Well, Waddaya Know… Another First for Pittsburgh: World’s Largest Pierogi

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On National Pierogi Day, this morning, chefs at Rivers Casino made what Guinness World Records verified to be the world’s largest pierogi. The giant dumpling weighed in at 123 pounds (56 kilos), establishing a record. Filled with 60 pounds (27 kilos) of potatoes and 5 pounds (2¼ kilos) of cheddar cheese, the pierogi was so big that the casino had to make a stainless-steel holder to first boil and then bake it. The total cooking time was about 2 hours. Executive Chef Richard Marmion said, “It’s pretty cool. What a totally neat experience we can be proud of”. He laboured for more than a year to come up with the recipe and figure out how to cook it. Assistant Executive Chef Adam Tharpe added, “We’re part of that Guinness weirdness in a very Pittsburgh way. Only in Pittsburgh would there be so much excitement over pierogies”. However, already, controversy is brewing. Minutes after the official proclamation by Guinness adjudicator Michael Empric at 10.00 EDT, the folks at PGH Pierogi Truck took to Twitter in protest. They tweeted, “We have fundamental problems with this ‘pierogi’. Because it isn’t one. It’s pagach”. The pagach is a variation on the pierogi. It’s an Eastern European yeast bread stuffed with mashed potatoes, sauerkraut or sweet cabbage, and then baked.

8 October 2014

Gretchen McKay

Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2014/10/08/Another-first-for-Pittsburgh-World-s-biggest-pierogi/stories/201410080174

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Pierogi Drama Engulfs PNC Park as Cheese Chester and Potato Pete Race Head-to-Head

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Editor:

Click on the URL below, it’ll take you to a page where there’s video that I couldn’t embed here.

BMD

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After spending some time on the DL, Pittsburgh Pirates racing pierogi Cheese Chester was rather eager to return to the starting lineup at PNC Park. During Friday’s race, Chester even showed up at the finish line and attempted to attack his replacement, Potato Pete, with an aluminium crutch. On Saturday, Potato Pete again coasted to victory in the race, only to be confronted by Cheese Chester once more. The Pirate Parrot quickly intervened to calm things down, but it was clear Chester wanted just one thing… to defeat Potato Pete on the field. So, they devised a solution… the two pierogies would race at the end of Saturday’s Reds-Pirates matchup, and the winner would be allowed to race with the other the pierogies for the rest of the season. The loser would be out. Sure enough, after the Pirates recorded the final out of their 3-2 win, Pete and Chester made their way to the field for the ultimate race. Things couldn’t have been tenser. At the three-quarter mark along the track, Pete had a sizeable lead over the Comeback Pierogi of the Year and seemed sure to win. Pete was so sure of his victory that he even turned to taunt Cheese Chester. It was a tragic mistake. With that, Chester passed his nemesis and cruised through the finish line, earning his spot back in the Pirates Racing Pierogies lineup. After his battles with both injury and Potato Pete, you won’t find a happier pierogi anywhere.

30 August 2014

Dakota Gardner

MLB.com

http://wapc.mlb.com/cutfour/2014/08/30/92296152/video-great-pierogi-race-off-between-cheese-chester-and-potato-pete?partnerId=as_mlb_20140831_30780326

5 April 2014. Here’s an Old School po-Nashemu Smile… Barechested Guy Joins Pierogie Race in Pittsburgh

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Editor:

We all need a smile. Yes, the serious news IS important… and we’ll get back to it. However, we need to unwind and smile, too. Here’s to all youse Yinzers out there… especially, with a hat tip to the memory of the late Metropolitan Constantine Bugan, who never left the old nabe and never forgot where he came from (light a candle for Metropolitan Gus the next time that you’re at liturgy). Does he still pull pranks in eternity (he was famous for his mechanical mouse)? One hopes so…

BMD

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Oliver Onion, 0-4 in pierogi races this season, didn’t finish last during Wednesday night’s sprint. The bowtie-and-glasses-clad pierogi crossed the finish line in right field a solid three seconds before Luke Emory Oyler. Police spokesman Sonya Toler said that Pittsburgh police charged the Chambersburg PA man with defiant trespass after he decided to enter the highly anticipated showdown that follows the fifth inning. At least five park staff members chased Mr Oyler, 29, as he ran shirtless across the outfield whilst the pierogies raced. He crossed the finish line and leaped over a railing, where park staff tackled him and the cops handcuffed him. Today, Mr Oyler didn’t respond to requests for comment. Cheese Chester clinched his first win of the season by edging out Sauerkraut Saul. During the other show at PNC Park on Wednesday night, the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in 16 innings. The game, which carried into Thursday morning, lasted 5 hours, 55 minutes, making it the longest baseball game ever played in Pittsburgh.

Editor:

Everything is still fine with the world. Metropolitan Gus would’ve loved this… it’s a hoot…

BMD

3 April 2014

Lexi Belculfine

Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2014/04/03/Shirtless-man-arrested-after-joining-pierogi-race-at-PNC-Park-during-Wednesday-s-Pirates-game/stories/201404030327

Chevron Tries to Apologise for Pennsylvania Fracking Explosion with Free Pizza

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Last Tuesday, residents of the small town of Bobtown PA woke to an explosion and a massive high-temperature fire, at the site of a fracking well owned by Chevron Corporation. Last Tuesday, a Chevron well in the preparation stages for hydraulic fracturing exploded 50 miles south of Pittsburgh PA causing a fire that lasted for four days and left one Chevron contractor unaccounted for and another one injured. It took five days for emergency crews to extinguish the fire; the explosion shook the small town of Bobtown, located in the far southwestern corner of the state. The blast gave off a loud hissing noise that one could hear hundreds of yards away.

One resident told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the explosion in a shale formation where Chevron spent time fracking “sounded like a jet engine going five feet above your house”. John Kuis, 57, of nearby Dilliner PA, said that his dog started growling unusually at 06.45 on 11 February, “then, the house just sort of shock and there was a big loud bang”. The Philadelphia Daily News since discovered that residents of Bobtown… a census-designated place of fewer than 1,000 people that revolves mostly around coal mining… started to receive coupons for one free pizza and a two-litre soda from a local Bobtown pizzeria.

On its website, the company said, “Chevron recognises the effect this has had on the community. We value being a responsible member of this community and will continue to strive to achieve incident-free operations. We’re committed to taking action to safeguard our neighbours, our employees, our contractors, and the environment”. Daily News reporters were able to confirm with Bobtown Pizza that it was, in fact, Chevron that bought about 100 of the 12 USD (430 Roubles. 13.25 CAD. 13.35 AUD. 8.75 Euros. 7.20 UK Pounds) coupons, which expire on 1 May 2014.The coupon is for one free large pizza and a two-litre drink at Bobtown Pizza, a shop a few miles away from the drill site.

Activists say that the pizza coupon is just the most outlandish of the many ways Chevron and other oil and gas companies have tried to soften their image, as fracking stirs controversy over environmental and health impacts. Gloria Forouzan, a leader with Pittsburgh-based anti-fracking group Marcellus Protest, said, “How arrogant and stupid do they think people are? What (fracking companies) are doing in terms of PR is insidious. They advertise, and they advertise heavily, and for that, (people) are basically willing to lie down and let the companies walk all over them”.

19 February 2014

Voice of Russia World Service

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_02_19/Chevron-apologizes-for-Pennsylvania-fracking-explosion-with-free-pizza-0282/