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On the move? New to town, or just a new neighborhood? If you haven’t tried transit before maybe now is the time. Port Authority has convenient and frequent service to and from the urban areas of Pittsburgh. East Liberty is the heart of the East End’s transit service. Many Port Authority bus routes use the East Busway to bypass local traffic including the P1 and P3 from East Liberty’s busway station which offer quick rides to Downtown and Oakland. Various other routes have stops on Penn Ave. and serve just about anywhere in the East End of the city. Living Downtown? You CAN get anywhere from here. You can catch a bus or T to almost anywhere in Allegheny County. Groceries in the Strip District, take the 88. For all the flavor of Lawrenceville the 91 works. Nearly all of Port Authority's 100 routes travel in and out of Downtown. For more neighborhoods go to onthemove.portauthority.org and make this town your own.
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9 THE LITTLE
26 THE HUNGRY
THINGS N’AT
11 PODCASTS 101
38 PLATES FROM
PATH: JERRY DICKINSON
AROUND THE ‘BURGH
45 LOCAL DRINKS
GRL HITLIST
30 CHEF CURTIS GAMBLE
46 INNER RUTZ
OF STATION
15 NISHA BLACKWELL
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CHEF DUSTIN GARDNER OF CASBAH
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JAIME L. BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER
2019-2020
20 AN UNCONVENTIONAL
YOUR TRUTH
WINTER
7 TELL THE WORLD
ISSUE 20
content
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CITY EDITION
T H A I P L A C E R E S TA U R A N T Pittsburghs First Thai Restaurant
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A LOCALLY OWNED, OPERATED AND PRODUCED PUBLICATION
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Serving Authentic Thai Food For Over 30 Years
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Kelli Koladish EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Christine Wells cwells@local-east.com SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTANT Kate Dierdorf Seremet kate.seremet@outlook.com
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PHOTOGRAPHY Jaime L Bird I Featured Photographer Patrick Hogan I Food Photography Hayden Rose I Contributing Photographer EDITORIAL STAFF Brittany Hailer I Featured Writer Kristy Locklin I Featured Writer Jess Iacullo I Featured Writer Maggie Gasior Black I Featured Writer Aimee Marshall I Featured Writer Justin Brown I Featured Writer Emily Ann Keith I Featured Writer Heidi Balas I Blogger
Cover Image: Jeff Rose
www.local-pittsburgh @localpittsburgh @local_pgh @LocalPittsburgh
THE ART OF COLLECTING With Pat McArdle
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HOME OF “PIE OFF THE TOP” | Issue 20
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‘Tell the world your truth’ Written By Brittany Hailer
Will Thompson
Will Thompson was driving late after having a few drinks. A car came out of nowhere and slammed into his. Thompson’s license was suspended. He knew he was going to jail.
“Incarceration helped me evolve with art a lot. All I had was four walls and time to think,” he said. Will grew up making music and art in Braddock. He remembers watching family dancing and singing in the kitchen while doing chores.
What he didn’t expect was three years in prison. “A lady hit me and my license was suspended. My alcohol content wasn’t high, but I wasn’t supposed to be on the road,” he said.
“I wanted to become a singer and serenade the ladies,” he said. There was just one problem.
Thompson hired a lawyer after he was offered a plea deal. He’d have to spend a year in prison if he took the plea. After two years of legal fees and court proceedings, Will was sentenced to three years in prison.
“I was terrible,” he said. Will was always a writer, though. He started writing music when he was around 11 years old. For his fourteenth birthday, his mom threw a “freestyle contest” where different folks in the neighborhood would rap improvisationally. He won the contest much to his own mother’s surprise.
“That’s why I got the maximum penalty, because I fought it and I lost,” he said. Does Will think his conviction was racially motivated? “To a point, yes,” he continued, “She was a white woman, but there were other factors at play. I needed that time. I lost a lot of people at that time. I could have died. It could have been worse. The universe told me that I needed to sit it down.” Before his DUI, Will had a clean record. Two years before the car accident, Will involved himself with people who “ran the street.” Looking back now, Will says he was on a path to ruin, to greater trouble. Both of Will’s parents struggled with addiction and he also wonders what would have happened if he hadn’t gone to prison.
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In prison, Will started to brainstorm and dream. His lyrics and music changed. He started to write honestly about pain and his life.
‘Tell the world your truth…’
“I wrote music, which is a form of poetry. But to me, I wrote it in musical form and I’m truthful about my life. And that’s therapeutic in itself. As an artist, if you’re not being truthful about your life, then the stuff you write doesn’t mean anything. Someone, somewhere, should relate to the situations I’ve been through because I am not the first or the last person to have gone through this.”
In prison, Will started taking himself seriously as an artist.
Eventually, Will branched out to poetry, which is also autobiographical. Poetry allowed him to
His DUI was definitely unjust, he said, but he has to look at the positive. He has to tell himself things are meant to be, even if they are unfair.
access feelings and memories he’d never articulated before. “A lof the that stuff I’ve never talked about. I never talked about my relationship with my Dad. He’s alive and I don’t talk to him. That shit’s hurtful. That was really hard to read out loud. Those things are therapeutic because at the end, when you’re done reading it, you don’t feel weighed down. You felt like you told the world your truth, your pain, your suffering. At the end of the day, that’s all you can do.”
connect people together. That’s my gift. I’m satisfied knowing I tried. I gave it my all. I’m satisfied knowing I provided opportunities and knowledge for others. I may not make it, but I may help the next person succeed in their dreams,” he said. Will Thompson has hosted music and poetry events at Remedy, Spirit, Sharp Edge, Level Up and other venues in Pittsburgh.
