March 30, 2025 • 48 mins
(00:55) Rick Sebak occupies a special place in Pittsburgh's cultural landscape. For nearly four decades, he's crafted documentaries that capture the essence of our region, always with a keen eye for how food connects us to place and memory. "I celebrate Pittsburgh," he says simply, though his work does anything but take a simple approach to storytelling.
What makes Rick's style so compelling is his deliberate choice to step away from the spotlight. "I never think I'm the story," he explains, preferring what a colleague once called "an explosion of voices" – letting the people he meets tell their own tales. This approach has carried him from showcasing local institutions like Kennywood and the bygone Original Hotdog Shop of Oakland, to traveling cross-country capturing America's diners, bakeries, and shoreline foods for national PBS audiences.
(26:10) Our conversation weaves through Rick's formative upbringing with food – from his mother's home-cooked meals in Bethel Park to his transformative years abroad in France and Brazil. These experiences shaped not just his palate but his understanding that food tells our cultural story in ways politics and formal history often miss.
(35:35) We explore his current projects, including the upcoming "Lucky to Live in Pittsburgh" premiering April 10th on WQED, featuring stories about Weatherbury Farm's ancient grains and other regional treasures. Rick also shares his latest Pittsburgh food experiences – from the Grant Bar's dual-style pork chops to Chaykhana's Uzbek cuisine in the West End. We end with a wine pick from Catherine Montest to pair with Rick's beloved 'cowboy' cookies.
This episode offers a glimpse in cultural storytelling through the lens of what we eat, who prepares it, and how these experiences shape our memories and communities. As Rick puts it, quoting a saying he's adopted: "All food history is written on jello" – acknowledging both the fluidity and the fundamental importance of our culinary traditions.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Doug (00:01):
Welcome to the Pittsburgh Dish.
I'm your host, Doug Heilman.
How do tales of hot dogs,bakeries, diners and more help
celebrate people and place,especially Pittsburgh?
Rick Sebak knows we talk abouthis past and latest work,
including a meat-centricassignment.
He's on right now.
(00:21):
Who's making that list Later inthe show, Plus wine with
dessert, or for dessert,Catherine Montest of your Fairy
Wine Mother gives us arecommendation.
All that ahead, stay tuned.
Thank you so much for comingover and for being on the show.
Thank you for having me no thisis fun.
Rick (00:44):
When I heard you listen to this on your walks, I have to
tell you I'm flattered hey it'sa good, wonderful podcast, I
mean, and you know, I learnthings every time and I think
that's why we like podcasts.
Doug (00:55):
Would you introduce yourself to our listeners and
anything you have going on rightnow in the world of food?
Rick (01:04):
Well, I'm Rick Sebak.
I have worked for a long timeat WQED.
I make TV programs,documentaries.
I celebrate Pittsburgh I thinkI do a lot of that and I've also
done a slew of nationalprograms for PBS.
Those may be more about food ingeneral than the Pittsburgh
shows, which just usually havefood in them.
(01:25):
I think all my shows have foodin them.
What am I doing food-wise rightnow?
Well, I have some stories thatwe just did that are on YouTube,
including Weatherberry Farm inWashington County, where they
make ancient grains and theymill them there, and that's been
an eye-opening experience andthey're all going to.
(01:46):
I mean, a bunch of my storiesare going to be put together in
a show called Lucky to Live inPittsburgh, which is going to be
on April 10th I'm not sureexactly when this will air,
perfect, okay, april 10th, whichis a Thursday evening, I think.
Okay, it'll be on at eighto'clock.
And the first one that I did,the first Lucky to Live in
Pittsburgh, which premiered onDecember 26th when I was in
(02:08):
North Carolina.
I don't think a lot of peoplewere watching TV that evening.
It's going to repeat rightafter, so you can see both of my
shows called Lucky to Live inPittsburgh.
Doug (02:17):
The one from December.
Did that have Badamo's pizza init, Actually, and-.
Rick (02:21):
Am I saying it right or wrong?
No, I always said badamos, butAnthony says badamo, badamo.
Catherine (02:28):
Which and I always think that's A little- wider.
Rick (02:30):
A, I always call it like a flatter A, but it's the same
thing as when you see peoplefrom out of town come in and do
stories about Pittsburgh.
They always say primantes.
Yeah, and I thought nobody heresays primantes, it's Primani's.
So it's not Badamo, but Badamo,Badamos.
Doug (02:45):
Badamos.
They might have one of the bestsquare slices in the city.
I had two the other night.
I need to talk to him, I think.
Rick (02:55):
And actually, yeah, but I'm also addicted to the garlic
knots, oh yes, and I just buy aslew of them and don't make them
, heat them before they get intome, and I take them home and I
put them in the air fryer asneeded.
So I like to have, you know,half dozen in the house.
Doug (03:12):
So this is sort of your newest concept of shows or
programs.
You've been doing thesefeatures sort of on YouTube.
First, almost I think a lot ofthem are like eight minutes or
so.
That's about exactly right.
And then you put three or sotogether and now it's a show on
yeah, I mean I, you know, I tendas I say.
Rick (03:33):
I celebrate Pittsburgh, so they're not hard hitting.
They're not, you know,investigative journalism.
They are celebrations andusually very people's oriented.
I want to know about the peoplebehind all of this, whether it
be food or sandstone or whatever.
Doug (03:50):
Is that how you?
Well, let me ask it as aquestion how do you describe
yourself?
Is it a documentarian,historian, human?
Rick (04:00):
interest?
I don't know.
I always say I'm a TV guy,you're a TV guy, a TV guy, you
know documentary sounds,documentarian sounds, so uppity
Highfalutin.
And you know, I guess I'mconsidered a historian only
because my shows and the way Ilike to brand them is.
(04:20):
When I started at QED, nancyLavin was the woman who hired me
and she helped start many ofthose first documentaries that I
did.
And she saw a thing in CurrentMagazine, which is the PBS
in-house sort of newspaper, andit said Los Angeles is doing a
series of six programs calledthe Los Angeles History Series.
And she said you know, youalways have history in your
(04:42):
shows.
She said why don't we call themthe Pittsburgh History Series?
And so Holy Pittsburgh was thefirst one that we did as the
Pittsburgh History Series.
You're watching WQED'sPittsburgh History Series.
And then we went back and putthat on Kennywood Memories and
the Mon, the Al and the O andall the shows we've done so far.
And I keep it up.
Now it's my brand, thePittsburgh History Series.
It's my brand, the PittsburghHistory Series.
(05:03):
And I say it's to let peopleknow that you know, history
doesn't have to be aboutpolitics and government.
History is everything.
Doug (05:16):
History of an amusement park is just as valid as history
of the Congress and even food.
You have captured moments andI'll just jump around a little
bit.
From the hot dog program youhave a great segment with the O
at Pitt.
From PA Diners, you have mystomping ground, state College,
with Ye Olde College Diner andit's not there anymore, nor is
the O there I know, I watched itthe other day and it brought me
(05:36):
back because I was up therecirca 1993, and I think you were
there in 92.
So it was right the same timeand, uh, you know, you just
can't bring that back.
Rick (05:45):
So there there is history and the night we were there we
were sort of running from a snowstorm, we were trying to get
back to pittsburgh, but I saidlet's stop and stay college and
we'll see, and uh.
But I also also always rememberand I don't know who I
attribute this quote to, but Ialways say it all food history
is written on jello, okay.
Okay, because who knows you'relike how things got started.
(06:09):
Yeah, all food history iswritten on jello, so yeah yeah,
but you are capturing.
Doug (06:14):
I think we always think about those tastes and flavors
that harken to a memory, so youdo that for so many folks yeah,
well, I think food is importantthat way.
Rick (06:22):
Yeah, it it is, and I don't mind that.
You know there's food andeverything.
The one I remember is I did ashow for PBS, a national show
about cemeteries.
I was down in DC talking tothem and they said is there a
program you've always wanted todo that you've never been able
to?
And I said I've always thoughtI'd like to do cemeteries of
Pittsburgh.
I think people care more aboutthe cemeteries around where they
live.
And they said, oh, we'd likethat for a national show.
(06:44):
And so we did.
We made a national show aboutcemeteries across the country
and when we were in Atlanta theysaid, oh well, there's this
place just across the streetthat has food called Six Feet
Under, and there was a TV showSix Feet Under and all that.
But it was really fun thatright across from the cemetery
there was a restaurant, a goodrestaurant.
So we included that in the showtoo.
(07:06):
That was, you know, even in thecemetery show I had food.
Doug (07:08):
Yeah, when you think about your body of work and I'll just
say I don't do a ton ofresearch, but I tried to do a
little light research.
I have no idea how many showsyou've done, how many programs
Do you?
No, I don't know either.
I know when you hit the 25years at QED, I think you said
there were somewhere over 30.
And now you've been at QED for38 years.
(07:30):
38 years 1987 to 88, right?
Rick (07:33):
The 4th of July 1987.
I drove from South Carolina,where I'd been working for 11
years, to Pittsburgh on July 4th1987.
Doug (07:42):
Oh, my goodness, and the first couple of programs you did
here, the Mon, the Al and the OKennywood.
Rick (07:49):
Memories.
And well, actually the firstshow I did here was called
Transplant Town, oh, which is-.
Doug (07:55):
Oh, with like Organ transplant.
Organ transplant, yeah.
Rick (07:58):
Yeah, because at that time Pittsburgh was the world
capital of organ transplants.
More organ transplants weredone in 1987 in Pittsburgh than
in the rest of the worldcombined, which is staggering,
isn't that amazing?
Doug (08:11):
Yeah, that's because Dr Starzl was here, Starzl, that's
right, yeah, and he had, youknow, worked with some
anti-rejection drugs andcyclosporine.
Rick (08:21):
I'm glad I can remember the name of it.
Oh my gosh.
Yeah, but he was a great, greatguy and actually the story that
I always tell is we had askedcould we be in the operating
room, which is like hard for aTV crew and you have to get all
suited up and hair nets and allof that and we did.
We went through all thatrigmarole and it was going to be
an operation and we were set upfor like 6 AM and we went up
(08:42):
and we were at Dr Starzl'soffice.
We're going to be an operationand we were set up for like 6 am
and, uh, we went up and we wereat dr starzl's office.
We're going to follow him downto the operating room.
And just about the time we weregetting ready to leave his
office, somebody came up andsaid problem with the organ, the
operation is canceled.
Oh, and we're like oh, no, anddr starzl says I am famished,
let's go to the o.
(09:03):
Oh, and that was the first timeI went to the O was with.
Dr Starzl, isn't that amazing?
Because it was open 24 hours atthat time and we're going down
there and he says, oh, I have nomoney, I'll find a medical
student.
And it was just excellent.
My first trip to the O was withDr Starzl.
What a memory.
(09:23):
Now it's all a memory.
The O.
They were great hot dogs.
We had shot hot dogs for my hotdog program, for PBS across the
country, and then we realized,oh, you know what Right here in
our backyard is maybe the bestand it's the last story in the
show, because and I remember, weshot it on Holy Saturday and it
(09:46):
was just great, it was justreally excellent.
And there's one shot that Iwould say is on like my top 10
shots of all time this youngblack guy talking.
He goes oh, I know, you comehere, you bring your girl and
then later you bring your familyand your grandkids and just as
he says that, a whole familywalks right behind him.
Catherine (10:01):
It's just perfect.
That is Like we hadorchestrated it.
Rick (10:05):
So you know I'm very lucky with what I get to do.
Doug (10:08):
From those first programs.
What was the first one?
That was totally about food.
Rick (10:14):
Probably one of the national shows.
Well, no, I would say diners,Pennsylvania diners.
Chris Fennimore, he's been onthe show.
