004 Biting into the Burgh: A Feast with Alex Eats Too Much

Sink your teeth into the delectable journey of Alex Goodstein, the culinary connoisseur behind Alex Eats Too Much. From casual beginnings to a thriving social media presence, Alex recounts the pivotal nudge from friends that propelled his foray into the flavorful realm of Instagram and web-based food exploration. We savor the stories of personal connections and industry growth that are as satisfying as the dishes they inspire. 

Alex, with a following nearing 16,000, serves up a menu of memories and milestones, from Chinatown Inn's nostalgic Americanized Chinese cuisine to the dynamic ebb and flow of new spots launching the city's dining scene. It's a conversation peppered with tales of family dining, kosher butchery, and the unexpected ways an adventurous palate can lead to a life steeped in diverse flavors and experiences.

As we toast to Pittsburgh's brewery scene, Alex pours over his love for stouts and the synergy of whiskey cocktails with a good meal, and his aspirations to promote nearby tourism through his influential platform. We stir into the mix a candid discussion on the delicate art of pacing social media content, as Alex emphasizes the balance between enticement and saturation in the digital space. Join us for a serving of insights, laughter, and the unfiltered passion of a food lover who's truly bitten off more than he can chew – and loving every minute of it.

Transcript

Doug: 0:01

Welcome to the Pittsburgh Dish. I'm your host, Doug Heilman. How does one go from a casual food enthusiast to somebody that really has developed a good PR strategy? Our guest this week shares his journey. Love a good California red, but want to go local on your next wine purchase? Our wine expert has an answer. Did you call them gobs or whoopie pies growing up? Well, how about a third option of this sweet treat? We'll hear a recipe from a listener this week. All that ahead, stay tuned.

Doug: 0:38

This week's episode is sponsored by Beano's Deli Condiments with a wide variety of dressings and sauces, like their classic white pizza sauce with oregano or basil. Toss a little on your dough, follow it up with some mozzarella, maybe a little garlic and fresh herbs, and bake it off for the best white pizza. You can find more information on where Beano's products are sold at ConroyFoods. com. Now on to the show. Hey, so thanks for coming on to the show. Oh, thank you for having me. Yeah, I thought I would let you introduce yourself and what you have going on in the food landscape of Pittsburgh.

Alex: 1:15

Sure, so my name is Alex Goodstein. A lot of people know me from the internet, instagram and all the places as Alex eats too much, yeah, and my food scene type of thing that I've been doing for now six and a half years in Pittsburgh my goodness, I know it's a long time. I have been going to restaurants, going to breweries, going to all sorts of events within the Pittsburgh area and now beyond and featuring them on my Instagram and on my website and really just letting people know about the cool things that I'm doing, the great meals that I'm eating, the restaurants that I'm going to, and hoping that people get to experience those things too, because I've been there.

Doug: 1:55

I think that's the best way to recommend a place and I like there's a tagline somewhere in your your website blog like I'm posting all the food, whether you like it or not.

Alex: 2:05

Yes.

Doug: 2:06

So walk me back, I think, actually to take a step back. You're one of the first social media food people that I met in real life. Yeah, because you had a meetup and I would have to say number one that was so welcoming to put actual, you know, physical conversation to some of these people that I was admiring on Instagram and what not. I think that was back in 2019 or something.

Alex: 2:29

Yeah, it was before the world shut down.

Doug: 2:31

Yeah, but you started Alex Eats Too Much even before that. Yes, can you tell me a little bit about how it all got?

Alex: 2:38

going. Yeah, so it started. August of 2017 was the official launch. Wow, you know, at that time I was originally somebody who was completely against going out to restaurants, taking photos of my food, posting them to Instagram, that whole thing. But over time, what was ending up happening? A lot of friends, a lot of other people that I knew co-workers were asking me about where I was going to eat, what I was doing, because they knew I was going out to eat pretty often. So it was really friends and co-workers that convinced me to change my mind about posting to Instagram all of my meals Interesting, or most of my meals. So I started building up some content behind the scenes, getting things ready to go, and then I made the official launch of both a website and an Instagram in August of 2017, especially at a time when I knew I was going to have a lot of restaurants and a lot of events very close together, that I would have a consistency of things to post. That's amazing.

