January 13, 2006

Local News You May Have Missed

An item of interest for Mssrs. Mellander and Mamula, fans of coffee 'n pie: Lenny's --- aka Irwin's Colonial Grille --- is re-opening soon.

Great googly-moogly! I didn't realize it was closed. I had breakfast at the Grille not long ago (it must have been longer than I thought, though) with retired Daily News city editor Don Fox. Apparently, Gary Santimeyer --- son of Grille founder and North Irwin Mayor Lenny Santimeyer --- put the restaurant up for sale when he opened a bed and breakfast in West Newton.

Patti Dobranski of the Trib reports that most of the old employees are returning, including chef Bobby Van Ryn. The Grille specialized in comfort foods like homemade soup, ham barbecue, roast beef and some dynamite fried chicken. If Colonel Sanders had Lenny Santimeyer's recipe for fried chicken, he'd have made general.

Two features will be lost: The Grille will be a non-smoking restaurant, and the lottery machine won't return. (They're keeping the counter, though ... right? Right?)

...

I'm surprised a bed and breakfast didn't fly in West (by God) Newton. All roads lead to West Newton, and if you don't believe me, take a look at any local highway --- U.S. 30, Route 48, Route 51, I-70, Route 136 --- and chances are you'll see a sign pointing to West Newton.

This has lead Dr. Pica Pole, director of the Tube City Online Laboratories and Laundromat, to devise what he calls his "Grand Universal Unification Theory of West Newtondom," which postulates that West Newton is actually the center of the known universe. Specifically, the eastern corner of South Fourth Street and Vine Street.

Dr. Pole is planning to do additional research on this theory, just as soon as he finishes drying out.

...

Meanwhile, North Huntingdon Township commissioners are expected to vote Wednesday whether to allow a new commercial development near Norwin Hills Shopping Center, writes Marsha Forys in the Trib.

The commissioners are also expected to vote on revisions to the new Wal-Mart Supercenter shopping plaza, planned for along Barnes Lake Road.

And Tube City Omnimedia is taking reservations for helicopter rides between Jacktown Hill and Adamsburg, because once all of this retail malarkey is completed, you're not going to be able to use Route 30 any more.

...

By the way, our suggested detour around all that congestion?

You guessed it: It goes through West Newton.

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From the "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Dept.," we read in the News that some veterans from Lincoln Borough are upset over recent additions and corrections to the war memorial there.

At the unveiling of the new tablets --- meant to add names that were omitted, as well as to recognize soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who served in Afghanistan and Iraq --- two vets waved plastic bags inscribed with the word, "shame," reports Raymond Pefferman.

A curator from the National Park Service has now stepped in to make recommendations to resolve the dispute.

Now, if Lincoln Borough's monument took up several acres of property on the National Mall in Washington (dee-cee, not pee-ay), I could understand the fuss. But we're talking about a brick monument at the fire hall, for goodness' sake.

True, the memorial is a little ... well, let's say "folksy" and "rustic." It won't make anyone forget the Washington Monument, and it isn't exactly built the way I would have done it. Yet I can't imagine that any disrespect was intended.

Couldn't this have been resolved with a handshake, and a promise by those upset to design something better? Lincoln Borough is not exactly New York City, and surely people could have worked together on this if residents weren't satisfied.

And surely they still can, right?

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You can see a PowerPoint presentation of photos from Penn State McKeesport Campus' fall commencement at the PSM website. The keynote speaker was Veronica Montecinos, an associate professor of sociology at McKeesport Campus.

She's an expert on economics, politics and gender relations in Latin America, and a graduate of the Catholic University of Chile and the University of Pittsburgh. Montecinos is also collaborating on research about technology policy with the United Nations Institute for Social Development.

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Finally, the McKeesport Recreation Board recently reminded the Almanac that it has a website. Upcoming events include an Easter egg hunt at Renziehausen Park on April 8 and the first day of trout fishing at Lake Emilie on April 15. That's convenient --- after doing your taxes, you can work out your frustration by drowning some worms.

