Sunday Morning

(the flora and fauna inside Zenith's main dining hall)

Last Sunday marked the final day of the Thanksgiving weekend and we - Missy, her brothers Joe and Greg, Greg's wife Christina, and I - decided to end the holiday with a bang by having brunch at ZENITH, Pittsburgh's premier vegetarian joint:



The main thing to know about Zenith is that it is an "antiques boutique" that happens to double as a "vegetarian restaurant" (fellow Athenians - imagine what would happen if AGORA and THE GRIT joined forces and you get the idea). They boast that everything in their shop is for sale, including all the utensils and furniture in their dining areas. Like the plates you're eating off of? Let the waiter know and he'll wash them and wrap them up for you. Like the chair you're sitting on? Take it home with you after your meal! Because of this (and because the food is bomb-ass delish), the place is always packed with people, waiting to bask in Zenith's many charms. We put our names in with the hostess and proceeded to wile away the 30 minute wait...









We emerged from the various nooks and crannies of the store when they called our party. They led us through the crowded dining rooms to a nice bright spot by the window. We hungrily considered the options on the menu. Missy and I both chose to have the "curry chickpea burrito" as our main dish, and then hit up the breakfast buffet, which consisted of various pastries and salads...





















Walking back to the car we spotted this piece of graffiti on the back of an abandoned pizza shop:



The next day, Missy and I got up early for our long trek back down to Georgia. We bid Missy's parents good bye and then hit the road. A return trip from Pittsburgh isn't complete until we stop at KING'S and pick us up a pack of their famous FROWNIES. A Frownie is basically a brownie with a sad face drawn on it with icing. Legend has it that the Kings's franchise wanted to counter their rival - EAT N PARK - who had been serving up SMILEY FACE COOKIES...thus, the Frownie was born and soon catapulted into Pittsburgh icon status...anyways, the King's restaurant we went into totally smelled like farts and we were glad to quickly get out of there with our pack of Frownies. A six-pack of Frownies is called a PITY PARTY...haha...







Driving through West Virginia we encountered snow. We stopped at BISCUIT WORLD for a proper breakfast, as the snow started to come down. By the time we hit the road again, the weather had gotten much worse:













Thanks to Missy's skillful driving, we managed to make it back to Athens in one piece...yay!