He was our program director atthe time and when I did a show
called pennsylvania road show,there was one diner and at us
in-house screening before itaired, chris said you know, I
could watch a whole show ondiners.
(10:34):
And I said I could do a wholeshow on diners.
Yes, and we had always sent myPittsburgh programs to PBS and
said, hey, could you air these?
And they would always say man,it's too's too local, too
parochial.
Only you people in WesternPennsylvania care about this.
But when we sent the diner show, they said you know what?
Everybody knows this kind ofrestaurant.
It doesn't matter that they'reall in Pennsylvania, let's run
(10:56):
it.
And it got great ratings andthey were really excited and
they said make a list of 10things you'd like to do.
And I did and I think we wentalmost.
I mean, maybe we did all 10.
I'm not sure.
Others came into the picture,like cemeteries, but you know,
it was just really fun andbecause of the diners, I got to
do ice cream and shore things.
(11:19):
Yes, and shore things has lotsof food in it too.
I wanted to do a show aboutnon-environmental reasons why
you go to the beach.
Doug (11:26):
Yeah, so you know, saltwater taffy and you know,
all that stuff, as opposed tosand, in my shoes.
Exactly Now, I seem to recallyou telling a story that when
you were shooting one program,you were also shooting for
another one.
I don't recall which one thatis.
Rick (11:45):
It's all of the national shows.
We would do two at a time totake advantage of the travel,
because you were spending moneyon the travel.
So we would try to find a storyfor each of the two shows.
And that persisted all the wayto when we did pies and bakeries
.
Okay, if you're going to, wewent to Juneau.
To Juneau, alaska, alaska, yes.
(12:06):
And so you find a pie place anda bakery, and that's the way we
tried to stay honest in publictelevision.
We didn't have a lot of moneybut we would always do that and
it always worked out.
Doug (12:22):
I have sort of a behind-the-scenes question.
As you were saying earlier, youcreate a program, you have this
idea, you create a program, youhave this idea and you create a
program, and then you you'retrying to see if it'll be picked
up in a national sort of schemefrom PBS.
Is that still how it workstoday?
If you wanted to producesomething right now, I don't
know.
Rick (12:41):
I don't know.
No, no, no, things alwayschange.
And you know, with the changeof administrations at QED, at
PBS, you know everywhere there's.
You know.
With the change ofadministrations at qed, at pbs,
you know everywhere, yes,there's, you know, a flop over,
and so you know, sometimes itdoesn't persist the way it's
always been or the way you'veknown it to be before.
Doug (12:58):
So you just sort of roll with the punches yeah, I mean I
do see you also evolving yourstyle because of what we stated.
You're doing a lot of thingsthat sort of go to social media
first.
Rick (13:08):
Well, I think because so many people look at that.
Yeah, as long as people arewatching, I'm happy.
Doug (13:15):
You've covered so much over the years with so many
shows, so I don't want to askyou for a favorite.
But I am wondering you know, inthese travels and making all
these food-centric shows, arethere one or two places or
stories or dishes that alwayscome back to mind for you?
Rick (13:34):
Well, immediately, I think of, I worked with a woman named
Nancy Coates, now NancyCoates-G reenwood, and when we
did a hot dog program in 1998, Ithink we're shooting maybe 97,
98, just learning how to usesearch engines, it was the first
time we were using that and sheand I sort of had a competition
(13:57):
like who's going to findanother hot dog place?
And she came in.
She found a guy in Anchorage,alaska, who had a push cart
where he sold hot dogs and Isaid a guy with a push cart has
a website.
And so we laughed about it andwe went on and then we thought
(14:17):
we were done shooting and ourfinance guy, sam Hall, said you
know what?
You haven't used all the moneyand this is a reimbursement
grant, so you have to spend themoney for us to get the money
that has been promised.
He said you need to do anothershoot, and so it was winter.
Catherine (14:28):
And.
Rick (14:28):
I said well, maybe we'll go like to new Orleans or to
Miami or something.
And Nancy said to me what aboutthat guy in Alaska?
And I said he's not selling hotdogs from a push cart in Alaska
in the winter.
And she said just let me sendhim an email.
And so she did.
And he said I sell hot dogs oneday, the day of the Iditarod
dog sled race.
Catherine (14:48):
And I was like whoa.
Rick (14:49):
You know hot dogs and cold dogs.
It was just the best.
And so we set that up and thatwas miraculous.
And it turned out that he had awebsite because his roommate
made websites and he said I'mgoing to make a website for you,
and so that's how we got there,and it was just a great time.
And the one thing we weren'tsupposed to reveal, and it's not
revealed in the show, was thathe grilled the hot dogs in
(15:13):
Coca-Cola.
He would pour Coca-Cola on theflat top, and so it was really
good.
So this is like a secret littletrick and they were reindeer hot
dogs, reindeer hot dogs, sothey were closer to what we
would.
You know, almost like akolbassi or something.
A know almost like a kielbasaor something, a slim kielbasa or
some sort of spicy sausage morecoarsely ground.
(15:38):
And when I think of otherthings, you know, when we were
doing pies and bakeries, I wouldjust, wandering around online,
I found this woman who had afood truck in Durham, North
Carolina, Rhonda Jones, and shemade rum cakes.
Oh yes, and it's called ChezMoi.
She's still doing it and I loveto buy them for presents and
she'll ship them, ship them, andthey're just so good.
(16:00):
I don't know what it is, butthey're better than any rum
cakes I've had anywhere else.
And we went to her house whereshe cooked, and she's just a
Francophile.
Her father had driven a bus andsometimes went into Canada and
she told us all these thingsabout how she learned to love
France.
And then she wanted to go toFrance and that's why her
business is called Chez Moi,which is my house in French.
(16:20):
And I still stop to see Rhondawhen I go to North Carolina,
just because sometimes you makethose connections.
And also on that same trip, Ithink, we went to Woodruff's Pie
Shop in Virginia.
I'm not going to name it,remember the name of the town,
but it was excellent and I stillfollow them on Facebook
Woodruff's Pie Shop, and theywere just stupendous they.
(16:43):
I remember the woman saying Iknow how you found us and I
thought, oh, online.
She said my brother lives inSewickley and I was like whoa,
and I said I'm not aware of thatat all.
But all these great friends,actually Connie Thayer, up in
New York State too, nearChautauqua, and she has portage
(17:04):
pies and I can't imagine drivinganywhere into New York state
near Buffalo, and all thatwithout stopping to see Connie
cause she was just great.
So many of the people that wemeet I like to keep up with.
Doug (17:17):
Oh, how great yeah.
Rick (17:19):
No, totally wonderful.
Doug (17:21):
You.
You started to answer aquestion I had coming up and
that was about your network todiscover and the internet is
there.
What other means?
Rick (17:31):
do you Well, actually, I always remember that when we did
an ice cream show, one of thefirst national shows we did, we
relied on the places where wewere going to recommend another
place.
Oh, and I know that we went toBen and Jerry's in Vermont and I
got to interview Ben and Jerryand I said, if you're doing a
show about ice cream, wherewould you go?
And they said, oh, in Venicewe'd go to oh, I'm not going to
(17:55):
remember the name of it, it's awoman's name, I can't remember
but and we went there, you know,and said, hey, ben and Jerry
sent us and that was the way wedid it at the time.
And there was a convention ofice cream collectors I think it
was in Lancaster, pennsylvania,maybe and we went there and that
opened up a lot of doors andthat's how we got to one of my
(18:19):
favorite interviews, which wasout on Cape Cod talking to a guy
and, like you know, we met himat that convention, but he ran
an ice cream shop nearHyannisport and he said you know
, I did.
You know we met him at thatconvention, but he ran an ice
cream shop near Hyannisport andhe said you know, I did.
You know Carolyn Kennedy'swedding or something like that.
I was like whoa, okay, and it'sjust fun to always make these
crazy connections everywhere.
Doug (18:40):
It goes back to old-fashioned networking,
exactly, and leveraging allthose folks in your pipeline.
Yep, does it feel the same inPittsburgh?
I mean, are you?
I often see you stop at a placeand maybe post it on your
social media and I'm like wheredid that come from?
And you've lived here now sinceyou grew up here, and you've
been here back since 87.
(19:01):
So you know, how does somethingnew pop on your radar now.
Is it still just a friendnetwork, or yeah, I think so.
Rick (19:12):
I think it's a friend network and it's just.
You know.
Doug (19:14):
Hey, I want to stop and see this and I mean, it's
Pittsburgh, everybody's relatedto everybody, and sometimes we
don't make it to a place becauseI think it's our topography.
I never went over that HillRight, and today you took me to
Emil's and I've never been.
I've known about it for years.
Rick (19:26):
No, it's one of my very favorites.
We're not supposed to talkabout it, by the way.
Oh, that's right, what happensat Emil's stays at Emil's, but
the food is very good.
I mean, it's one of thoseplaces you know that a little
bit of a time machine, simplyprepared food, really well done,
all homemade.
Doug (19:47):
Sourced.
Well, yes, we talked to theowner today and she talks about
where she gets things from andit's very important to her Right
like where her chicken comesfrom.
Yes.
Rick (19:57):
Yeah, and that's wonderful .
That's what makes it special.
Yeah, I actually just recentlyI actually brought this little
list too, because Table Magazinejust asked me to put a list
together of my 10 favoriteplaces to get meat.
Oh, and I had gone over to oneof my favorites, which is the
(20:17):
Grant Bar in Millville, andagain, more of a time machine.
You're not sure what era you'rein when you walk in there.
It's very Pittsburgh, what erayou're in when you walk in there
, and it's just, you know it's,it's very Pittsburgh.
But you know, because I was thelast time I was there, I had an
incredibly wonderful cod filetand I thought, well, that
(20:39):
doesn't work with this meatassignment.
So I went back because Iremembered the waitress saying
you know, you want to try ourpork chops?
Oh, and they had two kinds onthe menu.
It just says pork chops andthen in parentheses under it
says grilled, bone-in or lightlybattered.
And so it was a differentwaitress when I was there
recently and I said you knowwhich one should I get?
And she goes well, I like thegrilled one, it has a bone, but
(21:03):
the other one's okay too, andshe goes how about one of each?
And I said, perfect, and soother one's okay too.
And she goes how about one ofeach?
And I said perfect, perfect.
Doug (21:11):
And so, uh, you know, but I, I love things like that.
And uh, and what is that?
The grant bar in millvale?
Is that what you grant?
Rick (21:15):
bar in millvale.
When you get off 28 and go intoMillvale, it's the sort of the
first thing you run into it's abar and restaurant in the back
and it's uh, it's been theresince 1933.
You feel it, but that's part ofits charm.
Yes, and I first learned aboutit when I did an unexpected show
(21:36):
called the Joys of Millvalewith Bob Lubomsky, my cameraman,
and we went there and we met MrRosenberka.
The Rosenberka family foundedthat place in 1933.
He had memories of being a boywhen his mother cooked upstairs
and there was a dumb waiter andhis father ran the bar.
Oh, wow.
And he said that they alwaysclaimed to be the first
restaurant in Pittsburgh thatserved shrimp regularly in 1933
(22:00):
because they had a supplier.
Could be true, it could be true, we don't know.
But I was surprised to find thatthe shrimp that you get there,
they actually prepare each one.
They butterfly them backwardsand they bread them and
everything in the kitchen one byone.
And I thought, oh, it's notlike they get it from some
service and just deep fry afrozen shrimp.
They're actually carefullymaking each one and it's pretty
(22:23):
great.
But they also have, of course,prime rib on Saturday and it's a
great little place.
Hey, this is Rick Seback fromWQED and you're listening to the
Pittsburgh Dish what else inyour mind's eye is another,
maybe hidden gem?
Doug (22:43):
Maybe it's on your meat list, maybe it's just randomly
elsewhere.
