Food & Drink category, Page 61
Chacko’s in Wilkes-Barre selected by Barstool Sports to get covid aid throughout pandemicVideo
The holidays got a little brighter Thursday for Chacko’s Family Bowling Center. The Wilkes-Barre bowling alley and restaurant got word on Christmas Eve that they were chosen for The Barstool Fund, a covid relief effort started by Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports. The next business we're helping is Chacko's Family...
Necromancer Brewing set to open in March in Ross
For Ben Butler, the space just felt right. After months of searching for a site for their new brewery, Butler and his business partner Aaron Easler have signed the lease. Look for a March opening of Necromancer Brewing Co. at 2257 Babcock Blvd. in Ross. “I grew up in Ross,...
Racism targets Asian food, business during covid-19 pandemic
As the coronavirus spread throughout the U.S., bigotry toward Asian Americans was not far behind, fueled by the news that covid-19 first appeared in China. Some initial evidence suggested the virus began in bats, which infected another animal that may have spread it to people at one of Wuhan, China’s...
Last call for sweets: Longtime Homestead bakery Blue Bonnet closing for good on Christmas Eve
The bread will no longer rise at Mantsch Blue Bonnet Bakery after Thursday. The longtime Homestead staple for fresh bread, homemade buns and tasty sweet treats from doughnuts to cakes to cookies is closing on Christmas Eve. “It’s time to retire,” said owner Michael Mantsch, 66, of West Mifflin, who...
TribLive Taste Test: Santa Clausthaler non-alcoholic seasonal beerVideo
It would be irresponsible to leave Santa cookies and beer on Christmas Eve. He has to drive that sleigh an awful long way, after all. However, it wouldn’t be out of line at all to leave him a cold bottle of Santa Clausthaler non-alcoholic beer, the subject of today’s TribLive...
Have a carby Christmas: Mancini’s bakes up a holiday tree
Mancini’s Bakery is taking Christmas carbs to a new level. The popular bakery created an 8-foot-tall Christmas tree crafted from its Italian bread. The holiday display should draw fresh attention, said Nick Mancini Hartner, co-owner of the bakery and the mastermind behind the bread tree. “I’ve always enjoyed playing with...
Downtown Greensburg Project sets up virtual tip jar for food service workers
We’ve all heard of ways to help food and beverage industry workers through the second round of pandemic shutdowns: order takeout, buy gift cards and post positive reviews on social media. That’s good as far as it goes, said Downtown Greensburg Project founder Jessica Hickey, but it doesn’t help everyone....
412 Food Rescue helping restaurants feed the hungry this winter
It’s an idea that not only helps restaurants deal with another shutdown but also provides food for people in need this winter. Starting Monday, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and 412 Food Rescue joined forces to provide restaurants regular weekly income and bring free meals to people experiencing food insecurity. The program...
Regent Square’s Frick Park Tavern on ‘pause’ until spring
Even before Gov. Tom Wolf announced new covid-19 orders on Thursday, Jimmy Brown planned to temporarily close his Regent Square restaurant. “It doesn’t make sense to stay open the way things are,” said Brown, owner of the Frick Park Tavern on Braddock Avenue. “We are a sit-down and enjoy kind...
O Cannoli Tree, O Cannoli Tree: Harmar baker has new holiday confection
Forget about those sugar plums dancing in heads this holiday season and make way for a new Yuletide treat: the Cannoli Christmas Tree. A cannoli tree may seem like something out of a debaucherous dessert dream. But Char Hixson, proprietor of Char’s Creative Confections in Harmar, is baking them up...
For baking season, a primer on an essential: vanilla
I used to take vanilla for granted. Then, I was making chocolate chip cookies one day and ran out of vanilla extract. So I left it out. It was like leaving salt out of the recipe. The cookies lacked the round, full flavors they usually had. I realized vanilla was...
Some Pittsburgh-area restaurant owners have outdoor dining covered amid pandemic
With the colder weather here to stay, many Downtown Pittsburgh restaurants have decided to cover outdoor spaces for continued dining to help accommodate state-mandated capacity requirements. Some outdoor dining structures resemble mini-greenhouses. Others look like plastic domes. Bakersfield Pittsburgh has tents, heaters and picnic-bench seating on Penn Avenue. At Bourbon...
