New in Pittsburgh's Little Italy:

Wai Lam prefers to deal in bargains.

Now, along with husband Mike Wang, she prolongs this lifework by opening the couple’s second business in Bloomfield.

Wai Wai Chinese Cuisine opened doors on March 20, bringing a stylish feel and affordable Chinese dining to what Lam termed a “steady crowd for opening night”. Occupying the former Domino’s Pizzeria at 4717 Liberty Avenue, one door past Dollar Max—the couple’s other business endeavor—Wai Wai (pronounced "way way") provides new character to what Lam felt was an over-used ambiance in Chinese dining. The couple totally re-vamped the interior from the old business, utilized much more space for dining and used Lam’s decorative sense to provide a new tone to the eating experience.

“We were tired of the old look of traditional Chinese restaurants so we decided to try something new,” expressed Lam, who drew decorative inspiration from the couple’s travels around the globe and integrated it into the restaurant’s theme. “This feels better to me.”

While the new-look to old-tradition will certainly catch glances, it’s the prices that are sure to warrant eye-popping stares.

A dinner box, which combines four chosen selections from the regular menu in heaping volume, goes for only $7.75. The lunchtime equivalent, which is served cafeteria style until 3 p.m., costs a mere $5.75.

All-the-while dishing out traditional Chinese favorites without skimping by with a sub-par product.

“There are some Chinese restaurants where the employees won’t even eat the food,” admitted Lam, who’s spent 17-years working in the restaurant business. “That is not the case here. We make all the food from scratch and we all enjoy the food here.”

Bloomfield resident Joe Laskowski felt much the same way after completing his meal on opening night.

“I was very surprised by the portions,” admitted Laskowski. “I really liked the atmosphere and the food had a real nice flavor. I’m a huge fan of Chinese food and this place was very good.”

Bloomfield resident Joe Laskowski (left) and Michael Hartman enjoy their first meal at Wai Wai.

Wai Wai offers delivery (within a 10-mile radius) and take-out options daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, remaining open later on weekends.

Pokémon, Magic and Warcraft! Oh, my!

Anyone looking to get their trading card game fix should head over to CCGs Cards Comics and Games on Liberty Avenue. CCGs is undoubtedly one of Pittsburgh’s top stops for all major trading card games, including Magic: The Gathering, World of Warcraft, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon. Inside you will find a great selection of individual cards and products.

CCGs hosts weekly events for each game, drawing players from all around the area. A full schedule of events is available on the new Bloomfield Events Calendar.

If trading card games aren’t your style, CCGs also has a great selection of new and used video games for a wide range of gaming platforms, and a healthy selection of comic books and graphic novels. Looking for something for the whole family? Then CCGs is the right stop for you because they stock a wide variety of traditional board games.

So if you are looking for something to fill a few hours or interested in picking up a new hobby, check out CCGs Cards Comics and Games—a place to find fun for the whole family.

Dorkbot Pittsburgh is a monthly salon and show-and-tell for artists, scientists, social engineers, and others doing strange things with electricity. We meet upstairs at Brillobox on a monthly basis. Dorkbot is open to the public and admission is always free.

See http://dorkbot.org/dorkbotpgh/events.html for full details and directions.

Tonight’s speakers are:

Jia Ji, Touchtown. Jia is the Director of Product Management for Dancetown, a dance-based digital fitness system developed for seniors. Using a computer and dance pads, people of all ages are able to participate in healthy intergenerational play through the Dancetown system. Jia is a Stanford University alumnus and actively supports grassroots technology efforts in the Pittsburgh area. He currently serves as Technology Director for NAAAP Pittsburgh, volunteers on the local game developers board, and helps organize the Pittsburgh PodCamp conference series. Prior to joining Touchtown, Jia was president and founder of Flying Fish Media. He has also worked for a variety of technology companies and startups such as Guru.com, Pittsburgh.com, Dreamwork Soft, Inecom Entertainment, Interactive Media Systems, Ripple Effects Interactive, and eGenesis.

Jim Jen, AlphaLab. Jim is the Executive in Residence at AlphaLab, a six month program for software startups that provides companies with funding, free office space, services, and access to investors and advisors. Jim works closely with the management teams of startup technology companies to identify and address critical business issues facing those companies. Previously, Jim built and managed software businesses at Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Agile Software (acquired by Oracle), and Instill Corporation (Mayfield-funded, privately held). As a management consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton, Jim advised executive management of Fortune 500 companies on marketing, strategic planning, and organizational issues. Jim holds a BA and MA in Economics from Stanford University and an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

The homegrown Pittsburgh web sitcom Something to Be Desired (or STBD to its fans) got some great news from the fine folks at Yahoo! this week. The show, a comedy about the ups and downs of life after college, is one of five nominees in the category of "Best Series" in the 2008 Yahoo! Video Awards—and now they need your help!