Doug: 3:37

I don't know if I knew that the website came at the same time as the Instagram. Yeah, that's great.

Alex: 3:42

So one of the reasons I did that was because I wanted to make sure I had exposure in multiple different places, that it wasn't just one spot. I also thought it gave me a little bit more legitimacy, yeah yeah, like a true blogger, you could at least say yeah you know, it's something that somebody told me a while back was what if Instagram just goes away?

Alex: 4:03

I'm old enough to have been on MySpace and other places. Myspace isn't a thing anymore. Imagine if I put all of my eggs into MySpace and then like no more MySpace blog. So it was a nice way to have just multiple places that I could put my stuff out there. So that way, just in case one thing didn't have a lot of traction, I'd have something else. But also the blog was the ability to go a little bit more in depth, especially at a time where Instagram had captioned one photo and captions that were only, I think, 160 characters or something like that at the time.

Doug: 4:38

Yeah, like literally, it was like a tweet below a square picture. That was it Exactly. It's changed so much, yes, and so the blog allows you to give a nice in-depth article to what you've experienced, where you're going, what you ordered, how it all came out, beyond just the food, but also the vibe yeah, I love it. And you've expanded and grown all of those accounts, so the Instagram account has grown exponentially. Do you have any idea where you sit right now in terms of I am just shy of 16,000 followers on Instagram.

Alex: 5:11

That's great. Yeah, it's been quite a wild ride watching that grow over the years.

Doug: 5:17

Yeah, and I know it's not always the goal, but it's fun to see the appreciation of what you're doing. Oh, yes, definitely, and you've expanded into some other platforms, right? I think I've noticed a YouTube.

Alex: 5:32

Yeah, so I have a YouTube which is slowly growing, Mason. It's mostly YouTube shorts at the moment, which is, honestly, it's basically just the same content. That's on Instagram and on TikTok.

Alex: 5:44

It's what I do too, but I really would like to get into more long form video. I posted a couple from some travels and some things I did in 2023. And then it took a backseat to other things I was doing. But I really want to get back into it it's one of my goals for 2024 and really get back into doing longer videos and getting more stuff out there.

Doug: 6:04

Yeah, I was going to ask this question later, but I'll ask it right now Do you like to cook as much as you like going out? I wish I did.

Alex: 6:13

I always have that ambition or that desire that I'm going to cook more, and I have a whole shelf of cookbooks that I've acquired that I keep thinking to myself I'll be great to try this dish or this dessert or whatever. And they just sit there and every now and then I dust them off and make sure, and some of them are very interesting and have very simple recipes, but it's still. It's a matter of really getting that time to do it or the focus to do it. I end up finding that a lot of the meals that I make at home are very simplistic compared to a lot of the stuff that I go and eat out in the wild that are much more visually appealing and probably taste a lot better too.

Doug: 6:54

I mean maybe, as it should be. No, you're putting your time in the right places and I should say you also have a full-time job beyond this. So how you're doing everything that you're doing and so many other folks that do kind of what you do, it's beyond me. It's a lot of juggling. There's been so much growth with, especially just the Instagram account. Do you have a couple of highlights of things that you've done over these last six years that really stand out? Maybe it's a spot that you love to go to or maybe it's friends you've met. What are some things that have happened over that six years that you really are enjoying?

Alex: 7:29

Yeah, so I think one of the biggest highlights for me was the first big event that I actually got invited to, which was the Western Pennsylvania LAMM Festival, which I mean that was always one of my favorite events. The very first time I got invited to that to come and check it out was about a year into having my Instagram and everything, and the first question I asked them was are you sure you didn't mean to send this to somebody else? I didn't think I was that big of a deal or anything at that point, but it was such a great experience and I got to meet a lot of really great people within the food community at that time and start to learn a little bit more about the different restaurants and the different chefs that were here and the things that they're doing to not only their own restaurants but to get to experiment or give back to the community through those type of events. I think one of the great highlights is also a lot of the people that I've met through this, both within that food Instagram community, but also a lot of people within the industry that I don't think I would have met if it weren't for this. It's a lot of really great people, a lot of people.

