We had a great discussion about new restaurants in Pittsburgh and great food bloggers so many new places to check out. Plus lots of love-ly events to check out this weekend and for Valentine’s Day.

New Restaurants in Town

• Station Street Hot Dogs - located behind the new Target – check out some photos here.
• MadMex Shadyside – opened in the past year on Highland Ave, near Highland and Penn – huge space, free valet parking across the street
• Casa Rasta – new taco shop in Beechview – check out BurghGourmand post, with lots of photos here.

Follow the Burgh’s Food Bloggers – looking to learn more about where to eat in Pittsburgh? Check out some of the food bloggers who are keeping tabs on where to go and what to eat in town.

• BurghGourmand
• Cooking For My Dad
• Taste of Pittsburgh
• Food Collage
• These are just a few – check out more local food bloggers on UrbanSpoon here.

Make it Now Workshops at Pittsburgh Glass Center

• Friday, February 10, 2012 4-10pm
• Some reservations available – walkins also welcome
• Make a glass flower or heart with your date – also great activity for kids over 12.

Flamingo Fest @ the Aviary

• Warm up with the national bird of the Bahamas this weekend at the Pittsburgh Aviary
• Saturday February 11 & Sunday February 12 11am-3pm
• Special flamingo activities and a flamingo story time are planned
• Meet Marilyn – the newest member of Pittsburgh flamingo flock

Cupids and Canines 2012

• Fundraiser for Western Pennsylvania Humane Society, and the Bow Wow Buddies foundation
• Saturday, February 11 at Cefalo’s Night club

Free Concert – Brad Yoder

• Sunday, February 12, 2pm
• Carnegie Library in Oakland

Valentines Day Date Ideas

• The big day is Tuesday! Check out our list of 14 ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day in Pittsburgh
• Gateway Clipper Dinner Cruise
• Double Wide Grill St. Valentines Day Dinner Massacre Dinner
• Schenley Park Couples Skate
• MadMex $35 Dinner for Two
• more ideas here.

Photo via GrapeThoughts

We have searched high and low (ok, we read a lot of blogs and answered a lot of tweets) to bring you a list of 14 unique ways to celebrate February 14, 2012.  I had an annual Valentine’s Day tradition of pizza at Aiello’s in Sq. Hill with a dear friend who now lives in New Orleans.

This list includes something for everyone at every price point.  Do you have a Pittsburgh Valentine’s Day tradition? Something special planned that we should include on future lists?  Please share in the comments below.

The folks at the Big Burrito restaurant group are good at special events – check out their latest newsletter for a run down of all of their restaurants - reservations are suggested.  ( I just looked at OpenTable for Tue. Feb 14 – there are a few seating left for early – before 5pm or late – after 9:30pm at Soba, Casbah, Umi.)

Should you need something on the wild/casual/affordable side – Mad Mex has a valentine’s day deal $35 gets you a four course dinner for 2.  And a deal that is sure to please those that are happily single, couples on a budget (or if you happen to be on a bad date) – MadMex has you covered with $6 Big Azz Margarita’s all day.  From what I can tell this deal is available at all Pittsburgh MadMex locations.

This Friday, February 10 – take your date to the Pittsburgh Glass Center to make a glass flower or heart. The glass center will be open from 4pm to 10pm and they are ready to help you make a glass flower ($35)  heart pendant or glass love letter ($25).

A great way to try glass making – each project should take less than 20 mins.

Make-It-Now: Fused Valentines + Flower + Heart Pendant

A truly unique date, come to PGC and make a glass flower or craft your own personalized love letter in fused glass. Also craft a heart pendant. Work individually or together as a couple.

This is one of PGC’s Make-It-Now workshops. Make-It-Now workshops are an opportunity to try glass making “on the spot” in 15 minutes or less.

Who: Ages 10 and above
When: Friday, February 10, 4 – 10pm
Cost: $25 Fused Valentines, $25 Heart Pendant, $35 Pulled Glass Flowers
Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/events/175038219265678/

Image via Wikipedia

The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation is a great organization that has been doing some great work here in Pittsburgh since 1964.  This workshop is just one of the many programs they offer throughout the year.