Rick (22:47):
Well, I mean, you know we mentioned that I grew up here.
I have on my list Pasta Too.
Oh yeah, which is, you know,like a family Italian place in
Bethel Park, right by the mainentrance to South Park.
My family has been going theresince it had a different
location about a mile furthernorth on Route 88.
That building is now alaundromat, but that used to be
(23:09):
Pasta 2, much smaller.
We would go there at least oncea week as a family.
My mom liked it, my dad likedit.
At that time they had no liquorlicense, but you could have
beer or wine, whichever youwanted, for free, and I just
thought, we just thought it wasthe best.
It was like being at home youknow, and so I love Pasta Too,
(23:31):
and I, you know, I sometimesdon't know whether to get the
chicken Parmesan or the vealParmesan, but they also
sometimes have lobster bisqueand stuff like that.
It's all good, it's just, youknow, just simple and wonderful
food, yeah.
Doug (23:45):
They've come a long way, because our listeners probably
have seen their pasta saucesomewhere at a Giant Eagle Right
.
Rick (23:51):
And in fact I was reading about that recently because,
yeah, they are now marketingtheir sauces and some of their
dishes.
Actually, I think I took someto my sister Some wedding soup
that they put in a bag now andsell at Giant Eagle.
Doug (24:04):
Your sister lives down south now, right, is it?
Rick (24:06):
North Carolina.
She lives in North Carolina,and you know.
But Pasta Too is home to us.
Doug (24:12):
Do you want to give me one more?
Rick (24:14):
Sure.
Doug (24:15):
I see something on some notes there.
I need to get to Stunt Pig.
Rick (24:20):
Have you been yet?
I've never been to stunt pig,but I did go, you did go yeah
this is over in squirrel hillright.
It's a narrow little place it'sjust a tiny storefront, um and
uh, somebody at work actuallymolly suggested that I, you know
, check out.
If you're gonna be looking formeat places, check out stunt pig
and the sandwiches.
It's just fun.
And, yes, there's two tinytables if you want to try and
(24:42):
sit there.
And you know, there was a guysitting at the one table and I
ordered and I said I'll take itto go.
And they said you know, it'sbetter if you eat it here and
the guy goes, I don't care, sithere.
And so we talked, but I had asmoked pit.
Is that right?
Pit beef, a pit beef, whichthey said is a standard sandwich
in Baltimore.
(25:02):
Oh, I had a pit beef, it's abig beef sandwich, which is what
I was looking for for, a thingabout meat.
And they said oh, but youshould also get pig wings, which
is pork shank on a bone thatthey prep, and I thought they
were excellent.
Doug (25:19):
Wow.
Rick (25:19):
Yeah, so pig wings.
And I got a pit beef P-I-T-T.
In Baltimore it's P-I-T, buthere it's P-I-T-T.
Then they also said and theirsignature sandwich, mr Orange.
They made me taste that too,and it was.
You know, I think you saw todayat lunch I carry a little salt
(25:40):
from the Steel City Salt Companyover in Millvale.
I love their Trinidad Scorpionsalt, but I thought that, mr
Orange, was spicy enough that Ididn't need to add anything.
I love spicy food and thatseemed to be on the edge of what
a normal person might find toospicy, but I loved it.
It was really good.
It was good for you.
Doug (26:01):
Oh excellent, yeah, Rick, but I loved it.
It was really good.
It was good for you.
Oh excellent, yeah, rick, Ilove it so much.
And you know you hinted at thiswith mentioning pasta too.
You grew up in Bethel Park,bethel Park.
What was food life like growingup?
It was mom.
Rick (26:16):
Yeah, yeah, is that who cooked for you?
Yeah, mom cooked every night, Iwould say.
I mean, we rarely went out todinner, I mean, and I guess,
until the era of pasta too,which may have been like by the
time I'm I don't think that'snot high school, I think that's
college when I'm in college isthe begins our Pasta Too era.
And I mean before that we mightonce a year go out for mother's
(26:40):
day or something like that, butwe rarely went out.
We would sometimes go to mygrandmother's house.
My grandmother and grandfather,my father's parents, lived in
Bethel Park too, and we would goto their house and my
grandmother was happy to be acook and that's where I would
get stuffed cabbage and stufflike that.
She was of German extraction,but she would make a lot of
(27:02):
Eastern European dishes, I think, to please her husband, the
Sebak, you know, which is aSlovak name, Whereas my mother
was Irish.
So, uh, I think the Irish don'tcare that much and I don't know
that my mother ever lovedcooking, but she did, you know,
she did it, she did it, she.
I think she was more of a bakerthan a a cooker, but she made
(27:23):
dinner every night.
It was, you know, just expected, I think, at the time and, uh,
we mentioned liver and onions wewere talking earlier about this
, yeah and my mom made greatliver and onions and even as a
little kid, I loved it.
I loved it yeah, because I thinkliver is one of those things
that has such a strong flavor.
Yes, it can turn a off, but Iliked it and I liked.
Doug (27:43):
all my life I've loved liver and onions, so this may
have put you on the path to anmore adventurous palate.
Rick (27:50):
Could be.
But you know, like, as a kid, Ididn't like tomatoes, I didn't
like asparagus, both of which Ilove now, yeah, yeah, we grow
into some of those.
I mean, my mom was the cook.
It's funny.
I did my junior year abroad, inFrance, and she came over to
visit at Easter time.
I know that it was when she wasawakened to the whole world of
(28:11):
cheese.
Oh yes, she said you knowbefore that she sort of knew
Velveeta, yeah, but in Franceshe just loved the cheeses.
I mean, she became a dedicatedbrie eater for the rest of her
life, but she loved the factthat you could get a cheese
plate after dinner and all ofthat, and I just thought that
was so wonderful.
And by that point I had learnedthat when I was there in France
(28:32):
that we love to find a one-starrestaurant, like a three-star
restaurant.
It was so much of a, you know,an event, but if you found a
one-star restaurant that used,the food would be so good and
everything.
And so I can remember going tosome of them with her and, uh,
you know, she was anenthusiastic eater at that point
, you know, and and learn tolove things like that.
(28:53):
So, um, and she was alwaysadventurous, which I liked too.
Doug (28:57):
Were you much like her.
Rick (28:59):
You were learning, expanding your own palette in
France and along the way, Right,I mean when I did that junior
year abroad, we went to Franceand back on the SS France, the
boat I would say I was so oldthere was regular transatlantic
service at the time.
But as a group from theUniversity of North Carolina we
went on the SS France and thatreally introduced us to the
(29:22):
whole rigmarole of French eating, with courses and, you know,
very attentive waiters, all ofthat, and so it was really great
.
And Lyon, where I studied,calls itself the world capital
of gastronomy.
And on my 21st birthday I wentto Paul Beaucou's, to his
restaurant, and it was awonderful, wonderful experience.
(29:45):
Three-star restaurant, but itwas a big event.
I went with two of my bestfriends, jim Bird and Elizabeth
George, for my birthday.
We were supposed to go on Jim'sbirthday and he got
appendicitis and had to be inthe hospital, so my birthday was
next and we went.
My 21st birthday, I went toColonge de Montdour oh my, I
(30:06):
think that's the name of thetown that Chez Beaucouz is in.
So it was really excellent.
How perfect.
Yes, and what I love is it'sColonge de Montdour or Colonge
I'm not sure what that is of theMountain of Gold, which is
actually where Dormant gets itsname, mont D'Or is Dormant,
(30:27):
dormant.
Doug (30:29):
There's your Pittsburgh history on the Pittsburgh Dish
today.
Everything connects it does.
I also want to just sort oftrace some steps then.
So mom was cooking.
Always growing up, you guysboth sort of expanded your
palates with trips to France andtravel.
And then did you spend sometime in South America, in Brazil
(30:50):
, yes, as a foreign exchangestudent in high school.
Rick (30:53):
Yes, very lucky.
At that time in Bethel Park itwas a competition to be a
foreign exchange student andthey actually helped pay for it
and I was the first boy to applyin like over 10 years I think.
It was always girls who alwayswent to Rosario, Argentina.
Well, I didn't have but onesemester of Spanish, but I've
(31:17):
been lucky to study French sinceI was seven.
In my classroom at StValentine's School, Randy
Larkin's mother was a French warbride from World War II and she
thought she would speak betterEnglish if she taught kids how
to speak French.
So from second grade throughsixth grade I had French every
Tuesday with Mrs Larkin, and soI had a lot of French and a
(31:41):
little wee bit of Spanish.
And I encountered a guy at BoyScouts who said well then you
should go to Brazil because theyspeak Portuguese and it's a
little bit like Spanish, alittle bit like French, and you
know there's romance languages.
So I applied for Brazil and Ialways laugh because we had a
thing at Taylor Alderdice HighSchool there were 40 of us and
(32:02):
34 were going to Sao Paulo andsix of us were going to Rio and,
like you know your high schoolmentality.
I'm like, oh, everybody's goingto Sao Paulo and we have to go
to Rio.
And then when you realize, ohno, we hit the jackpot.
We got to go to Rio for thewhole summer and it was really
excellent and there were alwayswomen selling food on the street
(32:24):
, which I loved, and you know,it was never expensive.
You could always stop and getsomething from the women on the
street.
And then when I came home I didvery little research in advance
, but I came home and I readthis thing that said never buy
food from the women on thestreet.
But it was always wonderful andso, yeah, that expanded my
worldview.
(32:44):
And actually that's when Istarted to drink coffee.
Of course, when you go toBrazil, everybody drinks coffee.
A cafezinho was like thecheapest thing you could buy.
So yeah, and I've been verylucky that way with travel, yes,
it's always added to thepalette in some way.
Doug (33:01):
Exactly, I had one more sort of early formative question
for you, when I think aboutwhat you do now.
Well, first off, I'll just saythis I love your style of how
you put a piece together, whereyou sort of take yourself out of
the story.
You might have the narration atthe beginning or the end or a
little overlay, but you let thepeople tell the story, and so
(33:24):
it's true observation andcuriosity.
When you were younger, were youa curious observer and a little
more quiet, or were you aquestioner?
Did you ask questions like youmight do today?
Rick (33:37):
Huh, I don't know.
I think I've always been prettyoutgoing.
I don't know that I was everthe quiet kid.
I would say I was always a goodstudent.
I love school, yeah.
So you know I was alwaysinterested in that and, yeah,
perpetually curious.
I think that's the thing thatcan help.
And as far as, like, I neverthink I'm the story, yeah, far
(34:01):
as like I never think I'm thestory.
You know, I want to and I thinkit's sort of it's closer to
classical documentary makingthan TV.
Constantly I see things andeven more so now on social media
, where people make themselvesthe center.
Well, you're really not thestory.
You know, if you're giving us atour of Pittsburgh, why are you
on so much?
I don't want to be part of thisstory.
(34:24):
I want to highlight what'sthere.
Doug (34:26):
I think I love that balance.
It's something I really respect.
I want to do on this show.
It's not about me, it's aboutthe person I'm talking to, right
.
Rick (34:34):
Exactly, and that's what I always think too, and I want to
highlight those people and youknow as many soundbites as I can
work in, I want to do it.
Yes, yeah, and if the personactually and I would say that
the story that's going to be inthis new Lucky to Live in
Pittsburgh, the reduced stonequarry up near Butler, there is
just one voice, it's the guy whowas so excited that we were
(34:56):
coming and he was in charge andhe told us the whole story and
it wasn't really until we gotback I thought he's the only
voice we hear.
And that's unusual for one ofmy things.
I always like what my one-endedRick Mnookian called an
explosion of voices.
If we go to the oh, we want totalk to everybody that we can
talk to, and you know, then putall those voices together in a
(35:19):
little explosion.
