Eat: Penn’s Corner produce delivered to your door
Once upon a time, delivery meant greasy pizzas and General Tso’s. Not anymore. Across the country, businesses are springing up to deliver everything from full vegan dinners to handcrafted ice cream. Now, Pittsburghers can add great local produce, grass-fed meats and much more to that list with Penn’s Corner Farm Alliance’s new home delivery service.
Founded in 1999, Penn’s Corner works to connect farmers from all around Southwestern Pennsylvania with customers interested in buying fresh, local food. The farmer-owned cooperative does this in a number of ways: selling to Pittsburgh’s best restaurants, operating a weekly CSA and hosting an online farmstand. Now, Penn’s Corner is making it even easier to get those farmstand purchases by offering a weekly home delivery service.
For orders of $50 or more from the online farmstand, Penn’s Corner will deliver to your home for an additional $15. Simply place your order by Thursday afternoon and, as long as you live within the city of Pittsburgh, Penn’s Corner will drop it off the following Monday. The farmstand boasts a seasonally changing selection of local goods, from butternut squash to grains to apple cider vinegar. Visit the website or download the mobile app to order.
Learn more about Penn’s Corner’s home delivery and browse their online farmstand here.
Drink: A proper New Orleans cocktail for Mardi Gras
Next Tuesday is Mardi Gras, which means parade season is in full swing down in New Orleans. Though many partiers will be stumbling down Bourbon Street clutching sticky sweet Hurricanes and fishbowls filled with god-knows-what, we can do better. Honor the Crescent City’s storied drinking history with one of its many classic cocktails.
First, the granddaddy of New Orleans cocktails: the Sazerac. The official cocktail of New Orleans, the Sazerac is as old school as it gets, dating back to the mid-1800s. A spirit-forward mixture of rye whiskey (cognac is excellent as well), sugar, bitters and absinthe, the Sazerac is a strong, herbaceous cocktail perfect for sipping on a chilly night. Head to Oakland’s Butterjoint for a textbook rendition of the drink. Or mix up a hyper-local version at home with rye, absinthe and bitters from Wigle Whiskey.
The French 75, while not invented in New Orleans, is closely tied to the city. New Orleans’ iconic French 75 bar serves up a luxurious rendition made with Courvoisier cognac and Moet and Chandon champagne. A gin-based version, which pairs the spirit with lemon, sugar and sparkling wine, is more common, however. Though the effervescent cocktail goes down easy, the French 75 packs a punch—which is why it was named after the powerful WWI field gun. Grab one at Downtown’s Nola on the Square or next door at sister restaurant Perlé, which specializes in all things bubbly.
For a cocktail you really have to earn, turn to the Ramos Gin Fizz. The original recipe, devised by New Orleans barman Henry C. Ramos in the late 1800s, called for an arm-numbing 12 minutes of shaking time. At the height of the drink’s popularity, Ramos supposedly employed a team of 20 bartenders, who would pass shakers down the line and put on quite a show. The result of all that hard work is a creamy, frothy concoction of floral gin cocktail with a silky, airy texture from the addition of egg white and cream. Though not many bars are likely to whip one up for you, the bayou-inspired Muddy Waters Oyster Bar in East Liberty dares to feature the labor-intensive cocktail on their menu.
Do: The Souper Bowl at Franktuary
Super Bowl Sunday is a time for wings, seven-layer dip, cold beer—and soup? Though that last one may not be traditional, Franktuary couldn’t resist a good pun. Before getting ready for the big game this weekend, stop by the Lawrenceville hot dog restaurant to slurp a bowl of soup for a good cause.
In addition to their regular brunch menu, which includes omelets, house-made bacon, brunch-ified poutines and much more, Franktuary will feature several soups at this Sunday’s brunch, which runs from 10 to 3 at their Lawrenceville location. The soups, which will be served in Breadworks bread bowls, include a potato, bacon and kale soup and a vegan lentil soup. All proceeds from the soup sales will benefit Light of Life Rescue Mission, a North Side nonprofit that provides food and shelter for the homeless as well as a variety of services and programs for Pittsburghers in need.
In addition, Pittsburgh Nitro will be on hand sampling nitro cold brew. Nitrogenated coffee has exploded in the last year—cold brew coffee infused with nitrogen has a slight fizz and a smooth, creamy texture. Pittsburgh Nitro is a new Wexford company that provides nitro coffee for restaurants, bars and events around the Pittsburgh area. For a suggested donation of $4.25 (which also goes to Light of Life), guests can grab a full glass of the creamy cold brew.
For more information on Franktuary and the Souper Bowl Brunch, follow them on Facebook.