‘The City of Bridges connects everything’ And Will had one more dream in prison, he wanted to bring people together, artists from different mediums and different walks of life. He wanted to get out of those four walls and bring everyone together. “My goal was to throw an event called “Art is Life” that involved every kind of art,” he said. Will wears a microphone necklace everyday as a reminder to dedicate himself to his art and the art of his community. When he returned home, he knew he wanted to give back. He started teaching and collaborating with artists younger than him. Eventually, he coordinated open mic nights for poets, musicians, and hip hop artists all over Pittsburgh. “It’s kind of a Pittsburgh thing; the city of bridges connects everything. When you look at Pittsburgh, it’s a giant circle. That’s what I do. I connect the dots. I
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The Little Things N’at By Heidi Balas There’s a French proverb that I’ve always loved, “Gratitude is the memory of the heart.” And even before I discovered it on a greeting card sometime in my early twenties, I had already deeply recognized the importance of reflecting every day on the little things for which I was grateful. It all started while working at a summer camp, where we were challenged to jot down a few items for which we were thankful in what was called a “gratitude journal” at the end of every day. Granted, this was the late 1990s and if memory serves me correctly, I believe a certain daytime talk show host had made these journals quite the thing to do. We were given notebooks, and I was up to the task. Truth be told, I love a fresh notebook and I love writing. For the remaining eight weeks of that summer employment adventure, I wrote down at least five things that were important to me every day whether it was experiencing an act of kindness, enjoying a delicious dessert, getting a letter in the mail, hearing a great song, or even watching an amazing sunset. I continued this practice into college for a few years, learning lessons along the
way as I explored the depths of my gratitude. Primarily, I learned that even on what felt like the worst of days, there was always something that could inspire gratitude. Not all of my lists were comprised of sunshine and roses. Sometimes I was grateful for not fighting with a boyfriend or for having $10 in my bank account instead $5. I also learned that more often than not, I was going to have days when I was thankful for more little things than I was for big things, simply because the big things didn’t happen quite as often. Over time (two decades, but who’s counting?), I have gotten away from that style of private journaling and more so into personal blogging. I frequently write about what revs my engine and when thinking about what I wanted to share with yinz in this issue of LOCALpgh, I realized that it was the perfect opportunity to express what will always be in the memory of my heart about the place that I have called home for the majority of my life. With this in mind, I am sharing some of what causes me to pause and smile with you. Thus, here are the little things n’at that fill my Pittsburgh Gratitude Journal (in no particular order whatsoever):
Heidi Balas is a regular contributor for LOCALpittsburgh, and brings her own brand of perspectives to Pittsburgh at www.thesteeltrap.net.
I am grateful for: 1. …the scenic views and topography that never cease to amaze me. 2. …Kennywood Park and its ability to make me feel young and old simultaneously. 3. …bright pops of color on a dreary Pittsburgh day, like the Ellsworth Avenue rainbow intersection or the Horne’s Christmas Tree. 4. …when I cannot decide where to eat because there are so many delicious options on our culinary scene. 5. …our ability to turn a Port Authority bus and a sinkhole into the pure comedy. 6. …the pet-friendly places that welcome our furry friends. 7. …folks who appreciate the magnificence of our many businesses that reside in buildings that used to be a Pizza Hut. 8. …breathtaking architecture like Fallingwater, Kentuck Knob, the Cathedral of Learning, the Benedum Center, and Mellon Hall at Duquesne University (to name a few). 9. …church pirohi (the traditional Carpatho-Rusyn spelling in my family) and fish fry Fridays. 10. …when someone gives me a solid assist on the “Pittsburgh left.” 11. …folks who still refer to places by their former identities like Star Lake Amphitheater, Kaufmann’s, and the Forbes Quad. 12. …Mikey and Big Bob, who always make me laugh out loud awkwardly alone in my car. 13. …seeing a locally produced show in the Cultural District. 14. …getting amazing goods at a local festival or farmer’s market. 15. …people who don’t brake going into the tunnels. 16. …Dave and Andy’s, Millie’s, Del’s, and all of the ice cream shops. 17. …the local businesses who provide such a positive vibe when I walk in the door. 18. …fall foliage. 19. …folks who take the time to reminisce with me about the glory days of Century III Mall, the toy section and snack bar of Hill’s Department Store, the Civic Arena, and any other bygone landmark. 20. …epic cookie tables with to-go containers at weddings. 21. …those times when I find a parking spot in Oakland painlessly. 22. …Pittsburgh Winery for making my favorite white wine of all time. 23. …fireworks!
I leave yinz with this thought: No matter the season and no matter the reason, try taking a moment to reflect on your day to find a few bright spots. Pittsburgh is dreary for about 2/3 of the year, but your day doesn’t have to be like our weather. The little things n’at about Pittsburgh can add up to something big. And, your heart will remember… I promise. | Issue 20
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The ever changing landscape of media and informational sources…
PODCASTS
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Podcasting has been around since the 1980’s, once called audioblogging. In 2004 the industry started to get legs but it was in 2005 when Apple added Podcasts that the game changed and things exploded. As of today (it will change tomorrow) there are over 2 million indexed podcasts and 29 million episode. The industry is expected to reach $1.6 billion in revenue by 2022. In Pittsburgh I have watched friends start and grow podcasts, once just a fun thing to do, now a real source of income. From Marta on the Move (featured in LOCALpgh issue #18), Ya Jagoff, and Going Deep with Aaron Watson; the choices are now overwhelming. In this issue and upcoming issues we hope to spotlight podcasts, some local, and some national and hopefully introduce you to something enjoyable. For more in-depth industry stats go to www. musicoomph.com/podcast-statistics | Issue 20 11
Recode Decode by Kara Swisher There’s no substitute for experience. Kara Swisher has been reporting on the internet since the 90s. She knew the Google and Amazon founders when their teams were just a dozen people. Kara has the phone numbers of nearly every venture capitalist and technologist in Silicon Valley. So, there is no journalist more poised to drive the conversation about how technology is changing our lives, evaluate the repercussions of profit-maximizing platforms, and challenge leaders on how they’ll shape policy. Kara has had jaw-dropping moments with tech titans like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Onstage, she got former Uber CEO (and co-founder) Travis Kalanick to admit that his business would get a lot better when they could “get rid of the human drivers”. If you want to understand what Big Tech is actually up to and thinking about, Kara Swisher offers the clearest peek behind the curtains. While she’s not without her biases (aren’t we all), her decades in the industry allow her to contextualize the benefits tech has brought us, while honing in on its shortcomings.
Going Deep with Aaron Watson: 386 Men’s Fashion Reviews, YouTube, and Building a Brand w/ Jon Jon Shanahan got his start at the iconic Pittsburgh law firm, Edgar Snyder and Associates. Years of digital marketing testing & execution gave him the skills to succeed in his current career, professional YouTuber. Today, Jon produces regular videos reviewing men’s fashion, grooming, and accessories. He’s amassed a following of more than 80,000 people across the globe and his videos have been viewed more than 11 million times. Not bad for a single person operation. In the podcast interview, host Aaron Watson learns how Jon got started and the fundamentals of building an online following.
Venture Stories How To Be Great at Twitter, The Future of Identity, and Why Meditation is Overrated with Michael Mayer. Michael Mayer is really good at Twitter and is the founder of a genuinely genius startup called Bottomless. By installing pressure sensors under often-refilled commodities, his startup is poised to become a major platform for commerce. In this interview, he breaks down his impressive process for making decisions and explains why he thinks meditation is overrated. He also positions Bottomless as an alternative to the Amazons & Googles of the world that store millions of data points on consumers. 12
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PODCASTS YOU SHOULD BE FOLLOWING Lifestyle + Entertainment: The Brava Podcast, Pittsburgh native Stephanie Campbell celebrates women and their accomplishments, normalizes the success of women and advances women through a community of their contemporaries. Comedy: Drinking Partners, Featuring comics Ed Bailey and Day Bracey swilling microbrews and spirits and engaging in dynamic, entertaining, and informative conversations with entertainers, politicians, and entrepreneurs. Something outrageous and sometimes educations, nothing short of highly addictive. Educational: North Star hosted by David Perell, A deep dive into the stories, habits, ideas, strategies, and methods that drive fulfilled people and create enormous success from themselves. Guests are diverse, but they share profound similarities. They’re guided by purpose, live with intense joy, learn passionately, and see the world with a unique lens.
