On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 11:20:33 -0500, Kate Connally >
wrote:

>modom wrote:
>>
>> A dear friend with Pittsburgh roots sent us a box of goodies from the
>> Strip District. It arrived today.
>>
>> Three kinds of olives, Bergamer cheese, Margherita pepperoni, and
>> other good stuff like a chunk of unknown cheese that smells enticingly
>> stinky. All from the Pennsylvania Macaroni Company on Liberty Ave.
>>
>> Life is better than before.
>>
>> modom
>
>Oooh! I just love Penn Mac! It's the best smelling
>store in the world! Unfortunately I don't get to the
>Strip as much as I'd like - maybe once a year - since
>usually the only time I can goes is on Sat. and parking
>is hell on Sat. Maybe I'll get down there over Xmas
>break (we're off from the 24th through the 3rd) on a
>weekday. One of my favorite places is Labat's Middle
>Eastern grocery where I can get Bulgarian feta, which
>is the absolute best feta in the world! Yum. Boy,
>now I'm all worked up.
>
>Kate

The whole neighborhood will be nuts with holiday shoppers this week
for sure. But then the merchants will have extra goodies out to tempt
them, too. When I lived in da Burgh, holiday time was a sure bet for
incredible stuff like sfogliatelle along with the requisite locatelli
and marinated Sicillian style green olives and gorgonzola.

Is Labat's the place with the bulk spices? I remember one place that
sold allspice corns so cheap that I burned them in my smoker to spice
the fire.

Sunseri's and Penn Mac Co. were two of my favorites, with PMC taking
first place in my heart for its aromas and general funkiness. There
was a guy who cut wedges of cheese there who was missing a big chunk
of his left index finger, as I recall. I also liked Prestogeorge for
coffee and snacks, though it was getting a bit too gentrified for me
by the time I left town in the early 90s.

There was a decent Mexican grocery shop in the neighborhood for a
time, too. Is it still there?

I was a regular in the Strip District for several years. I had a
small painting studio on the third floor of a building on Smallman St.
across from the craft museum. Lunch most days could be really
inspiring.


modom