Kennywood Latino Day 2013

Finally.  A nationality day for Latinos!

I adore every nationality day at Kennywood, as you well know from previous posts - however, I have always been disappointed that there was not a Latino Day.  I am aware that Latinos only make up about 2.3% of the population in Pittsburgh, but that is all the more reason for people to know that yes, there are Latinos here, and yes, they make GREAT food.

Thankfully, Alberto Benzaquen of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce answered my cries and organized this entire event, with some of the best entertainment from Latinos that Pittsburgh has to offer.

And - some of the best food.

I was so excited to hear that La Palapa (of Pittsburgh Public Market fame), Las Palmas (the BEST street tacos in Pittsburgh), AJ's Peruvian (never been, but excited to try it), and Casa Rasta (who have been nothing but good to me in so many ways) would be the vendors.  

La Palapa's setup

The offerings from Casa Rasta

I knew I had to get something from every single one of them.

I ventured back to Pavilion 4 on my break to find the vendors in high-gear, cooking food and setting up their assembly lines.  My first stop - Casa Rasta for some elote: grilled corn, slathered in mayonnaise (yes, mayonnaise), sprinkled with queso fresco and chile powder, and accompanied by a lime for squeezing.  Sound familiar?  See my recipe for esquites, which is essentially the same thing, but off the cob.

Half-eaten elote (I couldn't help myself!)

Next - AJ's.  They had a big spread, but knowing that I was going to be eating from every vendor, I went small and tried two of their empanadas - one pollo (chicken), and one spinach.  I also purchased an Inca Cola, one of the few "pops" I will drink in non-diet version (since there isn't one).  I've had it before from Las Palmas and Chicken Latino, so I knew I liked it (it tastes like cream soda):

Inca Cola

Spinach and chicken empanadas from AJ's Peruvian

My last stop was La Palapa, because unfortunately, Las Palmas was still in the process of setting up.  I LOVE La Palapa's pineapple tamale, so I went with that.

Pineapple Tamale from La Palapa

I carried my haul of food back to the office in a stack, worried that perhaps I would be too full to eat it all.

My stack of food!

Wait...do I not know myself?  I ate it all.  Every last bite.  The pineapple tamale was divine, as always; the empanadas...I've had better, sorry to say; and the elote - OH, THE ELOTE!  It was fantastic.  Superb.  A mess to eat, yes, but worth every wipe of the napkin.  I just wish people had told me about the charred corn in my teeth and on my face sooner....

AND...my savior, Jay, our IT guy, was going back to Pavilion 4 for his lunch, so I asked him to grab me a taco if Las Palmas was set up at that time.  And you know what?  They were.  He got me a chicken taco, which was just as tasty as the ones I get on Brookline Blvd. in front of their store:

A beautiful chicken taco from Las Palmas (watch out for that glob of hot sauce on top, though!)

BUT - I could have knocked Jay out for putting the HOT salsa on that taco.  HOLY MOUTH-ON-FIRE!  I survived, but I know he got a secret thrill out of watching me sweat it out (grrrrr...).

Because I was working, I missed the entertainment, but I could hear the sounds of Choro No Vinho playing while I purchased my food - they are EXCELLENT, and I am proud to have worked with Abby Gross of this fantastic band at school last year. 

I may be biased, but the food for Latino Day won over every other ethnic day this year.  I didn't write about them again this year, as the vendors hadn't changed (plus I missed my second-favorite - Greek Day - because I was on vacation), but Latino Day NEEDS to be an annual event - and I'm sure Alberto will make sure of it.

Kennywood Park
4800 Kennywood Blvd.
West Mifflin, PA 15122

Website: http://www.kennywood.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kennywoodpark
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Kenny_Kangaroo

Barcelona & Madrid, Spain, June 2013

Barcelona & Madrid, Spain, June 2013, a set on Flickr.

From June 24-July 1, 2013, four of my students, my brother, and I traveled to Barcelona and Madrid, Spain. I had never been to Europe (none of us had), and it was quite an adventure.

And 2 years in the making, We couldn't have done it without help, especially from the Pittsburgh restaurant industry. You. Are. Awesome.

I would like to thank everyone who helped us along the way:

- Alma Pan-Latin Kitchen, for donating the proceeds of their Father's Day brunch to the trip, as well as selling City Dining Cards on our behalf. You are so generous!

- YADA YADA Empanada, for your awesome fundraiser!

- Casa Rasta, for holding a benefit dinner and donating the proceeds to the trip. Gracias!

