If we're meeting at six, we should probably pick a place with good food. I'm old and mostly try to have dinner by 7:00 or 8:00.
And it's too close to the Pitt police office to sit outside and drink 40s while eating.
You can approximate that experience at Hofbrauhaus, if it's nice out.
Don't understand how you could have a Pittsburgh meetup and not go to the S/quirrel C/age. I've never been to any of the three, but it, Fresh Salt, and maybe the original Mineshaft are the physical locations most strongly imbued with blogitude.
It's really very smokey inside. I think that rules it out for a couple of the local commenters.
It's also probably impossible to feed a vegetarian there, unless fries is an acceptable meal.
Six was just a suggestion. Is another time better? Somewhere with decent food would be nice.
8: Salad with fries on top? I could just drink dinner, I guess.
If you do want to try the classic Pittsburgh salad with fries on top I recommend the Union Grill on South Craig, although said salads, at least with meat, are pretty huge.
This meet-up may be relevant to this lurker's interests.
Murdering vulnerable strangers in Western Pennsylvania?
13: Do come! It'll be fun. I can't really afford to be murdered until Wed., though, so it will require a second date.
12: I've been to a Primanti outpost. Not my first time in your fair city.
Vegetarian isn't required. No need to make it harder than necessary to pick a place.
Primanti's is nice, except that it doesn't taste all that food.
Probably The Porch at Schenley Plaza. Union Grill is nice as well.
The Porch is very nice--we went a while ago and I remember them having a great margherita pizza. Downside was that a sparrow flew in through the open window and proceeded to land on my wife, whose is afraid of birds. Didn't end well.
Probably The Porch at Schenley Plaza.
We went there after seeing Mad Max; it's quite nice!
The Union Grill is pretty open to birds also.
23: I don't think it's opened up as often (and in fact I forgot that it could do so), and it doesn't have a nice park with trees next to it. Or maybe I just go there more in the cooler months.
I will endeavor to make it. 6 is a bit tight for me, but would try to get there by 6:30. The Porch or Union Grille sound food. I liked whatever drink thingy JRoth recommended at the former IIRC.
For those who aren't local, I'll just mention that these places are very near each other. They are within a reasonable (10 -15 minute) walk of UPMC's main non-evil buildings and even closer to my office. I prefer the food at the Union Grill, but I'm also annoyed by the sign out front that says "As seen on Food TV" or whatever. So, it doesn't matter which to me.
The Porch sounds good. I'll be away from the internet for most of the day, but I'll check here before heading over.
If you need directions, just ask somebody where the Cathedral parking lot used to be.
Thanks for deciding. And if you show up early or need to get lunch, you can get (checks) Cuban snacks form Conflict Kitchen next door.
When did they switch to Cuban? I liked the falafel.
A month or so ago, maybe? I had some the last time they did Cuban and whatever the plantain dish was was excellent.
I completely missed the Palestinian cycle food-wise, but that sure got peoples heckles up like nothing before.
Lots of people are afraid of falafel.
Seriously, we just de-conflicted ourselves with Cuba. A bit late is what I'm saying.
28: A lot of change for that corner of the city over the years.
The pro-Israeli-settlement part of the Jewish community was just not in good form. Even arguing about whether we're in conflict with Palestine, and doing their best to get all of Conflict Kitchen's funding pulled. They had to close for a while due to a death threat. Not good.
Huh, didn't realize that it had been a parking lot going back into '50s. It was one when I got here but I assumed that was a transitional form.
36.1: I only started going after the death threats. I'm a bit leery of activism-inspired food when I just want food, but risking death for a felafel was irresistible.
35, 36.2: I liked it best as a hollow.
"Bring Grant's Hill back to Grant Street."
It's not even named after the Grant anybody ever heard of.
30: gosh, you really don't see that much pro-North Korea activism in the US, do you? That and Bruce Cuming are probably about the only ones I can think of.
It's anti-anti-North Korea, I assume. To borrow the Cold War lingo.
Anyway, I wish they'd decide that America's border policies represent a conflict with Mexico and put in a cheap taco stand.
They haven't done Russia, I notice, possibly because Russian food is abysmal.
That and I wouldn't be very surprised if the people running the thing weren't the descended from refuseniks.
But I'd bet the "Oh boy, beets!" factor was sufficient.
I don't think Bruce Cumings can be fairly characterized as pro-North Korea.
Don't know if 48 is some kind of stats joke I'm too ignorant to grasp or just self-deprecation.
Since we're not special enough to get our own thread, I'm going to hijack this one. The plan in Portland is to meet August 15th? Could people meet August 14th instead? Also, what time?
Running late, should still be there 6:30ish.
I'm within five blocks of the place and have been for the past nine hours.
Got a table facing the back wall. Six seats.
And if you don't know what I look like, I'm the dorky looking white guy with glasses, messy brown hair, and tech-industry standard plaid shirt playing with his phone.
Running a bit late because I decided to shower. I promise it's better this way.
Ok. Is the murdering lurker still there?
For murderers, I am wearing a bright pink polo shirt. Dalriata and Moby are nondescript.
We're all here, except for jroth and murderers. Unless one of us is the murderer.
My sincere regrets - I realized I had to do a thing, and the thing store in question closes inconveniently early. Thus I continue to lurk.
Ok. We're all drinking, but whatever.
60: Come join us after you buy your thing!
Moby just confessed that he acquires illegal Chinese copies of textbooks.
That CMU suicide I mentioned: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2009/08/29/CMU-student-plunges-to-death/stories/200908290154
I left early and stiffed everybody. Losers Next time on me.
Moby chipped in extra, cheapskate.
Meetup over and out.
I hit 10,000 steps just before getting home.
(Stupid rental car doesn't automatically turn on the headlights. I feel like this should be a feature on all cars by now.)
I got pulled over by a trooper for that reason once. Driving up a mountain in the rain, he pulled me over for not having my lights on. I may even have thought they were on, because the gauges were lit. Anyway, I convinced him I was a victim of Chrysler, not a perp.
Nice time last night, even if nobody got murdered.
63: I'd managed to forget that happened IRL.
Will incomplete mongoose at least weigh in on whether he was the one who was reading the same thread as dalriata(?) in a coffee shop(?) that one time? how blog-heavy is Pittsburgh anyway??
People in Pittsburgh coffee shops read blogs because we're not deep enough to write novels in coffee shops or Californian enough to write screenplays.
Hmm, unlikely. For keeping up with blogs, I depend on the kindness of the staff at the H-Y-P club, who kindly print out comment threads and hand them to me on newspaper sticks when I stop in for my morning appletini.
This is not really true. Wait - which coffee shop, which time?
I think it was a Saturday morning. Over a year ago.
I don't think it was me? It does sound familiar, but maybe I've just forgotten about it? Or I'm creating fake memories from someone else's post? Anyway, I live in Squirrel Hill and occasionally go to various coffee shops there.
Well, I do live in Squirrel Hill but don't get out for coffee on Saturday mornings as much as I'd like. Maybe!
Okay, it wasn't me: in this comment Thorn thought I was the mysterious stranger. Anyway, nice to know another Unfoggedteer in the neighborhood.
Did somebody tell me that ogged used to live here? Or did I imagine that.
Are you thinking of Halford? (PBUH)
Man, I would make a really terrible Scooby Do(o?) since my plans to ferret out the mysterious Pittsburgh lurker seem doomed to fail. Sigh!