the Strip

My good friend since grade school, Megan, was in Pittsburgh for a retreat this weekend, and I snagged the opportunity to meet up with her for lunch during her midday Saturday break. Other than the confirmation that I never want to drive downtown again, ever in this lifetime, as Jack would say, the day was one blessing after another. We were going to jaunt across the river to one of my favorites, Nicky's Thai Kitchen, but instead, we opted to stay close to the convention center and take advantage of the gorgeous sunny day to get some fresh air and take in some typical Pittsburgh sites. We first perused the vendors at the Pittsburgh Public Market, including my sister's Olio Fresca Olive Oil Company, which is amAAAAzing. We would have been content having our lunch there with Heather, sampling the fantastic variety of oils and balsamic vinegars with some chewy bread, but we ventured on to see more of the Strip-- not before nabbing some oils and balsamics to take home (I chose the Meyer lemon olive oil and fig balsamic vinegar (with seeds, which makes it all the better).

The smells of a street gyro vendor tantalized our senses enough to stop us in our tracks to wait 15 minutes in a sidewalk line, shared with two congested lanes of pedestrian traffic. Megan is one of those people who strikes up effortless conversation with anyone... anywhere, and after I returned from an ATM, she filled me in on the history of Wahjid's 20-year gyro business... how many gyros he makes daily (250. More during the summer months), etc. While we waited for our falafel baba ganoush wraps (being made inside by his brother), Megan ended up touting homemade baklava to passersby, and she was unsurprisingly talented. The whole time we waited in line, not a one was sold until Megan stepped up and sold three in two minutes. Too bad she wasn't commissioned. She had to decline returning the following day to help with the business (and joining Wahjid for "Arabic coffee").

From 02/18/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 02/18/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 02/18/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

The rest of the day was pretty stellar, too-- wonderfully so, in fact-- but I'll stick with this and some photos, as my posts have been few lately. Iris has been especially flighty (though super sweet), it seems, thus it's been hard to catch a still of her.

From 02/19/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 02/19/2012 (by Eye-Fi)

From 02/19/2012 (by Eye-Fi)