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Food & Drink category, Page 56

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Square Café completes relocation to East Liberty
The Square Café plans to open Oct. 1 at its new East Liberty location. “It feels so good to have a date,” owner Sherree Goldstein said. “I am super excited. We’ve been doing some staff training, and we will be ready to go. East Liberty has been so welcoming and...
The Gobblerito giant meal returns to Mad Mex
At least one thing in 2020 hasn’t changed: The Gobblerito dish returns to Mad Mex restaurants today. Covid comfort, indeed. It will be available through Thanksgiving Eve. The popular combination of Thanksgiving dinner staples wrapped in a tortilla includes house-roasted turkey, black bean mashed potatoes, stuffing and corn. Oh, and...
Caribbean-themed brewpub Mastic Trail opens in Shaler 
Reach the beach without leaving the Pittsburgh area at Mastic Trail Brewing. The newly opened Caribbean-themed brewpub and restaurant, at 1044 Saxonburg Blvd. in Shaler, is the creation of island aficionado and Robinson Township native Ben Williams. “My favorite island is Grand Cayman and the Mastic Trail is a three-hour...
Tony’s Pizza Cafe renovates, expands menu during covid-19 closures 
Not even a pandemic could hinder Andrea “Tony” Coppola’s passion for his restaurant. Coppola owns Tony’s Pizza Cafe in Buffalo Township. The restaurant offers an assortment of house-made gourmet pizzas, including Hawaiian, Greek, buffalo chicken and Philly cheesesteak. “We are a very gourmet pizza style,” Coppola said. The fan favorite,...
Pandemic canning demand leads to shortage of lids, jars
Angelo Pugliano and his family regularly can between 300 and 400 jars of fresh-grown tomatoes every season. This year, they had to settle for less. When they went to buy new lids, none could be found, after the coronavirus pandemic tossed a wrench into the country’s manufacturing and retail works....
Throw cauliflower on the grill for a meaty meatless dish
Whole roasted cauliflower impresses as a vegan centerpiece or fills you up as a one-dish meal. The vegetable can play the same role in outdoor cooking, but needs to be cut up first. If you haven’t tried grilled cauliflower, you’ll want to: It caramelizes beautifully on the outside and develops...
Maine blueberry industry reels from drought, frost, virus
PORTLAND, Maine — A late spring frost, a devastating drought and labor troubles wrought by the coronavirus pandemic conspired to make 2020 a difficult year for the wild blueberry producers who harvest the fruit in the nation’s northeastern corner. America’s producers of wild blueberries are largely located in Maine, where...
Gov. Wolf’s on-site alcohol sales order extended an hour to 11 p.m.
Alcohol sales at bars and restaurants won’t have to end until 11 p.m. starting Monday, according to orders for on-site alcohol consumption from Gov. Wolf and state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine. Wolf had earlier said that alcohol sales would be required to end at 10 p.m. Alcoholic beverages must...
Big Burrito Restaurant Group has plan to gradually reopen, expand indoor dining
Big Burrito Restaurant Group president Bill Fuller has decided to open more of his eating establishments now that Gov. Tom Wolf announced indoor dining capacity in Pennsylvania restaurants can increase to 50% starting Monday. The openings will be gradual, Fuller said Friday. The plan begins with Kaya opening its Strip...
Barstool’s Dave Portnoy hits 3 Pittsburgh-area pizzerias, tries Turner’s tea
Famed Boston-based pizza reviewer Dave Portnoy descended upon Pittsburgh recently to review three pizza places, Beto’s Pizza and Fiori’s Pizzaria in Pittsburgh and Juliano’s in Robinson. He came away impressed by all three. Portnoy is well known as the celebrity founder of the sports and pop culture website Barstool Sports...
Ladles restaurant in Springdale closes, possibly for good
The future is uncertain for the popular Springdale eatery Ladles. The storefront on busy Pittsburgh Street still looks inviting, but the restaurant is closed. And while a sign on the front door reads, “We plan on reopening very soon,” Ladles’ future actually remains very much in doubt. “The future is...
Diners can help feed Square Café in move by investing in a crowd-funded business loan
Square Café owner Sherree Goldstein launched a campaign with Honeycomb Credit to raise money for the move from Regent Square to East Liberty. The new space, previously occupied by restaurants Spoon and BRGR, will provide more indoor and outdoor seating, be open longer hours and offer beer and alcohol. “It...
