Adventures in My Mind
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May 9, 2008
Belgium Comes to a Tree-Lined Pittsburgh Street
Sami and I went out last night for a rare parents-only getaway. It was a nice quiet evening that, although way too short, led us to an out of the way place favored by one Sami's friends. Stuck right in the residential heart of Point Breeze, Point Brugge Cafe is a nice little place to go. It boasts a small, but packed full of flavor menu and popularity among the more discerning dinner crowd. The Thursday night crowd buzzed quite a bit and lined up 2 deep at the bar at one point.
Serving a wide variety of Belgian beers and wines from around the world, the drink menu is much more expansive than the dinner choices. The wines are available both by the glass and the bottle. Sami chose a glass each of the Peter Lehmann Shiraz and the Airlie Pinot Noir. I stuck to the beer menu and had a Lindemans Framboise, a raspberry lambic that is expensive at $10 a bottle but worth every penny!
For our meal we stuck with a few small plate favorites, including a cheese board with grilled fennel rubbed sausage, macaroni gratin, and their famed twice-cooked Brugge Frites. We followed that with a shared Cafe Chicken sandwich that ended the meal quite nicely.
The cheese board included several cheeses I've never had but went very well with the accompanying walnuts and apples. It also included a couple of cheeses I don't much care for: Chevre and Maytag Bleu. There was a mustard cheese with mustard seed in it that was an excellent match for grilled sausage.
And for more cheese (I love cheese!)The Macaroni Gratin was the best mac & cheese this little Pittsburgh boy has ever had. With a blend of gruyere, parmesan, and cheddar; it was toppped with grated cheese, bread crumbs, parsley and baked until golden brown. It may speak to simple tastes, but the gratin was by itself reason enough for the trip.
The Brugge Frites are a true French/Belgian delight. First parcooked at a low temperature and then quickly cooked at a high temperature these French Fries are related in name only to the ones served at your local McD or greasy spoon. The frittes are served with a very continental basil mayo that was bursting with fresh basil flavor.
After looking at several of the delicious sounding entrees we settled on splitting the Cafe Chicken sandwich with fresh mozarella, roasted red peppers, romaine lettuce, and more basil mayo. It included a mixed green salad tossed in the house lemon vinaigrette. By this time we were pretty full so half of the sandwich now sits in th fridge.
The only drawback I experienced was the clientelle: a mix of older professionals and younger yuppies, few of whom I would've wanted to share my table with. And given the small space and necessary intimacy I felt as though I was indeed sharing my table with them. But I suppose the perceived pretension was in keeping with the Belgian inspired menu. A menu that I want to explore more on future visits.
Entrees like Steak Frittes, a traditional bistro favorite of steak and fries, and Carbonnade Flamande, beer-braised beef, warrant more of my time. The specials included a pan seared yellow tail tuna served over mushrooom fennel couscous that sounded fantastic.
The house favorite is clearly the Moules or Mussels. The wait staff carried plate after plate from the kitchen. Diners have the choice of three delicious sounding sauces that are served with a delicious crusty bagette bread. I'm not a fan of mussels, but watching those huge piles of beautiful black shells being set on surrounding tables almost made me want some. Such is the power of suggestion!
Check out Point Brugge Cafe the next time you're looking for a good drink and an inspired Belgian style menu.
Point Brugge Cafe
401 Hasting St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
412-441-3334
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 12:12 PM
May 7, 2008
Let Them Eat (Wedding) Cake
At press conference called by the First Lady Laura Bush, the subject digressed from the devastation in Myanmar - the ostensible reason for the whole thing - to the much more urgent topic of Jenna Bush's upcoming marriage.
I wonder if we can get some more footage of W. (Nero) dancing (fiddling). How much is a barrell of oil now?0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 11:35 AM
May 2, 2008
The Empire Strikes Barack
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 12:31 PM
Apr 22, 2008
PA Primary: I Voted!
Have you?
Still undecided?
It doesn't matter who you support, despite my partisan heckling. Just get out there and vote!
And if you are an Obama supporter, please hit the counter on the right and drop a little cash in the till for November.
Barack Obama '08
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 9:19 AM
Apr 17, 2008
45 Minutes
Forty-five minutes for mainstream media to put the last nail in its own coffin.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 3:36 PM
Apr 16, 2008
Who Won the Debate?
ABC won in the ratings as American democracy loses once again. And what's with George Stephanopolous taking his questions directly from conservative sawtooth Sean Hannity?
And what the hell is up with him moderating the debate in the first place? Did he not used to work in the Clinton White House? Did he not help get Clinton elected in 1992?
I read this week that he felt that he would be capable of being neutral. Bullshit! I haven't seen that type of neutrality since Hitler promised not to annex the Sudetenland.
Rupert Murdoch and the New York Post could've been more impartial the Stephanopolous and Gibson.
And where the hell did they get the mouth breather who asked about the lapel pin? "I'm not questioning your patriotism, but why don't you wear the pin?" What? What!
Prices out of control. Government incompetency running wild. An unending war in Iraq. Bin Laden still running loose in Pakistan. And we get a question about lapel pins. It was an excellent way to spend your 15 minutes of fame, Martha, or whatever the fuck your name is.
This "debate" was a sham. It was a pile on from Clinton, Gibson, Stephanopolous, and Sean Hannity. It was a joke. It was a shame. It was sham. It was a travesty of mockery of sham (sorry about the paraphrase Woody).
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 10:04 PM
You Call This a Debate?
