This year the GSG holiday party was the weekend before the work week. I kind of like it that way because we were able to fly in on Saturday and home on Friday then have a weekend before work starts again.
Andrew and I slept in a bit and then got dressed and took a cab to South Side so we could finally eat at the Zenith. I had been wanting to eat here for three years now and today was the day!
Two summers ago, when Wayne and the kids came with us, the five of us walked from the hotel all the way over to South Side to eat there. It was hot and miserable but it was only about 3 miles away so we toughed it out. When we got there we saw a huge line winding around the corner. Uh oh! We took our place in the back and some regulars assured us that there was plenty of room inside. Whew! I was really looking forward to eating here because everything was vegan. Vegan pancakes, french toast, savory meals, baked goods. Yum! We were about fifteen minutes early for the opening so stood around and listened to the kids complain a lot.
The time had arrived and they should be opening but the line wasn’t moving. We waited another 10 minutes and still nothing, 10 more minutes and nothing. Some people were walking away. Ha! More room for us! 5 more minutes and nothing. Finally Andrew went to their website on his phone and there was a little notice that they were closed and on vacation. Well then…….the kids were so unhappy! I was disappointed and we were all hot and tired. We ended up going to some meh place and took a cab back to the hotel.
But today they were open! The Zenith Cafe is in the back of an antique store which is kind of unusual but very cool and interesting. It’s group seating so we were at a table with six other people. Really nice, helpful people who gave us all sorts of suggestions about where to get vegan food in Pittsburgh. We had really great conversations with all of them and the food was amazing! There was a huge table full of different pies and cakes. There was another with all kinds of salads like fruit, potato, macaroni, pasta. I ordered the french toast and Andrew had the Tofishy sandwich. Mine was excellent. I didn’t try his because I don’t like seafood or anything that tastes like seafood. He said it was really good though. After we couldn’t possibly eat another bit we paid the bill and summoned a Lyft. Wow, she showed up in like three minutes and was very pleasant. I would definitely use Lyft again.
Once we were back at the hotel we had a bit of time before we had to get ready for the party so I caught up on email and any articles I had open tabs for. Andrew worked on some OpenBSD stuff.
The party was in the Grand Ballroom of the hotel so once it was time to go we just headed up the elevator. It was nice to see his team and their families. We always have a great time hanging out together. We never get seated at the same table but always end up gravitating back to a group once dinner is over.
The food was pretty good this year. The vegan offering was pretty similar to what they serve most years but they added some couscous and marinara sauce so it was more like a meal instead of a plate of veggies. The dessert is still a boring bowl of fruit though…..We stood around talking with his team for quite some time after the party was officially over and then headed to our rooms. The employees have an early morning beginning with breakfast and then a full day of meetings so everyone was off to bed. Besides, the Speakeasy is closed on Sundays 🙂
Today I learned that The Franktuary moved! It was one of the few places I could get a vegan lunch. Boo!