Tropical Sundays at Phipps

On Sundays, you can forget about the six inches of snow and make your way to the warm weather.  Come to Phipps Conservatory on Sundays in February to put some tropical into your winter.  You can walk under palm trees, listen to a band, and get 50% off regular admission if you wear a tropical shirt.  You can learn more at Living Pittsburgh.

WHEN: February 1, 2015 @ 9:30 am – 5:00 pm

WHERE: Phipps Conservatory -

COST: FREE, $5.50, $7.00, $7.50

CONTACT: Event website 

discount phipps featured phipps conservatory events tropical sundays at phippsvalentines day pittsburgh

Despite the freezing temperatures outside, it’s always tropical at Phipps, and we’re celebrating each Sunday during the month of February. Shed the winter blues, relax under the palm trees, and sway to the sounds of a performance by Matthew Mazza and Carmen Bruno of the Tropical Sands Steel Band. Plus, wear a tropical flower shirt and receive a 50-percent discount off of regular admission for a single ticket. (Discount only valid on Sundays in February.) Metered parking is free on Sundays. *Great day after Valentine’s Day Date!

Spice Up Your Ramen

Do you enjoy Ramen? Chef Masa Hamaya is helping you make the best ramen for dinner. Follow these five steps next time you open one of your many flavors of Ramen. You can learn more at Apartment Therapy.


Even though chef David Chang proclaimed that ramen is dead, I have to beg to differ. With the proliferation of ramen restaurants cropping up near me in San Francisco, it's hard to escape this complicated but soul-satisfying Japanese comfort food. To put it bluntly, everyone's serving it!

If you're brave enough to attempt making ramen (and not the instant kind) at home, here are five tips from chef Masa Hamaya to help you put together the perfect slurp-worthy bowl.

5 Expert Tips for Making the Perfect Bowl of Ramen

1. It's all about the noodles and broth.å

Hamaya said that if the noodles and broth are perfect, toppings are pretty much unnecessary. Focus on getting your broth full of flavor and richness, and take your time doing it. If you're not making noodles from scratch, source the best possible ones you can find and buy them fresh.

2. Flavor and body in the broth come from lots of ingredients.

A lot of bones (and vegetables if you want to do a vegetarian broth) need to go into the stockpot, and he means a lot. You can't get good flavor and a thick broth without lots of ingredients and time to extract all the flavors. The stockpot should be packed full of ingredients before water is added, and a few gallons of water should reduce to only a few liters of broth when it's ready.

3. Never season your broth.

The broth is never seasoned because it is combined with a seasoned base (tare in Japanese) when individual bowls of ramen are composed. The base can be the braising liquid from meat, soy sauce, tamari, dashi, or countless other things, but salt is never added to the broth itself so that the seasoning in the final bowl of ramen comes from only one source.

4. Never salt the ramen noodle cooking water.

For the same reasoning as why the broth is never salted, Hamaya says that ramen noodles are never cooked in salted water. This is a departure from the Italian pasta cooking technique, but he was emphatic that again, the soup base seasons both the broth and the noodles when everything is combined together.

5. Cook the noodles properly.

Ramen noodles should be just cooked through, similar to cooking Italian pasta al dente. Undercooked noodles will be floury and tough, but overcooked noodles will be soggy and pasty. Cook your noodles at the last second when everything else is ready, keep a watchful eye on the time, and make sure you keep tasting the noodles so that the second they are ready, they come out of the water.

Beer Festival in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Summer Beer Festival is continuing this winter. The festival will be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center for two nights. The event will start February 20th. You can purchase tickets for between $40-$60 dollars.  You can learn more at Living Pittsburgh.






From The Producers Of The Pittsburgh Summer Beerfest @ Stage AE, Comes The Largest Beer Festival Ever Held In Pittsburgh!


The Pittsburgh Beerfest @ The David L. Lawrence Convention Center. 250,000 Square Feet Of Craft Beer Awesomeness! 2 Big Nights!


Unlimited Sampling of 300+ Craft Beers! Local Restaurants! Local Bands!


Ten Thousand Craft Beer Fans!

Ladies Fest at the Convention Center

Grab your friends this month and head to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center for Ladies Night. The event will be held Saturday January 25th starting at 11am. The day only costs 7.50. Keep reading and check out Living Pittsburgh for more information on this great event.

With the holiday season finally in the rearview mirror, it’s the perfect time to turn the focus back on yourself and the needs of your mind, body and spirit. The Pittsburgh Ladies Fest is a fun, rejuvenating day that highlights the importance of women taking time for themselves, featuring everything from complimentary makeovers and facials to inspiring seminars from experts in finance, healthcare, career development, style and home decor. Throughout the day, there’ll also be tons of great shopping opportunities, an array of talented chefs offering easy everyday recipes and product samples and much more.

Music Festival in the Strip

Are you a music fan? Then, the Strip District has an amazing event for you. Next Saturday head to the Strip District for Music Fest. It is an all day free event with 70 plus bands. There are eleven various venues that you can see some of your favorite artists playing. You can learn more at Living Pittsburgh, and their website http://www.stripdistrictmusicfest.com/.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Holiday Planning Countdown

Are you ready for the holidays? We have found a great Holiday countdown checklist. In this blog, we will learn about what needs to be in done in the third and fourth week of December. You can learn more at Real Simple.


ONE WEEK BEFORE

Deep clean your house.

You’ll enjoy those decorations even more if the floors are clean and the kitchen is organized. One important task: Clear out your refrigerator. Toss old leftovers to make room for big dishes and ingredients that’ll be piling up closer to the holiday.

Buy batteries for children’s toys.

If you haven’t stocked up while Christmas shopping, make sure you have all the accoutrements necessary for that handheld video game or remote-controlled car.

THREE DAYS BEFORE

Shop for fresh ingredients.

Hit the store for the last-minute vegetables or fruit you need for meals.

Set the table.

So you use those gold-rimmed goblets only once a year? Enjoy them! Go ahead and set the table. 

Make it even easier on the big day by putting a sticky note on each platter that states what dish you plan to serve on it. (That also allows people to help you without asking 12 times.)

TWO DAYS BEFORE

Start cooking.

You’ve probably socked away some things in the freezer already, but now’s the time to prep main courses and make anything that can sit for a couple of days.

Buy fresh flowers.

Whether they are for a party or a family meal, fresh flowers should always be purchased two days in advance. Blooms have time to open up, and they’ll still be lush and fragrant.

THE DAY BEFORE

Recharge the batteries on your camera or video recorder.

You don’t want to miss the reaction on a little one’s face because the battery ran out during the school pageant the week before.

Finish last-minute wrapping.

And assemble toys that will be surprises from Santa.

Finish cooking, and make a timeline for the next day.

Decide when you’ll be feasting, then count backward to determine when to put the turkey (or ham or roast beef) in the oven and what else needs to be cooked.

Sit back and relax.

Enjoy your family and friends and relish the traditions you share.