This content was provided by Piper Creative LLC, was not paid, and is not in anyway advertorial. We appreciate their knowledge in this media.
Lifestyle + Entertainment: Don’t Keep Your Day Job, Cathy Heller hosts honest conversations with successful creative entrepreneurs about the hands-on, practical steps to make a living doing what lights you up, and build a life that you can’t wait to wake up to every single day. Society & Culture: Jemele Hill is Unbothered, Honest, unbothered, unfiltered opinions on news, pop culture, politics, and sports from Jemele Hill and a cadre of big-time guests + influencers. Microcasts: NPR News Now, The latest news in five minutes. Updated hourly. News: The Daily, The biggest stories of our time, told by the best journalists in the world. 20-minutes a day, 5-days a week, ready by 6 a.m. | Issue 20 13
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mygoodnesspgh.com
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The first thing I have to ask: Why bowties? Don’t get me wrong, I think that they’re great, but it still seems like a very niche market. It is a niche market, and we also get so many people ask that same question: “what is so special about bow ties?” I actually stumbled into entrepreneurship back in 2014. I made a gift for a friend’s daughter and it was a hairbow, and the hairbows kind of took off, and supported me over the summer time. Then I started getting parents ask for items for boys, and so it kind of naturally progressed into this, like, “okay what can I make for boys?” A friend of mine who actually co-owns a boutique with two other women, called Make Matter. She one day was like “it’d be cool if you made little bowties.” I kinda took the market’s requests, and my friend’s great idea, and kind of combined the two. I said okay now I’m going to decide to pivot and do research and really understand what is a really great bow tie. And in that, we create handmade bow ties that are reclaimed and repurposed fabrics and material. So that is the niche-within-the-niche, like okay bowties but then you make them out of reclaimed and repurposed materials, which is attractive to a whole different customer base.
Nisha Blackwell Interview By Justin Brown
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There is a video on your website, sort of a short bio sketch for yourself and your company, and it mentions that you went from working at a coffee shop to pay bills to getting laid off and then making the dive into entrepreneurship. Going from working paycheck-to paycheck to getting laid off can be very scary for a lot of people. Can you sort of elaborate on how he made that transition and felt during that transition? So going from being laid off to kind of figuring it out was natural, because it wasn’t the first time being laid off. I was laid off a couple times in my 20, unfortunately. Every time you have to kind of have to bounce back. But this time the bounce back was different. It was this idea that I had made the product for a friend’s daughter, and so I had something that I was making money off of. Once [I got] the news of the company, you know not being able to keep me—I felt like “okay now I can follow this, I don’t have any choice but to follow if full-force.” Knotzland really encompasses like me in my 20s working at different companies and seeing things that bosses did really good and things that bosses and leadership did really bad, and kind of like figuring out like where that middleground is. So I’ve always— I’ve thought about “oh, if I were a manager, I’d do it this way.” Well now I’m running a small business, and I have the opportunity to really apply some of those core things I think a lot of people in our age group are interested in, like sustainability, like community impact and such.
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Another thing I had a question about, which was mentioned on your website, was skill sharing. Do you have a skillsharing program? Could you sort of elaborate on whom that is for? How does it work? How do people enroll? So we have a seamstress community in which we recruit, train and rehire local women. Basically for them to help us make products, and they make products generally from home. Our parts and pieces are done from the flexibility of someone’s home. What we do— we’ve had a seamstress here for a very long time and she now retrains. We also have our coordinator, who has been a seamstress for very long time, but she has moved up to help more with the operations and production. She trains our seamstresses, and so we the community right now of 15 women we taught how to sew. If you’re like a rockstar sewer, and you want to come and teach someone how to sew, you can feel free to do so. Moving into a new space allows us to have more, because we were in a shared space before and had to be respectful of our neighbors. Here, we can just make more noise, use more machines and kind of really get that seamstress community going in a way that I see can only benefit like our economy, and our local economy. 16
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“I have the opportunity to really apply some of those core things I think a lot of people in our age group are interested in, like sustainability, like community impact and such.”
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Talking about you know activism, social justice and marginalization, a lot of the people that you collaborate with work within those areas. Tereneh Idia is an internationally renowned fashion designer, she is also known for ecosustainable fashion and has done collaborations with indigenous women in Kenya. There’s Darrell Kinzel, he is a Pittsburgh artist and activist on the board of Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse and cofounder of Community Arts and Entrepreneurship organization. Bekezela Mgnuni, is a radical librarian, and artist activist who created the Black Unicorn Library, which is an archive of black women and LGBTQA+ women’s stories. Can you first tell me a little bit about how each of these collaborations came to be and what were created out of them? So full disclaimer: they’re all my friends and family. When I came back to Pittsburgh from college, I didn’t decide that I wanted to be an entrepreneur or be an activist. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. But, one thing that’s always been with me is social justice, and kind of like figuring out where I fit in that community. A friend of mine had taken me to Boom Concepts to see a film presented by another now friend of mine, Njaimeh Njie, and that really sparked the relationship of Darrell and I. Darrell and I have collaborated numerous times. I really respect his work and his work ethic. He’s always been extremely supportive of Knotzland, so it was just kind of a given that we collaborate. He was one of the first people I was like “hey, can I make bow ties with your work?” And he said sure, and it was his magical collaboration. Every time we have collaborated there’s this raw consistency of everything Darrell is. I can’t even think of how to put it in any terms other than he’s like this magnificent person. He is always really supportive, like a brother. Tereneh is another person I just met in the scene. I think being creative of color you’re constantly trying to find your people. And so Darrell, Tereneh, Bekezela and Njaimeh all grew out of me kind of going into the spaces where other creators of color were, where people who are successful and and moving in the city. You almost have to dig, which is unfortunate, in a city like Pittsburgh that highlights itself on so many different stages. But, you kinda’ have to dig for the people of color because they’re not really supported and uplifted much as others. So, I just return any type of love to them. They’ve all been really really supportive of my work. Tereneh’s and my collaboration happened over a year, over the course of which she took pieces to Olorgesailie [Kenya], had local ladies do the beadwork on the pieces, and brought them back to me and we made them into bow ties. It was a very successful collection, and it was natural that we collaborate because we are both in the sustainable space. It was this beauty, like, there were three different communities; she bridged this community of this black girl in Pittsburgh and the women in Kenya. It was just these beautiful communities of color. She [Tereneh] works with other communities of color, not just in Kenya but all over the place. With Bekezela, we collaborated on the collection very early on. She was also one of my first collaborations even before Tereneh, in which we collaborated on symbolism for Black History Month. She screen printed some amazing symbols of traditional, meaningful symbols around Black History Month. | Issue 20 17
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So as of right now people want to check out what you have to offer, or if they want something custom-made, where can they go? You can go to Knotzland.com where you can reach out directly through a form on the page. there’s a “Contact Us,” and you can reach out to us and let us know what you want!
