The Avenues of The Steel Valley

The official web site of the Steel Valley

www.steelvalleyavenues.com

Forrest Wood Cup

Host: Visit Pittsburgh Regional Enterprise Tower, 30th Floor 425 Sixth Avenue Pittsburgh PA 15219-1834 Phone: 412.325.0285 Fax: 412.644.4093 www.visitpittsburgh.com U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Pittsburgh District 2200 William S. Moorhead Federal Building 1000 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh PA 15222-4186 Marina: Steelers Quay, North Shore Riverfront Park North Shore Drive & Art Rooney Ave. (Across North Shore Drive from the South Plaza of Heinz Field) Pittsburgh PA 15222 Registration: July 29, 2009 1:30 p.m. ET - 2:30 p.m. ET Pretournament Meeting: 6:00 p.m. ET David L. Lawrence Convention Center 1000 Fort Duquesne Boulevard Pittsburgh PA 15222 Phone: 412.565.6000 Fax: 412.565.6008 www.pittsburghcc.com Housing: Westin Hotel (for additional housing see "Additional Info" listed below) 1000 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh PA 15222 Phone: 800.276.7415 Fax: 412.227.4500 www.westin.com Additional Info: Additional Housing: Click Here Takeoff: Daily at 7 am. Weigh-in 5 p.m. Mellon Arena 66 Mario Lemieux Place Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412.642.1800, mellonarena.com Fun Zone & Outdoor Show Th/Fr 2-7, Sat 11-8, Sun 11-5 David L. Lawrence Convention Center 1000 Ft. Duquesne Blvd. 412.565.6000, pittsburghcc.com Off-limits: July 13-24 & 29. Off-limits rule 12 to include everything between the 10th Ave Bridge & the Birmingham Bridge (at Launch Ramps) in Pittsburgh. A PA license is required. Fishing waters include all waters and tributaries of the Ohio River to the Montgomery Locks & Dam, all waters & tributaries of the Allegheny River to Dam #6, & all waters & tributaries of the Monongahela River up to and including the Youghiogheny River. There will be no fishing past the Youghiogheny Light Beacon 15.6. Service Trailers: Inn at GreenTree, 401 Holiday Dr., 7/26/09 Limit: 5, 12" Time Zone: E Forrest Wood Cup Professional Purse Co-Angler Purse Place Award Place Award 1st $1,000,000 * 1st $50,000 * 2nd $100,000 2nd $12,750 3rd $75,000 3rd $10,000 4th $60,000 4th $8,000 5th $50,000 5th $7,000 6th $45,000 6th $6,000 7th $40,000 7th $5,000 8th $35,000 8th $4,000 9th $30,000 9th $3,500 10th $25,000 10th $3,000 11th $20,000 11th $2,800 12th $19,000 12th $2,600 13th $18,000 13th $2,400 14th $17,000 14th $2,200 15th $16,000 15th $2,000 16th $15,000 16th $1,800 17th $14,000 17th $1,600 18th $13,000 18th $1,400 19th $12,000 19th $1,200 20th $11,000 20th $1,000 21st-40th $10,000 21st-40th $525 41st-77th $1,000 41st-77th $250 *First-place pro award consists of $500,000 cash plus $500,000 bonus if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Bonus will be paid as $50,000 per year over 10 years. First-place co-angler award consists of $25,000 cash plus $25,000 bonus if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Ranger Cup bonuses are guaranteed.

Steel Valley Family Center Flea Market

Steel Valley Family Center

1800 West Street

Homestead, PA 15120

Rear Parking Lot

Flea Market

Saturday August 15, 2009

9:00 am - 2:00 PM

Trautman Street Fair

Benefits Steel Valley Youth Baseball &

Munhall Fire Co. 3 & 4

Trautman Field

Thursday July 23 - 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Friday July 24 - 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Saturday July 25 - 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Sunday July 26 - 3:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Food, Refreshments, Carnival Games, Games of Chance - Fun for all ages!

Matt Tichon performs under the tent on Thursday from 7-9 pm.

Stop by and support youth baseball and your local fire companies!!

Homestead pushed as site for Negro League Conference

Ted Knorr is quite interested in how the 12th annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference at the Heinz History Center this weekend is received.

Because if one of the founders of the only symposium dedicated exclusively to the examination of black baseball history has his way, the conference soon will make its way to one of the most famous Negro League cities in the country - Homestead.

Homestead is a natural with the Grays," Knorr said. "The success of this one, and I think this one is going to be successful, is going to be key."

