Month: January 2012

We lived in this neighborhood for two years in a little rental behind what was the Balcony Restaurant and Jazz Club.  You could hear the dumpster trucks come in the early morning and the beer bottles clash in the alley.  Today on the way home from school I stopped by the Food Museum where the fruit in the window is like  a Flemish painting in the Metropolitan. Better known as the Shadyside Market. An elegant place. They were really nice to me although they knew I was checking the price tags before I made my selections.   I knew I could buy bacon, eggs, and bread and not break the bank. The plan was to use a box of spaghetti in the pantry, the parmesan in the fridge and make spaghetti carbonara accompanied by a spinach salad with oranges and red onion. (had Spinach Salad on my mind, thanks to Chicago John from Bartolini’s Kitchen blog)

With the snow falling I knew that our big markets would be swamped as everyone rushes there to get the last roll of toilet paper or empty the shelves to stock their larder when they hear of an impending snowstorm.  So no food photos of the great meal I was inspired to cook in the winter weather,  But the neighborhood of Shadyside.   Sometimes I cringe when I realize I would let 7 year old Laura walk around the block ALONE to Rite-Aid to buy the paper. What was I thinking?  Prantl’s Bakery makes the Burnt Almond Torte everyone loves. Well, most people.