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To Do This Weekend: Penn State McKeesport Campus marks Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day at 7 p.m. Monday with a speech by civil rights activist and former Pittsburgh city councilman Sala Udin. The free event will be held in the Ostermayer Room of the new student union. (I still call it the Buck Union Building.) Call (412) 675-5010 or visit PSM's website ... Pittsburgh Area Jitterbug Club hosts a dance at The Palisades, Fifth Avenue at Water Street, at 8 p.m. Saturday. Call (412) 678-6979 ... Bulgarian-Macedonian National Educational and Cultural Center, 449 W. 8th Ave., West Homestead, is selling homemade soups this Saturday. Call (412) 461-6188.

Posted at 07:25 am by jt3y
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January 10, 2006

Frankly, I Relish a Visit to Sam's

An item worth notice around these parts is one that's near and dear to my heart --- and my cholesterol, too, for that matter. Sam's has closed, hopefully to reopen. I was in on the next-to-last day for my next-to-last hot dogs with chili sauce and onions, and it was just as noisy, raucous and smoke-filled as ever.

Sam's holds a special place for me because my grandfather, during the Depression, worked for a time as a chauffeur for Sam Pandel, the eponymous founder. From what I can gather, Sam's (originally known as The Superior Restaurant) was initially a place of higher aspirations than a hot-dog joint.

A few days after Christmas, Pat Cloonan reported in the News that Sam's had been sold by caterer Phil Haughey to a Monroeville realtor who may try to resurrect a bit of that former glory:

"He has solid training in more conventional restaurants, Red Lobster, Pizza Oven. That's where his training has been, (with) years of management training under his belt," Haughey said.

Brentley might even tweak a recipe served more than 10 million times over more than eight decades.

"He's very interested in getting the original Sam's hot dog sauce," Haughey said, referring to the restaurant's chili sauce, served with mustard and onions on a steamed bun.

According to Cloonan, Brentley might also switch from Kahn's hot dogs to Hebrew National --- a move Haughey advises against, but one which I would endorse. The Kahn's hot dogs don't have much "snap."

I thought Haughey did a fine job keeping Sam's open, and even added a bunch of things that I liked, such as homemade soup and pies and cakes. If he had a catering job lined up, and there was extra food, you could usually count on the "spoils" being served at Sam's as a special.

Brentley is also dropping the bar from Sam's --- it'll now be liquor-free. From a financial standpoint, I don't know if that makes sense, but it might attract more people with kids.

Personally, the best change Brentley could make would be to move Sam's to a location with some parking. There isn't any nearby now (sure, you can park on Fifth Avenue and walk over), and in 2006, that's a crucial problem. Plus, the current location --- wedged behind the old Ruben's Furniture building --- has seen better days, to put it nicely. And it wouldn't be the first time that Sam's has moved.

So, how about down by the marina? There's an empty storefront between the VFW and the Palisades (I think it used to be a florist, and most recently housed the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee, I seem to recall). It's visible from the Jerome Avenue Bridge (envision a big neon sign out front) and has parking across the street. It's also within convenient walking distance of the river.

I can almost see people strolling up Fifth Avenue in the summertime to Sam's for a hot dog and a cold beverage. I can see them stopping there for dinner before a dance at the Palisades ... or for coffee and pie afterward. It's hard enough to get people Downtown, but those dances seem to pack 'em in --- so once we've got 'em Downtown, why don't we keep 'em there?

I know --- I've got lots of ideas for everyone else's money but my own, don't I?

Anyway, whatever Mr. Brentley decides to do, I wish him lots of luck, and I look forward to getting a hot dog off the grill again.

Just please tell me he won't wash the grease off the grill. He wouldn't do that, would he?

...

Speaking of hot dog joints of local acclaim, Jim's Drive-In on Skyline Drive in West Mifflin has a spiffy new red neon sign. You can get up quite an argument in the Mon-Yough area by asking people which is better --- Sam's hot dog sauce or Jim's.

Well, I'm here to tell you they're not comparable. Sam's sauce has more flavor and texture. Jim's is smoother, but spicy and tangy. If you like a chili-based sauce, you go to Sam's, and if you like a spicy, tomatoey sauce, you go to Jim's. Personally, I like 'em both, and where I go for a hot dog depends on which I'm closest to when the urge strikes me.

I guess that settles that argument. (Uh, right!)

Posted at 6:44 pm by jt3y
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