Knorr, a former Pittsburgher who now resides in Harrisburg, has helped bring the conference to famous Negro League cities such as Harrisburg; Kansas City, Mo.; Chicago; Memphis, Tenn.; and Cleveland since its inception in 1998.

To Knorr, Homestead is a natural location for this weekend's three-day conference, but he couldn't get much interest from anybody local.

Knorr said he hoped to hold the conference at the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area Museum, located along E. Eighth Avenue in Homestead, but his requests fell on deaf ears.

"I wanted them to come to Homestead but I couldn't get a local interest," Knorr said.

But that hasn't stopped Knorr from pushing ahead to make Homestead a site in the future.

"It is not my conference to pick who gets it," Knorr said. "But I am on the site committee. If Homestead would want it, I would assume we would go back there in a couple years."

The Jerry Mallory Conference plans to travel to Birmingham, Ala., Baltimore and Memphis within the next three years.

"If everything works out, we could go there in 2013, but they aren't interested. So who am I kidding?" Knorr said. "I hope their eyes get opened up by what goes on here this weekend."

The Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference came about in 1998 after Knorr noticed that, when he would attend the Society for American Baseball Research Conference, the Negro League Committee of which he was a part always seemed to gravitate toward the SABR conference.

"I go to the national SABR conferences and one of the great things is that you see people you know," Knorr said. "I noticed that the Negro League committee would be hanging out with each other in the SABR conference and we would sort of be lost in the crowd. So I said, why don't we meet and focus on Negro League baseball?"

And that's what they have done since 1998.

The conference is to encourage the study and research of African-American baseball and its influence on society, sports history and racial barriers.

The conference promotes activities to enhance scholarly, educational and literary objectives.

Knorr is expecting at least 140 to attend the conference that spanned from Thursday until tonight.

"This is going to be our biggest one yet," Knorr said. "It's wall-to-wall good stuff."

By MARK KABOLY, Daily News Sports Editor

07/18/2009

Project C.H.U.C.K "Championship Day"

Saturday July 25, 2009

4:00 pm to 10:00 pm

16th Avenue Playground

Homestead, PA 15120

The Avenues of The Steel Valley

The new official web site of the Steel Valley is up and running!!

www.steelvalleyavenues.com

224 e 8th Ave. Homestead, PA 15021 | HomeFinder.com

224 e 8th Ave. Homestead, PA 15021 | HomeFinder.com

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Steel Valley Soccer Fall 2009 Registration

Thursday, July 16, 2009

6:00 - 8:00 PM

Saturday, July 25, 2009

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

West Homesead Boro Building

456 W. 8th Ave.

West Homestead, PA 15120

Historic Homestead street fighting its way back

It's difficult to pinpoint the precise moment when a depressed historic main street begins winning the battle for revitalization. The process tends to be gradual and organic, starting with a few properties and spreading bit by bit.

That's how the business districts in Lawrenceville and the South Side made their comebacks, and that's how the Homestead business corridor that once bordered the famed U.S. Steel Homestead Works is trying to turn its own corner.

The main street of Eighth Avenue continues to suffer from blight -- run-down buildings, empty storefronts, boarded-up windows and "For Sale" signs.

But with some government-financed help and a growing list of projects recently completed or under way, the goal of re-creating a thriving center is getting closer. This is especially true in the 200 block of Eighth and Seventh avenues, where nine buildings have been rehabilitated or will be soon. Most have retail space on street level and living quarters on top.

Owners say every new apartment has rented quickly. New businesses include Urban Design Venture, Retro on 8th and the Blue Dust bar and restaurant around the corner on Amity Street. The Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority is helping with facade and streetscape improvements.

Builder Joe Ranii has just about finished renovating the former Walton Hotel on Eighth into lofts and retail space; he expects to open an architectural salvage storefront on Seventh in the next few months. Annex Cookery will open in about five weeks in one of the Eighth Avenue buildings rehabbed by Judith Tener and her husband, David Lewis, the pioneering save-the-cities architect and urban designer who played a major role in getting Homestead designated a national historic district.

A new Homestead Borough building and police station will be going up in the 200 block of Seventh. Right next door is the $4.7 million renovation of the old Homestead Bakery into lofts and retail space, spearheaded by Pittsburgh Steeler Charlie Batch and backed by public-private financing. The project is at least a year behind schedule, but major work should begin within 60 days, according to Bob Hurley, deputy director of economic development for Allegheny County.

