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REVIEWS
NIGHTCLUBS / RESTAURANTS
Sports Rock 2003
Bar Louie 2002 Bar Louie2
Dish Osteria Bar 2002
Silky’s Saloon 2002
EVENTS
Shining Lights 2002
Carnegie On-Tap: Heaven and Hell 2002
Epilepsy Freaky Fright Night 2002
Mattress Factory 25th Anniversary Party 2002
Star Wars OmniMax 2002
03/03/03
SPORTS ROCK
Hey, I made an interesting discover this week.
Sports Rock Cafe! lol. I know, I know, how can that be a discovery? It is not
the location... it was the interior. Other than the TVs they have completely
revamped it. They reduced the lower level to make room for a new club next
door. I cannot remember the name of the new club something like "I Spy". It
will allow you to spy on people from Sports Rock. That is not the name of it
but it should be! LOL I have heard that I might have just named one new bar in
Pittsburgh why not another? lol. Wouldn't it be funny if they made it an I Spy
bar? Just like being on a long road trip and staying entertained for hours by
spying colors, objects in the car, animals, licenses plates from other states,
the alphabet from A-Z in road signs and store fronts, your sister's drool, your
brother's messy diaper? I still know a few guys like that need a diaper
change. The last guy that sent me an immature letter out of the blue. Grow
up! lol.
Okay way off the subject again. What else is new?
Getting back to Sports Rock... check it out. They also have a new gadget that I
have never seen before... a 'quarters' basketball game with it's own stage for
viewing. I am not sure if that is there every week, if it is just temporary or
special night game. It is not for drinking, just for fun. Good timing for
March Madness. They made the upstairs reallllly cozy, kinda like Shootz on the
South Side, another great bar. 5 or 6 dart boards, pool tables on one side with
lots of really cute guys. lol. Lots of games in the back. On the street side
they have plush sofas with a fireplace in front of the TVs of course.
Definitely a great 'date' spot, like the hidden corner downstairs of Touch.
hint hint. Need to be touched? Ooowww!!! I know, I know you are touched. -
creator
12/13/02
BAR LOUIE
I went to Bar Louie on Sunday a couple weeks ago and call me lost but I have
never seen the trains before. I was relaxing in a booth across the bar facing
the windows having a pleasant drink with a friend. When the train went by... I
was delighted! How cool and very romantic. Then on top of that, Bar Louie's
"Immaculate" Concoction was so creamy it made me purrr. lol - creator
12/05/02
KATE "ON THE LOOSE"
* Two aspirin
** Two aspirin and a gallon of water before bed
*** Two aspirin, a gallon of water before bed, and a gallon of coffee in the
morning
**** Two aspirin, gallon of water, gallon of coffee, and a bottle of Visine
***** Bloody Mary breakfast baby!
SHINING LIGHTS
First, I waited 30 minutes in the freezing rain/snow in a very
weather-inappropriate dress and heels for any bus to take me downtown. Then, I
spent an hour in gridlock on said bus listening to the world’s drunkest man do
Howard Cosell impressions. I went through all this just to get to Pittsburgh
Cares’ annual volunteer appreciation night, but the trip from hell was just a
distant memory by night’s end.
I love this event. It has the prefect amount a people and a great location on
the 31st floor of the Regional Enterprise Tower. I dig seeing the It
always starts out subdued, but after awards were given out halfway through the
evening, the party kicked into high gear. It’s a nice yin-yang-y, business in
front, party in back kind of night. And throughout, the awesome Pgh Cares people
made sure that the drinks were flowing, the food was filling, and the DJ kept
spinning. I like this year’s addition of the roving digital cameraman too. He
made everyone say "cheese" and then immediately loaded the pics into a virtual
slide show – like an instant Whirl magazine spread.
It’s an eclectic crowd too, at least at first. One friend (and first time
attendee) of mine arrived and warily noted the diverse age range and subdued
nature of the crowd. I told him to hang in there, and he was not disappointed.
By the time the music switched from lite rock to top 40 and retro classics, he
was a dancing fool. Then again, that tends to happen once those ample drink
tickets have had a chance to kick in. I may have even heard the words "lit up on
light up night" tossed around a few times too.
But for me, the best part of the night was peering down onto our city and being
very, very, very glad that I was all warm and cozy and not freezing my butt off
at The Point or elbowing my way through hordes of holiday shoppers. They
couldn’t possibly have had as good a time as we were (although I’m using the
hangover-theme rating system for a good reason). ***** (5 snowflakes)
11/08/02
Star Wars OmiMax
-
Hey Jedi Knight Geeks, if you have already seen Star Wars Attack of the Clones I
highly recommend that you check it out again at the Science Center OmniMax.
