Chapter 3: Things We Like About Pittsburgh
The next day, my mom, Nadine drove me up to the Grand Concourse for my birthday brunch, where I met up with Sarah, James, and Henri, as well as some more of my other friends Alex Russo, Justin Evans, and Max Greenwald. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. Everyone was dressed formally and appropriately for the occasion, despite the chilly weather. "You guys have a very diverse and complex menu of hors d'eourves, I see," I told my friends. "Fall produce like red and golden beets, purple potatoes, and napa cabbage," Sarah pointed out, "as well as winter produce like mustard greens, grapefruit, and turnip." "Semi-hard cheeses like Swiss, blue cheeses like gorgonzola, and semi-soft cheeses like Monterey Jack," James added. "Egg noodles like the medium kind, filled pasta like tortellini, and shape pasta like orecchiette," Henri chimed in. "Spring produce like artichokes, rhubarb, and asparagus," Alex pointed out, "as well as summer produce like roma tomatoes, green beans, and okra." "Hard cheeses like Manchego, soft-ripened cheeses like brie, and fresh cheeses like ricotta," Justin added. "Tube pasta like cavatappi, long pasta like fettuccine, and tiny pasta like couscous," Max chimed in. "All of these foods sound downright yummy," I agreed with my friends. "Uh-huh," Mom agreed. "I would love a meal like that!" We all took our seat at a table, and Sarah and Alex gave me presents. I also ran into the singing birthday card with the song "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang that Alex bought at Monroeville Mall. Alex gave me some more DVDs that she recorded of movies that she liked and thought that I would like, including the one Rick Sebak special. Sarah gave me an iTunes gift card. "Thanks for the gifts, everyone!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Alex replied. As well as the food we brought, there were also some favorites that we liked from the regular brunch menu for both breakfast and lunch. "I didn't know there was such a thing as purple potatoes, Sarah," Mom remarked. "Well, the home fries and scalloped potatoes were made with them," Sarah told us. "You said before that you didn't even consider potatoes to be a vegetable, Sarah," I remarked. "They're not," Sarah agreed with me. "They are more of a starch." "Mom also told me that grapefruit is not a winter fruit, since it grows in warm climates like California and Florida," I reminded Sarah. "That's weird," Sarah told me. "I remember receiving a grapefruit at Christmastime, along with other citrus fruits. And let me tell you, citrus fruits are very popular around Christmastime." "You also have cherries on your dress," I noticed, looking at Sarah's sundress. "What season are cherries the most popular during?" "I would say, spring and summer," Sarah replied. "Alex would know more about this stuff since she is in charge of these types of produce, not me." "Well, I have strawberries on my pink dress, but I unfortunately did not choose them this time around," Alex told me. "What did you choose, Alex?" Mom asked. "I chose asparagus because I have that vegetable every Easter, but not this year since we had so many other foods," Alex stated, "so I decided to have asparagus today instead." "You cooked the green beans in my favorite way, Alex," I noticed. "What way is that, Angel?" Alex asked. "Ginger sesame green bean stir-fry, of course," I replied. "I didn't know you liked green beans cooked that way," Alex told me. "Well, they are healthier than green bean casserole," I told my friend. "Oh, I love eating green bean casserole, especially at Thanksgiving," Alex stated. "Speaking of which, I think I am doing better with my weight." "I actually remember you buying that dress at Monroeville Mall," I stated. "Yeah, and then Sarah had to go with me to exchange it and get a different size," Alex also remembered, "and it is actually a little bit chilly for us both to be wearing wedge sandals." "I knew you would probably wear sandals, but probably not Sarah," I stated. "She only wears those in the summer." "Sarah thought that they would look better with her outfit," Alex told me. "Whatever," I stated. I turned to Mom. "Can I go get some more food and see what the boys are up to?" I asked Mom. "Sure," Mom replied. "Why not?" I went back to the buffet and spotted James and Justin at the cheese section. "You chose Swiss this time around instead of cheddar, James," I noticed. "But, I always thought that cheddar was your favorite." "Well, I decided to choose my second favorite cheese, Swiss, just to shake things up a bit," James told me. "Do you like pepper jack cheese, James?" Justin asked. "Not really, Justin," James replied. "Just a little bit too spicy for me." "I like ricotta cheese, which is a fresh cheese, on tasty breakfast breads like bagels and English muffins," Justin stated. Then, I spotted Henri and Max getting pasta. "Since when does the Grand Concourse serve egg noodles?" Henri asked. "Since you brought them in, Henri," Max pointed out. "I have always loved the Grand Concourse's fettuccine alfredo." "Do you guys like tomato sauce with your pasta?" I asked. "It's okay, but butter and cream are better," Henri replied. "Don't you agree, Max?" "Right," Max agreed. Not to mention, Sarah, Alex, and I had some delicious pancakes, waffles, and omelets, as well as ice cream sundaes, that were placed outside of the brunch stations. Sarah, James, and Henri also took me to a Pirates game briefly before our meeting at the Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill. "I like a lot of things about Pittsburgh," I told my friends. "Don't you agree?" "Oh yeah," Alex agreed. "There is a lot to like about Pittsburgh." "Why don't you go first, Sarah?" I