And in fact we have a littlebit of that in the Weatherberry
Farm story when people come topick up their grains.
Doug (35:24):
Yeah, they're pulling up and you hear what everyone is
getting.
Rick (35:26):
I love that, yes yes, so it's part of the joy of all of
this and I do think of it as joy.
Doug (35:32):
Do you have any food-centric things on the
horizon?
Or I'll just ask generallywhat's ahead?
Rick (35:38):
I never know except that, and this is so funny because I
saw you there.
But we had such a great time atthe Community Kitchen in
Hazelwood, yes, and when Irealized that this is their last
year there, I thought, oh, itwould be fun to document the way
they are now, just like the?
O or any of these places.
It's good to see how it isright now, and so we're going to
(35:58):
go back in a week or so to do astory.
I've never done a fish frystory in Pittsburgh.
Doug (36:05):
Oh, my goodness, and I think it's such a big thing.
Rick (36:07):
Yes, and I'm also.
It's so joyous, which I don'tthink is the spirit of Lent.
No, but we get through it buthere in Pittsburgh we love
Fridays in Lent because we havefish fries and that's all just
really.
You know, I don't know, lanyap,I don't know.
(36:32):
It's something to celebrate,yes, it's just the best it is,
and so that's coming up.
But I also I'm interested inWild Rye's Bakery, which I've
just been learning about, andyou know, always, sometimes I
think, I take some of the foodplaces for granted.
And well, on my list for TableMagazine I put Mitch's Barbecue
up in Warrendale.
Doug (36:46):
Up in Warrendale we talked about Mitch's with other folks.
Rick (36:49):
It's excellent.
And Chef Justin there, withAsian influences, which I think
I came from his culinarytraining, he makes Asian buns,
he makes brisket buns and porkbelly buns and he makes ramen
with brisket in it.
It's just everything is goodOut of this world.
Yeah, out of this world.
So I'm just lucky that way thatit's you know, yeah.
(37:12):
I don't know yet whateverything's coming, but you
know, food will be involvedsomehow, I'm sure.
Doug (37:18):
Well, I love that.
So, Rick, let's just recap forfolks Lucky to Live in
Pittsburgh, which is going to beyour newest program on WQED
Broadcast program.
Okay, keep me the right withthe terminology, because some of
these things have been onYouTube in the stories.
We just do little wraparounds.
Yes, yeah, you see me.
Yeah, so April 10th for thelatest episode, right, and there
(37:40):
was an earlier one in December,but it'll replay.
Rick (37:43):
Replay that same night.
So if you tune in at 8 o'clock,at 8.30, we're going to play
the first one.
So it's going to be number twoand then number one.
Doug (37:49):
All right, Rick, if someone is under a rock and
they're not following you yet,or they don't know where to tune
in, how about we give you amoment to just promote where
they can find you and your work?
Rick (38:01):
Well, I'm still on Facebook and Instagram, as at
Rick Sebak, but you should alsobe part of WQED, which is at
WQED, and subscribe there orfollow there or whatever I do
occasionally an experiment onTikTok, but not often Same here,
you know.
I just I'm not into it yet andit's vertical video which I
(38:21):
still resist.
Catherine (38:22):
Oh, I know Just because you know, we're
horizontally ingrained.
Doug (38:26):
Yes.
So, and I'm going to give alittle plug, if people want to
find you in the wild, they canstop in Wednesday nights most
Wednesday nights, almost everyWednesday night, at Independent.
Rick (38:38):
Brewing Independent Brewing Company in Squirrel Hill
on Shady Avenue, I play records.
Yeah, it's a wonderful night ofvinyl Vinyl and you know I
really enjoy it.
That was just a chance becauseI know Pete Kurzweil, who owns
the place, and during thepandemic I saw it was his
birthday and I had baked cookies.
The bar was closed and I saidare you at the bar?
(39:00):
And he said yeah, but if you'regoing, if you're gonna come,
come right now.
And so I went.
We had to buy a beer and I gavehim the cookies and he said I
gotta go because I'm playingrecords.
I said what do you mean you'replaying records?
He said we play vinyl here onWednesday nights and I said I
want to do that.
So, uh, I've been doing it foralmost five years now every
Wednesday night and uh, LanceJones, uh, does it with me now,
uh, who used to work at QED andhe was also the manager of
(39:23):
Starlake Amphitheater, so he'smet a lot of the artists that we
play, so that's totally fun.
Catherine (39:28):
But I say there's no rules.
Rick (39:29):
I want to play country, I want to play show tunes, I want
to play rock, I want to playfolk, anything.
I want to play Doris Day andFrank Sinatra and all kinds of
music.
And Carol Zippy Brennan over inSpringdale always listens and
she wants us to play a BingCrosby cut every week.
So we do.
Doug (39:47):
And there's lots of good food and drinks to go along.
Exactly, yes, well, thank youfor that.
All right, rick, there's alwaysa final question I like to ask
our guests.
The name of the show is ThePittsburgh Dish.
What's the best dish you've hadto eat this past week?
Rick (40:06):
Last two weeks actually have just been spectacular, as I
tried to put this together andI put little stars and I went
for the first time to Chaykhanain the West End at one of our
(40:27):
Uzbek restaurants.
Yes, and there's a buzz aboutthat, we have six or seven Uzbek
restaurants now New ones, yeah,yeah.
And I thought it was excellent.
I had a lamb shank with rice andtomato and onion and it was
just excellent.
It was simple and wonderful, sothat was a big highlight.
(40:48):
Chaykhana Inn it's in the WestEnd and it looks like Chaykhana,
but they don't say the K.
I asked how do you pronounce it?
Chaykhana?
Okay, but they don't say the K.
I asked how do you?
How do you pronounce it?
Okay, um and uh.
I also, uh, went to gauchodowntown and I had the uh, which
was a pork shank, and I thoughtall these shanks, you know, but
(41:12):
I thought they were great.
And uh.
I also wanted to say like alittle thing about because this
was another night.
This week I went to Streets onCarson oh yeah, he makes the
best wings, I think confit wingsthat are just superlative.
And while I was there, I alsonoticed that they had a meatloaf
sandwich and I got the meatloafsandwich too and took it home
(41:35):
and it was also very good.
Sort of in a Primanti style,they put the mashed potatoes on
the sandwich.
Oh, meatloaf and mashedpotatoes on a sandwich On a
sandwich With the onion Like thecrispy onion Straws yes.
Oh, I'll go for that.
Yes, it was really good and Ithought maybe this I also
brought for you.
He's bringing out gifts.
(41:55):
Yeah, no, no, no, because Ithought you know this helps
promote and everything I've beenmaking these cookies.
It's one of my mom's recipesfor cowboy cookies.
Oh my goodness, and I'vechanged them over the years many
times.
My mom wouldn't recognize thesecookies, but these are made
with Weatherberry Farm ancientgrains.
Doug (42:13):
Ancient grains, oh my gosh .
I see all kinds of things here.
It's like, in a good way, agnarly looking cookie.
It's a gnarly looking cookieand nuts and some dried fruit.
And is this a flaked salt ontop?
Rick (42:25):
Flaked salt from the Steel City Salt.
Doug (42:27):
Company From Steel City Salt.
Thank you, Steel City.
Rick (42:29):
Salt and yeah, so my mom never put dried fruits in, but I
have dried apricots, chocolatechips and also I found that
Trader Joe's you can buy a bagof dried blueberries, so there's
dried blueberries in there aswell, and then there are some
macadamia nuts and pistachionuts and all that.
Doug (42:48):
It's a kitchen sink.
Rick (42:49):
And then, talking with Nigel out at Weatherberry Farm,
he said well, you do thisusually with rolled oats.
You want to try rolled speltand einkorn flakes.
But then I've gradually.
I've known them out there atthe farm for about three years
now and over the years I'vetried various things.
(43:10):
These have no all-purpose flour, they just have spelt, emmer
and einkorn flour and thenrolled spelt and einkorn flakes
and I think they taste betterthan ever.
Doug (43:20):
they're a little bit more fragile I'm excited to try them,
probably because they don'thave that traditional white
flour gluteny.
Rick (43:27):
Maybe that's it, yeah and uh, you know sometimes they
break and they fall apart, butyou know, actually these held up
pretty good.
Catherine (43:33):
I'm excited those are yours, thank you so much
that'll let you tasteweatherberry.
Doug (43:38):
Oh, my goodness, I'm flattered and I just want to say
, Rick Sebak, thank you so muchfor the gift.
Oh, you're welcome, and thankyou for being on the Pittsburgh
Dish.
Thank you for having me.
Rick's latest broadcast program, Lucky to Live in Pittsburgh,
is airing on WQED April 10th2025.
(43:59):
If you can't catch that show,you can access it and more with
a PBS Passport membership.
Just visit WQED to learn more.
Up next, wine with dessert orfor dessert.
We sit down for an overduecatch up with our friend,
Catherine Montest of your FairyWine Mother.
It has been a bit.
(44:20):
It has been a while, Doug, weneed to catch up.
Catherine, you have been doingsome traveling and all of it was
for fun, but also for a lot of,shall we say, wine research.
Catherine (44:33):
Yeah, I think we could say that I spent a little
bit of time in Europe.
We went to France and did getto sneak out to the Champagne
region.
I'm looking forward to sharingthat with you.
We also went to Barcelona andwe went to London and I had a
really surprisingly beautifulbottle in London.
Doug (44:53):
Wow, well then, that was sort of in the late part of 2024
.
And then I went back to ask youa question and I found on,
maybe Facebook, you had just puta picture you were in Chile,
yes, and at a vineyard.
Catherine (45:07):
At a vineyard.
We were there.
We were on the ground for aboutfive days.
A lovely friend of mine whoused to live in Chile and she
worked in the wine industrythere.
She now lives here inPittsburgh and she put together
a tour for 10 of us and it wasso much fun.
Doug (45:24):
I bet we have to get into this a little bit further, but
while we're here today, I'mgoing to keep it short.
We just got done talking withRick Seback.
He was lovely and he broughtsome really delicious cookies.
Lovely and he brought somereally delicious cookies.
It got me thinking aboutdesserts and, Catherine, when
(45:46):
you finish a meal.
Catherine (45:47):
Is there a wine or a dessert wine that you like to go
for to wrap up a meal?
That is a great question and,being in Pennsylvania, we have
access to something that'sreally kind of special and in
other parts of the world it'sonly made during certain years.
Okay, and that's ice wine.
Doug (46:01):
Oh, I have tried ice wine, I think, once in my life.
It's a little bit sweet.
Catherine (46:07):
It's very sweet.
So what happens, what makes itso sweet and why Pennsylvania is
really good for this,specifically, you know, up in
the Erie area is the wintercomes in and freezes.
What they'll do in the vineyardis leave a bunch of the grapes
on the vine and then, when thatfirst frost hits and this is
(46:27):
really crucial little icecrystals form inside the grapes,
pick them and press them whilethey're frozen.
Interesting While they'refrozen.
While they're frozen.
Interesting, yeah, whilethey're frozen.
While they're frozen, andbecause those little buddies
have been hanging onto the vinefor so long, their acid is
really low and their sugar isreally high.
(46:48):
So those wines, even afterthey're done fermenting, are
very sweet.
Huh, so just as a dessert byitself, or kind of with the
cookies that Rick brought.
Doug (46:58):
Yeah.
So an ice wine would be just agreat after dinner sipper,
absolutely, and you could pairit with another sweet dessert or
just have it on its own.
You're exactly right, doug.
Oh, catherine, that soundsdelicious.
I think I'm going to pick upsome regional ice wine at my
next trip to the state store.
Catherine (47:17):
They're carrying it for you and it'll be a made in
Pennsylvania product.
Doug (47:20):
Catherine, thanks again for stopping in.