A SplashMax Awesome! Make sure that you sit up high and in the middle of
the theater. The faces are way too close but the space and battle scenes are
'out of the world' $10 but worth it. I may even go again. lol
- creator
KATE "On the Loose"…Something Old and
Something New
Freaky Fright
Night
The Epilepsy Foundation threw their
first-ever Halloween bash at Froggy’s last week. A black-eyed pea, cowgirl, and
a naughty nurse were on hand, and Mickey and Minnie Mouse made the rounds as
well. We’ve all heard how Ozzy Osbourne has recently fallen off the wagon, and
his lookalike on this night played that part nicely. As per (unfortunately)
usual, there were a fair share of non-costumed folks playing the sad, tired, and
oh-so-lame "I came as me" card, but generally everyone played along. After
gobbling down wings, potato skins and¾ my favorite
blast from the past¾ pigs in a blanket, the group
seemed to gravitate to the live band upstairs. Swiggin’ Yeungling and dancing to
cover songs, the crowd seemed to think there was nothing "fright"ening about
getting their "freak" on.
Carnegie On-Tap: Heaven
and Hell
After attendees were practically blown
inside by the night’s icy winds (goodbye sunshine, hello Seasonal Affective
Disorder), they quickly checked their winter coats (remember the good old days
when that wasn’t necessary?). Sliding past the food lines and toward the bar
proved an arduous task, because familiar faces along the way provided too many
social roadblocks¾ not that it was a bad thing. Low-carb
beer seemed to be the drink of the evening¾ perhaps
to make a pre-emptive strike against the requisite holiday weight gain? So, cans
firmly in hand, patrons air-kissed and made introductions between mouthfuls of
artichoke dip and angel food cake.
"On-Tap"ers slid by the display tables to drop their
card in the City Paper and Party Geek raffles, perhaps grabbing a handful of the
Geeks’ complimentary red hots to inspire some devilish dance moves. Once in the
Music Hall, Satan himself couldn’t stop the party and the folks from Whirl
were there for photographic proof. When the lights came on at 11:00, those who
didn’t head home to kick off their dancing shoes went for another round with
their free admission to Matrix.
As much as I hate the cold bleakness of winter, its arrival does signal the
start of event season, so I guess I have to take the good with the bad.
Heaven and hell indeed.
10/25/02
KATE "ON THE LOOSE"
Ratings...
◊ Spam
◊◊ Sloppy Joes from the school cafeteria
◊◊◊ Your mom’s famous meatloaf
◊◊◊◊ Juicy half-pound cheeseburger straight from the grill
◊◊◊◊◊ Filet Mignon so perfect you can cut it with a spoon
Silky’s Saloon
1731 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill (412) 421-9222 (just walk in)
I dream about Rueben sandwiches.
A great Rueben makes me think that the deli scene from When Harry Met Sally
isn’t unrealistic. In fact, I try every Rueben I can.
But I always come back to Silky’s, the Squirrel Hill sports bar that has become
my personal Cheers. With a great jukebox and bartenders who remember both your
name and drink by your second visit, Silky’s has never disappointed me, even
when I force myself to have a Rueben-less meal.
Yes, Silky’s is a sports bar, and yes, the bathrooms and barstools have seen
better days, but you don’t go to Silky’s for fine dining. You go there for
heaping steak salads, monstrous sandwiches, and fiery wings, because that is
what they do best.
While I admit to frequenting the hip new bars that continue to spring up around
here, it’s nice to know that Silky’s is always there for those days when you
don’t feel like dressing up or elbowing past a Carson Daly clone for bar
service. When I walk into the cool darkness of Silky’s and slide into my seat, I
leave all my pretensions at the door.
Did I mention the Rueben? ◊◊◊◊◊
Dish Osteria Bar
128 S. 17th Street, South Side (412) 390-2012 (reservations necessary)
With its cramped tables and trendy, tattooed waitresses, Dish could easily be
nestled on some side street in New York’s West Village. Luckily for Pittsburgh,
this charming neighborhood trattoria is just steps from Carson Street on the
South Side.
A trattoria is, by definition, "an informal restaurant or tavern serving simple
Italian dishes," which is an apt description of dinner at Dish.
Since the restaurant has barely 15 tables and four bar stools, Dish’s dishes
(pardon the pun) focus on quality, not quantity. This is apparent in the
restaurant’s careful choice of ingredients, from 30-year balsamic vinegar to
perfectly ripened summer tomatoes. While the portions seem shockingly small in a
"Super Size" culture, their flavor makes up for their lack of girth.
Equally small is the menu and wine selection, but that doesn’t make it any
easier to choose from the nouveaux Northern Italian offerings and the well
chosen, yet affordable vino. The waitstaff is patient and eager to offer their
opinions, yet they still manage to be deliciously unobtrusive in such close
quarters.
