Earlier this month, my wife and I decided to make our way to Pittsburgh for a weekend.  It’s only about a 4 hour drive, and it’s just a nice city.  I went to school there in the 80’s, and had step-family there in the 70-s and 80s, so I have some history with the city and enjoy going back when I can.

Pittsburgh is also the largest inland port in the country.  What this means is that I can get great prices on imported foods!  The area along Penn and Liberty, close to the Allegheny River is called the Strip District.  And, no, no strippers.  But there are lots of shops and restaurants, and it’s open early.  My favorite 2 places there are Parma Meats, where they make their own Italian meats, and Pennsylvania Macaroni, where they have a huge selection of cheeses as well as lots of Italian imports.  Good stuff at both places, and both are now online.

I’ve written about Pittsburgh in the past, so this isn’t anything new, though I got more photos this time!  My favorite 2 places to eat in Pittsburgh are Vincent’s Pizza in Forest Hills and The Original Hot Dog Shop in Oakland.  Of course, I made it to each of these again.

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For my readers that I’ve lost, the last month has been hectic! I’ve had a bunch of computer issues, mostly with harddrive issues.

For a quick update, the Jim Dandy BBQ competition that was going to happen in June is NOT going to be in June. It’s going to be in September instead, probably the first or second weekend. More info will be forthcoming!

Other than that, our near future calendar includes:

Dr BBQ’s Competition Cooking Class in Detroit Michigan on April 22-23.
Grilling Class at Cooks’ Wares, Springboro, OH, May 14
Private Class at Cooks’ Wares, Mason, OH, May 19
Q for the Kids in Fairbanks, IN, June 1-2
Potentially Taste of Grand Rapids, July 13-14
Madison Ribberfest, August 17-18
Jim Dandy’s BBQ Competition, September (TBD)
Ohio Smoked Meats Festival, October 19-20(?)

We may add more, but that’s it for now!