S & D Polish Deli

S & D Polish Deli is a treasure nestled in the heart of the Pierogi Pocket in Pittsburgh's Strip District. The grocery/restaurant offers Polish delicacies of all shapes and sizes. If your Polish grandma made it, you can probably find it here. If she didn't make it and it's Polish, you will probably also find it in stock.

I did not get to experience the joy of S & D Polish Deli firsthand. Lucky me that somebody loves me enough to bring them to my door after a recent trip to Pittsburgh.

The pierogi are available in many formulations fresh or frozen. The medium sized dumplings come liberally dressed in butter. The potato and farmer's cheese pierogi were rich and surprisingly light with a hint of sweetness. The potato cheddar cheese ones are closer to the type that most people buy at their grocer's freezer, but elevated. The spinach and mushroom pierogi are earthy, almost meaty, and make an excellent savory main course.

Finger-sized kolaczki, little cookies related on the evolutionary tree to Czech kolaches, are filled with cream cheese, chocolate, or a variety of fruits. The cream cheese and apricot cookies are excellent.

Other Polish grains, baking supplies, condiments, fruit preserves, dried mushrooms and beverages are sold. It covers many if not all of the items in the Eastern European pantry.

Food can be eaten on site, and orders can also be take to go. 

While not everybody has a special someone who will deliver Polish goods to them, the website allows you to order these goods to your door. This could be an addictive bad habit.

Don't Mess with Partridge

Who would have imagined years ago that it would have been possible for a washed up show biz has-been who resurrected his career appearing on a television show about other has-been celebrities to suplex a dude who was famous strictly for appearing on similar low budget garbage productions at a show giving awards to nincompoops who appear on these types of programs? Watch Danny Bonaduce body slam "Survivor" villain Jonny Fairplay above, and remember never to chest hump Danny Partridge.

In the real world, reports are surfacing about Alberto Gonzales, the former Attorney General, authoring a series of secret documents that authorized extreme torture methods by the CIA after public documents decried these tactics. Amongst the techniques allowed in the secret files was forcing reputed members of Al Qaeda to watch all of the VH1 Really Awards and leaving out the Bonaduce/Fairplay tussle. Our government really is a bunch of brutal bastards.

Word in Iraq is that the country is fed up waiting for weapons for their police force to come from the U.S., so the Iraqi government is going to pay China $100 million for more guns and ammo. And who said democracy would never work in Iraq? Much like Wal-Mart, Iraq has discovered it can get what it wants and what it needs cheaper from China than from America.

Netizens looking to get their bullshit straight from the source need look no further than the new, handy-dandy U.S. Department of State blog Dipnote. I can't wait to see their next entry on how well they have created, "a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community," through their efforts in Iraq. I can't wait to read Condi's next post...it will be great to engage her directly in the blogosphere.

Finally, Mr. Sulu will get to orbit through outer space forever now that they named an asteroid after actor George Takei. The "Star Trek" veteran who currently appears on the show "Heroes" was recognized by the International Astronomical Union's Committee on Small Body Nomenclature, an organization dedicated to naming celestial bodies and to saving small bodies like Nicole Ritchie and the skinny Olsen twin here on Earth.

O.J. Sucks at Crime (Allegedly)

He's ba-ack! The Juice just couldn't stay out of the headlines. Years after his famous murder trial, O.J. Simpson has been questioned about a break-in and theft of sports memorabilia in a Los Vegas casino. If he did it, the law might finally squeeze the last pulp out of the Juice.

Another case has had a verdict rendered...Bush is staying in Iraq. The Nation offered an analysis of the war on terror, calling the current Bush policy illegal, immoral and misdirected.You can only hope that somebody in Congress will finally step up to the plate and take a swing at smashing this policy over the Green Monster that is the White House stubborn streak. I pick Kucinich because he would look the funniest rounding the bases (and also because his vegan diet allows him to swing a sweet stick).

On the indefinite detention in the war on terror front, the Pentagon censored an audio recording of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, believing that the material could be used as recruiting material in the YouTube world. This is probably a bad move. Everybody remembers how big 2 Live Crew got after the government tried to censor them. The U.S. doesn't want Osama bin Laden to achieve Luther Campbell status. Everybody would be out buying the album!

I just can't get enough of the Presidential mashup. It was referenced here yesterday, and you can put together your own debate, choosing any or all of the Democratic candidates to answer questions within a set time frame on Iraq, health care, education or a random jab by comedian Bill Maher. Web 2.0 candidate Barack Obama leads the poll so far with 36 percent choosing him as the winner over runner-up Hillary Clinton (32 percent). Eddie the Ambulance Chaser finished a distant third as of press time. The technology in these debates is still developing. Hopefully in a few years we'll be able to ask candidates like Mike Gravel directly if they really, truly believe they have a chance at winning or if campaigning is just a hobby of theirs.

