16 Candles

This last weekend was spent in Pittsburgh, PA. On Saturday, I helped create a five-course dinner for 85 guests at the Carlton Restaurant, downtown. The dinner was part of the 5th annual Pittsburgh Wine festival. I had a great time sitting and talking with the guests after the event.

So far I have had the chance to see some of the best, and maybe, the most typical of what Pittsburgh has to offer. Tom Moran, my friend and co-worker from the River Creek Club, is a Pittsburgh native. Tom had the chance to take me around the "Market Strip District" where there are a myriad of clubs, bars, and restaurants. We went to a restaurant called Primanti Brothers. Their house specialty is a unique sandwich creation that consists of a big fat meat patty (similar to salisbury steak), cole slaw, a hot fried egg, tomatoes, and french fries which are then packed inside the sandwich. Primanti Brothers uses a great classic white bread from Mancini's Bakery. The sandwich probably weighs about one and a half pounds with everything piled in it. The sandwich is a curious icon of Pittsburgh. The Primanti family gives their version of the real story of the Primanti Sandwich here: http://www.primantibros.com/realstory.asp

The highlight of my visit in Pittsburgh was spending time with my son so we could celebrate his 16th birthday. I treated him to a stretch limo ride up to a restaurant called The Monterey Fish Grotto. The restaurant is located on the top of Mt. Washington and has a spectacular view of the city. After dining at the best seats in the house and riding home in the limo we got a little taste of what it might be like to be a rock star. Regardless of all that – it was just incredible to be with my son on his birthday.

It is time to go back home to Washington now. The next couple of days will be spent getting organized. I will be back on the road starting on Wednesday, traveling to four different cities for the next part of my tour.