Alex: 8:40

I spend a lot of time with a lot of people who I now frequent their restaurants and their establishments, and it's really kind of great to see them grow over the years too, as when maybe I met them five years ago and at that time they were working for somebody else, but now they're out there on their own or they've built their own brand, or they're now super famous on YouTube, those type of things. So it's kind of that type of stuff that has been really cool. I think it's a lot of the restaurants that I've gotten to go to over the years, whether it's something that they've asked me to come in and try something, or just going in and getting to really have this great meal, being able to experience some of these things that I may not have even known about previously. But now that I'm much more in tune to what is going on in the Pittsburgh food community, I hear about these events right away, and then it's like getting that opportunity to actually go and see what's happening.

Doug: 9:40

Yeah, you get the first bite A lot of times.

Alex: 9:43

Yeah, I mean it happens a lot of times, or even at some of the events. It's much more of just getting to again, it's getting to see what is happening here and all the cool things that Pittsburgh is doing when it comes to food or beverage or even just other random events that people have said, hey, you should come and check this out. We think you'll have fun with this. So that's really been a lot of it.

Doug: 10:07

Is there any specific one or two restaurants that you're like? Oh, I absolutely love those.

Alex: 10:13

So I mean my all-time favorite restaurant in Pittsburgh and I think some people laugh because it's not a typically common answer for this is Chinatown Inn downtown.

Doug: 10:26

Let it rip. I'd love to know why that spot is so special to you.

Alex: 10:31

I think for me it is the most consistent restaurant I have been to in the 15 years I've lived in Pittsburgh. Oh wow, it was one of the very first restaurants I visited when I came to Pittsburgh as I had just moved here. I had some friends that moved here only a couple of months beforehand and they said you've got to come to this place. It's awesome. We go here all the time and for a while I mean it was a at least once a week meal there, you know, and I have my specific favorite foods that I get there. I think they have the best egg rolls in the city, best general. So it's chicken in the city which I mean people will say saying something, saying something.

Alex: 11:07

I know, you know, but it's also like every time I go back I know what I'm getting and it has that, that classic Americanized Chinese food style to it. It's something. So it's very similar to the type of places I grew up with. Also, so, like for me, it has that feel. I mean, it's also it's got a lot of great history to it as well. Yes, I mean it's located downtown.

Doug: 11:30

For any listener that doesn't really know it's down on, is it? Second, it's on third third Avenue. Yeah, and the old historic little strip that's left of the original China, correct?

Alex: 11:43

Yes, so it's it's. It's nice that that building is still remaining and there's now an official stork plaque out in front to signify that you know what it is. Yeah, you know. It's just. It's a place that's always just been consistent to me. I don't think I've ever brought somebody there where they've been like, oh we don't believe you. They leave the place, also agreeing it's one of the better meals that they've had.

Doug: 12:06

You are a promoter and you've got the converts, yeah. So let's talk a little bit about your moving to Pittsburgh and actually maybe some of your earlier life. You didn't grow up in Pittsburgh, so where did you? Where did you grow up?

Alex: 12:19

So I was born in New York, ok yeah, and live there till mid childhood, roughly, yeah. And during that time my family, we did go out to dinner quite frequently. I was told I was always very good at restaurants as a child, so I think that's part of what brought it in. So my parents told me I ate just about anything that they put in front of me as a child for at least a good period of time. Whether I knew better or not, whether you know, putting in front of me.