At first, diners whisper over candlelight to keep some semblance of privacy, but
it’s hard to whisper when the food is this good. ◊◊◊◊
KATE...
Rating System:
M
Warm Natty Light from a keg
M
M Watered-down Captain and Coke
M
M M Decent glass of
house merlot
M
M M M A
smooth, top-shelf martini
M
M M M M A bubbly glass of Cristal
Bar Louie
Walking into Bar Louie, Station Square last Friday around 8:00PM, I got the
distinct impression that most people in there had been there since 5:00.
Loosened ties with discarded blazers was the dominant dress code for rowdy
groups of co-workers, but a few people just starting out their evening were
spotted weaving through the khaki throngs. The male-female ratio was fairly
even, but there seemed to be a few more men than women (are you listening
ladies?). In terms of age, the crowd was diverse¾ I’d
put the average age somewhere between 25 and 50.
Luckily, my girlfriends and I managed to snag a table, but getting a drink was
another story. We ended up walking to the beer tubs (manned, of course, by
scantily clad women) rather than wait for the waitress’ erratic appearance. As a
former drink-slinger myself, I normally shun this type of behavior, but it was
absolutely necessary. I’m sure part of her tardiness was attributed to weaving
through massive crowds and the extremely poor set up of the bar and surrounding
tables. Crowds were four deep at the bar (which is manned, surprisingly, by a
fairly yummy all-male bar staff), and getting to the bathroom was a half-hour
expedition.
Food is a necessity before a long night of drinking, so we shared some tasty
soft pretzels with honey mustard. It’s good that we did, because my spicy
chicken and black bean wrap was so full of peppers that I couldn’t eat it (and I
love spicy) – good fries though. The general consensus on the food was
okay, but we ended up ignoring it and impromptu disco dancing in the narrow
aisle instead.
This would be a good place to go if you’re looking for a hook-up, just don’t
count on finding someone who will call the next day. It’s not a great date or
couple place but fun with a group of friends. The guys are definitely cruising,
and the girls are too. Between the paunchy banker types and the Vinnie Barbarino
wannabes, we did manage to find a few diamonds in the rough.
M M M
Mattress Factory 25th Anniversary Party
A friend of mine from NYC was in town, so what better way to prove that the
‘Burgh has culture too than to take her to this cool event? I had never been to
the Mattress Factory before and was curious to see what it had to offer.
Held in the museum’s courtyard (thank you Mother Nature), the cool funk/soul
groove of the New Alcindors greeted us as we stepped outside, but well-heeled
ladies such as ourselves had to carefully maneuver across the uneven, cracked
concrete and grates. Once safely at the bar, we toasted with complimentary beer
and wine. Drinks were being mixed ($3) by the Ladies United for the Preservation
of the Endangered Cocktail, a cool group of gals who keep the Pink Squirrel and
the Singapore Sling alive.
Moving on (carefully), we sampled bruschetta by Girasole, lasagna from Anna’s
Ravioli (go figure), and fajitas by Big Burrito. Moving up the stairs toward the
auction tent, we then indulged in a carb-fest¾
courtesy of Jenny Lee Bakery, Panera Bread, the Warsaw Tavern, and the
Pittsburgh Deli Company. We chatted with Steven from Whirl magazine in this
funky installation room they have outside, and then watched the start of the
auction.
Watching people throw money around like it’s nothing made this humble working
gal and her struggling actress friend feel a bit out of our element, but it was
neat to see the diverse offerings (100 in all) of former Mattress Factory
artists. Searching for a less expensive diversion, we found ourselves in the MRI-like
Gasworks exhibit by James Turrell). It was pretty cool, but I heard it was
supposed to make you feel funky – it didn’t. We then wandered through the three
other floors of art installations (more Turrell and others). I like art, but I
appreciate most of the stuff we saw rather quickly (red light on wall, okay,
let’s move on). Still, it was definitely worth looking at.
We wrapped things up in a room that is pitch black. Two at a time, you are
supposed to sit in there for 20 minutes or so, and (gender and age-specific)
images will appear. Perhaps set back by the lights of a ringing cell phone and
the next people in line yelling, "Are you done yet?" (like they were waiting for
the bathroom or something!), we left without seeing anything. Then again, I
could never see the sailboat in those mall pictures either.
On the way out we bumped into Mayor Murphy, but familiar faces were generally
few and far between. Not really great situation to meet people or hang out with
friends, but it was a nice change of pace at a museum that deserves more
attention than it gets. I encourage you to attend future events.
We even made it out without tripping or breaking a heel! M M M M
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