I can't wait to catch up alittle bit more on your recent
trips.
And thanks for being on thePittsburgh Dish Always a
pleasure, doug, thank you.
Catherine Montest has studiedwith the Napa Valley Wine
Academy and earned her winecertification from the Wine and
Spirits Education Trust inLondon.
You can find out more aboutCatherine on her website at www.
(47:42):
yourfairywinemother.
com.
If you enjoyed the show,consider buying us a coffee for
this episode or supporting theshow monthly.
You can find links to thoseoptions at the bottom of our
show description, and if youwant to follow my own food
adventures, you can find me onsocial media at DougCooking.
That's our show for this week.
(48:02):
Thanks again to all of ourguests and contributors and to
Kevin Solecki of CarnegieAccordion Company for providing
the music to our show.
We'll be back again next weekwith another fresh episode.
Stay tuned.
Welcome to the Pittsburgh Dish.
I'm your host, Doug Heilman.
How do tales of hot dogs,bakeries, diners and more help
celebrate people and place,especially Pittsburgh?
Rick Sebak knows we talk abouthis past and latest work,
including a meat-centricassignment.
He's on right now.
(00:21):
Who's making that list Later inthe show, Plus wine with
dessert, or for dessert,Catherine Montest of your Fairy
Wine Mother gives us arecommendation.
All that ahead, stay tuned.
Thank you so much for comingover and for being on the show.
Thank you for having me no thisis fun.
Rick (00:44):
When I heard you listen to this on your walks, I have to
tell you I'm flattered hey it'sa good, wonderful podcast, I
mean, and you know, I learnthings every time and I think
that's why we like podcasts.
Doug (00:55):
Would you introduce yourself to our listeners and
anything you have going on rightnow in the world of food?
Rick (01:04):
Well, I'm Rick Sebak.
I have worked for a long timeat WQED.
I make TV programs,documentaries.
I celebrate Pittsburgh I thinkI do a lot of that and I've also
done a slew of nationalprograms for PBS.
Those may be more about food ingeneral than the Pittsburgh
shows, which just usually havefood in them.
(01:25):
I think all my shows have foodin them.
What am I doing food-wise rightnow?
Well, I have some stories thatwe just did that are on YouTube,
including Weatherberry Farm inWashington County, where they
make ancient grains and theymill them there, and that's been
an eye-opening experience andthey're all going to.
(01:46):
I mean, a bunch of my storiesare going to be put together in
a show called Lucky to Live inPittsburgh, which is going to be
on April 10th I'm not sureexactly when this will air,
perfect, okay, april 10th, whichis a Thursday evening, I think.
Okay, it'll be on at eighto'clock.
And the first one that I did,the first Lucky to Live in
Pittsburgh, which premiered onDecember 26th when I was in
(02:08):
North Carolina.
I don't think a lot of peoplewere watching TV that evening.
It's going to repeat rightafter, so you can see both of my
shows called Lucky to Live inPittsburgh.
Doug (02:17):
The one from December.
Did that have Badamo's pizza init, Actually, and-.
Rick (02:21):
Am I saying it right or wrong?
No, I always said badamos, butAnthony says badamo, badamo.
Catherine (02:28):
Which and I always think that's A little- wider.
Rick (02:30):
A, I always call it like a flatter A, but it's the same
thing as when you see peoplefrom out of town come in and do
stories about Pittsburgh.
They always say primantes.
Yeah, and I thought nobody heresays primantes, it's Primani's.
So it's not Badamo, but Badamo,Badamos.
Doug (02:45):
Badamos.
They might have one of the bestsquare slices in the city.
I had two the other night.
I need to talk to him, I think.
Rick (02:55):
And actually, yeah, but I'm also addicted to the garlic
knots, oh yes, and I just buy aslew of them and don't make them
, heat them before they get intome, and I take them home and I
put them in the air fryer asneeded.
So I like to have, you know,half dozen in the house.
Doug (03:12):
So this is sort of your newest concept of shows or
programs.
You've been doing thesefeatures sort of on YouTube.
First, almost I think a lot ofthem are like eight minutes or
so.
That's about exactly right.
And then you put three or sotogether and now it's a show on
yeah, I mean I, you know, I tendas I say.
Rick (03:33):
I celebrate Pittsburgh, so they're not hard hitting.
They're not, you know,investigative journalism.
They are celebrations andusually very people's oriented.
I want to know about the peoplebehind all of this, whether it
be food or sandstone or whatever.
Doug (03:50):
Is that how you?
Well, let me ask it as aquestion how do you describe
yourself?
Is it a documentarian,historian, human?
Rick (04:00):
interest?
I don't know.
I always say I'm a TV guy,you're a TV guy, a TV guy, you
know documentary sounds,documentarian sounds, so uppity
Highfalutin.
And you know, I guess I'mconsidered a historian only
because my shows and the way Ilike to brand them is.
(04:20):
When I started at QED, nancyLavin was the woman who hired me
and she helped start many ofthose first documentaries that I
did.
And she saw a thing in CurrentMagazine, which is the PBS
in-house sort of newspaper, andit said Los Angeles is doing a
series of six programs calledthe Los Angeles History Series.
And she said you know, youalways have history in your
(04:42):
shows.
She said why don't we call themthe Pittsburgh History Series?
And so Holy Pittsburgh was thefirst one that we did as the
Pittsburgh History Series.
You're watching WQED'sPittsburgh History Series.
And then we went back and putthat on Kennywood Memories and
the Mon, the Al and the O andall the shows we've done so far.
And I keep it up.
Now it's my brand, thePittsburgh History Series.
It's my brand, the PittsburghHistory Series.
(05:03):
And I say it's to let peopleknow that you know, history
doesn't have to be aboutpolitics and government.
History is everything.
Doug (05:16):
History of an amusement park is just as valid as history
of the Congress and even food.
You have captured moments andI'll just jump around a little
bit.
From the hot dog program youhave a great segment with the O
at Pitt.
From PA Diners, you have mystomping ground, state College,
with Ye Olde College Diner andit's not there anymore, nor is
the O there I know, I watched itthe other day and it brought me
(05:36):
back because I was up therecirca 1993, and I think you were
there in 92.
So it was right the same timeand, uh, you know, you just
can't bring that back.
Rick (05:45):
So there there is history and the night we were there we
were sort of running from a snowstorm, we were trying to get
back to pittsburgh, but I saidlet's stop and stay college and
we'll see, and uh.
But I also also always rememberand I don't know who I
attribute this quote to, but Ialways say it all food history
is written on jello, okay.
Okay, because who knows you'relike how things got started.
(06:09):
Yeah, all food history iswritten on jello, so yeah yeah,
but you are capturing.
Doug (06:14):
I think we always think about those tastes and flavors
that harken to a memory, so youdo that for so many folks yeah,
well, I think food is importantthat way.
Rick (06:22):
Yeah, it it is, and I don't mind that.
You know there's food andeverything.
The one I remember is I did ashow for PBS, a national show
about cemeteries.
I was down in DC talking tothem and they said is there a
program you've always wanted todo that you've never been able
to?
And I said I've always thoughtI'd like to do cemeteries of
Pittsburgh.
I think people care more aboutthe cemeteries around where they
live.
And they said, oh, we'd likethat for a national show.
(06:44):
And so we did.
We made a national show aboutcemeteries across the country
and when we were in Atlanta theysaid, oh well, there's this
place just across the streetthat has food called Six Feet
Under, and there was a TV showSix Feet Under and all that.
But it was really fun thatright across from the cemetery
there was a restaurant, a goodrestaurant.
So we included that in the showtoo.
(07:06):
That was, you know, even in thecemetery show I had food.
Doug (07:08):
Yeah, when you think about your body of work and I'll just
say I don't do a ton ofresearch, but I tried to do a
little light research.
I have no idea how many showsyou've done, how many programs
Do you?
No, I don't know either.
I know when you hit the 25years at QED, I think you said
there were somewhere over 30.
And now you've been at QED for38 years.
(07:30):
38 years 1987 to 88, right?
Rick (07:33):
The 4th of July 1987.
I drove from South Carolina,where I'd been working for 11
years, to Pittsburgh on July 4th1987.
Doug (07:42):
Oh, my goodness, and the first couple of programs you did
here, the Mon, the Al and the OKennywood.
Rick (07:49):
Memories.
And well, actually the firstshow I did here was called
Transplant Town, oh, which is-.
Doug (07:55):
Oh, with like Organ transplant.
Organ transplant, yeah.
Rick (07:58):
Yeah, because at that time Pittsburgh was the world
capital of organ transplants.
More organ transplants weredone in 1987 in Pittsburgh than
in the rest of the worldcombined, which is staggering,
isn't that amazing?
Doug (08:11):
Yeah, that's because Dr Starzl was here, Starzl, that's
right, yeah, and he had, youknow, worked with some
anti-rejection drugs andcyclosporine.
Rick (08:21):
I'm glad I can remember the name of it.
Oh my gosh.
Yeah, but he was a great, greatguy and actually the story that
I always tell is we had askedcould we be in the operating
room, which is like hard for aTV crew and you have to get all
suited up and hair nets and allof that and we did.
We went through all thatrigmarole and it was going to be
an operation and we were set upfor like 6 AM and we went up
(08:42):
and we were at Dr Starzl'soffice.
We're going to be an operationand we were set up for like 6 am
and, uh, we went up and we wereat dr starzl's office.
We're going to follow him downto the operating room.
And just about the time we weregetting ready to leave his
office, somebody came up andsaid problem with the organ, the
operation is canceled.
Oh, and we're like oh, no, anddr starzl says I am famished,
let's go to the o.
(09:03):
Oh, and that was the first timeI went to the O was with.
Dr Starzl, isn't that amazing?
Because it was open 24 hours atthat time and we're going down
there and he says, oh, I have nomoney, I'll find a medical
student.
And it was just excellent.
My first trip to the O was withDr Starzl.
What a memory.
(09:23):
Now it's all a memory.
The O.
They were great hot dogs.
We had shot hot dogs for my hotdog program, for PBS across the
country, and then we realized,oh, you know what Right here in
our backyard is maybe the bestand it's the last story in the
show, because and I remember, weshot it on Holy Saturday and it
(09:46):
was just great, it was justreally excellent.
And there's one shot that Iwould say is on like my top 10
shots of all time this youngblack guy talking.
He goes oh, I know, you comehere, you bring your girl and
then later you bring your familyand your grandkids and just as
he says that, a whole familywalks right behind him.
Catherine (10:01):
It's just perfect.
That is Like we hadorchestrated it.
Rick (10:05):
So you know I'm very lucky with what I get to do.
Doug (10:08):
From those first programs.
What was the first one?
That was totally about food.
Rick (10:14):
Probably one of the national shows.
Well, no, I would say diners,Pennsylvania diners.
Chris Fennimore, he's been onthe show.
He was our program director atthe time and when I did a show
called pennsylvania road show,there was one diner and at us
in-house screening before itaired, chris said you know, I
could watch a whole show ondiners.
(10:34):
And I said I could do a wholeshow on diners.
Yes, and we had always sent myPittsburgh programs to PBS and
said, hey, could you air these?
And they would always say man,it's too's too local, too
parochial.
Only you people in WesternPennsylvania care about this.
But when we sent the diner show, they said you know what?
Everybody knows this kind ofrestaurant.
It doesn't matter that they'reall in Pennsylvania, let's run
(10:56):
it.
And it got great ratings andthey were really excited and
they said make a list of 10things you'd like to do.
And I did and I think we wentalmost.
I mean, maybe we did all 10.
I'm not sure.
Others came into the picture,like cemeteries, but you know,
it was just really fun andbecause of the diners, I got to
do ice cream and shore things.