Alex: 12:47

I always had this enjoyment about food and enjoyment of going to restaurants. And then my parents have told me stories about different places where we go, where I would run around and want to talk to the chef, even like a three year old or like just that experience. That's amazing, yeah. And then the second half of my child, who was spent in the Poconos in Northeast Pennsylvania, which is a very different food scene there isn't. At least back then there weren't many very exciting places to go to, so it was a lot of. When you found a place, you went there very often because you got that opportunity to have a good meal there. All the time. The unfortunate part was a lot of those really great places didn't really hang around very long. Oh yeah, you know, as it wasn't the type of restaurant necessarily that people were looking for all the time, so that was what was kind of frustrating.

Doug: 13:47

You growing up with this diversity in New York and adventurousness, yeah, sort of that's what feeds you metaphorically as well as physically, right?

Alex: 13:55

Now I've been told I haven't lived there now in quite a long time, but I've been told by people that still live there that it has changed much more these days and there is a lot more variety and a lot of different things to try and it's much more exciting which is nice.

Doug: 14:08

Yeah, are your folks still there?

Alex: 14:11

No, my folks are actually now here in Pittsburgh. My brother is now here in Pittsburgh, wow yeah.

Doug: 14:16

And so you moved 15 years ago. Yes, and what brought you?

Alex: 14:21

So I was at Penn State for school and then a job right out of college came here and, to be honest, I thought I was going to spend one year in Pittsburgh. I had no interest in living here whatsoever and during that one year there was so much transition, during that like period of time. It also, I think, helped that the Penguins won the Stanley Cup.

Doug: 14:41

The week I moved here. This is important to you.

Catherine: 14:43

Very important yes.

Alex: 14:44

And it just allowed the city to kind of grow on me over that period of time. And through that I basically said you know what? I don't think I'm going anywhere. Yeah, I'm 15 years later, I'm still here. Yeah, a couple of years after I moved out here, my brother ended up coming out here for school. He ended up going to Pitt and then in the last couple of years my parents moved out here also.

Doug: 15:03

Oh, that's awesome. You said you and the family like to go out to eat a lot. Did you cook much at home growing up? Who was cooking at home?

Alex: 15:10

It was most of my dad doing a lot of the cooking growing Really, yeah. So my dad's side of the family a lot of the background is actually Kosher Butcher on my father's side Interesting, yeah. And then on my father's mother's side they own a luncheonette, okay. So there was a lot of that food background there as well for all those years. Yeah, so that that really kind of was always part of the family background. Always the interest was having these strong, hearty meals, a lot of Eastern European background with a lot of those meals as well. So there was a lot of those type of just very hearty meat, heavy type of things, big bulked meals you cook for 20 people and you have leftovers for a week, type of thing.

Doug: 15:52

I think that's perfect. Yeah, now, since your dad sort of came from that Kosher Butchery place, did you guys keep Kosher at home?

Catherine: 15:59

No, no, no dietary.

Doug: 16:01

Your dietary restrictions are none no Well, I think that probably has helped you where you.

Alex: 16:06

It does. It helps me be able to try a lot of different things.

Doug: 16:10

Oh, that's amazing, and do your folks or your brother, do you guys ever go out to eat? You know, like as a group, like how you're Instagramming some of the stuff. And what do they think about all of that? Have they seen you in the wild?

Alex: 16:22

Yes, they have now. So what it's actually really funny is, when I first started this, you know, my mom was actually complaining to me about her coworker in her office, about how she was showing her all these different photos of food on her phone, and I basically had to stop my mom and say, well, I have something to tell you. Guess, what I'm doing now as a hobby, oh my goodness. And at first they were very skeptical of it. They really didn't know what I was doing, but they realized I was having some fun with it, you know, and over time, as they've seen the different things that I've gotten to do, or even some of the restaurants I've brought them to, that I've discovered through a lot of this stuff, they understand it a lot more and they realize that this is not just a hobby but it's a whole environment and community that I get to do things with.

Doug: 17:12

Yeah, and it also supports the community, like social media is such a unique marketing platform for restaurants and small businesses. So the more that you're taking your photos and sharing them and hopefully not driving mom crazy with photos on your phone Not anymore.