- PGH Taco Truck, for donating drink sales on several occasions.

- The countless people who bought flower bulbs, coffee, cookie dough, bears, dining cards, beanies, and much, much more to help out our cause!

- The teachers, staff, and administrators of the West Mifflin Area School District, who have been SO supportive of having our students experience other cultures!

- A special thanks to Meg A., who handles student activity accounts for the district, for putting up with my many deposits and check requests! You rock!

I am also happy to announce that I am planning another trip for 2 years from now - to COSTA RICA! This will be an exciting one, with zip-lining, whitewater rafting, kayaking, and horseback riding! See this link for details, and let me know if you're interested:

http://www.eftours.com/educational-tours/tour-detail.aspx?code=COB&year=2015

I hope you enjoy looking at our pictures from the trip! Please let me know if you have questions or feedback!

Coffee & Cookie Day 2013

Coffee & Cookie Day has come and gone. I am exhausted from it.

Less students are in our Spanish classes this year - and with the changes in my own schedule, we had far fewer students between mine and Mr. McMonagle's classes. We weren't sure if we'd beat last year's total of $957, which was our goal. The odds were against us, but we didn't want to let Make-A-Wish down.

Some of the cookies on the counter - I couldn't get everything in one photo!

Student brought in TONS of cookies, brownies, milk, hot chocolate, etc. We even had some students bring in donuts, Eat 'N Park Smiley Cookies, and one student even MADE chocolate-covered strawberries (they looked professionally-made, too!)!  Dozen Bake Shop donated a spectacular tray of goodies and cake pops, and The Greek Gourmet donated their fabulous hummus packs again (you'd better believe that I bought one for my lunch!). I spent a lot of time running around Costco and baking cookies myself (which you'll get to learn about a bit later...)

The cookies I baked - stay tuned for more on these in a future post...

I loved my hummus so much, I finished it through a stir straw. The Greek Gourmet makes the BEST and most ORIGINAL hummus! I think I grossed out the student who took this picture, though.  Sorry, Sara!

We should've just propped the door of D101 open, for as many times as it opened and closed throughout the day. Students, teachers, teacher aides, security guards...that door withstood a lot of swinging.  In addition, most people were overly generous, often telling us to "keep the change" or just donating money without buying any goodies.

UPDATE: Our final total was $1072!!!  You guys are AMAZING!  We BEAT last year's total by $115 - and we were afraid we wouldn't get anywhere near that with less students participating!!!

Thanks to all who bought cookies, and a very special thanks to Dozen Bake Shop and The Greek Gourmet for their donations.  Your generosity is very much appreciated by me and everyone who enjoyed your food!

Cookies-on-a-Stick, brownies, blondies, & ginger cookies from Dozen Bake Shop in Lawrenceville

Cake pops from Dozen Bake Shop - these were gone within 10 minutes!

Pretzel & hummus packs from The Greek Gourmet in Squirrel Hill.  These also didn't last long, and they were only offered to teachers!

I could not be more proud of my students & our staff for making this happen, despite the odds. Mucho amor a todos.

Dozen Bake Shop
3511 Butler St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15222 (Lawrenceville)

Website: http://dozenbakeshop.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dozen-Bake-Shop-Dozen-Cupcakes/25721167653
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dozenbakeshop



The Greek Gourmet Marketplace
2130 Murray Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15217 (Squirrel Hill)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Greek-Gourmet-Marketplace/193575232586
Twitter: https://twitter.com/greekgourmet

Hot Metal Diner

It's sad how many businesses have left West Mifflin.

I remember being young and realizing that everything that we could ever need was right in our little borough - a mall, an amusement park, plenty of restaurants, and even an airport.  Going shopping someplace else was an excursion - Monroeville Mall was a treat, South Hills Village was like going to the high-end markets, and Ross Park...no one went to Ross Park (too many bridges to cross).

I've also mentioned that this is why I never went to restaurants other than chains, as the Century III Mall area was full of them - Applebee's, Chili's, Denny's, Bob Evans.  Any national chain that you could think of was within 5 minutes of the area (yes, including Taco Bell).

Unfortunately, so many things have changed.  Pretty much every Pittsburgher knows about the decline of Century III Mall, which is supposed to be changing now that Simon Malls no longer owns it.  However, its assessments have declined DRAMATICALLY over the past several years, therefore cutting a deep hole into West Mifflin's tax base.  In addition, P.J. Dick & Company pulled out of West Mifflin, along with many smaller businesses.  I thought that it was devastating when the penny candy store behind my house closed when I was about 7 years old, but these businesses leaving our borough have done much to drain our financial resources.