It's all part of a decades-long effort to bring the business district back to vibrancy, Mr. Lewis said. In his view, the activity so far presents an opening for other far-thinking buyers to throw in their lot.

"Real estate opportunity lies in the negative," he said. "Turning the negative into a positive is what makes real estate an exciting venture."

Added Mr. Ranii, "I was involved in the South Side in the old days, and I see a lot of similarities to what's happening in Homestead. But this could take off even faster because of all the committees we have going to help the revitalization."

There is no shortage of available property. Some of what's currently on the market:• 108 E. Eighth Ave., vacant lot, $69,000. Phil Marcus, 412-241-4200 ext. 154.

• 224 E. Eighth Ave,, the former Karma restaurant, two-story building with full basement, side lot and some furnishings, $240,000. Doug Burig at Keller Williams, 724-941-8811.

• 228-230 E. Eighth Ave., three-story building with two storefronts, $185,000 (reduced from $250,000), Ron King, 412-621-4685.

• 237 E. Eighth Ave., three-story building, former Vietnam-Bido Cafe at street-level, $129,900 (dropped from $149,000). Harry J. Ford at Equity Real Estate, 412-537-5310.

• 239 E. Eighth Ave., 2 1/2-story building, former TV repair shop, best offer. George Vedro, 724-622-9500.

• 406 E. Eighth Ave., two stories, former after-hours club with apartments upstairs, water damage from a line break, $45,000, Ron Cehelsky at Airport Realty, 724-947-4700.

• Side lot of 406 E. Eighth Ave., $4,000. Cortland Plichta at Nationwide Holdings in Atlanta, 678-564-3899.

• 521 E. Eighth Ave., three-story corner building with turret, formerly a street-level bar with hotel/boarding house above, $125,000. Martin Reed at Northwood Realty, 412-885-8530.

• 142 Sixth Ave. at the corner of Amity Street, paved lot, $399,000. Ron Cehelsky at Airport Realty, 724-947-4700.

This last property highlights the deep split between the Homestead business district and the Waterfront, a development of big box stores and national chains two blocks away, on the former site of the Homestead Works.

The Sixth Avenue property is separated from the Waterfront only by railroad tracks, and Amity Street feeds into the development. Most Waterfront shoppers pass the spot, hence the asking price nearly six times as high as the vacant lot a few blocks away on Eighth. Whether it will move at that price is another story.

"You don't see a positive effect from the Waterfront on Eighth Avenue yet," said Mr. Reed of Northwood Realty. "In my opinion, corporate America staked a claim below the tracks with no intention of including the area above the tracks. It was like, 'We'll create our own little town with nothing to do with anyone else.'

"A lot of people over-speculated. They thought their properties would be worth a lot more and were asking way too much money. But most savvy business interests agreed that any positive effect would be 10 or 15 years down the road."

Some locals consider the Waterfront a direct cause of Eighth Avenue's demise.

"It's nice over there, but they closed a heck of a lot of businesses down," said Pat Lewis (no relation to David), who runs an addiction recovery group in a former book store at 410 E. Eighth Ave.

But Stanley Levine, co-owner of the 75-year-old Levine Brothers Hardware at 337 E. Eighth Ave., doesn't see it that way, even though his business these days does only service work and repairs.

"The Waterfront may have been the culminating blow, but it wasn't the only thing that did Homestead in," said Mr. Levine, 80. "The demise of steel in the early 1980s was first. Then the aging of a lot of merchants who retired one after another, leaving vacancies and empty store rooms that fell into disrepair.

"Even after the Waterfront opened we continued to do OK, although business declined as we lost neighbors and other stores on the avenue. Then the Lowe's [home improvement center] opened. I still argue we could have survived [as a full-service hardware store] if the other things hadn't happened."

Mr. Lewis believes some of the shoppers the Waterfront attracts can be captured by revitalization.

"There's no reason for them to come to us until we give them a reason," he said. "That's what we're trying to do.

"We think that if we can create a viable destination in the 200 block, the 100 and 300 blocks will follow. It's a great opportunity for somebody with vision. We've been at this now for six years, and we're not stopping."

Pittsburgh Post Gazette

July 12, 2009

Penguin Ticket Raffle

(Click on poster to enlarge)

Contact a Band Parent to purchase tickets or

call Colleen @ 412-464-0264

All proceeds benefit the Steel Valley Marching Band through

the Band Backers Organization

Munhall Bicycle Safety Rally

Thursday July 16, 2009

3:30 pm to 6:30 pm

Munhall Borough Building

1900 West Street

Munhall, PA 15120

The Munhall Police Department and Safe Kids of Allegheny County will be holding a bicycle safety event to ensure that all children have a properly fitted helmet and know the Bicycle Rules of the Road.

