Sample blues with small bites
Pittsburgh’s first Blues and Heritage Festival is kicking off with a food-centric event, “A Taste of Blues,” featuring small bites from top area restaurants.
Local foodies can get a sneak peek at two restaurants that haven’t even opened yet. Bridges & Bourbon, which will occupy the former Ceviche space on Penn Avenue, Downtown, and Walter’s BBQ, which will open in a former Lawrenceville auto body shop, will provide yet-to-be-divulged small bites for the event, set for 8-11 p.m. Sept. 28 at the August Wilson Center in the Cultural District, Downtown.
Other participating restaurants and their planned offerings are:
Braddock’s Pittsburgh Brasserie: peach smoked salmon with espresso barbecue sauce.
Eddie Merlot’s: confit barbecue chicken sliders with smoke-infused aioli. Fogo de Chao: bruschetta, prime sirloin and citrus- and pineapplemarinated chicken breast.
Vallozzi’s: pulled-pork cannoli.
Capital Grille: barbecue grilled filet medallions and double chocolate cookies.
Pirata: barbecue jerk shrimp with jicama pineapple salsa. Market Street Grocery: Korean barbecue pork belly and kimchi shooters. Double Wide Grill: wood-grilled barbecue ribs with Carolina sauce.
A519 Chocolate: truffles. Blume Honey Water: samples. Wigle Whiskey: spirits tastings.
The “Taste of Blues” event is similar to “A Taste of Jazz,” the kickoff party for the summer Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, according to organizer Olivia Ruk of Acrobatique Creative. But this event features more musicians and more rooms in the August Wilson Center to accommodate the expected crowd of 600.
Musicians will play in the intimate setting of the center’s various galleries. The lineup includes: Michael Mwenso and the Harlem Shakes, New Breed Brass Band, Teeny Tucker, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Blind Boy Jerron Paxton and Deva Mahal.
Tickets for the Taste of Blues kickoff event are $35 and can be bought at trustarts.org/production/60340/ taste-of-blues-party. Attendees must be at least 21 years old.
The Highmark Blues and Heritage Festival will be held Sept. 29-30, and the musical lineup and other details can be found at aaccawc.org/event/highmarkblues-and-heritage-festival/.