Forty-four minutes in and apparently ABC and George Stephanopolous have decided to lynch Obama.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 8:46 PM
I Hear the Train A'Comin' ... The Obama Train
The Pittburgh Post-Gazette endorses Barack Obama:
This editorial began by observing that one candidate is of the past and one of the future. The litany of criticisms heaped on Sen. Obama by the Clinton camp, simultaneously doing the work of the Republicans, is as illustrative as anything of which one is which. These are the cynical responses of the old politics to the new. ... Pennsylvania -- this encrusted, change-averse commonwealth where a state liquor monopoly holds on against all reason and where municipal fiefdoms shrink from sensible consolidation -- needs to take a strong look at the new face and the new hope in this race. Because political business-as-usual is more likely to bring the usual disappointment for the Democrats this fall, the Post-Gazette endorses the nomination of Barack Obama, who has brought an excitement and an electricity to American politics not seen since the days of John F. Kennedy.Hillary, this is not your husband's politics anymore.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 1:27 PM
Apr 15, 2008
Bill Can Say It But Barack Can't?
From Bill Clinton's 2004 memoir, My Life.
If [Republicans] could cut funding for Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment, middle-class Americans would see fewer benefits from their tax dollars, feel more resentful paying taxes, and become even more receptive to their appeals for tax cuts and their strategy of waging campaigns on divisive social and cultural is sues like abortion, gay rights, and guns.Clinton said it because it's true. Obama said because it's true.
Hillary seized on it because she, like the Republicans, is looking for a wedge issue to discredit Obama.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 12:08 PM
Apr 14, 2008
It's About the Clinton's, Stupid!
Uber Journalist, Carl Bernstein, gives a rather cogent look forward into a Hillary Clinton presidency (check the link below). His advice is simple: look back to 1992.
The answer by now seems obvious: It will look like her presidential campaign, which in turn looks increasingly like the first Clinton presidency.
Which is to say, high-minded ideals, lowered execution, half truths, outright lies (and imaginary flights), take-no prisoners politics, some very good policy ideas, a presidential spouse given to wallowing in anger and self-pity, and a succession of aides and surrogates pushed under the bus when things don’t go right. Which is to say, often.
And endless psychodrama: the essential Clintonian experience that mesmerizes the press, confuses the citizenry, confounds members of both parties in Congress (not to mention the Clintons themselves, at times) and pretty much keeps the rest of the world constantly amused and fixated.It is this long march back in time that every American should be afraid of. This campaign and every moved she has made since 1999 has been about one, rather two things: Hillary and Bill, Billary.
These tragic characters lack the self-awareness necessary to understand that there are simply some things in this world that don't have anything to do with them. They are they ultimate products of the Me generation. Living in the center of their often self-created clouds of sturm and drang, they believe that they are good people and that that should be good enough. Good enough to philander and womanize. Good enough to lie to grand juries, to the press, to the electorate, to themselves. Good enough to do and say anything. Good enough to apologize later, instead of asking permission now. Good enough to destroy the Democratic party in their rush to legitimacy.
Let's not forget that Bill Clinton was elected with less than 50% of the vote in both of his presidential victories. There was no mandate. More Americans wanted someone else than wanted him. Ross Perot, of course, gave us Bubba anyway.
Let's also not forget that the peace and prosperity of the 1990s came with the very high price of all of us being dragged through their personal and public dramas. And memory and history will both show that much of the corporate greed and economic immolation of the last 7 years was either born or nurtured during Bill's administration. Much of the deregulation and unfavorable trade deals we suffer from now came from then. Bob Rubin, where are you? Oh, yeah that's right. You're a Wall Street billionaire. NAFTA anyone?
Much like an old lover who was great under the sheets, but an emotional train wreck during the light of day, it's time to move on America.
Barack Obama for President 20080 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 10:32 AM
Apr 13, 2008
CNN Puts the Lie to Criticism of Obama
This campaign must end soon. The politics of destruction that the Clintonistas are engaging in is morally bankrupt and damaging to Democratic prospects in November.
Do you really want to see a President McCain? It becomes a bigger possibility everyday that Clinton stays in the race.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 11:07 AM
Apr 12, 2008
Obama's Response to the So-Called "Bittergate" Controversy
If you're from the small towns of central PA or the suburbs of Pittsburgh, you know that he's right.
I grew up here. I know the frustration. I've seen the anger, the resentment, the hopelessness. I still live here and I see the one issue voters - guns, abortion, immigration, gay marriage - spouting intolerance and anger.
Obama is right. Washington, Harrisburg, or another capitol in this nation is out of answers so they choose demagoguery to seek votes. They set a group of "them" vs. a group "us" and choose sides. They keep the electorate separated through fear, envy, and distrust. They choose religion to soothe and the 2nd amendment to arouse. They speak platitudes as barter for votes.
Ask the people of Aliquippa, PA or Gary, IN what any government official has done for their towns in the last 25 years. You won't get many positive answers. The most popular person in Aliquippa is Mike Ditka; and not because they're proud of their native son who's done well, but because he donates the most money to their incredibly successful football program. He gives them something to believe in.
Why is the NRA second only to the catholic church in numbers of believers in PA? Because, as Obama says, it gives people something to believe in. The jobs have fled. Their kids have moved away and a constant flow of office seekers have come to soothe their fears and tell them that everything will be okay. Well, guess what. It's not. And it hasn't been for a long time.
That is what Obama was talking about.
Clinton is only half right when she says that she doesn't see bitterness, that she sees hope and resiliency. Of course there is resiliency. After all the small towns have just dried and blown away. But she has also seen the bitterness. In fact, she counts on it. Her entire "I'm a fighter" stance is grounded in that bitterness. Why else would they need a fighter if the people in small town America didn't feel betrayed by their elected officials? Fight whom? For what?
Her criticisms of elitism sounds very hollow as she proffers a protective wing for those who have allegedly been wronged. "Come with me," she says. "I will make it better. I know what's good for you."
Elitism indeed.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 1:35 PM