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WWW.FRICKPARKTAVERN.COM | Issue 20 19
An Unconventional Path: JERRY DICKINSON ON SOCIAL JUSTICE, RACE, AND HIS CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN By Emily Anna Keith
When I first meet Jerry Dickinson, he is dressed in a sharp navy blue suit and waving to me from across a courtyard at the University of Pittsburgh campus in Oakland. “Albert said you’d be here,” he remarks, referring to his Congressional campaign manager as we walk passed 4groups of students to a shady table in the corner.
Dickinson is a professor of Constitutional Law at Pitt, and as of May 2019, a candidate for the Democratic nomination to represent Pennsylvania’s eighteenth congressional district, which encompasses an area stretching from McKees Rocks to Plum, from Bridgeville down to Forward Township and up to the Allegheny River, stopping just before Blawnox and Etna. His route to politics has been unconventional, he tells me as we settle into our seats. And it’s true: Dickinson’s has not been the expected path, in which a candidate typically begins by working for either a political party or one of its members, slowly moving up the chain, establishing connections until their opportunity to run for office emerges. Rather, Jerry Dickinson did not always envision himself campaigning for a governmental seat. In fact, there might have been a time when such an idea seemed a world away; particularly, he emphasizes, during his childhood. Dickinson’s youngest days were spent in the foster care system. Though he was adopted into a family, his
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experiences, he says, shaped his worldview and the way he views social problems, both as an individual and as an attorney and law professor. “I developed certain skill sets,” he tells me, “just by growing up in the environment that I did.” Referring to his adoptive family as a “multiracial sort of Brady Bunch,” Dickinson became familiar early in his life with systemic issues such as trauma, addiction, poverty, and incarceration, in addition to emotionally navigating multiple differing racial identities. That navigation began within himself: though Dickinson refers to himself as Black or AfricanAmerican, he grew up knowing he was born to a white mother and a Black father. His story begins in the 1980s. Because his biological parents were unable to care for him, he was placed in the Orphans Court division of Family Court, a subdivision that oversees termination of parental rights. At that point, he tells me, the child in question becomes a foster child under the protection of Allegheny County Children and Youth Services. After entering Orphans Court, Dickinson was placed briefly in an emergency youth shelter, and moved from there to a family home in Shaler Township. This house, he says, was another sort of emergency foster home. The adults, Robert and Judy Dickinson, had told Children and Youth Services that they were not interested in adoption or long-term fostering, but wanted to open their home to children in need. In total, they took in eleven foster children, with the intention of either transferring each child to an adoptive home, another foster home, or back to their biological parents. The goal of Children and Youth Services, Dickinson tells me, is generally to reunite biological families whenever possible. This process may involve parents undergoing drug
rehabilitation, taking parenting classes, or any process deemed necessary by Family Court. Each case is unique, and getting families back together can take anywhere from weeks to years. Robert and Judy Dickinson, though, were creating a new family of their own. Of the eleven foster children Jerry Dickinson entered their home with, three were returned to their biological parents. The remaining eight, including Jerry, were adopted by the Dickinsons over a six-year span of time. Although his adoptive parents did not originally intend to adopt, he says, “certain things happened” and their family grew from four to twelve people (the Dickinsons have two biological children as well). “We joke,” he continues, “that I’m one of the lucky ones, because I was adopted so quickly. I was two, maybe just over two years old when I was officially adopted.” He was lucky, as were his other adoptive siblings. A continuous issue in the foster care system is the frequency of “drift,” the term referring to children moving from one shelter or home to another without truly landing anywhere. It’s something Dickinson saw a lot of growing up. “The older you get,” he relates, “and the older you are as a child in the foster care system, the less likely it gets that you will end up being adopted into a family.” Children and Youth services works to fight foster care drift as best they can, with the goal of placing each child in a stable environment, but because each situation is unique and social services systems are inherently imperfect, drift persists. While drift was not an issue personally for Jerry Dickinson, his experience growing up in an adoptive family still came with emotional baggage and trauma, especially with regard to race. He describes his Shaler neighborhood as “post World War II, with cookie cutter houses and everything.” And because Dickinson is Black, but his adoptive parents and some of his adoptive siblings are white, he found himself in a unique dynamic, forced to grapple with questions of race and identity from his earliest days. The people in his house had to learn how to become a family, to grow into one, to acknowledge their questions and assumptions about the world and their experiences within it.
Part of that process was recognizing their differences, Dickinson says. “Many of my siblings also have [biological] siblings of their own,” he tells me, “so we were separated into those different families.” And from the beginning, Robert and Judy coordinated with the adoptive and foster parents of those children, which Dickinson says was good, but could also be emotional and traumatic, adding to what he terms the “personal baggage” carried by each child in the foster care system. Childhood trauma is an unavoidable component of the foster care system. Many of Dickinson’s siblings left home early due to addiction or other problems, which he connects to their emotionally compromised histories, and that he says lead to behaviors that are destructive personally, to the family, or both. And as a result, Dickinson has found himself “intimately associated with issues relating to addiction, poverty, incarceration, homelessness, joblessness, [and] the social welfare system.” His adoptive siblings, he remarks, have struggled with the same issues and societal problems faced by millions of Americans. And Dickinson has stayed involved with those issues. His family remains very tight-knit, and he has gone, he tells me, “to places I think a lot of people have not been to, places in the city of Pittsburgh, some of the poorest neighborhoods, where my siblings have had to live.” He has been inside prison walls, visiting folks, “some AfricanAmerican, some white.” He has intimated himself with the social welfare system, working to help his siblings gain access to the resources they need, siblings who did not have
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access to higher education or who are single parents. And through it all, he says, his family has seen each other as equals, shaping each others’ world views and remaining supportive of their individual endeavors. Dickinson’s family
fundamentally shaped the way he interacts with the world, how he understands the oppressions and inequalities built into its social systems. What’s more, it influenced his professional pathways. “You can never really remove yourself from these problems,” he states. “I have brothers and sisters living in poverty, struggling with addiction and with the criminal justice system and [its] collateral consequences. And so I think it’s extremely important for anyone who’s interested in public work, public service, to be that closely connected and associated with those worlds. It helps shape policy and does it for the right reasons.”