Alex: 17:29

Not anymore.

Doug: 17:31

And it's just really helping promote our food community here in Pittsburgh.

Alex: 17:35

Hi there, this is Alex from Alex Eats Too Much and you're listening to The Pittsburgh Dish.

Doug: 17:41

Would you say, over these years of you doing Alex eats too much, has your palate changed? Has it expanded? Are there new flavors that you love now that maybe you didn't love a few years back, or any new cuisines that stick out to you now that you're like yes?

Alex: 17:58

I don't know if there's specific new cuisines that I go searching for that I've discovered because of this, but I think it's been the opportunity that I've gotten to try more things that I may not have done or searched out in the past. And that's what's really kind of beneficial about it, because I may want to go looking for a different regional cuisine that I would have never gotten an opportunity to try before, either because of where I lived or it just didn't exist in the area. So then when it opens up here because somebody brought it to Pittsburgh, it's exciting to get to try that. I don't know if necessarily there's been one that I've after having it. I've been like I got to have this all the time, but I think that is part of just what I do. I don't really have that option to say I'm going to eat this all the time, because every week I may be going somewhere else or trying something different.

Alex: 18:52

Yeah. So it really brings into this situation of, yeah, I have my things that I love to eat all the time, but I also know I'm going to be trying maybe two different things every week or going somewhere else that I may not have gone previously.

Doug: 19:06

Yes, I do have to recall that I've seen a couple of pictures of you with some piece of meat in your mouth. Oh yeah, that's sort of like your signature.

Alex: 19:16

It's a good thing, oh yeah, I mean that is one of my signatures that I've done in a lot of things over the years, not necessarily pieces of meat, but like Fogo to Chow is one place that.

Catherine: 19:27

I've got.

Alex: 19:28

It tries to be fancier, but if you're going to give me lamb lollipops, I'm going to take a picture of me eating the lamb lollipop.

Doug: 19:36

Exactly.

Alex: 19:37

And my table. If we're going to get the you know splurge and get the tomahawk steak, I'm going to bite the meat off of that bone from the tomahawk, like you know, as you should, as you should. But I mean I've done lots of photos of pizza, tacos, fried chicken, all that stuff. A lot of times it's more playful.

Doug: 19:56

Yes.

Alex: 19:58

You know, it shows me actually enjoying the food. I love it.

Doug: 20:01

You know there was one time you and I were having a conversation. I know I mentioned earlier that social media is great for some of these businesses, yes, but you actually have mentioned to me that there are a few times you think folks have maybe it's a business owner or something they've gone a little over their skis, They've overdone social media a little bit too much. Tell me a little bit about that. I think that would be curious for some people to hear your take on that.

Alex: 20:27

So I think for some business owners and restaurants, if you're not aware of social media or very savvy on social media, taking that leap to start doing things on social media can be difficult. Right, I've definitely talked with some restaurants that once they finally make that leap and they sometimes will see that immediate jump in interest or popularity in their business the next thought is how can I keep this going? What can I do to see like if I had such a great jump in sales from just these two people coming in and talking about it? Well, what if I have three? What if I have four, and so on, and so on, and so on, and what ends up happening is you hit a plateau quickly.

Doug: 21:13

Yeah, like a law of diminishing returns. Yeah.

Alex: 21:17

And it kind of gets to a point where then suddenly they wonder well, why am I not seeing that same push all the time? If you manage it in a proper way where your people that you're reaching out to have different audiences, then you'll possibly still see that return. But let's say you invite 20 different food accounts. There's going to be a lot of overlap in the people in that audience and eventually you're not going to see that many new people finding out about it.

Doug: 21:46

It's saturated. I've noticed that with a couple restaurant launches just in my own feed. It's nice to see a few of the same types of pictures. But then there is this point of overload. I think what I'm hearing from you and you've actually really worked with some businesses to almost set the right expectation or altitude of hey, how much should we do now, and then maybe circle back and do a little bit later, but knowing where to press, pause at the amount of it.

