallery on the side of a building.

Mental note: Take a glass blowing class.

Yes / No / Maybe (Friendship Ave Stitchings)

As a stitcher myself, these pieces of street art are pretty excellent to walk by going down Friendship Avenue by the park. Kudos to whoever is responsible!

PGH Stuff and Things N'at: August 2012

Due to a combination of extreme discomfort (stupid poison ivy legs) and a return to high temps (stupid sweaty poison ivy legs), I feel like I haven't been able to do much fun stuff lately. The good news is the itchiness is gone! Now I just have to wait out the disappearance of these scabs and patches of dead skin (I know, sounds really cool, right?!), but I'm back to shorts, skirts, and dresses. Stupid work pants be damned! So, in lieu of a post dedicated to one thing, here's a post dedicated to five things. Stuff and things n'at. Enjoy!

Love Front Porch
This morning while I was eating breakfast (toad in the hole smothered in cheddar cheese) and drinking coffee, I was catching up on my Google Reader. One of the PopCity articles I had missed last week was about Love Front Porch, based in Homewood. Do yourself (and Vanessa German, creator of Love Front Porch) a favor and read the site's About Me section. Or, if you're more of a watcher than a reader, press play:

I was inspired to donate to Love Front Porch, and I hope you will be too. The amount of time I spend in Homewood is basically zero. When I first moved back to Pittsburgh, a friend suggested I take a route through the neighborhood from my apartment in Bloomfield over to Regent Square. I felt incredibly unsafe. After that first ride through Homewood - even what as probably a less dangerous section that borders Point Breeze - I have stuck to braving Penn Ave when I need to get over to that part of the East End. Here's the thing though: I want to spend time in Homewood. It's a neighborhood in our city with a rich past (the Carnegies had homes there), storied culture (John Edgar Wideman sets many of his novels on those streets and Billy Strayhorn moved his family there), and buildings I want to explore (the Homewood branch of the Carnegie Library and Victorian homes in need of some TLC).  But, because Homewood is a hotbed of violence, I stay away. I want to love Pittsburgh as a whole, not just the sum of the parts where I feel safe. I wish Vanessa German all the luck in the world with her project. And I hope it can bring a sense of calm and community to a neighborhood that is ailing.

Strata
Sometime in July, I saw these weird posters go up around Downtown. I was intrigued.

When I found out the project was of Bricolage's creation, that was all the mystery I needed solved before purchasing a pair of tickets. I'm not going to reveal much about Strata. I was specifically instructed not to on my visit. But, participating in this was one of the more unique things I have ever done in my life. My dad accompanied me and he not only enjoyed himself, but he had a completely different experience than me. Bricolage has undertaken a huge endeavor here, and they have succeeded. Do yourself a favor and get refitnessed before time's up. The production goes until September 1. Who knows when something this incredible and bizarre will pop up in Pittsburgh again.

The Calm After the Storm - Pittsburgh's Beautiful Sunset
If you're an Instagram user (follow me at everythingbetterpgh) and you have any Instagram friends who live in Pittsburgh, chances are they posted a picture of the sky from Sunday evening. We had a terrible day of rain and scary storms (which I was fortunate enough to get caught in on my bike!), but by 8 p.m., the rain had cleared and looking up was a treat. These photos: unedited.

Looking down Friendship from my corner on Gross Street.

East Liberty Presbyterian Church and The Highland Building

Happy Birthday, Andy Warhol!
Today would have been Andy Warhol's 84th birthday. While I was getting ready this morning, NPR aired a bit about it, and the unassuming cemetery in my hometown of Bethel Park where he is buried. Listen to the story here, and scroll down to watch a great time-lapse video that brings Warhol's grave to life over the course of two years.

Movin' On Up: To the 16th Floor of PPG One
Not going to lie about the rough string of ten days or so I just had to live through. Between the poison ivy, the anniversary of my mom's death, a bike accident, and two flats in four days, I was seriously down in the dumps. Add to that a crazy week of work, but not because of my day-to-day responsibilities. We packed up our offices in the Henry W. Oliver Building and bid farewell to the Daniel Burnham-designed mini-skyscraper and have said hello to PPG One, i.e. the glass castle that is so essential to Pittsburgh's skyline.

Sixteen floors up, with one of those baller window-walled offices is where you'll find me, Monday through Friday.