So bring whatever you are pedaling and come and join us for some bicycle safety fun!

Helmets will be available on a first come first served basis for those children who need them and children must be present!

For more information contact The Munhall Police Department at

412-464-7300 or munhallcrimewatch@comcast.net

Homestead Community Day - July 11, 2009

Live & In Person, Jim Felix-Sounds of Elvis

3:15 pm

50 YEARS LATER

PITTSBURGH -- This September the leaders of the 19 most influential nations and a representative of the European Union will gather on the banks of the Allegheny River to discuss global issues. Fifty Septembers earlier, another powerful leader traveled to Pittsburgh for conversations and speeches. The world was very different then.

In the contrast between these two visits -- one conducted in a bipolar world, the other in a multipolar world -- is the history of the world in the last half-century.

For when Nikita S. Khrushchev traveled to Pittsburgh 50 years ago to the day when delegates of the G-20 summit begin to gather here, the globe was divided between capitalist and communist. The greatest economic empire in the world was based in the steel mills of Pittsburgh, the motorcar plants of Detroit and the aviation industry of California, with new rivals springing up in hastily developed but grim industrial colonies planted on the Eurasian steppes and developed as part of the Third Five-Year Plan in the Soviet Union, a nation that no longer exists.

In Khrushchev's time the engine of finance operated mostly on Wall Street, and maybe in the City of London, and nobody cared what the finance minister of Brazil had to say about anything. The notion that Indonesia, independent for only a decade, would be invited to a critical world summit, was beyond laughable. And Turkey, Mexico and South Africa? You must be joking.

Khrushchev and Dwight D. Eisenhower, the American president, might have agreed that China should be invited, but they wouldn't have agreed which China -- the one based in Peking, as it was called then, or Taipei. While they might have believed that Mao's China held the key to global ideological struggle, neither could have conceived of a world when Beijing held the fortunes of the world economy in its loan portfolios.

Fifty years ago Khrushchev took a motorcade ride past Chiodo's Tavern in Homestead, long a celebrated venue for eating, drinking and tall tales. Today Chiodo's, sited on a prominent Homestead corner near the Monongahela River, is gone, replaced by a chain drugstore, and Homestead, then as now known to historians as the site of a historic 1892 labor confrontation, is a center for big-box shopping, not the site of a giant steel mill.

Khrushchev's visit to Pittsburgh on Sept. 24, 1959, came two years before Barack Obama was born. It occurred in a world before manned space travel, when the Princess phone was the ultimate in communication, when the term (BEG ITAL)microwave was something you encountered in a college physics textbook instead of on your kitchen counter.

The centerpiece of the Khrushchev visit was a luncheon speech at the University of Pittsburgh, where he predicted the Soviet Union would overtake the United States and where he asserted that the Soviets' one party was better than America's two.

"Come to our country and see how those slaves of Communism live," he told the 450 people at the Pitt luncheon. "I have come here to see how the slaves of capitalism are living -- and I think their living is not a bad one at all."

Khrushchev's message in 1959 Pittsburgh was one of conciliation and peace, speaking of "sincere competition in which there will be no bloodshed." But his remarks, many of them off the cuff, were delivered during what John F. Kennedy two years later would call a "hard and bitter peace," a peace that later nearly was shattered in Cuba and Berlin and that would spill into bloodshed in Vietnam and Laos.

Fifty years ago Khrushchev told his Pittsburgh audience to "step up your drive -- or you will really find yourselves lagging behind us." Within two years, the Soviets would beat the United States into space, with Yuri Gagarin orbiting the Earth before Alan B. Shepard Jr.'s suborbital flight. But the United States beat the Soviets to the moon -- the Soviets never got there -- and the American arms buildup of the Reagan years may have contributed to the collapse of the Communist block only 30 years after the visit of Khrushchev, whose name was all but obliterated from Soviet hagiography.

Here in Pittsburgh, Khrushchev listened as Gov. David L. Lawrence described the American political landscape, saying, "To those who do not know us well, we may seem at times a divided people." Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell, who backed Hillary Rodham Clinton over Obama in the 2008 Pennsylvania primary, might give much the same speech today. But he would be giving it in an entirely different context.