While Dickinson was already on a path to public service, running for office was not always his plan. During his undergraduate education, he asked himself how he could acquire the tools to affect change in his community. The answer came in the form of a Fulbright Scholarship. After graduating from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts in 2009, he embarked on a year-long journey to Johannesburg, South Africa, to work alongside lawyers there representing impoverished tenants in eviction cases. Due partly to the city’s high immi-gration numbers, it is rife with socioeconomic tensions and inequality, particularly for its Black residents. “We represented indigenous tenants and mostly squatters in the inner city slums,” Dickinson says, “and [in] the shanty towns on the outskirts, the poorest of the poor, some of the most
destitute places.” Many lacked access to basic utilities like water and were not habitable, with landlords eager to push tenants out to make way for wealthier residents and renovation projects. What was happening, he tells me, is “an incredible number of arbitrary evictions,” events in which hundreds of tenants were evicted from full buildings in a single evening, often by force via private security companies hired by landlords or by the Johannesburg police. Dickinson’s team fought in court to set precedents of basic legal rights for squatters, who “didn’t really have property rights,” he says, but needed shelter, needed a place to stay. Many people he worked with were among the poorest and most vulnerable city residents. Many were single mothers with multiple children, many had never seen access to any sort of education. All were completely susceptible to the power structures at hand, the socioeconomic systems designed to keep them down. His experience in South Africa proved extremely valuable for Dickinson’s professional life, and upon arriving back to the United States, he began doing similar work in New York City. After starting his law education at Fordham University, he interned at Reed Smith, where he was part of a team that started the Housing Rights Project, an organization that collaborates with local legal services to represent evicted tenants. He tells me the story of one tenant, a young woman of color who was pregnant and had just been evicted from her apartment for a lease violation recorded by her landlord three years prior to her eviction. It was the type of thing that happened every day in the city, he says, and his client was one of thousands of people subjected to its broken rent system. Another component of Dickinson’s time in New York was his frequent trips back to Pittsburgh. His parents were experiencing health problems at the time, and and Dickinson traveled back approximately every two weeks to care for them. He was still in law school then, too, and describes that period of his life as a blur. At one point, exhausted, he realized he needed to move back permanently, that his family needed him in Pittsburgh. He had never envisioned himself returning, he says, but he did so after receiving his law degree, and his stay since has only been interrupted once, by a clerkship for a federal
judge in Philadelphia. Dickinson joined the University of Pittsburgh law faculty the following year, at the age of 29, where he specializes in teaching Constitutional Law. Currently, Dickinson’s days are often non-stop, packed with a variety of engagements and activism work. The day before we spoke, a Tuesday, he taught an upper-level law course in the morning before sitting on a faculty panel discussion about impeachment. Immediately following that, he continues, “I put on my activism hat and went up to the Hill District,” where, assisted by law students, he represents an advocacy group focused on creating a communi-ty land trust. The trust preserves affordable housing for low-income families, allowing them to become homeowners. Then it’s on to a campaign event, meeting district residents and talking about his political platform. And finally, he returns home to his wife and daughter. Being a father is the most important role in his life, he says. There is a common thread in everything he does --activism, law, candidacy, family life -- that reaches back to his childhood. His daughter’s upbringing, Dickinson states, is so drastically different than his own, but he uses his experiences to be a better parent, and by extension, a more informed citizen.
Part II of this series will explore Dickinson’s candidacy and political platforms, what he wants to accomplish and how he aims to do it. It will examine his unique entrance into politics, as a legal scholar and activist with years of personal experience in socioeconomic issues -- as opposed to working his way up through party offices -- and the advantage it gives him in appealing to voters, and more importantly, in serving his constituents.
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Does anyone remember the days of making mix CDs for friends and you could only fit about 10-12 songs on each one? Or how you could pick and choose your top 10 friends on Myspace? If I’m not dating myself, do you remember how hard it was to pick those top, select songs or people that your friends would choose to bop to per your creation, or members of the interwebs would be able to see?
Now, picture doing the same for your top 10 favorite restaurants in Pittsburgh… the struggle is absolutely real. And especially for Pittsburgh, 2019 was a year of innovation, creation, and pushing the envelope on new concepts and making them successful. Plus, not being a native Pittsburgher myself, I definitely had my work cut out for me in 2019 making sure I tried all of the city’s staples, yet stayed on top on what was new and hot.
THE
HUNGRY GRL
HITLIST
By Jessica Iacullo
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With that being said, I’ve sat down and created my own list of what stood out to me in 2019, from new Jazz spots bringing music and ethnic cuisine to Shady Side’s forefront to my go-to spot for all things Thai, whether I’m looking for a cozy night out with friends or rolling up in sweats for takeout.
CON ALMA
KELLY O’S
MEDITERRA CAFÉ
With live jazz music 6 nights a week, this newer spot features a Latin cuisine with Japenese influence, a delectable cocktail program, and candle-lit seating. My favorite dish is the patatas.
Moving from New Jersey to Pittsburgh meant that I had to find a go-to breakfast spot for all of my needs, from the morning after a night out to just craving an omelette the size of my head. Lucky for me, it didn’t take me long to discover Kelly O’s and their homemade raisin bread.
I can’t make the trip here without ordering at least one sandwich, a slice of pizza, and baked goods to go, this is the definition of a place where you truly want to try it all. This family owned and run business brings smiles and amazing eats to those from the area and those that travel just for their pastrami sandwich (AKA me).