Now that the move is over, I am so happy. Walking into that building today, sitting at my desk and looking out the window at Pittsburgh, the Mon, the Smithfield Street Bridge, and the South Side Slopes... I feel like I won the office lottery. When I started with the law firm I work with, I didn't ever expect to a) have a job where I felt so challenged and engaged with my work (I had started off as the receptionist, but am now a writer/paralegal) or b) sit in an office that I truly think would make anyone jealous. I remember being a kid and visiting my dad at his office out in Robinson and thinking "Look how important he is with this office and this big window and wow!" (I was also OBSESSED with playing with the Xerox machine in his office; I was a weird kid.) Tomorrow, he's coming up to see my office and my window and I can't wait to show it off.

I feel like this move has been the 180-degree flip I needed in my grumpy overall mindset. I am excited about all the stuff and things n'at that are to come.

Happy (Belated!) Birthday, Blog!

Holy crap! The heat has definitely infected my brain, because I totally missed EverythingBetterPGH's birthday! I am not one to forget an anniversary (seriously, I celebrate the weirdest things every year because I can't forget the dates), so I feel kind of bad about this. Sorry, blog.

Let's celebrate!

I can't believe I've been doing this for a year now. It's been a very strange year for me personally. Only a handful of posts were published before my mom passed away, which means this blog exists in the shadow of that life-altering event. This was one of the hardest years of my life. For a long time there, nothing was going right. Every morning I woke up and wondered what horrible thing would happen that day. That's dramatic, I know. But seriously: In the span of a few weeks the following things happened to me: got in a bike accident with another biker and totally messed up my knee, was nearly assaulted (i.e., hit with an umbrella) when someone tried to steal my cellphone at a trolley stop in BETHEL PARK, and was the unfortunate person sitting next to the guy in the theater whose ladyfriend gave him a handy during Crazy Stupid Love.

I digress.

In order to survive the past year, I've had to live with a very "full throttle" attitude toward getting through the day to the next day to the next day until the day when I would stop being sad. I still don't know if I'm there yet, but I'm starting to really appreciate the present, which means I'm starting to slow down a bit. Living in the moment, and all other such sayings.

When I look back at these things I've written about or taken pictures of throughout the past year, I'm so so so glad I made myself keep this blog going. I have this awesome collection of memories now, and I can look at them and realize that through all the sad stuff, there was a heck of a lot of fun. In celebration of EverythingBetterPGH's first birthday, here are ten of those fun moments, ones that I would go back and relive in a heartbeat.

(In no particular order.)

Why Not? Biking Pittsburgh at Night with Flock of Cycles

Paddling Pittsburgh: Kayaking the Allegheny and the Ohio

Kennywood's Open (For Terror and Fun)

PGH's Best Night of the Year: The Bloomfield Halloween Parade

Halloween Miracle #2: STEELERS BEAT THE PATRIOTS

The Only Fear You Have to Overcome is Getting the Nerve to Do It

Malkamania: Penguins 8, Tampa Bay 1

Winter Camping Feels Like Spring to Me

Sitting in the Splash Zone: A Saturday Night on the South Side

My Idea of Vacation: The GAP and C&O - Days 3 & 4

Tonight, at midnight, I'm going to go see The Dark Knight Rises. I promised myself I would keep this blog going until I could write a post about seeing the movie that I watched being filmed on my streets.

I can't wait to write that post. And so many more after that.

Thank you for reading!

Happy Anniversary, Pittsburgh.

I'm a borderline hoarder. I'm nowhere near close to being featured on the bizarre reality television show, but I do have a hard time throwing things away. As a writer, this often means I find old writings tucked away in journals and on my hard drive. I've more than likely forgotten about them, so it's always delightful(/terrifying) to read and remember. Fortunately I came across a wholly delightful thing I wrote right after moving back, two years ago today. In celebration of two years back home, here is what I had to say about being back in early July 2010. I had thoughts of doing a Pittsburgh blog even then, but I wasn't ready yet to really put anything in motion. I'm glad I've finally found a good use for it.