Greensburg Craft Beer Week pairs brews with food, music and fun
Greensburg Craft Beer Week is an opportunity for area brewers to showcase their new products and customer favorites. It’s also an opportunity to combine a glass or two with some food and fun. This year’s event begins Friday and runs through Sept. 26 at breweries and other indoor and outdoor...
Pittsburgh-based Top Hat branding agency to open Necromancer Brewing Co. in North Hills
Top Hat, a Pittsburgh-based creative branding agency known for collaborating with the craft beer industry, is opening its own brewery. Necromancer Brewing Co. is scheduled to open by the end of the year in the North Hills. The exact location will be announced in a few weeks, said Ben Butler,...
Mediterra Cafe to open second location in Mt. Lebanon
Cars have barely left the parking lot for the final dinner service at The Fairlane, but there’s already a taker for the space that caps one end of Mt. Lebanon’s Beverly Road retail district. Mediterra Cafe will open its second location there by early November. Mediterra Cafe, also a bakery...
Buffalo Sloppy Joes are a tasty twist on an old favorite
Sloppy joes are a great family pleaser, made from ground meat, onions, green bell pepper, tomato sauce. The onset of cooler evenings makes it a perfect time to add these sloppy joes to the fall dinner rotation. Ground buffalo is used in the recipe. It is also sold as ground...
Peeps to halt holiday production until spring of 2021, company says
Peeps fans will have to wait another year before they can pick up pumpkin, snowman or heart-shaped treats at the holidays. The Bethlehem-based Just Born Quality Confections recently announced it won’t be producing Peeps for the Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day so that preparations can be made for Easter of...
97-year-old Latrobe resident’s Facebook baking page going strong; cookbook in the works 
At a friend’s suggestion, Mary Ellen Raneri of Latrobe posted a video on Facebook of her 97-year-old mother baking one of her time-tested recipes. That single video in March led to the “Baking With Lucy” Facebook page as a way for the pair to offer connection and encouragement to others...
Pittsburgh pizzeria sues Winghart’s owners over Market Square fire
The owner of a Market Square restaurant is accusing the previous owners of its neighbor, Winghart’s, of failing to call for help for 45 minutes when a fire broke out there last fall. Rudolph Sergio Muto, who owns La Gondola Pizzeria & Restaurant, filed a lawsuit in Allegheny County Common...
Tarentum train station restaurant owner isn’t sure 50% capacity is enough to reopen
John Greco isn’t sure he can reopen his Tarentum restaurant even with a return to half capacity later this month. “We can’t make it with 25% or 50%,” said Greco, owner of JG’s Tarentum Station Grille. “In order to make it economically feasible, we need the restrictions to be lifted....
Small breweries take advantage of liquor laws to create ‘Pennsylvania Loophole’ beer
Small breweries, like so many other businesses, have been hit hard by the health and safety restrictions of the covid-19 pandemic. Those who don’t have the means of selling their beer beyond pints and growlers are in an especially difficult position. “We’re just a small, family-owned brewery with a two-barrel...
Tako restaurant coming to Bakery Square in Pittsburgh’s East End
Taco lovers can soon get their fix at a new East End location. A second Tako restaurant is opening in Bakery Square in Pittsburgh. It joins the Downtown venue owned by the Richard DeShantz Restaurant Group. “We are really excited to have a Richard DeShantz Restaurant Group restaurant,” said Gregg...
Hard seltzer remains an ‘it’ drink
I know I am revealing my age when I say that the last time I remember an alcohol craze like this it was wine coolers. I was barely scraping legal when they were super-hot in the 1980s, but I knew there was an “it drink.” The most recent “it drink”...
‘Ultimate’ mac ‘n cheese uses 4 cheeses, crumbled cracker topping
My love of certain cheeses is no secret in this test kitchen, yet I’ve never had much interest in cooking that ultimate comfort food, mac ‘n cheese — well, except for the lobster mac ‘n cheese recipe I shared in April. That’s one great dish. Yet when I stumbled on...
Enjoy these spicy wings this Labor Day weekend
These sweet and spicy chicken wings are baked in the oven and then crisped under the broiler. It’s perfect for the upcoming holiday weekend or anytime. I separated the drumettes from the flats for easier serving. Microwaving the potatoes for the potato salad shortens the cooking time and means there’s...


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