Pick a Peck of Samosas.

Kohli's looks like a bodega or drugstore, but there's a prize inside.



To-go samosas are served at the register.  90 cents each.



We got a bag-full.



We could have eaten more.

Kohli's Indian Imports
319 S Craig St
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

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Photo Essay: Peace, Love, and Little Donuts.

The building.


In line.


Before too long, we were entering.


The menu.


The machine.


The shop.


Ready-to-eat.


Depending on how soon you're going to eat them, they package them differently.  We bought some to eat right away and some to take home for the rest of our crew.  The "now" doughnuts were the best doughnuts.  These were ginger sugar and...lemon, I think?


My first Little Donut. Subtle ginger.  Warm and soft.





Donuts "To Go."  Cinnamon, Ginger, Raspberry, Chocolate.  Easily eaten.

Strip District
2018 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

p.s. The Pittsburgh Slow Food lady was really disappointed that I was going to blog about these because, "Their doughnuts come from a mix!"  Yes, but I ate them (and they were good).  There are probably better doughnuts out there, but this was a fun experience.  And this is not a slow foods blog (though I hope it is, sometimes, slow foods friendly).

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Photo Essay: Peruvian Picnic at the Canoe Club

Outstanding food from:

Chicken Latino, Pittsburgh (PA)


Bonus Shot: Someone spotted this bee snacking on a mayfly and I managed to get a photo.



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Two for dinner; one for breakfast.

In Pittsburgh, PA?  Need cupcakes?  I have to recommend Graham's Bakery on Mt. Lebanon Blvd..



This shop makes the perfect chocolate frosting, as far as I'm concerned -- and that's hard to achieve.  The box had assorted vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, with both vanilla and chocolate frosting.  Of course, chocolate + chocolate was my favorite, but I liked the vanilla, too. 

To make sure they were as good as I thought they were, I ate three. 

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I am the United Nations of Snacking.

 We watched the World Cup quarter-final match between Brazil and The Netherlands at Piper's Pub, a British Isles-themed sports bar and restaurant in Pittsburgh, PA.  While there, naturally, I had to try my first Scotch Egg.



A Scotch Egg is a hard-boiled egg that is somehow encased in a sort of bread-and-sausage batter and then fried.  Yow!  I was not expecting my eggs (which were cut in half and served to me with hot sauce) to  be so thick and large.  But, however overwhelming, they were quite good -- especially dipped in the hot sauce.  It took four of us to eat my serving, though.  This is a snack to share.  And eat it hot!

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Pittsburgh Farmers Market

I want to write a few more posts about my most recent trip to Pittsburgh, PA.  My trips there always include great food, no matter how long I'm there, and my stay over this past Fourth of July holiday weekend was no different.

One morning, Anna and Jim and I ended up at the Pittsburgh Farmers Market in the Strip District.  Though small, it had a lot to offer.



A visit to one farm's table proved especially inspiring.  Fresh goat chevre being served on graham crackers with fruit jam inspired Anna and me to buy some of the cheese and make our own open-faced jam and cracker sandwiches back at the house.  The feta from this farm was also top-notch.



Naturally, I picked up two giant bags of kale so that I could make a batch of kale chips.



Though we had a general plan of acquisition, we enjoyed wandering and checking out what everyone had to offer.





We had a chance to chat with several of the women at the "Slow Food Pittsburgh" table. I sampled a delicious, fresh applesauce and appreciated that they were set up to do on-site cooking demos.







With so much in season, how could we not eat well?

Farmers at the Firehouse Farmers Market
Saturdays 9:30 am - 1:30 pm (May - November)
Strip District - 2216 Penn Avenue 

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Too much relaxing

What is it about vacations that mess up my blogging flow?  I should be more productive with more time off.  I took my laptop with me on this latest trip (over July 4th weekend) and everything!

Anyway, I was only in Pittsburgh for three and a half days, but I did a lot of eating there that I need to report on.  Not to mention that I'm behind in chronicling all the CSA veggies I've been eating at home (when it's not too blazing hot to cook, which it has been several nights).

Above is a new treat Anna and I discovered at the Pittsburgh farmer's market -- fresh goat chevre and swell jam (strawberry in this case) on a graham cracker.  You should try it.

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Peanut Butter and Parrot

We picked up some treats from Pittsburgh's Allegro Hearth Bakery -"Crusty European Breads" - at 2034 Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill.

I felt right at home - the woman behind the counter even used to live in my neck of Brooklyn. Then again, I never have found myself feeling out of place as long as I'm surrounded by baked goods.

Above, Roscoe looks on as we prepare to sample our haul: a lemon bar, a pumpkin pie bar, 2 peanut butter and chocolate cupcake-shaped items (I've forgotten the official name), and one chocolate "petite four" (which also had a longer name).



My personal favorite - and the treat that started our avalanche of purchases - was the petite four, which had ribbons of thick chocolate frosting on top of alternating moist chocolate cake and whipped cream layers. It was like a homemade Zinger. Brilliant!

The cupcake-shaped items had the consistency of dense brownies or thick but soft peanut butter cookies. They weren't cakey or light like cupcakes at all, but the peanut butter flavor ruled and they were not too sugary. The pumpkin pie bar was a good concept, executed tastily and well-spiced while still being subtle, and a sweet-tart lemon bar is always classic.

Desserts aside, they also sliced and sold us a swell loaf of sourdough bread, perhaps my favorite sort of bread. Another winner, the sourdough has an open, lacy crumb and zingy flavor.

Now I am married to the sea

Ah, the Pittsburgh Strip District!  There are lots of fun shops in the area, including plenty of good food and ingredients (browsing is as much fun as buying), but this year's highlight of the strip trip was Benkovitz Seafoods (2300 Smallman Street).

I've been here in search of shrimp and such, or to marvel at the variety of spices, rubs and hotsauces available, but I had never eaten the food prepared at the back of the store.  Judging by the line, this is an area favorite.

Judging by the food, there's good reason for the line and the favoritism.  Dan got a Fried Shore Lunch Special and I chose the Original Fried Fish Sandwich.  Prices were reasonable, considering the volume of food we came away with.

My sandwich alone had 3 or 4 tender and flaky fried fillets between its two buns.  Tartar and Tiger sauces were on hand to add to the mix.

Extra goodies included round french fries that were almost like mini potato pancakes (my preferred hash brown kind, not the floury, cakey kind) and fried zucchini planks.

While exiting, over-full and happy to be so, I spotted a snackable friend on a shelf - one I knew from days in the midwest.  Long before I moved to NYC, I was eating these New York Style bagel chips with sea salt (below).  Nothing compares to the greasy, salty sensation of them melting, one by one, on my tongue.  

Oh, my friend, how I've missed you.