(11:19):
Yes, and shore things has lotsof food in it too.
I wanted to do a show aboutnon-environmental reasons why
you go to the beach.
Doug (11:26):
Yeah, so you know, saltwater taffy and you know,
all that stuff, as opposed tosand, in my shoes.
Exactly Now, I seem to recallyou telling a story that when
you were shooting one program,you were also shooting for
another one.
I don't recall which one thatis.
Rick (11:45):
It's all of the national shows.
We would do two at a time totake advantage of the travel,
because you were spending moneyon the travel.
So we would try to find a storyfor each of the two shows.
And that persisted all the wayto when we did pies and bakeries
.
Okay, if you're going to, wewent to Juneau.
To Juneau, alaska, alaska, yes.
(12:06):
And so you find a pie place anda bakery, and that's the way we
tried to stay honest in publictelevision.
We didn't have a lot of moneybut we would always do that and
it always worked out.
Doug (12:22):
I have sort of a behind-the-scenes question.
As you were saying earlier, youcreate a program, you have this
idea, you create a program, youhave this idea and you create a
program, and then you you'retrying to see if it'll be picked
up in a national sort of schemefrom PBS.
Is that still how it workstoday?
If you wanted to producesomething right now, I don't
know.
Rick (12:41):
I don't know.
No, no, no, things alwayschange.
And you know, with the changeof administrations at QED, at
PBS, you know everywhere there's.
You know.
With the change ofadministrations at qed, at pbs,
you know everywhere, yes,there's, you know, a flop over,
and so you know, sometimes itdoesn't persist the way it's
always been or the way you'veknown it to be before.
Doug (12:58):
So you just sort of roll with the punches yeah, I mean I
do see you also evolving yourstyle because of what we stated.
You're doing a lot of thingsthat sort of go to social media
first.
Rick (13:08):
Well, I think because so many people look at that.
Yeah, as long as people arewatching, I'm happy.
Doug (13:15):
You've covered so much over the years with so many
shows, so I don't want to askyou for a favorite.
But I am wondering you know, inthese travels and making all
these food-centric shows, arethere one or two places or
stories or dishes that alwayscome back to mind for you?
Rick (13:34):
Well, immediately, I think of, I worked with a woman named
Nancy Coates, now NancyCoates-G reenwood, and when we
did a hot dog program in 1998, Ithink we're shooting maybe 97,
98, just learning how to usesearch engines, it was the first
time we were using that and sheand I sort of had a competition
(13:57):
like who's going to findanother hot dog place?
And she came in.
She found a guy in Anchorage,alaska, who had a push cart
where he sold hot dogs and Isaid a guy with a push cart has
a website.
And so we laughed about it andwe went on and then we thought
(14:17):
we were done shooting and ourfinance guy, sam Hall, said you
know what?
You haven't used all the moneyand this is a reimbursement
grant, so you have to spend themoney for us to get the money
that has been promised.
He said you need to do anothershoot, and so it was winter.
Catherine (14:28):
And.
Rick (14:28):
I said well, maybe we'll go like to new Orleans or to
Miami or something.
And Nancy said to me what aboutthat guy in Alaska?
And I said he's not selling hotdogs from a push cart in Alaska
in the winter.
And she said just let me sendhim an email.
And so she did.
And he said I sell hot dogs oneday, the day of the Iditarod
dog sled race.
Catherine (14:48):
And I was like whoa.
Rick (14:49):
You know hot dogs and cold dogs.
It was just the best.
And so we set that up and thatwas miraculous.
And it turned out that he had awebsite because his roommate
made websites and he said I'mgoing to make a website for you,
and so that's how we got there,and it was just a great time.
And the one thing we weren'tsupposed to reveal, and it's not
revealed in the show, was thathe grilled the hot dogs in
(15:13):
Coca-Cola.
He would pour Coca-Cola on theflat top, and so it was really
good.
So this is like a secret littletrick and they were reindeer hot
dogs, reindeer hot dogs, sothey were closer to what we
would.
You know, almost like akolbassi or something.
A know almost like a kielbasaor something, a slim kielbasa or
some sort of spicy sausage morecoarsely ground.
(15:38):
And when I think of otherthings, you know, when we were
doing pies and bakeries, I wouldjust, wandering around online,
I found this woman who had afood truck in Durham, North
Carolina, Rhonda Jones, and shemade rum cakes.
Oh yes, and it's called ChezMoi.
She's still doing it and I loveto buy them for presents and
she'll ship them, ship them, andthey're just so good.
(16:00):
I don't know what it is, butthey're better than any rum
cakes I've had anywhere else.
And we went to her house whereshe cooked, and she's just a
Francophile.
Her father had driven a bus andsometimes went into Canada and
she told us all these thingsabout how she learned to love
France.
And then she wanted to go toFrance and that's why her
business is called Chez Moi,which is my house in French.
(16:20):
And I still stop to see Rhondawhen I go to North Carolina,
just because sometimes you makethose connections.
And also on that same trip, Ithink, we went to Woodruff's Pie
Shop in Virginia.
I'm not going to name it,remember the name of the town,
but it was excellent and I stillfollow them on Facebook
Woodruff's Pie Shop, and theywere just stupendous they.
(16:43):
I remember the woman saying Iknow how you found us and I
thought, oh, online.
She said my brother lives inSewickley and I was like whoa,
and I said I'm not aware of thatat all.
But all these great friends,actually Connie Thayer, up in
New York State too, nearChautauqua, and she has portage
(17:04):
pies and I can't imagine drivinganywhere into New York state
near Buffalo, and all thatwithout stopping to see Connie
cause she was just great.
So many of the people that wemeet I like to keep up with.
Doug (17:17):
Oh, how great yeah.
Rick (17:19):
No, totally wonderful.
Doug (17:21):
You.
You started to answer aquestion I had coming up and
that was about your network todiscover and the internet is
there.
What other means?
Rick (17:31):
do you Well, actually, I always remember that when we did
an ice cream show, one of thefirst national shows we did, we
relied on the places where wewere going to recommend another
place.
Oh, and I know that we went toBen and Jerry's in Vermont and I
got to interview Ben and Jerryand I said, if you're doing a
show about ice cream, wherewould you go?
And they said, oh, in Venicewe'd go to oh, I'm not going to
(17:55):
remember the name of it, it's awoman's name, I can't remember
but and we went there, you know,and said, hey, ben and Jerry
sent us and that was the way wedid it at the time.
And there was a convention ofice cream collectors I think it
was in Lancaster, pennsylvania,maybe and we went there and that
opened up a lot of doors andthat's how we got to one of my
(18:19):
favorite interviews, which wasout on Cape Cod talking to a guy
and, like you know, we met himat that convention, but he ran
an ice cream shop nearHyannisport and he said you know
, I did.
You know we met him at thatconvention, but he ran an ice
cream shop near Hyannisport andhe said you know, I did.
You know Carolyn Kennedy'swedding or something like that.
I was like whoa, okay, and it'sjust fun to always make these
crazy connections everywhere.
Doug (18:40):
It goes back to old-fashioned networking,
exactly, and leveraging allthose folks in your pipeline.
Yep, does it feel the same inPittsburgh?
I mean, are you?
I often see you stop at a placeand maybe post it on your
social media and I'm like wheredid that come from?
And you've lived here now sinceyou grew up here, and you've
been here back since 87.
(19:01):
So you know, how does somethingnew pop on your radar now.
Is it still just a friendnetwork, or yeah, I think so.
Rick (19:12):
I think it's a friend network and it's just.
You know.
Doug (19:14):
Hey, I want to stop and see this and I mean, it's
Pittsburgh, everybody's relatedto everybody, and sometimes we
don't make it to a place becauseI think it's our topography.
I never went over that HillRight, and today you took me to
Emil's and I've never been.
I've known about it for years.
Rick (19:26):
No, it's one of my very favorites.
We're not supposed to talkabout it, by the way.
Oh, that's right, what happensat Emil's stays at Emil's, but
the food is very good.
I mean, it's one of thoseplaces you know that a little
bit of a time machine, simplyprepared food, really well done,
all homemade.
Doug (19:47):
Sourced.
Well, yes, we talked to theowner today and she talks about
where she gets things from andit's very important to her Right
like where her chicken comesfrom.
Yes.
Rick (19:57):
Yeah, and that's wonderful .
That's what makes it special.
Yeah, I actually just recentlyI actually brought this little
list too, because Table Magazinejust asked me to put a list
together of my 10 favoriteplaces to get meat.
Oh, and I had gone over to oneof my favorites, which is the
(20:17):
Grant Bar in Millville, andagain, more of a time machine.
You're not sure what era you'rein when you walk in there.
It's very Pittsburgh, what erayou're in when you walk in there
, and it's just, you know it's,it's very Pittsburgh.
But you know, because I was thelast time I was there, I had an
incredibly wonderful cod filetand I thought, well, that
(20:39):
doesn't work with this meatassignment.
So I went back because Iremembered the waitress saying
you know, you want to try ourpork chops?
Oh, and they had two kinds onthe menu.
It just says pork chops andthen in parentheses under it
says grilled, bone-in or lightlybattered.
And so it was a differentwaitress when I was there
recently and I said you knowwhich one should I get?
And she goes well, I like thegrilled one, it has a bone, but
(21:03):
the other one's okay too, andshe goes how about one of each?
And I said, perfect, and soother one's okay too.
And she goes how about one ofeach?
And I said perfect, perfect.
Doug (21:11):
And so, uh, you know, but I, I love things like that.
And uh, and what is that?
The grant bar in millvale?
Is that what you grant?
Rick (21:15):
bar in millvale.
When you get off 28 and go intoMillvale, it's the sort of the
first thing you run into it's abar and restaurant in the back
and it's uh, it's been theresince 1933.
You feel it, but that's part ofits charm.
Yes, and I first learned aboutit when I did an unexpected show
(21:36):
called the Joys of Millvalewith Bob Lubomsky, my cameraman,
and we went there and we met MrRosenberka.
The Rosenberka family foundedthat place in 1933.
He had memories of being a boywhen his mother cooked upstairs
and there was a dumb waiter andhis father ran the bar.
Oh, wow.
And he said that they alwaysclaimed to be the first
restaurant in Pittsburgh thatserved shrimp regularly in 1933
(22:00):
because they had a supplier.
Could be true, it could be true, we don't know.
But I was surprised to find thatthe shrimp that you get there,
they actually prepare each one.
They butterfly them backwardsand they bread them and
everything in the kitchen one byone.
And I thought, oh, it's notlike they get it from some
service and just deep fry afrozen shrimp.
They're actually carefullymaking each one and it's pretty
(22:23):
great.
But they also have, of course,prime rib on Saturday and it's a
great little place.
Hey, this is Rick Seback fromWQED and you're listening to the
Pittsburgh Dish what else inyour mind's eye is another,
maybe hidden gem?
Doug (22:43):
Maybe it's on your meat list, maybe it's just randomly
elsewhere.
Rick (22:47):
Well, I mean, you know we mentioned that I grew up here.
I have on my list Pasta Too.
Oh yeah, which is, you know,like a family Italian place in
Bethel Park, right by the mainentrance to South Park.
My family has been going theresince it had a different
location about a mile furthernorth on Route 88.
That building is now alaundromat, but that used to be
(23:09):
Pasta 2, much smaller.
We would go there at least oncea week as a family.
My mom liked it, my dad likedit.
At that time they had no liquorlicense, but you could have
beer or wine, whichever youwanted, for free, and I just
thought, we just thought it wasthe best.
It was like being at home youknow, and so I love Pasta Too,
(23:31):
and I, you know, I sometimesdon't know whether to get the
chicken Parmesan or the vealParmesan, but they also
sometimes have lobster bisqueand stuff like that.
