Blackened Ahi Tuna- Jerome Bettis Grille 36, Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh has come a long way from it's origins as a dingy steel town. In recent years it has been booming- many large companies have been moving in, and the downtown area is built up, and has an abundance of jobs available. The city is built densely, but does not feel crowded or dirty in comparison to the much bigger cities of the East Coast, such as New York. As an up and coming city, Pittsburgh has, naturally become the home to a large number of restaurants. Pittsburgh is also a city with a love for professional sports that rivals that of New York- the downtown area features three major sports venues all within walking distance of each other. With that in mind, paying a visit  to a sports-themed restaurant seemed a natural choice.

A Trip to the Cheesecake Factory, Bridgewater, NJ

So, we all know chain restaurants are typically held to lower standards than most restaurants. In recent years, the chain restaurants seem to have made a concerted effort to step up their game- so when my young daughter innocently asked to go to the Cheesecake Factory after her pre-school "graduation" ceremony, I was curious to see how they would do (and have a nice big hunk of cheesecake too...)

Nehari from G. Mirch Masala, Milwaukee, WI

Nehari is a traditional Pakistani dish- usually served as a breakfast. It is typically made from slow cooked beef, lamb, or mutton, in a rich and spicy curry-based sauce- and it goes great with traditional tandoori naan bread... so what is a traditional Muslim dish from South Asia doing in the heart of America's dairy land? I don't really know, but I'm not going to complain...

The freshest vegetables and herbs...

The freshest vegetables and herbs are the ones growing in your backyard.

Last year's garden managed to produce a small amount of produce after a major setback- the day after I planted my seedlings, a 72 hour nonstop downpour hit my neighborhood, leaving my newly planted garden partially flooded. Several plants just didn't make it, and the survivors never fully recovered. I was lucky to get what I did from it. This year is shaping up to be a better crop - although I planted probably three weeks later than I should have, my plants appear to be well on their way to giving me a large amount of produce to work with in the kitchen...