Where: Shadyside, 5884 Ellsworth Avenue Cuisine: Latin American Vibe: Live music, vinyl happy hour, speakeasy-like Social: @conalmapgh
POULET BLEU Though securing a reservation needs to be done in advance, the experience is well worth it. I suggest dining at the Chef’s counter and splitting everything, from the Bistro Burger to the infamous soufleé. Plus, you can’t skip the French onion soup. Where: Lawrenceville, 3517 Butler Street Cuisine: French Vibe: Downstairs dining offers feelings like you’re in a kitchen in France, with the upstairs vibe shifting to heavy Tiki and tropical feels. Social: @pouletbleupgh
SMILING BANANA LEAF Though I have a long list of Thai favorites, Smiling Banana Leaf takes the cake. If I had to pick only one soup to survive on during a Pittsburgh winter, their wonton soup would be the one. Where: Highland Park, 5901 Bryant Street Cuisine: Thai Vibe: Quick takeout, small and eccentric dining area Social: N/A
PEAR AND THE PICKLE The steep hill that is also known as Rialto Street you have to take to get there is 1000% worth it. The homelike feel and decor provides the ideal atmosphere for an egg sandwich with friends (or even a breakfast date, trust me). They hands-down make one of the best breakfast sandwiches in the city. Where: Troy Hill, 1800 Rialto Street Cuisine: Cafe, emphasis on sandwiches Vibe: Country-home, cozy Social: @pearandpickle
Where: Strip District, 100 24th Street Cuisine: Diner, breakfast Vibe: Everything Pittsburgh, diner, good for a hangover or being hangry Social: kellyosdinerpgh
Where: Sewickley, 430 Beaver Street Cuisine: Café Vibe: Open & brightly lit, with homemade pizza and soup specials every day Social: @mediterracafe
BENNY FIERRO’S To me, there are two types of pizza in Pittsburgh: artisan and sit-down versus by the slice and onthe-go. Benny’s is one of those places where I go after a night out or when I’m missing a greasy, iconic Jersey slice of pizza. Plus, these are about the size of your head. Where: South Side, 1906 East Carson Cuisine: Pizza Vibe: Pizza with ranch, open until 3 AM on the weekends Social: @bennyfierros
TWO SISTERS
DIANOIA’S EATERY I think most people would be surprised if DiAnoia’s wasn’t on my 2019 recap list, considering I essentially live here. I mean let’s be real, this spot has everything I need: great coffee, alcohol, and carbs in every size shape and form. Plus, do not sleep on their Sunday brunch. Where: Strip District, 2549 Penn Ave Cuisine: Classic Italian with a modern twist Vibe: Fun, good for a date night, breakfast meeting, or lunch with friends Social: @dianoiaseatery
The sister restaurant of Banh Mi & Ti, these sisters are serving up all different kinds of pho, from traditional to vegetarian. Plus, their summer rolls are some of the best ever, alongside their Vietnamese iced coffee. Where: East Liberty, 216 N Highland Ave Cuisine: Vietnamese Vibe: Sitdown or takeout, casual and friendly Social: @twosisters_pgh
BIG DOG COFFEE Whenever my car can be spotted in the South Side (which is often), it’s usually parked right outside of Big Dog. I’ve debated a move to SS just for this reason, and to sit in front of the fireplace in the winter with a giant cappuccino. Where: South Side, 2717 Sarah Street Cuisine: Coffee, Café Vibe: Great to do work in, outdoor space too Social: @bigdogcoffeeshop
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7034 Blackhawk St | Swissvale | 412-241-9242 www.thepubinthepark.com | Issue 20 29
Chef Curtis Gamble of Station Written By Jessica Iacullo When I think of Station, a quaint, “very Brooklyn 2010” interior bar and restaurant (and by some diners, it’s regarded as a dungeon, but in the best way), I think of the garlicy, peppery wings that seem to always exceed my expectations, and the fresh pasta that’s been flowing out of the kitchen since day one. With an opening in 2015 featuring a 12-dish menu (which has now shifted to double that), it’s more than accurate to say Station has quickly evolved into the landmark in Bloomfield it is today. As Chef Curtis Gamble explained his concept on an October Wednesday afternoon in his dining room, I truly gained a new respect and admiration for what he built in what used to be a dive (and, apparently, problematic) bar. I understood and listened to where he was coming from, where he was, and where he wants to go. And similarly to conversations I’ve had as of recent, a big part of maintaining excellence and growing beyond the present comes from managing and fostering a well-educated and focused staff. Chef Curtis, like a handful chefs in the Pittsburgh food scene, is sober and a new father. Though these qualities have immensely changed the way he thinks and cooks for himself. “Having gone through a lot of personal hardships from a young age, to now being a father and wanting to provide the best
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for my child, it’s really caused me to also take a step back and really appreciate and listen to the people around me. It’s instilled a certain sense of calmness in me, especially being in a high-pressure environment.” Having this mindset for himself and the standards he holds himself accountable for, he also holds his staff to a high caliber of quality. “I just feel very fortunate that I get to work with the people that I get to work with, and that I can provide people with jobs… I feel like we have a very strong community here and other people know that and can see that.” But at the same time, Chef notes it’s no secret that his age, and starting as a chef in kitchens from as early as the age of fifteen, has allotted him to see a lot of things behind closed kitchen doors. With a large rise in the “Me Too” movement, Chef Curtis explains his relations with
“I just feel very fortunate that I get to work with the people that I get to work with, and that I can provide people with jobs”
portant as it is to be innovative and offer a menu of new things (which he does successfully), Curtis wants them to be able to provide and help diners find “familiarity in the newness,” whether that’s describing a pasta dish that may seem complicated in a condensed and broken down way, in order for diners to feel comfortable and be able to picture what they’re ordering before they do. witnessing a lot of wrong things, but now being in a place of leadership and command, he wants to create a kitchen that is a safe place and built on the idea of every staff member being the best version of themselves. “People like myself, that have lived through a lot of shifts and changes in the kitchens, are more aware of what can happen, which is a big reason why we don’t do staff drinks, I call people out when they’re hungover and say they can’t work… we have to build a better culture, we have to teach people that they need to respect themselves and the people around them.” Having a home in Bloomfield is something that is very important for Chef and his entire staff; specifically being able to play a role in Bloomfield’s culture and existing events, from having the ability to bring people to a different neighborhood to playing a hand in events like Little Italy Days. As far as Chef’s thoughts on what the culinary, dining-out world is today, he believes that the evolution has changed to people wanting an experience, a night out, as opposed to “just a meal.” For the staff, as im-
UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP & MANAGMENT
“At the end of the day, once you have it and you understand it, you’re realize this is like, ‘oh, the wings are great just garlicky parm wings, and the tagliatelle is great too but it’s just a pork ragu…’ It’s just a different approach about a dish to make someone feel nostalgic and excited to eat it at the same time.” That’s not to take away whatsoever to the excellence and craft that Curtis puts into each and every item on the menu, from the popular Chicken Liver Mousse Popcorn Panna Cotta. Though the focus and goal is for diners to be able to “uncode” and understand what exactly they’re reading, it’s also a menu meant for those that understand and acknowledge the frills to, in fact, be able to tell that they’re there. In a very evolving dining scene that Pittsburgh fosters, I think that Station finds the wonderful but complicated balance of the familiar and the new, the comfort food and the exploration of new things. You can truly get to feel and appreciate just how much goes into every aspect of every dish on Curtis’ menu, and just how much he prides himself on perfecting each dish every single day.
NEW MENU COMING 2020
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WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE SAYING! “Loved the savory crepes, made such a change to have for breakfast. Excellent and attentive staff too. Highly recommended.” - David L. “This was a little gem we stumbled upon while working in Lawrenceville. Intimate setting; creative decor. Had the Bonjour crepe, absolutely loved it. Flavorful and filling.” - Jen W. “Super cute little cafe that we just happened upon on a Sunday, when everything else was closed. I’m glad we wondered in! Food was delicious.” - K. Priess
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Chef Dustin Gardner Executive Chef of Casbah Written By Jessica Iacullo
“In the old days, there was a pride in it… and a lot of that came from how I ran the kitchen over 20 years ago when I opened Casbah. I’m guilty of it,” Fuller notes on his earliest days of forming Casbah in the same location it exists in today. Bill notes, “When you serve 300 people a night, and you have so many people working in a small kitchen, you have to make sure you’re creating an environment where everyone is on their A-game.”
A big conversation I have been having recently is centered around the “Gordon Ramsay Mentality.” Let me preface, this term is something I’ve coined myself, but in the midst of discussions about how kitchens are run, especially in Pittsburgh, this seems to be a popular name used to set the example of old and outdated cheffing. Bill Fuller and Dustin Gardner, Executive Corporate Chef of Big Burrito and Executive Chef of Casbah explained to me on a chilly Friday morning the large changes made in how they choose to run their kitchens. For Chef Fuller, a true veteran to both the Pittsburgh dining scene and the Big Burrito Group as a whole, he openly admits his mentality and execution as a chef has drastically evolved.