asked my best friend. "Tell us one thing that you like about Pittsburgh." "Well, I love all the great colleges and universities around here," Sarah told me. "I was originally planning to go to Pitt just like you, Alex, but I decided to go to Carnegie Mellon University with my older stepbrother, James, and pretty soon, Henri wanted to attend CMU, as well." "No wonder I thought that you guys went to Pitt at first," Alex admitted, "but CMU is a great college, too." "That's right," I agreed. "Since they are both in the busy neighborhood of Oakland." "Not to mention, I was in a great senior teaching program that had brilliant students growing up in the city of Pittsburgh. So, that is one good thing to like about Pittsburgh." "What do you like about Pittsburgh, James?" I asked. "Well, I love all of the great food that Pittsburgh serves, like halushki, pierogies, kolbasi, stuffed cabbage, city chicken, and chipped ham," James told me. "Not to mention, there are lots of great restaurants by our apartment on Forbes Avenue, such as Lulu's Noodles, Uncle Sam's Subs, the Original Hot Dog Shop, and my personal favorite, Primanti Bros., and for dessert, sometimes during the summer, my siblings and I like to go to Dave & Andy's Homemade Ice Cream." "You have an Uncle Sam's Subs?" Justin asked. "So do we." "We should go there sometime," I told my friends. "Especially since we have been to so many great restaurants near your house, such as Mineo's Pizza Place, How Lee, and most recently, the Pastoli's Pizza and Pasta recipe." "We have been to a lot more restaurants than those," James pointed out, "but there is still a lot more great food to enjoy here in the city of Pittsburgh other than just the cheeses I ate at the Grand Concourse earlier today. So, that is another good thing to like about Pittsburgh." "What do you like about Pittsburgh, Henri?" I asked. "Well, I love all of our sports teams, like the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Pittsburgh Steelers," Henri replied. "I also love when James takes us all out to baseball games, like we were just at, and we like to watch the football games on TV and attend some hockey games while we have the chance." "I am also a huge fan of the Pirates, Penguins, and Steelers," Max agreed. "Although I do feel bummed out that Andrew McCutchen left the Pirates team." "Remember that those teams play in unsafe neighborhoods like the North Side and the Hill District," I reminded everyone. "Other than sports, stay away from those unsafe neighborhoods! I told both of you guys this information at previous meetings." "I just think that we have the best sports teams in the whole state of Pennsylvania, and that is another good thing to like about Pittsburgh." "What do you like about Pittsburgh, Alex?" I asked my other best friend. "That's easy," Alex replied. "All of the wonderful places to go, like Sandcastle, Kennywood, the Waterfront, Monroeville Mall, and even an amusement park called Idlewild in Westmoreland County. I have never been there before, but I would like to give it a try." "Do you guys like living in Squirrel Hill and Oakland more than in Natrona Heights?" "Of course we do, Angel," Alex replied. "My old house on Olive Avenue was boring and nothing special. I just lived there so I could go to MSG Academy in Freeport, and that was when my senior class took a trip to Sandcastle Water Park. Not to mention, we got lost!" "Can we maybe go to places like Sandcastle this summer if the weather is nice?" Sarah asked. "Of course," Alex replied. "There are also some great parks near where I live, with my personal favorite being Frick Park, since my parents live right by Frick, across from the tennis courts. I must admit that Harrison Hills Park was nothing like that." "Well, there is also Schenley Park near where we live," Sarah pointed out. "And, also Highland Park near where I live," I added. "So, that is another thing to like about Pittsburgh." "There is also a great public transportation system here that I can use when I don't feel like driving," Alex added. "Well, I think the weather in Pittsburgh is one thing to like about living here," Justin pointed out. "It's better than when I went to Mercyhurst College, where I was stuck in the snow belt." "Erie does get a lot of snow, huh?" James asked. "I agree that that is not the best neighborhood for a summer weather lover like me." "Or, a spring weather lover like me," Justin pointed out. "Pittsburgh has the best weather out of every city in Pennsylvania, because of where we are placed. So, that is definitely another thing to like about Pittsburgh." "Well, I think that Pittsburgh's unique language is definitely something to like about living in Pittsburgh," Max pointed out. "Like 'Yinz', 'Slippy', 'Buggy', 'Gumband', 'the 'Burgh', 'Redd up', 'N'at,' 'Stillers,' 'dahntahn,' 'worsher,' and 'arn'." "I am familiar with all these Pittsburgh's terms," Henri chimed in. "Especially since we learned about using this type of language at a previous meeting at Angel's house." "What about you, Angel?" Sarah asked me. "What do you like about Pittsburgh?" Alex asked me. "Well, I like the fact that Pittsburgh is a generally safe town," I told everyone, "except for a few neighborhoods, like as mentioned before, the Hill District and the North Side, particularly the central part, and some eastern neighborhoods like Homewood, Wilkinsburg, Lincoln-Larimer, Hazelwood, and Upper Homestead, except for the Waterfront, of course." "I just love living in Pittsburgh in general, especially the southern and eastern portions of the neighborhood," Alex admitted. Pretty soon, it was time for me to leave. "Thanks for a great day, guys!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Sarah replied. "Bye, guys!" "Bye!"