Alex: 22:18

Right, and that's exactly it. So with some businesses I've done two different things. If I'm doing something just on my own, collaborating with that business, I do like to try to set up long-term type of partnerships where it's hey, let me come in, let's try out a couple of different meals, let's have some fun with this. But we don't overdo it with the posting constantly. Maybe post something one month and then hold on and then post something four or six weeks later, and so on and so on.

Alex: 22:49

Another thing that I've done with some of these businesses is I'll bring a bunch of people with me all at one time, and that way you know, you've got a lot of people posting about it within a very short period of time and, yeah, there may be a lot of exposure for that week, that moment, yeah, that moment. So it builds a lot of hype really quickly, but you don't notice the potential for a diminishing return because you don't see over time a spike and then a drop, and a spike, drop. It's a large build, and then you know it's going to level off because you've had that large build all at one time.

Doug: 23:25

Yeah, that makes sense and I think for a lot of you know, maybe cottage businesses or small restaurants, they're just not sure, especially if they haven't explored the, the social media landscape. How do I navigate that? So what's great is what you've learned. You're now helping shape that person's expectation, and so it's more successful. I also wanted to sort of shift around to you're not only just this restaurant person, you really do like the breweries around town. There's a few. There's quite a few posts I notice, and are there a few that are sort of standouts to you? There's some places you really like going from food to beverage.

Alex: 24:06

Yeah, definitely, I mean. So I think the brewery that I probably go to the most is Grist House in Millvale, I think. For me I like the range of different types of beer that they have. I'm a very big dark beer stout person and they do a lot of imperial stouts, barrel-aged stouts, so that's my type of thing. I just also really like the different IPAs that they have. So that kind of gets my palate, because for me there are certain IPAs I just I find them too bitter or the flavor profile doesn't really hit for me, and then I just have a nice wide selection of other things all the time. So there's always something that I can find there to drink. You know I've also over the years spent a lot of time at Cinderlands. Yeah, similar type of thing. There's typically always something that I've been able to find to have with them.

Doug: 25:01

Cinderlands has, or they had, two locations. Do they still have two locations? So they still have.

Alex: 25:07

to my knowledge, they still have two locations. They have their warehouse in the Strip District and they have another location up in North Hills, I think, Wexford area, and then they actually also have a sort of third location. They used to have a tap room in Lawrenceville, but now it is more of a sandwich place called. Long Story Short. Long Story Short.

Alex: 25:30

So they obviously serve their beer there as well, but it's more of a restaurant focus at this point. And then one of the places I've been going to more frequently recently part of it is I do like a lot of the beers that they're creating, but also because it's only four blocks from my house is Back Alley Brewing in Dormont, Dormont. Yeah, so for them, I mean, it's been nice to see something come to the neighborhood and really take. You know, the community has taken to it. Yeah, it's a nice place to hang out, which is good. Yeah, so it's been a nice little spot for me also.

Alex: 26:04

Walkability to a brewery is always a nice thing. It's always a nice thing.

Doug: 26:09

So when you're having a great meal, do you like to pair beer with a meal or do you have a different sort of drink of choice for eating?

Alex: 26:18

I do a lot of cocktails, typically with food when I'm at restaurants. Every now and then I'll do a beer if I see something on the menu that looks very interesting. I'm a dark liquor person mostly, so a lot of whiskey based drinks. I have been dabbling a little bit more with gin based stuff, a little bit more with some mezcal and tequila type of things, but I mean old fashions, manhattan, the Sazarax, all those type of things are typically my go-to drinks at a lot of restaurants.

Doug: 26:48

I can appreciate that as well, alex. It's been so much fun. I'd love to just ask you, after six years and growing some roots here in Pittsburgh and your family's here, that's amazing. Where do you see Alex Eats going? Do you have some goals?

