If you’ve been around here a while, you have seen some pretty big changes in my life lately. May was an incredibly busy month. I actually went to eight restaurants I hadn’t eaten at before. I visited a couple of restaurants I haven’t been to in a while. I attended a couple of really great events. I went on a hosted weekend getaway to a winery and distillery in the Laurel Highlands. I’m grateful for all these things I get to do. I have some fun videos already posted from May and, some still in the works.
However, I’m finding myself at a crossroads again. I thought after the NFL Draft weekend, I’d suddenly be getting offers to do all the content partnerships I’ve been looking for. I have a couple of bigger partnerships scheduled. I am working on some professional development in June too. What got me thinking again was essentially jealousy. I watched videos about an experience I was excited to attend. I learned before attending that experience that I was being invited to a watered-down version of that experience, essentially to make a free advertisement for the experience I wasn’t going to get to do. I backed out.
So, what does this mean? I’m likely going back to being more cautious and selective about which invites I’m accepting going forward. I want to keep helping small restaurants and businesses by making videos for them, but it’s getting difficult to do that all the time in exchange for food. I’m going to focus a little more on the videos I want to make. Going places and attending things I actually want to attend. I actually enjoyed making the video for my cruise. I hope to make more like that. That said, if you have a great video idea for me related to food or travel, let me know.
Anyway, here are the highlights of May:
I ate lunch at El Sabor in Bloomfield as part of a promo for Pittsburgh Vegan Restaurant Week. I was actually really impressed, even with the vegan items I tried. I got guacamole, salsas, tofu tacos, a tofu chimichanga, and a pineapple cake. I definitely want to go back to try some non-vegan items.
I was invited to try out Sushi Tomo on McKnight Road in Pittsburgh’s North Hills. We ended up eating a boatload of sushi. We seriously saw another table order that and thought that’s perfect for us. It was a great combination of sashimi, nigiri and rolls. However, that wasn’t all we got. We also had some appetizers, and I got a Japanese Whisky flight featuring a selection from their extensive collection. I definitely want to go back to try some of the ramen and Chinese dishes on the menu too. Thanks for having me Sushi Tomo.
I was invited to tour Iron City Distilling in Creighton. It’s also the home of Pittsburgh Brewing Company and Iron City Beer. It was impressive seeing what they are doing, standing up their spirits program, partnering with local farms, utilizing a still, only a limited number of distilleries have, and doing some whiskey thief tastings direct from the barrels. A video is coming out soon.
I shot a promo video with my friends at A Slice of New York Squared. We were promoting their new mini Sicilian pizzas. They have only been open a month but I think they are already one of the best pizza places in Pittsburgh. I did a tasting video with all 4 of the main menu pizzas, but in the mini form. Their full-size pizzas are 12×12, but these minis are 6×6. They’re a great option for a personal pizza or a hearty slice on the go. The four menu pizzas are Sicilian Margarita, Sicilian Sweet & Spicy, Sicilian White and Sicilian Vodka. They were all pretty great and I don’t know if I can pick a favorite.
I was invited to preview the menu at Winston’s Grilled Eats and Frozen Treats in Millvale, just outside the city limits of Pittsburgh. This new spot is from my friends at Pittsburgh Sandwich Society. They are going for summer vibes with backyard barbecue classics and cold, refreshing snacks. They just started a soft open with mostly frozen custard, hot dogs, lemonade, and treats for dogs. However, they will have a full menu soon. I got to try everything, but the doggy treats. It was definitely reminiscent of the summer barbecue.
I was invited to try out Krunchy Bird, the new Korean-Style fried chicken place in Castle Shannon in the Pittsburgh South Hills. They feature a menu of bone in fried chicken, wings, boneless wings, chicken sandwiches, fried rice and other appetizers. I got to try almost everything on the menu. My favorites were the fried chicken sandwich and the bone-in chicken with the sweet heat sauce.
I spent a lot of time at The Warren and Cease & Desist. I was at The Warren to wish one of my favorite bartenders there, Erik, the best of luck as he moves on to the next chapter of his career. After, I went over to Cease & Desist, the private club next door. It was open to the public through May. June 1, it changes to a private members’ establishment with select opportunities to visit. I stopped in a couple of times in the month to taste some of the interesting cocktails Ciana was working on for that space.
I spent a weekend out at Christian Klay Winery and Ridge Runner Distillery out in Chalk Hill, Pennsylvania, in the Laurel Highlands. They invited me to spend the weekend in one of their rental properties near the winery and distillery. Over the course of the weekend, I tasted all their wines and spirits, drank cocktails, went on a hayride through the property, listened to live music, ate great local food from restaurants and food trucks, and took a short drive to Ohiopyle and Fort Necessity. It was a great weekend and I have a video coming for this soon.
I was invited to try Self Chef Mongolian Stir Fry and Sushi in Castle Shannon in the Pittsburgh South Hills. Self Chef gives you the option to eat your way with regular menu items like appetizers and sushi, or design your own bowl of stir fry. We did a selection of appetizers, sushi and a bowl of the Mongolian grill stir fry. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I plan to go back for bottomless stir fry bowls.
I was invited again to attend the Gilfillan Farm Barnyard Beer Benefit in Upper Saint Clair. This is their annual fundraiser for the farm and the Historical Society of Upper St. Clair and the organizations the farm supports. The event has food and beverage samples from over 30 local breweries, distilleries and restaurants. This is one of the more under the radar beer festivals in the Pittsburgh area.
I was invited back to Kennywood for the annual Bites & Pints food and drinks festival. Each year on Friday, Saturday and Sunday between Memorial Day weekend and the end of June, they offer tastings from 8 countries. This year, I really enjoyed the food from the new France booth the most. You can read my blog post from previous years here.
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