This is why it is so important to patronize businesses in your own hometown - without stimulating your (very local) economy, it will only cause tax increases, program cuts in your town and school district, and overall business collapse.  I know.  I've seen it first hand from many angles.

Knowing this, I found it important to have my usual Sunday brunch at a West Mifflin business - and what better place to do so than the well-revered Hot Metal Diner.

Hot Metal Diner

Recently, Rick Sebak featured the diner in his PBS special, Breakfast Special 2: Revenge of the Omelettes (the segment can also be seen on the Hot Metal Diner's webpage as an In Pittsburgh special).  I was happy to see something so local on TV, but I was surprised to see my 7th grade Science teacher (who is now retired) talking to the camera.  Wow.  Talk about keeping it local.

A friendly warning as you enter

James and I arrived late in the morning, and the entrance was full of people.  However, tables were being turned over quickly, and the line was reducing just as quickly.  An older couple was in front of us, and the hostess offered to seat the 4 of us together at a bigger table.  "You don't even have to talk to each other," she offered.

Counter seating with more humorous decor

The older woman declined.  "We'll wait."  Oh, ok.  Thanks, lady.

Luckily, the younger couple behind us had no problem co-habitating a table with us, so we sat at a table for 6, with this looming over the wall cut-out from the private room next door:

The Chicken Creeper next door

We made our introductions to the couple across from us - they are from Carrick, and he is a Pittsburgh Firefighter.  They had been to the diner once before and knew how the place worked.  James struck up a conversation, as he is so good at doing, making the awkwardness of dining with complete strangers disappear completely.

As we reviewed the extensive menu, the table to our right received their order - including a massive pancake.  I had wondered why one single pancake a la carte would cost $3.00...well, this was definitely $3.00-worth of pancake!  James and I decided to split one as an "appetizer":

One pancake.  Yes, one.

Oh, yum, pancake!  Very fluffy, and definitely split-able.  With some syrup (which you can also request hot), it was scrumptious.

For my "entree", I ordered the BB Breakfast (formerly known as "The Hog"): 2 eggs my way (over easy), home fries, bacon (my choice), and Italian toast.  When the waitress took my order, she literally said, "homefriesItaliantoastsayyes", to which I replied, "I'm sorry?" and she repeated, "home-fries-Italian-toast-say-yes".  How dare I say no (I wouldn't have any way!)  The waitresses describe themselves as a bit "saucy"...but I wouldn't ask for extra sauce.

BB Breakfast (aka "The Hog")

It was a classic diner breakfast - not overpowering on flavor, but not by any means bland.  Greasy - a bit, but I've had much greasier at Denny's (it IS breakfast, after all!).  I don't know HOW they cook their bacon, but I wish I did, because it was crispy and AWESOME.  The Italian toast was great for dipping into my egg yolks.

James decided to go the lunch-route and ordered the Best Burgher Ever with the whole kit and caboodle: bacon, cheese, onions, mushrooms, and BBQ sauce:

Best Burgher Ever with the whole kit and caboodle

I tried a bite, and it was one darn good burger.  It was served with potato chips - not a favorite of his nor mine, so they went untouched.  We sat in fear that we might get yelled at for not eating them, but...we didn't, thank goodness.

While eating and still conversing with our table mates, Wendy, the owner, decided to play some music on the Touch Tunes machine to liven up the place.  Well, heed this warning, which is at the register:

It even says "True" in the top left corner...

Her song selections included a polka classic, "Grab Your Balls (We're Going Bowling)", followed by "A--hole" by Dennis Leary.  Not exactly a family atmosphere, but if you want to dine there, you'd better get over it and find a sense of humor.  I've read reviews online about the "horrible service" that people received - well, we got our food quickly and without any mistakes on a busy Sunday morning.  The staff did their best to seat us quickly, and we ended up meeting a very nice couple and having a nice conversation.  So you know what?  Thumbs up to the Hot Metal Diner.  I hear and deal with much worse as a high school teacher, and I'll deal with your waitresses - along with having a great breakfast.

Do as I tell my high school students - follow the rules, and you'll be fine.

The Rules

Hot Metal Diner
1025 Lebanon Rd.
West Mifflin, PA 15122

Website: http://www.hotmetaldiner.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hot-Metal-Diner/236685476442536?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hotmetaldiner