Alex: 27:05

I do have goals and, believe it or not, part of where I see it going is beyond Pittsburgh. So I obviously still want to keep doing a lot of stuff with the Pittsburgh food community. But I've been starting in the last year exploring within like the two to three hour range of Pittsburgh. I think that's great. So I've been talking and working with a lot of different tourism bureaus near the Pittsburgh area and not only exploring the region but highlighting some of the food that's available in those regions. So it kind of helps with a tourism boost but still keeps it focused on food.

Doug: 27:45

Yeah, and it's still regional. I always think of those things as the tank of gas vacation, exactly, and I noticed you did some stuff in Central Pennsylvania with HelloSocial.

Alex: 27:55

Yes, so HelloSocial Co was the firm that I had worked with, but they connected me with Happy Value Venture Bureau, which they are the ones for Center County in that region to try to boost tourism in that area. I worked with them to do a bunch of content based on exploring the area but also visiting a bunch of restaurants and the food that was special to that area. So it was nice to be able to go to restaurants that either I've frequented when I was a student or even when I've gone back to the area to visit.

Doug: 28:29

We're talking places like Bellefonte and State College Pennsylvania. Yes, yeah.

Alex: 28:33

And that general area. So in State College there's the Tavern restaurant right there in downtown which has always been one of my favorite restaurants in the area there. So it was nice to kind of go back and get to feature that and talk about it. But there was also other places that I never got to go to, or other new since I was there, such as Pine Grove. Pine Grove Hall is a really cool place where they're doing some really nice stuff. Plus, they're also doing a lot of music and events at that location and it's just a 15-minute drive outside of downtown State College. But also in Bellefonte there's Gamble Mill, a restaurant, to speak easy, and also they now have a bed and breakfast all in the same location. So it's really cool that they have that type of stuff.

Alex: 29:16

But even getting to explore further, there's a lot of breweries. You know, we think in Pittsburgh, we think about how many breweries we have here, yeah, and distilleries and wineries throughout all of Pennsylvania, not just in the Happy Valley or Central County area but even within Laurel Highlands and all these different places. That's right. There's so many breweries and places to visit that work is a great overnight type of trip. You spend your day out there. You visit two or three places, you spend the night, maybe do a hike the next morning and then you drive back to Pittsburgh.

Doug: 29:52

I love it, just the car ride away, you know, central Pennsylvania or maybe some other locations. I'm excited to see what you have going on, thank you. So, Alex, I'd like to just give you a moment to plug all the social things and whatever else you have going on for our listeners.

Alex: 30:09

Oh, yeah, sure. So I mean, my primary social is Instagram. It's AlexEatsTooMuch, yeah, that's where I probably post most regularly. And then I also have my website, AlexEatsTooMuch. com. I don't post there nearly as often as I should be posting, but I'm really trying to get more into that habit of at least getting one or two things out there a month.

Doug: 30:31

I like the roundups you do on there.

Alex: 30:33

Yeah, so I just started doing those a couple of months ago and the goal of that is to basically take every single place or event or concert or whatever that I've been to in that previous month and putting it all out there in one post for everybody to be able to read through. You know, try to include some additional photos, maybe some things that didn't really make it to the Instagram feed.

Catherine: 30:54

Yeah.

Alex: 30:55

You know, I try to get that out there on the first or second of the next month, so that way you have that whole previous month pretty close to it. Yeah, and then I'm on TikTok, I'm on YouTube. Both of those are actually under my actual name. So TikTok and YouTube, it's both A Goodstein, so you can find me there. I think on TikTok you can search for Alex. It's too much and it'll come that way as well. I think that's everywhere that you can find me right now.

Doug: 31:20

All right, Alex, thanks again so much, and before I let you go, there is a question that I ask everyone that's on the show Sure, what's the best dish you've eaten this week?

Alex: 31:33

The best dish I ate this week. Can I remember that far back? That's a great question. Oh, so I'm going to go a little further than a week, sure, so I actually was. Just a week and a half ago I drove up to New Kensington to Jillian's Restaurant. This was a fantastic meal. I have friends that live up there that they go there all the time. They've been saying for a while I need to drive up and try this place out.