‘Baking With Lucy’ goes on, as daughter continues late mom’s online cooking show
Mary Ellen Raneri hasn’t taken much time to mourn her mother’s passing. She’s been too busy baking. Her mother, 98-year-old Lucy Pollock, who went viral this year with her “Baking With Lucy” Facebook videos, died Nov. 22 from complications of covid-19. The Latrobe resident said she feels like she owes...
Prantl’s has new owner, plans new location in North Huntingdon
The last five years have been quite a ride for those baking Prantl’s famous Burnt Almond Torte — also known as “the greatest cake America has ever made.” The Huffington Post made that declaration in 2014, a year before a string of new developments at the business, which now has...
Pittsburgh Pothole Filler made to satisfy sweet-and-salty popcorn cravings
The creative minds behind Pittsburgh Yinzer Greetings have found a way to make potholes palatable — literally. Just in time for holiday gift-giving, the company has teamed up with Sarris Candies to introduce Pittsburgh Pothole Filler. The sweet-and-salty treat features fresh-popped popcorn, dunked and drizzled in rich dark chocolate in...
Pittsburgh’s Sammy’s Famous Corned Beef to reopen Downtown
The popular “Sammy’s Special” sandwich — a large portion of hot corned beef, topped with Swiss cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing on freshly-baked bread – will be available once again. Sammy’s Famous Corned Beef reopened with dine-in and pick up on Tuesday. Located on Liberty Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh, the...
McDonald’s McRib sandwich to make its annual appearance
The long wait is almost over for hungry McRib lovers. McDonald’s is bringing the cult favorite sandwich back to restaurants on Wednesday. This will be the first time since 2012 that it will be available at all of the fast food chain’s 14,400 outlets nationwide. McDonald’s brings back the McRib...
TribLive Taste Test: Sheetz Project Happy Hole-idayz Doughnut AleVideo
Beer brewed with doughnut holes? Why not? Today’s TribLive Taste Test subject was the brand-new Project Happy Hole-idayz, a collaboration between Sheetz and North Carolina brewery Wicked Weed. Each batch is supposedly brewed using a pound of the convenience store chain’s Shweetz doughnut holes, with notes of vanilla frosting and...
Food for thought: Your Turkey Day menu, by the numbersVideo
A trip around the Thanksgiving menu is like a trip around the United States, as American farmers produce much of what we savor on this national holiday, according to USAFacts.org. Below are some facts and figures about some of the popular foods to be shared today, with figures from 2019....
Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster donates Thanksgiving meals to seniors
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster fondly remembers Thanksgiving dinners growing up. “The older people would always be served first,” said Smith-Schuster on Tuesday. He’s making the sure the seniors are taken care of this year, especially when they might not be able to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and...
Caffe Barista plans indoor farmers market in downtown GreensburgVideo
Though downtown Greensburg has plenty of restaurants, Caffe Barista owner Lisa Hegedus still sees the area as a kind of food desert. That’s because it lacks a market where shoppers can pick up milk, bread and other food staples, she says — something that should change in the spring when...
For rookie Thanksgiving cooks, expert tips to avoid disaster
NEW YORK (AP) — After Christopher Hughey tweeted that he’s tackling his first Thanksgiving turkey this year, the advice started rolling in. Brine it. Don’t bother. Try “spatchcocking” — grilling the bird split open. Remember to turn on the oven, and expect that something will burn. “One extreme is that...
Break bread from Pittsburgh’s Pane e Pronto bakery this ThanksgivingVideo
Baking bread from scratch takes flour, yeast and the most important ingredient … time. “It’s a process,” said Nick Malburg, head baker at Pane e Pronto, an Italian takeout, bread and catering kitchen in the Strip District. “You can’t rush it, because if you do, people will notice.” Malburg has...
Toast the season with festive twists on holiday spiritsVideo
You don’t have to go to the bar to get a well-made drink. Many can be served in your house. “With most people spending the holidays at home because of the pandemic, there are easy ways to make cocktails in your house,” said Barry Young, co-founder and master distiller at...
NBC’s ‘Today’ talks with Lucy Pollock, 98, Latrobe baking sensationVideo
From her Latrobe kitchen to Facebook and now to NBC’s “Today,” Lucy Pollock’s baking skills keep reaching wider audiences. The 98-year-old started gaining recognition in the early days of the pandemic when her daughter and housemate, Mary Ellen Raneri, started sharing Pollock’s baking skills on live Facebook sessions. Mary Ellen’s...
