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The Spurgh! (Part I)

April 27, 2009 10:26 PM

helsadilla and I went to Pittsburgh (The Spurgh) this weekend. Her family is originally from there and although her mom and dad no longer live there, her grandparents and brother do. Oh, also, her mom and dad were also visiting this weekend. So, yeah. I've now met all of my girlfriend's family and have emerged without a singled punch being thrown. In fact, I think most of her family members liked me. And I'm totally in with her mom.

Oh, also, Pittsburgh is a great city.

Going into the trip, I had a few concerns. First of all, while I knew that chesadilla had told her mom lots about me and that her mom thought I was ok, I had no idea what her dad knew or thought about me. So as far as the parents were concerned, I was most worried about meeting her dad. Second, the purpose of the family get-together was to celebrate chelsadilla's grandma's birthday. That's all well and good except that the grandma had been described to me as, well, racist. She had, apparently, never met a Mexican before. And she was initially told that chelsadilla was bringing along her "friend." Great.

So, with those two worries in mind, I was somewhat relieved when my girlfriend told me that the plan was for me not to meet super-racist grandma at all. But right before we got on the plane in Chicago, chelsadilla's mom called and informed us that the plan was for the dad to pick us up and then immediately drive us to the birthday celebration where I would meet the whole family--including SRG. I was thrilled.

The flight was good, by which I mean that it was short. We were in the air for just over an hour. We landed, I met the dad--nothing too awkward or strange, and no pointed questions about sleeping arrangements or anything like that--and then we went to the restaurant. I met everyone, including SRG. I was happy not to be confused for a busboy. Everyone was really nice and welcoming and I think I came off as not a complete tool. Mission accomplished.

Eventually, we headed out to SRG's house. That place was fucking awesome. It was a huge, old brick house on a four or five acre lot. There were thousands of trees and just tons of space. The house itself was beautiful, and the inside was immaculate. It was also a perfectly preserved example of 1950s America decor. I bet chelsadilla's grandparents still do fallout drills in there.

Anyway, SRG made some of her signature chocolate cake. It was amazing. I hung out with chelsadilla's family. It was fun. I spoke to chelsadilla's grandpa. He fell asleep.

Eventually, we went to chelsadilla's brother's place. He and his wife are pretty much awesome. They live in a house that chelsadilla's great-grandfather. Apparently, the house has never not been occupied by someone in the family. I think that's really cool. The current owners have made a lot of improvements and it's really a beautiful house.

There were two highlights to the day. First, chelsadilla's brother is extremely well-known in the Pittsburgh area as a beer aficionado. He knows his shit, and he brews some damned good beer at home. Since I've been thinking about trying home-brewing, I asked to look at his set up. We went into his basement and he explained everything to me. And then I noticed a giant container full of a beer-like substance. I asked him what it was and he explained that it was some sort of experimental beer he'd been working on for two years. Intrigued, I asked for a taste. It was unique but good. It tasted like wine beer. I liked it. I also sampled some of his more conventional brews; they were all excellent. So, first highlight was sampling beers made by one of Pittsburgh leading beer guys.

The second highlight was dinner. Chelsadilla's sister-in-law is the executive chef for four of Pittsburgh's leading restaurants. This woman can fucking cook. And she did cook. For us. Marinated pork tenderloin with rosemary fingerling potatoes and sweet peas. Fucking amazing.

Way too full and slightly buzzing, it was finally time to turn in. An even awesomer day awaited.



1 Comments


Frank X. said:

You should go to Primanti Brothers (If you aren't already). They have a giant sandwich with meat, coleslaw, and french fries in it. Everyone I've met from Pittsburgh swears by it. Also, have you heard anyone say chimbley instead of chimney?

April 28, 2009 8:58 AM



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