Alex: 32:03

I got it was a pork chop with spicy vinegar, peppers and garlic confit and pork belly on top of it, and then that was absolutely delicious. But I also, as an appetizer starter a couple of things that we got a mushroom toast. So I mean it was just toast with loaded with different types of little mushrooms. And then I also got it was a live scallop and andouille butter. Wow, it was delicious. So I mean it was just. It was a great meal. I'm so happy that I made it up that way. One of the things that's also really great about them is they're trying to source as much as they can locally and they even highlight it on the menu things that are local versus some specials that may not be local to the area that they still want to offer, which are still very, very interesting things. But yeah, I went with a bunch of friends. We all had a great meal. I definitely need to go back.

Doug: 32:58

I am so excited for that New Kensington area because there's a few cool spots that I've seen highlighted recently and I saw that post from Jillian. So Jillian's Restaurant in New Kensington Yep, best thing you ate this week. Thanks so much, alex. Thank you for having me Doug Up.

Doug: 33:15

Next, our weekly recommend. We want to thank Isaly's for being a sponsor on this week's show. If you're an ice cream lover, Isaly's has the flavor for you, and if you're a chocolate lover, like me, you've got a lot to choose from, like the mint chocolate chip, the chocolate ice cream with marshmallow or that classic flavor that just came back, chocolate chip with the chocolate jimmies. Go to Isalys. com and use their store locator to find out where their products are sold near you. Hey, everyone, we're back with my friend, Catherine Montest, who tends to be my personal go-to for anything when it comes to wine recommendations. And, Catherine, we're trying to build this show really for the Pittsburgh region. You've given us some great recommendations and I know you and I have talked about wine extensively, but when I think about staying local, is there anyone in Pittsburgh that you really like that's making wine right here?

Catherine: 34:11

Wow, where to start? There's so much activity going on in the wine world right now, even here in Pittsburgh, believe it or not, to pick just one.

Doug: 34:21

How about just one that you like offhand, and maybe we can come back and talk about some other time?

Catherine: 34:26

One that comes to mind immediately is Pittsburgh Winery. Oh yeah, down in the district. Yep, they're on the 2800 Block of Penn Avenue and they do a wonderful job. If you're not familiar with their wines, I recommend get on over there do a tasting they have a tasting and they've got a tasting room and they've got a seller. The wines that they create are just, are really very beautiful. They're well balanced, they're easy to drink and what's kind of interesting is they don't grow any of their own grapes.

Doug: 35:01

That is interesting. Where do they come from?

Catherine: 35:03

Well, Pittsburgh winery does an awesome job working with growers out in California and sourcing grapes. So while Pennsylvania climate is okay for growing grapes, California is a little bit better. They've got some climate advantages over Pennsylvania. Let's just say that. And that's where some of the best grapes not even just in the country but in the world are coming from, and that's where Pittsburgh Winery is sourcing their grapes from.

Doug: 35:32

Pittsburgh Winery in the Strip District. Yes, sir, Catherine. Thank you so much, my pleasure. Catherine Montest is a local certified wine expert. You can follow Catherine on Facebook at Your Fairy Wine Mother.

Doug: 35:46

This week's recipe comes from listener Joleen, who submitted gob cake on the blog. You can actually see a picture of her recipe and it's the traditional gob or, as some might call them, whoopee pies not me, but you actually make the cake in a full sheet pan instead of the traditional gobs. It makes for easier slicing into neat squares later. Joleen, thanks so much for sharing the recipe. We'd love to get some more recipes and hear from you. If you have one, visit our website at www. pittsburgdish. com and look for our recipe section where you can share your own recipe. Upload a picture and if you're chosen, it'll be on the blog and maybe I'll call you to be on the show. Thanks so much. Well, that's our show for this week. We want to thank all of our guests and contributors and to Kevin Solecki, of Carnegie accordion company, for providing the music to our show. We'll be back next week with another fresh episode. Stay tuned.