Online since 2003, STBD has produced more than 20 hours’ worth of original content. The show frequently features some of Pittsburgh’s finest restaurants, bars, businesses, landmarks and personalities—including a memorable political debate featuring City Councilman Bill Peduto during fictional character Rich Mathis’s ill-fated (and politically incorrect) write-in bid for mayor in the 2007 election. A season three episode filmed at Bloomfield’s own Grasso Roberto Café featured a cameo appearance by former owner Guy Peluso:

To see more of the series, visit the Something to Be Desired homepage, where you can catch up on five years’ worth of laughs, love and very bad decisions made by its colorful ensemble cast—nearly all of whom (including creator and producer Justin Kownacki) are Pittsburgh locals themselves.

Voting for the award is up to the public, so all five nominees have been rallying their fans and friends to spread the word. If you can spare a few mouse clicks to help vote a fellow Pittsburgh creation up the charts, vote for STBD in the 2008 Yahoo! Video Awards!

Become a healthy hero! West Penn Hospital is having a Children’s Health Fair to help teach children about healthy living. Health activities, snacks and anthropomorphic vegetables will keep your kids entertained so they won’t even know they are being educated.

The Fair will be held on Wednesday, April 16 from 5:30–7:30 PM. Registration is at the cafeteria entrance, and parking will be validated, so all the fun for kids is FREE for parents! For more information, call 412-578-5644.

This past Friday, Senator Hillary Clinton spoke at Curran’s Gulf gas station about her plans to curb the rising cost of fuel. The gas station at the base of the Bloomfield Bridge was chosen as Sen. Clinton’s first Pittsburgh campaign stop because it is one of the few remaining independent stations in the area.

Sen. Clinton introduced station owner Jay Curran, who spoke about the hardships of competing with big oil companies while gasoline prices are at an all-time high. Clinton also introduced Janice Hodge, a local massage therapist who travels by car for work. Janice spoke about the economic cutbacks her family has been forced to make due to the high cost of gas.

Sen. Hillary Clinton speaks to media at Curran Gulf station with (from left) Janice Hodge and daughter Zuri Hodge, and station owner Jay Curran.
Photo Copyright Jasmine Gehris, Tribune-Review

Sen. Clinton took the podium for about 30 minutes, focusing on the skyrocketing costs of oil and her strategy to move towards energy independence. KDKA has posted uncut video of Sen. Clinton’s speech: Uncut: Sen. Clinton Visits Bloomfield Gas Station.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review posted a tasty article today about local pasta makers, and Bloomfield’s own Groceria Italiana (237 Cedarville St.) was naturally included. If you’ve never tasted the homemade pastas and raviolis that Gloria Mazzotta and Rosemary Rossi make in-store—sometimes right in front of you—then you’re missing one of the gems of Pittsburgh’s Little Italy.

The title is a little more optimistic than today’s weather, but yesterday’s unseasonable warmth had many Pittsburghers feeling like it was summer (or at least spring). It may be raining while I write this, but yesterday I took advantage of the weather by heading over to Grasso Roberto Café to try out their newest menu item: spaghetti ice cream.

Last week, the Post-Gazette wrote about about this addition to Bloomfield’s culinary offerings in their "Fresh Find" column. I watch enough Iron Chef to not be shocked at a pasta-flavored ice cream, but I was pleased to read in the PG article that spaghetti ice cream only looks like spaghetti, but tastes like ice cream.

Actually, the confection is made from Grasso Roberto’s homemade vanilla gelato (Italian-style gourmet ice cream), squeezed through through a press into pasta-like strands, then topped with a strawberry sauce. Brownie "meatballs" and shaved white chocolate for parmesan cheese top off the spaghetti effect.

Photo Copyright Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette

Dana Acton, the new owner of Grasso Roberto, found out about the Spaghetti Ice Cream Company while looking for new gelato recipes online. According to the company’s website, the dessert is based on a traditional European dish made with gelato. Dana has brought it back to its roots with Grasso Roberto’s famous homemade gelato, and what better place than Little Italy for this unique Italian treat?

If spaghetti ice cream sounds at all familiar, you may have seen The Classic Spaghetti Ice Cream Maker^® on The Food Network special Gotta Get It: Entertaining from June, November and December 2007:

Grasso Roberto Café is located at 4709 Liberty Avenue, across from St. Joseph’s church in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Little Italy. Outside seating is available during the warmer months, but the café’s large windows offer diners a view of the eclectic action along Liberty Avenue. During yesterday’s lunch, what appeared to be a small fender-bender brought out several emergency-response vehicles and a total of three tow trucks. I snapped a shot of the action with my MacBook:

It wasn’t exactly Little Italy Days, but standing on Liberty Avenue without a jacket for the first time in months made me hungry for more warm weather and cool desserts. Dana filled me in on two other treats she is getting ready to launch: Neopolitan ice cream layered with a liqueur-soaked cake which she is calling Napoleon, and Raspberry Kiss, lemon gelato dashed with Chambord. I had the pleasure of sampling the Raspberry Kiss yesterday, and I was surprised by how creamy the gelato tasted when contrasted with the sharp richness of the black raspberry liqueur.

These and more high-end desserts will be offered as Grasso Roberto extends its weekend hours to 9 PM Thursday–Saturday, starting March 13th. I look forward to seeing you there.