Da ‘Burgh

Author’s Note:  This is my last blog post of 2016, friends.  I’ll be heading off to Boston soon for Christmas.  So here’s wishing you and your families a very joyous holiday season.

See you on Sunday, January 8, 2017.  And Happy New Year!

Here’s my Christmas card to you all.

…So last weekend, Dear Readers, I traveled to Pittsburgh.

I accompanied The Boyfriend.  He’s a former Steel City guy and still has lots of friends and family back there.

We went for his niece’s baby shower and there were tons of things to do- and people to meet- on Friday and Saturday.

But on Sunday- before the Steelers’ game- there was a chance for a mini inspection of the city and a nostalgia tour of some of his favorite boyhood haunts.  I had a lot to learn.

For instance, I had NO idea that the city was so hilly.

And I wasn’t aware that Pittsburgh has the most bridges of any US city- thanks to the convergence of the Allegheny, the Monongahela and the Ohio rivers.

Alas, there was never a spare moment to do the Andy Warhol Museum.

Andy Warhol 15 Minutes of Fame Sidebar: I find Andy Warhol’s art more relevant and meaningful than ever. Can you imagine what he would do with the concept of Trump as President?  The idea that a totally unqualified celebrity, famous for his outrageous pronouncements and shameless use of the media, is now our C-I-C?  It’s perfectly Warholian.

Back to The City of Champions…

I enjoyed the tour.  It was fun seeing where he had grown up, and now I could put a face to all the people of whom I had heard tell.

And I never realized that Pittsburgh has its own special patois.  Truly fascinating.  For instance, did you know that the very descriptive term “jag off” was coined there?

And so many great Doo-Wop groups got their start there.  Here’s one golden oldie.

And here’s another fabulous musical moment.

It was a blast watching the Steelers win in a deafening Steeler’s bar, too.  When in Rome…

But for me, Pittsburgh was a childhood dream come true.

I got the chance to go to Mecca.

(That’s the Pittsburgh History Center.  I did get to see the old factory from the highway. No catsup bottle on top though.)

Once upon a time, when I was a little girl, I thought long and hard about the company that I wished I owned.

(Don’t ask me why I did this.  I was a weird kid.)

At first I thought I’d like to own Kimberly-Clark.  Good company.

Then I changed my mind.

Coca Cola.  Of course.

GREAT company.

But then, I had a brainstorm.  The product I loved and relied on EVERY night of my dinner table life- my mother was an indifferent cook- was Heinz catsup.

I worshipped H.J. Heinz and all his 57 varieties.

Now I absolutely HAD to go to the Mother Ship and pay homage to the man who forged my eating habits.

And then, I wanted to pay tribute to another Pittsburgh icon of my youth.

I was crazy about Clark Bars.

And they made Black Jack Gum, too!

And I’ve just recently been introduced to the awesome Zagnut Bar.

But all my Pittsburgh eating was not consigned to long gone childhood dreams.

I have discovered a new place.

And more importantly, I have added a new favorite hamburger to a very short Hall of Fame Burger list.

Are you ready, fellow burger lovers?

Take a look at this.

That is one half of the world famous Primanti’s Pitts-burger.  Smothered in tasty fries and tangy cole slaw piled high atop the burger itself.

OMG.

It wasn’t just the idea of putting of all that stuff on the sandwich.  The burger itself was yummy.

And so was the chili.

(Yes, I did eat a half of a burger and split the chili.  Want to make something out of it?)

Well, time to take a Tums.  I get heartburn just looking at this.

But the warm memories of my visit to Da ‘Burgh also linger on.

My thanks go out to all the nice people in Pittsburgh, Pa. who made my time there so terrific.

Can’t wait for the next trip.