Aldo Coffee Company

Bomb Squad on Washington Road - Sunday Closing Early

When the bomb squad tells you to get out, you listen.

Apparently there is an unidentified package sitting out in front of Molly's.  Washington Road has been closed off.

So we're closing.   No point hanging around if nobody can get to us anyway.

Film at 11?

UPDATE (11:30am):  Speculation from those gathering at the corner of Cedar is that the suitcase may belong to Corned Beef & Curry, who played at Molly's last night.  Sorry we don't have photos - Melanie was chased out before she could grab the camera and logon.  Anyway, appears that this story is now on the news as several reporters have shown up. 

LATER THAT DAY:  They blew the thing up.  It wasn't an explosive - although there was apparently a mess of wires and duct tape.  And yes, someone did call to say that it was theirs and they left it behind by mistake.  Excitement is now over.  Here's what the Trib had to say - and Melanie is quoted.  And the KDKA video showing the briefcase exploding.

Pittsburgh 11th Best City in World for Business Trips

This has nothing to do with coffee, but given it's Thanksgiving Day, we found a new thing to be thankful for.

Hopefully the O'Connor administration and Joe McGrath of the GPCVB will make hay with it.

The Economist recently published its "Business Trip Index", in which it identifies those cities most likely to be a desirable business trip destination.

"The Economist Intelligence Unit has developed a new way of assessing and comparing locations as potential venues for business travel. It takes into consideration both cost-related and environmental factors, which together form an overview of how desirable a destination is likely to be to the business traveller. The index looks at 127 cities worldwide."

Of these 127 cities, Pittsburgh is ranked 11th worldwide.  Right between two Australian locations we all want to travel to, Melbourne (10) and Sydney (12).  Pittsburgh was ranked the third best city in the U.S. The top US city was Honolulu, which ranked fifth overall.

Au Revoir Steve (Or Baristas in Love)

Today is Steve's last day slinging espresso with us.  He's headed off to France to re-join Lorene, who's been missing him in the weeks since she returned home after spending the summer with us.

We had a small going away party Sunday night at Claddagh's in SouthSideWorks, where Steve and fellow baristas were joined by regular customers Tom the Writer and George the Photographer for the sendoff.

Steve may try to get a gig in an espresso joint in Paris, so he's getting all the latte art practice he can in his few final hours with us.  If you'd like to say goodbye, he'll be behind the Linea from noon-5pm this afternoon.

Baristas in Pajamas

Neighbors should help neighbors, we always say.

So it was with that spirit in mind that we teamed up with our next-door neighbor Zzz's  for some cross-promotion during last Thursday's Mt. Lebanon Light Up Night.

Zzz's got some coffee goodness in a gift basket to raffle off from us.  We got these lovely coffee-themed pajamas, which our staff proudly modeled all night - with nary a single stain!

If you'd like your own pair - or know someone who would appreciate these lovely sleeping togs or other designer sleepwear or loungewear - you can find them at Zzz's, 671 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon, 412.341.9050, open M-F, 10-6, Thursday 10-8, Saturday 10-3.  Tell Heidi we sent you.

Scheduling Mix-Up

We were scratching our heads on Thursday night when Ken Karsh didn't show up and Bob Banjaree from Corned Beef & Curry did.  Turns out Ken was scheduled to play at the Warhol that night and nobody told us.  So apologies for the misguided entertainment listing for Thursday, but we really didn't know.

We finally met Ken last night.  He stopped in, along with Mark Shuttleworth, to hang out with Bill Purse (last night's performers) and talk about guitars, equipment and the iffy state of live music in the South Hills over coffee, soup and panini. 

Ken was a bit chagrined about the scheduling mix-up, noting that he had informed the business association about the conflict.  He'll be back to play here sometime in the next four weeks - but we don't know exactly when yet.

Bill Purse Tonight

Bill Purse will on stage, 6pm-8pm tonight.  No cover.

Many of you are familiar with Bill from his appearances with RJ and Alex on First Fridays this past summer.  It'll be nice to see Bill step out from behind the bass and show us his chops on lead.

It's the New, Improved Light Up Night in Mt. Lebo.

Which means Washington Road should be jamming between 6-8pm to watch the tree lighting and visit Santa.

The Washington Road Business Association has funded numerous musical acts who will be playing at various stores and restaurants up and down the street lending additional festiveness to the proceedings.

So why is this year's Light Up Night "improved"?  Well, it's mostly because we're here.

This is our first Light Up Night.  In the spirit of things, we've got a holiday show planned for all you folks who don't want to run home after the last, "Ho, ho, ho."

We'll begin the evening pleasantly enough with jazz guitarist Ken Karsh, whose CD "Ventana" has received excellent reviews.  Ken will perform from 6pm to around 7:30pm. 

Then the party starts.

The I-Factor gang will be out on the streets badgering and cajoling the good citizens of Mt. Lebanon.  But it's all in good fun as they get ready for their Holiday Show, which will start around 8pm.

We don't know exactly what they're planning, but we do know one of the featured bits will be a five-minute rendition of a Christmas classic.  Could be "It's a Wonderful Life", or "The Grinch" or "A Christmas Carol/Scrooge" or "A Christmas Story" (you'll shoot your eye out!).  We don't know which because you'll be the ones deciding.

We'll be doing "Pay What You Feel" tonight - if you laugh a lot, that's probably worth a fiver.  But even a few short chuckles merits a buck or two.  We also have a great time when I-Factor is in the house, hopefully you will too.

See you tonight.

Pittsburgh's Winter Will Arrive In About Three Hours

This is going to be one of those days that tests your wardrobe selection.  60+ degrees in the morning, close to freezing by mid-afternoon.

We're still in denial, as evidenced by our "Summer Cooler" menu board.  Melanie has been working on some new menu boards which we hope to have up by end of the week.  But hey, why not have one last summer smoothie this morning before you permanently don that wool overcoat?

Of course there's always soup.  Tomato Fennel Bisque today.

Cabaret Aldo Piano Bar Tonight with Ken Bott

Ken Bott returns tonight for our monthly Cabaret Piano Bar.  If you're up for singing along, you're more than welcome to take the mike. 

8:30pm-10:30pm.  No cover.  Tips appreciated.

As a side note, we were extremely disappointed the PG didn't pick up any of our press info to help promote last night's Craig Carothers performance.  They missed an opportunity to provide coverage for someone who really was worth the price of admission.  Craig was phenomenal.  We've even sent word to our list of friends in Connecticut to attend his performance tonight up there.

While we were only half full, everyone who was there was riveted.  Craig's vocals, guitar work and lyrics were flawless.  And often extremely funny.  Most bought at least one CD.  And we did raise $78 for Cerebral Palsy, so we thank those of you who did come and enjoy the performance.  We hope Craig will come back to these parts, but it'll probably be downtown next time.

Los Immortales and Mushroom Cappuccino

If you haven't tried Los Immortales yet, you're missing out.  It's always a treat for us when our roaster sends us a bag of this World Exclusive from El Salvador.  It's become one of our favorite drip brews.

Also on tap for today, we launched our Mushroom Cappuccino soup a couple of days ahead of schedule.  We make it from a rich domestic mushroom stock then add porcini and herbs.  We serve it cappuccino-style, with milkfoam steamed on the Linea.  A favorite on both coasts, we believe it's unique to Pittsburgh.  Try some for lunch today.