Local food news happens all the time, and it’s unbelievable how much you miss if you don’t check out local publications. Recently read something worthwhile? Link it at the bottom!
– Nice Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on Aldo Coffee in Mt. Lebanon. China Millman gives us a little history of the independent cafe, thoughts from the owner, Rich Westerfield, and the ups and downs of in-house coffee roasting. “The change is not without risks. ‘People are attached to brands,’ acknowledged Mr. Westerfield.”
– The PG food writing staff offer their picks for the best of the year’s cookbooks. I can never wholly get behind a list that features a Rachel Ray title, but there’s a nice variety here for cooks of any caliber. (And before you call me a snob, it’s not that I don’t think her recipes and approach to cooking have a use. They certainly do. I just don’t think her cookbooks are anything special, even as far as food television personalities go.)
– From NPR: Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University release a fascinating study on how imagining food consumption can limit actual desire to eat. “So we think what the imagining consumption is doing is leading people to habituate to a food. And what I mean by habituation is it’s a basic process that we see towards light, towards income, towards all these different kinds of stimuli, and it’s basically people become less responsive to anything that they’re exposed to repeatedly.”
– Good, quick little feature in PopCity on Thai Suan Thip, the buzzed-about Thai restaurant in Bellevue. Also in PopCity, a revamp for the Children’s Museum’s eatery, now the Big Red Room Cafe. Nothing kids like more than an “emphasis on healthy eating and efficiency”!
– Fun article from Pittsburgh Tribune Review‘s Michael Machosky, planning out a day spent in the Strip District. Nothing surprising for those well acquainted, but a nice introduction nonetheless. Nice of the writer to give shout outs to several Public Market vendors, including Pittsburgh Marshmallow Factory and Four Paws.
– Finally, if you haven’t caught the first of the PG series on the founding of Notion, definitely check it out. It’s a story driven by an intriguing character, Dave Racicot, with great talent and an even greater ego.
I’ve heard great things about Aldo coffee. I am going to have to do the unthinkable and cross a river or two to get to the South Hills to give that coffee a try!!
FYI — the correct name of one of the owners of Aldo Coffee is Rich Westerfield, not Mark.
Corrected. Thanks!