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What’s more, with the dismissal of culinary schools in Pittsburgh, the resources and means of creating and growing a staff has become increasingly more difficult. And being so, being able to keep a staff on and not have to constantly train new staff members has never been more important. “Today, we have a lot of key players here [in Casbah] that you can tell if they’re in a bad mood… you have to try to talk about it but still staying professional and making sure things get done that need to,” explains Chef Gardner, who has been in the Executive Chef role at Casbah for three years. Casbah has been an institution in East Liberty long before the creation and emergence of other known restaurants in the area. In fact, Casbah has been around for about twenty-five years. With that being said, and of no surprise, Casbah’s customer base heavily revolves around guests that have been coming for years, even decades. This is a big reason why Chef Gardner explains that substitutions and additions to dishes aren’t shamed nor ignored; people simply like what they like. “We’ve had customers come in for years that order the same thing every single time, and we even have some orders saved into our computer system.” And though they’re already saved into the computer, Gardner was able to recite a few of them to me in-person, just further proving how committed to the consumers the Chefs are.
“At the end of the day, we are providing for the customer, and whatever they like we serve them. Who are we to dictate what they choose to put into their bodies? Suggestions are always given, and we aren’t offended when they’re not accepted,” explains both Chefs. “Someone joked in one of the other restaurants that you can’t spell ‘no’ when you spell ‘Big Burrito.’ And though saying ‘no’ is necessary sometimes, we’re here to accommodate the best experience.” Gardner also takes pride in the fact that his experiences with the group as a whole, from being a sous chef for five or six years before taking this bigger role, has allowed him to have a great sense of what will work on the menu and what won’t. For Chef Gardner, a big influence on his cooking, mentality, and presence as a Chef doesn’t come from Instagram or television, but from his own life choices and changes. Chef explains that sobriety and a change in his own diet of focusing on “Whole 30” has given him more energy, more creative thinking, and more innovation in the kitchen. “I was 40 pounds heavier before I started Whole 30, plus I was drinking and I don’t touch that anymore. I felt terrible about myself, and now I have so much more energy and my palette got so much better after I cut out sugar. Everything tasted different and better to me.” What’s more, his new role as a father has also given him a newer sense of what it means to take care of yourself, of stepping back from the kitchen, especially when taking care of another human is involved. “It’s the best thing I ever did… get married and have a kid. All I ever want is to go home and be with her.” What’s evident for both the restaurant group as a whole and Casbah is the overall importance of teamwork and set-
ting an example for others that occupy the behind the scenes. For Chef Gardner, it’s sometimes a challenge to accept or even ask for feedback on dishes (as expected, I’m the last person who accepts criticism) and Chef Fuller takes pride in being able to evolve and elevate dishes both already existing
on the menu and those Chef Gardner is manifesting in his head. “Recently, we had a lamb dish we wanted to put on [the menu] and at first I wanted to do it one way, but Bill suggested another and at first I got mad which he called me out for, but now we’re officially doing it with a dish created from a middle ground
“At the end of the day, we are providing for the customer, and whatever they like we serve them.” of our ideas. And now, we can barely get enough lamb shank to meet the demand for it.” From the evident, healthy team-work and team development to the upkeep and growth for the
staff and menu behind the scenes, it’s clear to see how Casbah is a staple for regulars that have been coming in for years, plus the evolution of a newer, social-media forward crowd that finds their way into Casbah’s doors via events like Restaurant Week and Casbah’s Festa di Pasta, or even just by glancing at their Instagram page.
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p
Plates From Around The ‘Burgh: MEDITERRANEAN HOT SPOTS
PLATES
By Jessica Iacullo
For the last issue of 2019, we decided to focus on a cuisine that may be kept a little too under the radar in our opinion: Mediterranean. From food trucks slinging shawarmas year-round to Pittsburgh staples and institutions making grape leaves by hand, let us introduce you to (or maybe even provide a reintroduction) to just a small batch of businesses dominating the Mediterranean food scene these days.
Site: www.tryppittsburgh.com/ pittsburgh-pa-restaurants Social: IG @overedenpgh Location: Lawrenceville
OVER EDEN With a revamped menu that debuted at the beginning of the fall, Over Eden is diving into dishes centered around Mediterranean favorites: hummus, beet baba, falafel, and shawarma… just to name a few. The Chef is leading the kitchen as Over Eden makes a more permanent home atop the newest addition to Lawrenceville, the Tryp Hotel. 38
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SALEM’S MARKET With a well-known presence in Pittsburgh, Salem’s has resided on Penn Ave since 1983. Both a market and takeout/dinein restaurant, Salem’s is renowned for everything from their babka to even their bacon cheeseburgers. This spot is never not packed for lunch and dinner, and they even specialize in catering as well.
Site: salemsmarketgrill.com Social: IG @salemsmarketgrill Location: Strip District
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AUTHENTIC SYRIAN FOOD SINCE 1972
HIGHLAND PARK, 412-665-9000
Open 7 Days A Week Delivery Available 404 S. Craig St. Oakland
412.682.2829 We serve Craft Beer / BYOB Wine 40
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TABBARA CHOCOLATE With a new emergence into the Pittsburgh artisan dessert scene, Nancy of Tabbara Chocolates is making each and every piece of chocolate by hand in her city-based factory. With family recipes dating back to the 1950’s, the third generation founder and owner is bringing her Lebanese background and mixing it into select chocolate pieces and collections.
PITA MY SHAWARMA
Site: www.tabbarachocolates.com Social: IG @tabbarachocolates Location: Online & Various PGH-based vendors
Founded in October 2018, Jason Taylor of Pita My Shawarma has been hitting the pavement as Pittsburgh’s one and only authentic shawarma food truck. You can’t miss the aromatic smells of rotating meats or the bright teal coloring of his truck as he cruises around the city. Type: Food Truck
Site: www.tryppittsburgh.com/pittsburgh-pa-restaurants Social: IG @overedenpgh Location: Lawrenceville | Issue 20 41
Any closer to home and we’d ask you to test the sauce.
OPENING JANUARY 2020 Salvi’s
Pizzeria & Wine Bar
The perfect spot for an event, a special occasion or just a Tuesday. 724-515-5983
2000 Commerce Loop North Huntingdon, PA 15642
Cenacolorestaurant.com
Located right next door to Cenacolo
STUFFED Dolma, better know as stuffed grape leaves originated in Turkey (begin arguing here) but are a staple food of the Mediterranean region. Stuffed grape vine leaves that may be made a number of ways including vegetarian. Photography By Patrick Hogan Photos taken at Ali Baba in Oakland
PAPA Joes Winery Pittsburgh, PA
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local DRINKS By Aimee Marshall
I started bartending in Pittsburgh in my early 20’s in Market Square when people either drank Martinis or Manhattans, maybe an Old Fashioned here and there. While working at various locations, craft cocktails became popular with their fresh muddled ingredients.