Count Yellow Highway Lines

The move is…OVER. After an exhausting day of loading up a truck, the longest drive from Boston to Pittsburgh ever, and three solid days of nothing but furious unpacking and organizing and arranging - it's done. I'm situated and set-up. I tied up the loose-ends I had in Boston. I'm back in Bloomfield and am starting to realize that this is…for real. This is my life now: walking out my door onto Gross Street and being able to see the Cathedral of Learning jutting out of the treetops as I walk toward Liberty Ave. It's still a little weird, but I'm sure that will subside in time. Still can't believe that my time in Boston is actually over. I never thought I'd miss it, but there are people there who made my world go 'round and I'll miss them terribly.

Three days after moving back, I spent the Fourth of July on the roof of the Children's Hospital parking garage. We watched the fireworks downtown from afar, but sparklers were handed out and the way I felt standing on that roof is indescribable.

But. Again: this is my life now.

My goal was to have my place completely unpacked and set-up before I went back to Boston for a couple days to take care of a few things (like quitting my job and tossing everything from the old place into the garbage), so I spent my first 72 hours in Pittsburgh mostly inside the walls of this new apartment figuring out where to put all this stuff I've accumulated. I was able to do it all, which ended up being a relief when I got back here last night and realized I didn't have to do a thing to feel at home.

One of my favorite songs is "Left and Leaving" by The Weakerthans. I listened to it as I drove out of Pittsburgh seven years ago. I kept listening to it throughout my time in Boston; it was a siren song calling me back home. The lyrics always feeling a little too close for comfort.

This morning I woke up early and took my bike out for the first time in weeks. It felt great to ride it again after having been so busy packing and being in transit and busy unpacking. I wanted to ride through the Allegheny Cemetery, but when I got there, the gate was still closed (around 7:30 a.m. - thought it was 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.?). So I went to Plan B: Let's see if I can relearn some streets!

When I biked across the bridge that leads from the Carnegie Museum to Phipps and Flagstaff Hill, I caught a glimpse of perfect puffs of smoke from the Cloud Factory and I think that's when it finally hit me that I'm home.

I'm home!

Biking through South Oakland, I went past the Castle and Zack's old apartment. Two places where the younger Allison started many nights of misadventures and ended many nights of misadventures. In five years, I hope I can go back to Boston and feel as happy riding a bike past Great Scott or down Egremont Road. For now, I'm ready to make a new crop of memories here in Pittsburgh.

Happy Anniversary, Pittsburgh. I'm still so excited to be here.

Bike's in the Shop: My Walk to Work

In order to better the odds that I am actually able to make it to Washington D.C. by bike, I had to do something I really really hate doing: giving it up. Red had to go into the shop for some MAJOR work before the trip. I was going to be without a bike for both a morning and an evening commute. The worst possible thing. For no particular reason, I haven't been able to wake up very early lately. I've started taking cereal and instant coffee into work because there is nothing I can do to get up and have breakfast at home. Simply put: I don't wake up early.

However, take away my bike and force me to face the brutal reality of the bus? I will wake up early and walk. (Disclaimer: I believe the bus is a very important and vital tool to our city. I use it from time to time and it is something that really allows me to live without a car in Pittsburgh. I just like to use my own two feet to get around.)

Ultimately, walking to Downtown takes a bit longer than busing to Downtown. So I really would save time and sleep longer if I rode the bus. But it had been a while since I walked to work. I used to walk to work all the time in Boston before I got a bike. I'm never one to turn down a long walk, so I forced myself awake by treating me to a nice coffee for the way in.

And I took some photos along the way.

Flowers in Bloomfield

Looking over Lawrenceville into Millvale from Penn Ave.

I see this every morning coming down Penn. But I'm normally on wheels and not feet, so it was considerably easier to take a picture.

This place on Penn does great business in the mornings around 8:20 a.m.

If there were an award for most colorful building in Pittsburgh, Salem's would have to be a contender.

Troy Hill in the distance. Love that colored wall.

So, a few weeks ago, I started to see this mural slowly going up on the wall of Altar Bar. It's PRETTY incredible. We've got New Found Glory (which I initially thought was Meatloaf, cause it kinda makes more sense in my head that it would be Meatloaf), Hank Williams III (I think?), Snoop Dogg (because of course; he loves Pittsburgh, at least the Pens and Steelers), Leon Russell (???), and the Misfits. I almost hope they rotate new celebs up there seasonally. 

And I got to work *right* at 8:30; I couldn't have timed it better if I tried.