It's all good, it's just, youknow, just simple and wonderful
food, yeah.
Doug (23:45):
They've come a long way, because our listeners probably
have seen their pasta saucesomewhere at a Giant Eagle Right
.
Rick (23:51):
And in fact I was reading about that recently because,
yeah, they are now marketingtheir sauces and some of their
dishes.
Actually, I think I took someto my sister Some wedding soup
that they put in a bag now andsell at Giant Eagle.
Doug (24:04):
Your sister lives down south now, right, is it?
Rick (24:06):
North Carolina.
She lives in North Carolina,and you know.
But Pasta Too is home to us.
Doug (24:12):
Do you want to give me one more?
Rick (24:14):
Sure.
Doug (24:15):
I see something on some notes there.
I need to get to Stunt Pig.
Rick (24:20):
Have you been yet?
I've never been to stunt pig,but I did go, you did go yeah
this is over in squirrel hillright.
It's a narrow little place it'sjust a tiny storefront, um and
uh, somebody at work actuallymolly suggested that I, you know
, check out.
If you're gonna be looking formeat places, check out stunt pig
and the sandwiches.
It's just fun.
And, yes, there's two tinytables if you want to try and
(24:42):
sit there.
And you know, there was a guysitting at the one table and I
ordered and I said I'll take itto go.
And they said you know, it'sbetter if you eat it here and
the guy goes, I don't care, sithere.
And so we talked, but I had asmoked pit.
Is that right?
Pit beef, a pit beef, whichthey said is a standard sandwich
in Baltimore.
(25:02):
Oh, I had a pit beef, it's abig beef sandwich, which is what
I was looking for for, a thingabout meat.
And they said oh, but youshould also get pig wings, which
is pork shank on a bone thatthey prep, and I thought they
were excellent.
Doug (25:19):
Wow.
Rick (25:19):
Yeah, so pig wings.
And I got a pit beef P-I-T-T.
In Baltimore it's P-I-T, buthere it's P-I-T-T.
Then they also said and theirsignature sandwich, mr Orange.
They made me taste that too,and it was.
You know, I think you saw todayat lunch I carry a little salt
(25:40):
from the Steel City Salt Companyover in Millvale.
I love their Trinidad Scorpionsalt, but I thought that, mr
Orange, was spicy enough that Ididn't need to add anything.
I love spicy food and thatseemed to be on the edge of what
a normal person might find toospicy, but I loved it.
It was really good.
It was good for you.
Doug (26:01):
Oh excellent, yeah, Rick, but I loved it.
It was really good.
It was good for you.
Oh excellent, yeah, rick, Ilove it so much.
And you know you hinted at thiswith mentioning pasta too.
You grew up in Bethel Park,bethel Park.
What was food life like growingup?
It was mom.
Rick (26:16):
Yeah, yeah, is that who cooked for you?
Yeah, mom cooked every night, Iwould say.
I mean, we rarely went out todinner, I mean, and I guess,
until the era of pasta too,which may have been like by the
time I'm I don't think that'snot high school, I think that's
college when I'm in college isthe begins our Pasta Too era.
And I mean before that we mightonce a year go out for mother's
(26:40):
day or something like that, butwe rarely went out.
We would sometimes go to mygrandmother's house.
My grandmother and grandfather,my father's parents, lived in
Bethel Park too, and we would goto their house and my
grandmother was happy to be acook and that's where I would
get stuffed cabbage and stufflike that.
She was of German extraction,but she would make a lot of
(27:02):
Eastern European dishes, I think, to please her husband, the
Sebak, you know, which is aSlovak name, Whereas my mother
was Irish.
So, uh, I think the Irish don'tcare that much and I don't know
that my mother ever lovedcooking, but she did, you know,
she did it, she did it, she.
I think she was more of a bakerthan a a cooker, but she made
(27:23):
dinner every night.
It was, you know, just expected, I think, at the time and, uh,
we mentioned liver and onions wewere talking earlier about this
, yeah and my mom made greatliver and onions and even as a
little kid, I loved it.
I loved it yeah, because I thinkliver is one of those things
that has such a strong flavor.
Yes, it can turn a off, but Iliked it and I liked.
Doug (27:43):
all my life I've loved liver and onions, so this may
have put you on the path to anmore adventurous palate.
Rick (27:50):
Could be.
But you know, like, as a kid, Ididn't like tomatoes, I didn't
like asparagus, both of which Ilove now, yeah, yeah, we grow
into some of those.
I mean, my mom was the cook.
It's funny.
I did my junior year abroad, inFrance, and she came over to
visit at Easter time.
I know that it was when she wasawakened to the whole world of
(28:11):
cheese.
Oh yes, she said you knowbefore that she sort of knew
Velveeta, yeah, but in Franceshe just loved the cheeses.
I mean, she became a dedicatedbrie eater for the rest of her
life, but she loved the factthat you could get a cheese
plate after dinner and all ofthat, and I just thought that
was so wonderful.
And by that point I had learnedthat when I was there in France
(28:32):
that we love to find a one-starrestaurant, like a three-star
restaurant.
It was so much of a, you know,an event, but if you found a
one-star restaurant that used,the food would be so good and
everything.
And so I can remember going tosome of them with her and, uh,
you know, she was anenthusiastic eater at that point
, you know, and and learn tolove things like that.
(28:53):
So, um, and she was alwaysadventurous, which I liked too.
Doug (28:57):
Were you much like her.
Rick (28:59):
You were learning, expanding your own palette in
France and along the way, Right,I mean when I did that junior
year abroad, we went to Franceand back on the SS France, the
boat I would say I was so oldthere was regular transatlantic
service at the time.
But as a group from theUniversity of North Carolina we
went on the SS France and thatreally introduced us to the
(29:22):
whole rigmarole of French eating, with courses and, you know,
very attentive waiters, all ofthat, and so it was really great
.
And Lyon, where I studied,calls itself the world capital
of gastronomy.
And on my 21st birthday I wentto Paul Beaucou's, to his
restaurant, and it was awonderful, wonderful experience.
(29:45):
Three-star restaurant, but itwas a big event.
I went with two of my bestfriends, jim Bird and Elizabeth
George, for my birthday.
We were supposed to go on Jim'sbirthday and he got
appendicitis and had to be inthe hospital, so my birthday was
next and we went.
My 21st birthday, I went toColonge de Montdour oh my, I
(30:06):
think that's the name of thetown that Chez Beaucouz is in.
So it was really excellent.
How perfect.
Yes, and what I love is it'sColonge de Montdour or Colonge
I'm not sure what that is of theMountain of Gold, which is
actually where Dormant gets itsname, mont D'Or is Dormant,
(30:27):
dormant.
Doug (30:29):
There's your Pittsburgh history on the Pittsburgh Dish
today.
Everything connects it does.
I also want to just sort oftrace some steps then.
So mom was cooking.
Always growing up, you guysboth sort of expanded your
palates with trips to France andtravel.
And then did you spend sometime in South America, in Brazil
(30:50):
, yes, as a foreign exchangestudent in high school.
Rick (30:53):
Yes, very lucky.
At that time in Bethel Park itwas a competition to be a
foreign exchange student andthey actually helped pay for it
and I was the first boy to applyin like over 10 years I think.
It was always girls who alwayswent to Rosario, Argentina.
Well, I didn't have but onesemester of Spanish, but I've
(31:17):
been lucky to study French sinceI was seven.
In my classroom at StValentine's School, Randy
Larkin's mother was a French warbride from World War II and she
thought she would speak betterEnglish if she taught kids how
to speak French.
So from second grade throughsixth grade I had French every
Tuesday with Mrs Larkin, and soI had a lot of French and a
(31:41):
little wee bit of Spanish.
And I encountered a guy at BoyScouts who said well then you
should go to Brazil because theyspeak Portuguese and it's a
little bit like Spanish, alittle bit like French, and you
know there's romance languages.
So I applied for Brazil and Ialways laugh because we had a
thing at Taylor Alderdice HighSchool there were 40 of us and
(32:02):
34 were going to Sao Paulo andsix of us were going to Rio and,
like you know your high schoolmentality.
I'm like, oh, everybody's goingto Sao Paulo and we have to go
to Rio.
And then when you realize, ohno, we hit the jackpot.
We got to go to Rio for thewhole summer and it was really
excellent and there were alwayswomen selling food on the street
(32:24):
, which I loved, and you know,it was never expensive.
You could always stop and getsomething from the women on the
street.
And then when I came home I didvery little research in advance
, but I came home and I readthis thing that said never buy
food from the women on thestreet.
But it was always wonderful andso, yeah, that expanded my
worldview.
(32:44):
And actually that's when Istarted to drink coffee.
Of course, when you go toBrazil, everybody drinks coffee.
A cafezinho was like thecheapest thing you could buy.
So yeah, and I've been verylucky that way with travel, yes,
it's always added to thepalette in some way.
Doug (33:01):
Exactly, I had one more sort of early formative question
for you, when I think aboutwhat you do now.
Well, first off, I'll just saythis I love your style of how
you put a piece together, whereyou sort of take yourself out of
the story.
You might have the narration atthe beginning or the end or a
little overlay, but you let thepeople tell the story, and so
(33:24):
it's true observation andcuriosity.
When you were younger, were youa curious observer and a little
more quiet, or were you aquestioner?
Did you ask questions like youmight do today?
Rick (33:37):
Huh, I don't know.
I think I've always been prettyoutgoing.
I don't know that I was everthe quiet kid.
I would say I was always a goodstudent.
I love school, yeah.
So you know I was alwaysinterested in that and, yeah,
perpetually curious.
I think that's the thing thatcan help.
And as far as, like, I neverthink I'm the story, yeah, far
(34:01):
as like I never think I'm thestory.
You know, I want to and I thinkit's sort of it's closer to
classical documentary makingthan TV.
Constantly I see things andeven more so now on social media
, where people make themselvesthe center.
Well, you're really not thestory.
You know, if you're giving us atour of Pittsburgh, why are you
on so much?
I don't want to be part of thisstory.
(34:24):
I want to highlight what'sthere.
Doug (34:26):
I think I love that balance.
It's something I really respect.
I want to do on this show.
It's not about me, it's aboutthe person I'm talking to, right
.
Rick (34:34):
Exactly, and that's what I always think too, and I want to
highlight those people and youknow as many soundbites as I can
work in, I want to do it.
Yes, yeah, and if the personactually and I would say that
the story that's going to be inthis new Lucky to Live in
Pittsburgh, the reduced stonequarry up near Butler, there is
just one voice, it's the guy whowas so excited that we were
(34:56):
coming and he was in charge andhe told us the whole story and
it wasn't really until we gotback I thought he's the only
voice we hear.
And that's unusual for one ofmy things.
I always like what my one-endedRick Mnookian called an
explosion of voices.
If we go to the oh, we want totalk to everybody that we can
talk to, and you know, then putall those voices together in a
(35:19):
little explosion.
And in fact we have a littlebit of that in the Weatherberry
Farm story when people come topick up their grains.
Doug (35:24):
Yeah, they're pulling up and you hear what everyone is
getting.
Rick (35:26):
I love that, yes yes, so it's part of the joy of all of
this and I do think of it as joy.
Doug (35:32):
Do you have any food-centric things on the
horizon?
Or I'll just ask generallywhat's ahead?
Rick (35:38):
I never know except that, and this is so funny because I
saw you there.
But we had such a great time atthe Community Kitchen in
Hazelwood, yes, and when Irealized that this is their last
year there, I thought, oh, itwould be fun to document the way
they are now, just like the?
O or any of these places.
It's good to see how it isright now, and so we're going to
(35:58):
go back in a week or so to do astory.
I've never done a fish frystory in Pittsburgh.
Doug (36:05):
Oh, my goodness, and I think it's such a big thing.