Over the past 50 years, the United States has transformed the civil rights movement, in its relative infancy in 1959, from a threat to domestic serenity into an iconic symbol of American democracy. The nation has a black president and has had two black secretaries of state and three female secretaries of state -- indeed, there hasn't been a white male leading the State Department for more than a dozen years. Though the promise of Lenin (a classless society) never was achieved, the promise of Jefferson (a land where all were created equal) may be within reach.

We are accustomed to thinking how perilous is the world in which we live, but it is almost certainly true that the world of Khrushchev's visit to Pittsburgh was far more dangerous than the one we inhabit now. During his 17 hours here, the Soviet leader warned that the Cold War "could turn into a warm war, or even a hot one -- or even a nuclear one that could not only burn, but also incinerate."

Khrushchev was wrong about many things, but his evaluation of the threat of 1959 was dead right. In the years since then, we have gained a fragile peace but lost our perspective.

THE PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

JULY 7, 2009

Homestead Borough Community Day

Hometown celebrations always add an exciting dimension to summer activities and the celebration set for Homestead this week-end is no exception.

On Saturday, July 11th the Borough will hold their annual Homestead Community Day in our very own Frick Park.

Activities will start early and run throughout the day.

The Community of the Crucified One will host a flea market held at 521 East 8th Avenue at 8:00 AM. The NAACP has also planned a flea market starting at 9:00 AM in Frick Park.

At noon, in the park, is when all of the excitement begins. We will have a very special treat for the children and our hockey fans. Our community will receive a warm welcome by “Iceburg”, the mascot from our Stanley Cup Winning Pittsburgh Penguins. “Iceburg” will be sporting his best smile for pictures which will be taken of him and residents by the Waterfront Best Buy's Paul Yesko.

WTAE news reporter Tara Edwards will also be there for pictures and autographs at noon. Shannon Perrine also from Channel 4 Action News and Brenda Waters from KDKA will be on hand after 1:00 PM for more pictures and autographs.

Numerous food vendors and residents who have cornered the market on ethnic foods, a bounce and slide house, and the great sounds by DJ=2 0Stefan will put everyone in a festive mood.

The Homestead Police Department and Homestead Volunteer Fire Company will be hosting games for the adults as well as the children.

Other notable participants include: Syrian clowns, stilt walkers, Mr. Bills Petting Zoo, Kate Wholens Ponies, Beringers Inflatables, Wendy, Chick Fil a Cow, Smiley Cookie, Puppets in the Summertime Program, Tattoos by The WORKSHOP, Rebecca the ABC Balloon Twisting Artist, caricatures by the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Steel Valley youth groups, festival treats, pastries and several games for the children.

UPMC Braddock has agreed to perform health screenings and Walgreens will be offering ways to stay healthy..

The Pennsylvania Department of Treasury Agent will be on hand to see if you have any long lost money from an unknown inheritance, tax reimbursement, etc. Representatives from Equitable Gas, Duquesne Light, the U.S. ARMY, the Allegheny County Sheriffs office and the State Police will be on hand with helpful information.

Radio station Q 92.9 with the assistance of the Shorkey Kia vehicle RONDO, will arrive at 4:30 for an hour long give away and music session.

More than 400 residents attended the event last year and we are hoping for an even bigger crowd this year. Make certain that you set aside this day to enjoy a date with your neighbors and friends.

Come early for the flea markets and stay to enjoy all of the attractions. For more information call 412-462-7272.

Entertainment Schedule:

Sharon Campe - Noon

Community of the Crucified One - 12: 30

Salvation Army Steel Valley Arts Group - 1:15

Puppets in the Summer Parade - 2:00

YMCA @ UPMC Braddock Tri-Boro Steepers - 2:30

Elvis Impersonator -Jim Felix - 3:15

Herbert Newell - 4:15

Pathway Steel Drums - 4:45

(Tentative)
The Melody Shop Rock/Heart Unplugged - 5:30

Stanley Cup At Waterfront Theater For Pens' DVD Red-Carpet Screening

WEST HOMESTEAD PA -- Some of the Stanley Cup champion Penguins -- along with the cup itself -- are in town for a private screening of the official 2009 championship DVD, which is scheduled to go on sale at midnight in the Pittsburgh area.

An invitation-only, VIP screening is being held at the AMC Loews Waterfront movie theater in West Homestead. The cup is on display in the lobby.

In addition to the theater screening, two members of the championship team will visit Pittsburgh-area stores for autograph sessions on Tuesday.