Also on the subject of Bill Maher, he posted a blog entry about those he calls 24 Hour Republican Party People. On the heels of the national sex scandals plaguing the G.O.P. comes the story of the St. Petersburg City Council Chairman committing suicide after allegations arose that he sexually abused three young girls, two of whom were his adopted daughters. The Republican party is just one giant George Michael scandal followed by a night out with Charlie Sheen, ending with confession at a Catholic church.

Concertgoers interested in how their city stacks up against the competition can compare notes in the University of Chicago study that compares music markets. If they were counting, Ohio would probably finish in last place.

The sports jury is in: Bill Belichick's punishment wasn't harsh enough. Belichick, the hooded sweatshirt-clad 007 of NFL head coaches, has to fork over $500,000 for video taping the Jets sideline, while the team loses a quarter of a million dollars and a 1st round pick if they make the playoffs or a 2nd and 3rd round pick if they don't. The Chargers think that Brady and Moss should be euthanized in order to make things fair. The Jets want a penalty more like the McLaren automobile fine. I suggest an even greater punishment--make Lloyd Carr the Patriots coach during a four game suspension to be served by the hooded hoodwink Belichick.

A Hilliard Davidson high school student had his punishment reduced for his role in a prank passing out signs to a section occupied by the rival team's fans at the football stadium that spelled out, "We Suck" when they were held up in unison during the third quarter. The other high school's fans should also have been punished for sucking at common sense.

Finally, if you don't think that people waste enough time watching television or using social networking sites, somebody had the common sense to combine the two endeavors. OMG my top friend is that guy from the MySpace show. Somebody shoot me now.

It's Beautiful, but Is It Art?

Gaze in awe at the grace and beauty that was the Chicago area's most controversial piece of public art. The Spindle is no more. Berwyn residents had difficulty finding a permanent home for the display that some call an eyesore while others describe it as an ironic piece of pop culture that makes a statement about the region. However they call it, it's definitely American.

Congress finally passed legislation that will tighten up the leash on lobbyists. Now, crooked politicians will have to buy their own dinner, gifts and travel arrangements for their next trek into bed with special interests. Way to keep it on the up and up, Congress.

An unnamed federal judge declared in a classified ruling that the White House policy on warrantless wiretappings is, in fact, illegal. This explains why Bush was pressing to backdoor the policy through Congress, and also explains the reason why Congress balked at extending the plan. This may be the most crushing blow to Bush's spirit, able to be eclipsed only by the moment when Cheney has to explain to W that there is no Easter Bunny or Santa Claus.

If you thought that the CNN/YouTube Democratic Presidential debate was the latest evidence of a new media future political landscape, think again. Slate, The Huffington Post and Yahoo are putting together an online campaign forum they are calling a Presidential mashup. Eight candidates will debate online, and I'm guessing Barack Obama will win the online debate based upon his massive MySpace credibility and his staff's ability to type in "lol" after everything posted by Gravel and Kucinich.

Media ethics are the story of the day in Los Angeles, where newscaster Mirthala Salinas was suspended without pay for two months after it was revealed that she was having a relationship with Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of L.A. who was one of the politicians she covered. The move was damaging to the credibility of KVEA-TV's news department and very good for Villaraigos'a quest to be named this year's Scott Baio award winner in American politics.

The editor of an Oakland weekly newspaper was shot as he walked to work in a move that police are calling a contract killing. If I had one guess as to whodunnit, I'd put my money on Raiders coach Lane Kiffin snuffing the newspaper man out for saying with or without JaMarcus Russell, the Raiders would be lucky to go 6-10 in the Mountain West Conference.

The organization responsible for regulating IP addresses is warning that the finite resource that allows people to connect to the internet is running out, and a new system will need to be developed in order to increase the growth of the Web. This may be a crushing blow to the constantly connected culture and great news to everybody who gets cut off driving on the highway by some maniac browsing their email on a Blackberry.

The University of Texas is doing their best to become the Ohio University of the 2007 NCAA Football season after freshman defensive tackle Andre Jones became the second player arrested in connection with an aggravated robbery and the fifth player arrested in the last two months. Obviously there is something other than steers and queers in Texas, and that something is felonious football thugs.

If you didn't get your tickets to see the mega-music event Lollapalooza in Chicago, you can always enjoy it being streamed to you live on your computer for free. You can also feel free to completely ignore Slightly Stoopid like you would if you were actually at the concert.

Finally, the most bizarre story of the day had to be the story about a man in Germany who was killed and eaten by his collection of pet spiders and lizards. If that story doesn't give you arachnophobia, probably nothing will.