HOW HIGH THE MOON 1.5oz Kingfly Bliss spiced rum 1 Red Pump Plum Liquor .75 lemon .5 simple syrup I egg white 4 dash ginger bitters dry shake/shake w/ice/strain dehydrated lemon wheel fresh grated cinnamon
I then paired with our Chef Josh Ross at Pan in Lawrenceville and started creating cocktail menus based on a new spirits from Pa Libations and would pair them with the random fruits or pickled items Josh had from the kitchen. When we opened Con Alma this Summer with our partner John Shannon; I knew I wanted to continue this organic method as well as bring in Latin American flavors from our menu and carry on Jazz Age classics. I am also particularly proud of our small but diverse wine list curated with our menu in mind and highlighting interesting vintners, methods, and stories behind the grapes. Looking into the future I’m hop-ing to include some of the up and coming standouts from Mexico.
ROOT DOWN REMIX 1oz Thistle Finch Black Coffee Whiskey .5 Maggie’s Farm Falernum .5 Cardamaro 1 Mexican cold brew shake/strain/lemon twist
Con Alma is dedicated to our mission of being a destination for exceptional Jazz, Cuisine, and Cocktails.
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Digging Into
Inner Rutz By Maggie Gasior Black
It’s a peaceful, harmonious tale of two spaces at Inner Rutz. Goods and services abound creating a hub to help you find your inner roots. The entire space and its energy are truly intended for Pittsburgh with items from Pittsburgh, all accomplished by Pittsburghers. Stroll in off the charming sidewalk of Beverly Road in Mount Lebanon and you will find a delightfully brimming boutique. Go deeper and you will find a light filled yoga, meditation, learning sanctuary space. Through a profound connection and mutual understanding, two women, of differing backgrounds found they share a powerful intention: to offer help to those finding their own roots. Exploring these quiet, unseen places of the heart, mind, and soul might require some unconventional, ideas, tools, guidance, and space, all of which Inner Rutz provides in abundance. 46
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Roots and Rutz, here, intertwined, lies an illustration of the pure intention and spiritual connection at the heart of Inner Rutz. Roots are tangible; roots is a standard, common word. In the artwork of the space, roots are literally represented in luscious, gorgeous tree spirit wood nymphs, dryads. Rutz being a less literal,
more abstract word is what you might find if you go deeper and get in touch with those quiet, unseen places. Roots might represent the physical items in the boutique, while Rutz might be thought of as the studio space with classes, meditation, and experiences that take you deeper. It all began with a quest for artwork. Steph Schuler was looking for art for her skincare line, Rutz Naturals. Nationally known, but Pittsburgh made brand, Rutz Naturals are Reiki infused, organic, biocompatible products that offer a fresh take on skincare that is based on energy work. While being a ball of good energy herself, Steph wanted art work for her brand to come from a spiritual artist. She had her sights set on a painting of birds. Call it fate, call it what you want to, when a mutual friend connected Steph with Kelly Brown, her portfolio at the time happened to be full of bird after bird after bird. Kelly feels that everything in her life prepared her to be in exact alignment for her meeting Steph. She already had tons of business experience having been the head of marketing for Fresh brand product when they went from big to huge and an entrepreneur from a young age. The two hit it off spectacularly. Ideas and connections flowed wildly. They felt like they understood each other without needing words. A popup event in 2017 gave them their first success together and they moved forward with nine months of construction to make Inner Rutz the beautiful space it is today. When I visited the store and met Steph, she showcased and gushed over Kelly’s artwork in the boutique. When I spoke to Kelly, I learned an incredible amount about Steph’s Rutz Naturals brand. They do not only compliment, but complement each other in all the best ways. Steph is a down to earth,
intuitive teacher who explains things in a way that you might think you already knew them. Kelly is finding her strength in getting into the factual scientific side of things. One Saturday afternoon, I attended Steph’s free class, Benefits of Crystals. I was very warmly welcomed into a group of people assembled to learn. Steph and Kelly are both warm, inviting, and very personable. In a very accessible, comprehensible way, Steph explained all about the science of crystals, stones and rocks. She helped us let go of doubt and disbelief to use our guts to consider choosing crystals that speak to us energetically. Chakra balancing and meditation uses for crystals were discussed as well. The other participants asked insightful questions that showed that they truly understood and learned what they needed to from her seminar. Steph gave me a tour of the boutique side of the space after class. Beautifully appointed, well stocked without overcrowding, the shop is full of truly special items. Upcycled, natural, and handmade pieces are everywhere. Joah Brown, Mt. Lebanon graduate and Kelly’s niece, fills the clothing rack with her self-titled brand of super chic streetwear from Los Angeles. JoahBrown brand is a true hometown, all American success story. CBD for everyone in the family, including the dog is available. Rutz Naturals has a wall display of products that smells heavenly and will get your skin glowing. The center of the store is full of crystals, rocks, stones, and meditation items. There is even ethically sourced chocolate. Accessories and giftware are throughout the store as well. Everything you can’t find, can’t touch, can’t feel, can’t smell online is right there for you, displayed
beautifully for purchase locally in Pittsburgh, from Pittsburgh. The studio space has a schedule full of classes on the gentle side to educate and guide you toward those quiet unseen roots. Regular classes include Restorative Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, and Moving Meditation with Sound Baths. Free seminars are offered on crystals, oils, and artistry. The real innovative education and cultivated learning is rooted in unique, exploratory classes such as forest bathing, psychic development, heart math, tween yoga, and drum circles. These are highly curated experiences offered to help share knowledge, build a community and mainstream mindfulness. Inner Rutz is a learning hub unlike any other. Intention is the energetic root of all things. Digging down to the roots of Inner Rutz, we find the purest intentions - to aid us on our journeys to our best selves. Working together, optimizing their own strengthens, and supporting each other, Steph and Kelly manifest that intention into the beautiful reality that is Inner Rutz. Their energy, goods, and services mindfully guide Pittsburghers deeper into our own souls.
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JAIME L. BIRD
PHOTOGRAPHER
“Leaving no part of the street undocumented, I turn the camera towards life on the street, from protests to parades. The sidewalks are never the same street twice.” I am a Pittsburgh native, born and raised. At 8 years old, I was given a 35mm camera, and it would become the catalyst for capturing the world around me, the way I saw it. Being selftaught, the evolution of my photography has ranged from shooting flowers and friends to my current work of street and documentary. I currently still shoot with a 35mm, although now
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digital. It forces me to have to get in close, and document before me. My work is candid and spontaneous, in the moment and real. I primarily work in black and white and find its natural way of making the subject the main focus to be an important element in storytelling. Leaving no part of the street undocumented, I turn the camera towards life
on the street, from protests to parades. The sidewalks are never the same street twice. Web: sidewalkstoryteller.com Instagram: Jaime.Bird Twitter: @jaimele321