If you are looking to learn more about historic buildings or just want to meet some great people – check out one of their SOTS events.   SOTS is short for the Society of Tavern Seekers – every few months they meet at a historic bar in Pittsburgh for a happy hour event.

‘Building Green’ with ARTEMIS Environmental

What does “building green” really mean?

Green building is an often over-used and not entirely understood term.  For our February workshop at the Landmarks Housing Resource Center in Wilkinsburg, Ian Miller, managing partner of Artemis Environmental in Lawrenceville, will discuss elements of green building and design.

He will also talk about Artemis Environmental’s wide range of products, which include everything from boards made of sustainable materials such as bamboo and sunflower seeds to toxic free finishers and recycled tiles. Mr. Miller’s show-and-tell of sustainable building products will include a demonstration of American Clay plaster and cork flooring.

Date: Saturday, February 18
Time:10:00am to 11:30am
Location: Landmarks Housing Resource Center
744 Rebecca Ave, Wilkinsburg, PA 15221
Map and driving directions

Janice Webb Donatelli started Artemis Environmental, which is located at 3709 Butler Street in Lawrenceville, in 2005.

Mr. Miller is transforming Artemis from a high quality green building products supplier into a full-scale design, supplier and installation business.

Mr. Miller is owner of Zambano and Sons, a general contracting firm focused primarily on residential remodeling and exterior hardscape projects. He lives with his wife, Carla, a landscape architect, their daughters, Stella and Rose in a 100-year old house in Friendship that has no shortage of green remodeling projects on the horizon.

This workshop is FREE

RSVPs are appreciated. Contact Mary Lu Denny: marylu@phlf.org or 412-471-5808 ext. 527.

We got a sneak peek at the place from Dave Lagnese (who is a super supporter of the neighborhood – stop by and say hello to him at the East Liberty Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings – he is the man behind the Kew Park coffee bar).

Here is his report on Station Street with a few photos…

Station Street Hot Dogs opened today at 5:00. I am happy to report that I was the first paying customer! I had a new york dog and a kimchi dog with an order of fries. All were excellent. The photos are of the menu board being chalked when I arrived about 10 to five. And Kevin preparing the first order (mine). He seemed to have the same intensity putting fixins on the dog as he does plating a dish at SALT. They told me the hours would be something like 11:30 am until 11:00 in the evening. Check it out and spread the word.

You can check out the entire menu at www.stationstreetpgh.com.  They have a great website – we aren’t sure who designed the site but we hope to track that down.  They also share some history of the place.  It is nice to see a local business getting an update.

Station Street is a hot dog shop in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA. Opened in 1915 at the corner of Station Street and Larimer Avenue and relocated in 1969 to Broad Street, the shop was closed for several decades before being resurrected in 2006 by Bob and Ruth Tortorete. In February 2012, Station Street was reopened by brothers Kevin and Tom Sousa, and designer Jay Fanelli.

Follow Station Street on Twitter @stationsthotdog

We are giving away 2 sets of 2 tickets to the event!

To Enter to win 2 tickets to Nuclear Cowboys on Feb. 4:

• Visit our Facebook Page here
• Be a fan of IheartPGH on Faceboo
• Fill out the quick form with your email and phone number (so we can contact you if you win)
• Must enter by 1pm EST on Feb. 3, 2012

What is Nuclear Cowboyz – check out the video below

I posted about the project because the video is awesome (check out the video here) AND he is bringing the tour to Pittsburgh.  The first Kickstarter project didn’t reach funding – but he has relaunched the project on Kickstarter here.  A few changes to the route – his first stop is Pittsburgh!

Check out his video update here.

Related articles

• Solar Sewing Tour 2012 (makezine.com)

I am sharing this project because it has a really nice little video and I think it is a neat little project.  While I don’t do much of it myself, I like sewing and quilting and I like to think that quilts – which were used to tell stories are sort of a precursor to the modern day blog.

Paul Nosa is an artist who creates drawings with a sewing machine.  He powers the sewing machine with solar power.  He is trying to raise money to take his solar powered sewing machine on a cross country tour this summer.  One of the stops is already planned for Pittsburgh.

Here is one of the patches he created with his sewing machine titled Bicycle Over City

Check out his video and maybe lend some support to his tour.