Kris Letang will be at Giant Eagle on Washington Road in McMurray from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Tyler Kennedy will be at Dick's Sporting Goods at The Mall at Robinson from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The DVD shows how the Penguins got to the Stanley Cup Final with playoff wins against Philadelphia, Washington and Carolina, and then dethroned the defending champion Detroit Red Wings in seven games.

WTAE

July 6, 2009

Munhall Neighborhood Watch Meeting

The Munhall Police Department along with the Munhall Neighborhood Watch will be holding a meeting to inform the community of the recent burglaries that have occurred in North Munhall. We will talk about what to look out for and also how to better protect your homes.

Remember, we must work together to make a difference in OUR community!

Tuesday July 14, 2009 at 6:15pm

Carnegie Library

510 E. 10th Ave.

Shuffle Board Room

If you are unable to attend or are in need of more information please call 412-464-7300 or Email at munhallcrimewatch@comcast.net

Munch goes to Blue Dust

To Munch, the names read like the Circles of Hell in Dante's "Divine Comedy": Red Robin. T.G.I. Friday's. P.F. Chang's. Damon's. LongHorn. Pizzeria Uno. Sing Sing. Bar Louie. Fuddruckers.

Munch is of course referring to some of the dining options at the Waterfront in Homestead. It's not that these places are inherently evil, or necessarily awful. But they are devoid of character and have manufactured atmospheres. The most historically important community in Western Pennsylvania -- Homestead -- is a hub of Gener-ica.

But, hey, sometimes you have to go to Costco, and there's only so many free samples of red pepper hummus or chicken sausage you can get while you're shopping for that 9-liter bottle of olive oil or 72-pair pack of toothpaste. All that conspicuous consumerism makes Munch hungry.

Needless to say Munch was overjoyed to find Blue Dust -- a new independent eatery that proclaims itself "Homestead's first gastropub." It sits on Amity Street, just before you cross the railroad tracks into the land of the Big Boxes.

Although the name sounds apt for a pool hall or a designer drug, "Blue Dust" is actually slang for a byproduct of the steel-making process and an homage to when those nearby smokestacks weren't just a decoration. The family-run establishment is the product of longtime bar and restaurant business veteran Jerry Miller, and the interior is a clean, funky spot to have a drink or nosh awhile.

The bar is made from a colorful tile mosaic, and sculptures of some African fellows stand watch behind it. A pair of cool prints of old steelworks adorn a back wall along with a huge magnetic poetry board, which, judging by some of the suggestive and weird combinations left by previous patrons (Drunk Woman Worship; Have You An Enormous Apparatus; Mother Lather Me To Death), provides hours of potential fun after the beers start flowing.

Speaking of beer, Blue Dust has 26 mostly micro and craft brews on tap. Munch and Roommate of Munch (ROM) swapped East End Big Hop and Victory Prima Pils over a pair of hefty starters: a giant plate of nachos covered in delicious house-made salsa and red bean dip, cheddar cheese, green onions and beef brisket ($9.95); and the Falafel Platter ($6.95), a plate of a dozen of the fried Middle Eastern chickpea spheres served with pita and Greek sauce.

Salads using locally grown greens are available ($7.95-$10.95), as are main entrees like Grilled Lamb Chops, Asian Stir Fry and Pasta Puttanesca ($7.95-$19.95), which are part of a dinner menu that will rotate about once a month.

Munch went with one of the tasty and filling signature sandwiches, the "Homestead Surf & Turf" -- a half crabmeat, half beef brisket ($9.95) while ROM tore apart the "Hot Italian" hoagie of capicola, sopressata, pepperoni, aged provolone and roasted red peppers ($7.95).

Desserts are made daily, but Munch recommends a digestif -- specifically some of the house-mixed flavored vodka. During our visit, Horseradish Vodka -- vodka amply flavored with horseradish root -- was on tap. Although it sounds like a bad dare, it was an excellent if not sinus-clearing nip that had a spicy wasabi aftertaste. On deck is the Thai Pepper & Chili Vodka, with future combinations in the works.

If the name Blue Dust comes from the byproduct of the industry that once dominated Homestead, then perhaps this Blue Dust comes as a byproduct of what exists there now: a public sick of the chains and dying for a friendly, locally owned spot to have a drink and a meal.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Blue Dust is at 601 Amity St., Homestead. Call 412-461-6220 or try bluedustpgh.com

Greg Iskat - Damon's Waterfront July 3rd

Damon's Grill

The Waterfront

301 W. Waterfront Drive

West Homestead, PA 15120

412-476-0200

Waterfront/Steel Valley Events Calendar