Rick (36:07):
Yes, and I'm also.
It's so joyous, which I don'tthink is the spirit of Lent.
No, but we get through it buthere in Pittsburgh we love
Fridays in Lent because we havefish fries and that's all just
really.
You know, I don't know, lanyap,I don't know.
(36:32):
It's something to celebrate,yes, it's just the best it is,
and so that's coming up.
But I also I'm interested inWild Rye's Bakery, which I've
just been learning about, andyou know, always, sometimes I
think, I take some of the foodplaces for granted.
And well, on my list for TableMagazine I put Mitch's Barbecue
up in Warrendale.
Doug (36:46):
Up in Warrendale we talked about Mitch's with other folks.
Rick (36:49):
It's excellent.
And Chef Justin there, withAsian influences, which I think
I came from his culinarytraining, he makes Asian buns,
he makes brisket buns and porkbelly buns and he makes ramen
with brisket in it.
It's just everything is goodOut of this world.
Yeah, out of this world.
So I'm just lucky that way thatit's you know, yeah.
(37:12):
I don't know yet whateverything's coming, but you
know, food will be involvedsomehow, I'm sure.
Doug (37:18):
Well, I love that.
So, Rick, let's just recap forfolks Lucky to Live in
Pittsburgh, which is going to beyour newest program on WQED
Broadcast program.
Okay, keep me the right withthe terminology, because some of
these things have been onYouTube in the stories.
We just do little wraparounds.
Yes, yeah, you see me.
Yeah, so April 10th for thelatest episode, right, and there
(37:40):
was an earlier one in December,but it'll replay.
Rick (37:43):
Replay that same night.
So if you tune in at 8 o'clock,at 8.30, we're going to play
the first one.
So it's going to be number twoand then number one.
Doug (37:49):
All right, Rick, if someone is under a rock and
they're not following you yet,or they don't know where to tune
in, how about we give you amoment to just promote where
they can find you and your work?
Rick (38:01):
Well, I'm still on Facebook and Instagram, as at
Rick Sebak, but you should alsobe part of WQED, which is at
WQED, and subscribe there orfollow there or whatever I do
occasionally an experiment onTikTok, but not often Same here,
you know.
I just I'm not into it yet andit's vertical video which I
(38:21):
still resist.
Catherine (38:22):
Oh, I know Just because you know, we're
horizontally ingrained.
Doug (38:26):
Yes.
So, and I'm going to give alittle plug, if people want to
find you in the wild, they canstop in Wednesday nights most
Wednesday nights, almost everyWednesday night, at Independent.
Rick (38:38):
Brewing Independent Brewing Company in Squirrel Hill
on Shady Avenue, I play records.
Yeah, it's a wonderful night ofvinyl Vinyl and you know I
really enjoy it.
That was just a chance becauseI know Pete Kurzweil, who owns
the place, and during thepandemic I saw it was his
birthday and I had baked cookies.
The bar was closed and I saidare you at the bar?
(39:00):
And he said yeah, but if you'regoing, if you're gonna come,
come right now.
And so I went.
We had to buy a beer and I gavehim the cookies and he said I
gotta go because I'm playingrecords.
I said what do you mean you'replaying records?
He said we play vinyl here onWednesday nights and I said I
want to do that.
So, uh, I've been doing it foralmost five years now every
Wednesday night and uh, LanceJones, uh, does it with me now,
uh, who used to work at QED andhe was also the manager of
(39:23):
Starlake Amphitheater, so he'smet a lot of the artists that we
play, so that's totally fun.
Catherine (39:28):
But I say there's no rules.
Rick (39:29):
I want to play country, I want to play show tunes, I want
to play rock, I want to playfolk, anything.
I want to play Doris Day andFrank Sinatra and all kinds of
music.
And Carol Zippy Brennan over inSpringdale always listens and
she wants us to play a BingCrosby cut every week.
So we do.
Doug (39:47):
And there's lots of good food and drinks to go along.
Exactly, yes, well, thank youfor that.
All right, rick, there's alwaysa final question I like to ask
our guests.
The name of the show is ThePittsburgh Dish.
What's the best dish you've hadto eat this past week?
Rick (40:06):
Last two weeks actually have just been spectacular, as I
tried to put this together andI put little stars and I went
for the first time to Chaykhanain the West End at one of our
(40:27):
Uzbek restaurants.
Yes, and there's a buzz aboutthat, we have six or seven Uzbek
restaurants now New ones, yeah,yeah.
And I thought it was excellent.
I had a lamb shank with rice andtomato and onion and it was
just excellent.
It was simple and wonderful, sothat was a big highlight.
(40:48):
Chaykhana Inn it's in the WestEnd and it looks like Chaykhana,
but they don't say the K.
I asked how do you pronounce it?
Chaykhana?
Okay, but they don't say the K.
I asked how do you?
How do you pronounce it?
Okay, um and uh.
I also, uh, went to gauchodowntown and I had the uh, which
was a pork shank, and I thoughtall these shanks, you know, but
(41:12):
I thought they were great.
And uh.
I also wanted to say like alittle thing about because this
was another night.
This week I went to Streets onCarson oh yeah, he makes the
best wings, I think confit wingsthat are just superlative.
And while I was there, I alsonoticed that they had a meatloaf
sandwich and I got the meatloafsandwich too and took it home
(41:35):
and it was also very good.
Sort of in a Primanti style,they put the mashed potatoes on
the sandwich.
Oh, meatloaf and mashedpotatoes on a sandwich On a
sandwich With the onion Like thecrispy onion Straws yes.
Oh, I'll go for that.
Yes, it was really good and Ithought maybe this I also
brought for you.
He's bringing out gifts.
(41:55):
Yeah, no, no, no, because Ithought you know this helps
promote and everything I've beenmaking these cookies.
It's one of my mom's recipesfor cowboy cookies.
Oh my goodness, and I'vechanged them over the years many
times.
My mom wouldn't recognize thesecookies, but these are made
with Weatherberry Farm ancientgrains.
Doug (42:13):
Ancient grains, oh my gosh .
I see all kinds of things here.
It's like, in a good way, agnarly looking cookie.
It's a gnarly looking cookieand nuts and some dried fruit.
And is this a flaked salt ontop?
Rick (42:25):
Flaked salt from the Steel City Salt.
Doug (42:27):
Company From Steel City Salt.
Thank you, Steel City.
Rick (42:29):
Salt and yeah, so my mom never put dried fruits in, but I
have dried apricots, chocolatechips and also I found that
Trader Joe's you can buy a bagof dried blueberries, so there's
dried blueberries in there aswell, and then there are some
macadamia nuts and pistachionuts and all that.
Doug (42:48):
It's a kitchen sink.
Rick (42:49):
And then, talking with Nigel out at Weatherberry Farm,
he said well, you do thisusually with rolled oats.
You want to try rolled speltand einkorn flakes.
But then I've gradually.
I've known them out there atthe farm for about three years
now and over the years I'vetried various things.
(43:10):
These have no all-purpose flour, they just have spelt, emmer
and einkorn flour and thenrolled spelt and einkorn flakes
and I think they taste betterthan ever.
Doug (43:20):
they're a little bit more fragile I'm excited to try them,
probably because they don'thave that traditional white
flour gluteny.
Rick (43:27):
Maybe that's it, yeah and uh, you know sometimes they
break and they fall apart, butyou know, actually these held up
pretty good.
Catherine (43:33):
I'm excited those are yours, thank you so much
that'll let you tasteweatherberry.
Doug (43:38):
Oh, my goodness, I'm flattered and I just want to say
, Rick Sebak, thank you so muchfor the gift.
Oh, you're welcome, and thankyou for being on the Pittsburgh
Dish.
Thank you for having me.
Rick's latest broadcast program, Lucky to Live in Pittsburgh,
is airing on WQED April 10th2025.
(43:59):
If you can't catch that show,you can access it and more with
a PBS Passport membership.
Just visit WQED to learn more.
Up next, wine with dessert orfor dessert.
We sit down for an overduecatch up with our friend,
Catherine Montest of your FairyWine Mother.
It has been a bit.
(44:20):
It has been a while, Doug, weneed to catch up.
Catherine, you have been doingsome traveling and all of it was
for fun, but also for a lot of,shall we say, wine research.
Catherine (44:33):
Yeah, I think we could say that I spent a little
bit of time in Europe.
We went to France and did getto sneak out to the Champagne
region.
I'm looking forward to sharingthat with you.
We also went to Barcelona andwe went to London and I had a
really surprisingly beautifulbottle in London.
Doug (44:53):
Wow, well then, that was sort of in the late part of 2024
.
And then I went back to ask youa question and I found on,
maybe Facebook, you had just puta picture you were in Chile,
yes, and at a vineyard.
Catherine (45:07):
At a vineyard.
We were there.
We were on the ground for aboutfive days.
A lovely friend of mine whoused to live in Chile and she
worked in the wine industrythere.
She now lives here inPittsburgh and she put together
a tour for 10 of us and it wasso much fun.
Doug (45:24):
I bet we have to get into this a little bit further, but
while we're here today, I'mgoing to keep it short.
We just got done talking withRick Seback.
He was lovely and he broughtsome really delicious cookies.
Lovely and he brought somereally delicious cookies.
It got me thinking aboutdesserts and, Catherine, when
(45:46):
you finish a meal.
Catherine (45:47):
Is there a wine or a dessert wine that you like to go
for to wrap up a meal?
That is a great question and,being in Pennsylvania, we have
access to something that'sreally kind of special and in
other parts of the world it'sonly made during certain years.
Okay, and that's ice wine.
Doug (46:01):
Oh, I have tried ice wine, I think, once in my life.
It's a little bit sweet.
Catherine (46:07):
It's very sweet.
So what happens, what makes itso sweet and why Pennsylvania is
really good for this,specifically, you know, up in
the Erie area is the wintercomes in and freezes.
What they'll do in the vineyardis leave a bunch of the grapes
on the vine and then, when thatfirst frost hits and this is
(46:27):
really crucial little icecrystals form inside the grapes,
pick them and press them whilethey're frozen.
Interesting While they'refrozen.
While they're frozen.
Interesting, yeah, whilethey're frozen.
While they're frozen, andbecause those little buddies
have been hanging onto the vinefor so long, their acid is
really low and their sugar isreally high.
(46:48):
So those wines, even afterthey're done fermenting, are
very sweet.
Huh, so just as a dessert byitself, or kind of with the
cookies that Rick brought.
Doug (46:58):
Yeah.
So an ice wine would be just agreat after dinner sipper,
absolutely, and you could pairit with another sweet dessert or
just have it on its own.
You're exactly right, doug.
Oh, catherine, that soundsdelicious.
I think I'm going to pick upsome regional ice wine at my
next trip to the state store.
Catherine (47:17):
They're carrying it for you and it'll be a made in
Pennsylvania product.
Doug (47:20):
Catherine, thanks again for stopping in.
I can't wait to catch up alittle bit more on your recent
trips.
And thanks for being on thePittsburgh Dish Always a
pleasure, doug, thank you.
Catherine Montest has studiedwith the Napa Valley Wine
Academy and earned her winecertification from the Wine and
Spirits Education Trust inLondon.
You can find out more aboutCatherine on her website at www.
(47:42):
yourfairywinemother.
com.
If you enjoyed the show,consider buying us a coffee for
this episode or supporting theshow monthly.
You can find links to thoseoptions at the bottom of our
show description, and if youwant to follow my own food
adventures, you can find me onsocial media at DougCooking.
That's our show for this week.
(48:02):
Thanks again to all of ourguests and contributors and to
Kevin Solecki of CarnegieAccordion Company for providing
the music to our show.
We'll be back again next weekwith another fresh episode.
Stay tuned.
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