Bites, Lots of 'Em

So, been a while since you’ve had a post. What’s up?

Oh, I don’t know. Been busy. Doing stuff around the house. Trying to finish reading an actual book. Keeping up with the political goings on. Oh, and eating, probably too much.

Politics… uh… Eating, you say?! Sounds like a ‘meaty’ topic, if you get my drift (snigger, snigger). Anything interesting?

Yeah, a meaty topic. Never heard that one before… But since you seem so interested, the last few weeks my tummy has been pretty happy. Let’s see. Where to begin….

How about Dish Osteria. An increasingly well-known and acclaimed Pittsburgh restaurant, it only took 3 years, but I finally made it to Dish. Fantastic, simple food. The formaggi e salumi, the panzanella (arugula, toasted ciabatta chunks!), the linguini with shrimp, crab, and perfectly seared scallops in a saffron cream sauce. All of it, Meraviglioso!

Reyna’s Taco Shack – Only there on Saturdays, this petite stand outside of Reyna’s Mexican Grocery in the Strip District has tacos and nothing else. Chicken or steak. Flour or corn tortilla. Two for $5. Very good stuff.

The tortillas, hand-made, are the real deal, not those semi-tastless things you get in the grocery store in a package of 10. My only knock was the shredded cheese, which was just the “Mexican” or “taco” cheese often found in the grocery store. Some crumbled queso fresco would put these tacos into another category of delicious. Not banh mi territory, mind you, but still excellent street food.

So you’ve just been splashing cash around town?

No, no, no, you silly narrator-type creation. Mostly been cooking in. For example, my wife made this a refreshing gazpacho. Large red and little yellow tomatoes from the farm, cucumbers and jalapeno from our garden. Fresh, baby, fresh.

Served with a few large... did I say large? ... seared scallops courtesy of Penn Ave. Fish Company and you’ve got the ideal meal for a breezy summer evening.

And because it was so good the first time around, the grilled zucchini strips atop some scrambled eggs and crumbled goat cheese returned to the menu.

Then, just last night, inspired by our meal at Dish, we pulled together our own formaggi e salumi plate, with some remarkable Tomme cheese from the grass-fed cows at Clover Mead Farm in upstate New York, not far from Berlington, Vermont (courtesy of friends), Beemster cheese with nettles, sweet soprasatta, olives, a little bread, and a side of grilled Kentucky Wonder Beans sprinkled with prosciutto and parmesan. Now that’s the way to end a week.

I suspect my exercise regimen, which is highly respectable, is not keeping pace with this recent eating regimen. Something has to give. Never a good thing.