I confess. I eat raw fish. Just looking at the photo above is like hearing Pavlov's bell ring. Mmmm. It's so pretty, so colorful and it tastes so good. Raw fish, wasabi, ginger, lemon, Anybody want to have sushi for lunch?
I am pretty well convinced that wasabi is addictive. There must be a drug like substance in Japanese horseradish that keeps you coming back for more.
There are lots of places in Pittsburgh to get sushi. We've been to most. We've also eaten sushi at a variety of restaurants in other cities. When you love sushi as much as we do - you constantly look for another place to try. The best sushi we've ever eaten was in St. Catherines, Ontario. A little hole in the wall restaurant - kind of dark and a little scary.
The best sushi in Pittsburgh is served at Little Tokyo in Mt. Lebanon. Little Tokyo is not dark or scary - it's bright and warm and comfortable with fantastic service and great food. If you like Nakama and all the fancy rolls with more vegetables and condiments than actual raw fish, you may not love Little Tokyo. Their claim to fame is FISH. Raw and fresh. Little Toyko's owner, Frank Lin, takes pride in offering the freshest, highest quality fish in the Pittsburgh area.
If you are not a sushi snob like me, their menu also includes hibachi, tempura, teriyaki, great appetizers (try the soft shell shrimp) and a bar with Japanese beer, sake, wine and spirits. All of the food is great. It's an amazing restaurant so give it a try. Try the dynamite roll - it's not on the menu but Lee, the sushi chef, will make it for you. Be careful - there is lots of wasbi in the dynamite roll. Or try the spicy tuna tartare. Order a sake martini to help put out the fire.
So no Lenten fish fry reviews this week - life got busy and it just didn't work out for us to attend a local fish fry. In keeping with our lenten theme, this is another fish story and another alternative for your no-meat Fridays. Go to Little Toyko. They are open for lunch from 11:30-2:30 and dinner from 5:00-9:30.
This week, we visited St. Mary's in Cecil Township. We heard they had really good fish. And earlier this week, St. Mary's won the Canonsburg Patch contest for reader's choice best fish fry .
Well, after our visit - we don't disagree. Appearance-wise - the fish was not quite as full and fluffy looking as the batter fish we have been seeing at other fish fry's. When the plate was delivered to our table, I was kind of thinking - hmmm...this is going to be different and maybe not so good. But I was wrong. St. Mary's uses panko bread crumbs which are light and have a little more crunch. They also season the mix and we found this fish to have the most flavor of any that we've tasted so far. The buns are from the Italian Bread Place and they are big and soft.
This may also be the healthiest fish fry in the area. St Mary's uses a combination of heart-healthy canola, safflower and grapeseed oils.
The menu offers more items than any other fish fry we've attended, including: baked fish, fried fish, crab cakes, baked salmon, scallops, shrimp, and their newest item - a lobster roll. There is an abundance of side dishes and their mac & cheese gets the highest rating so far - it's definitely home made and baked.
Hurray for St. Mary's - we're giving them 5 out of 5 stars!
And just for fun, we'll leave you with some musical fish puns like our title this week. Mister Sand Dab, You Walrus Hurt the One You Love, Heart & Sole, Shark! The Herald Angels Sing and my personal favorite - You Don't Send Me Flounders Anymore. Ah, who knew there was an entire site dedicated to musical fish puns. Until next week - Whistle a Happy Tuna!!
Pittsburgh area home buyers: If you’ve been thinking about buying a house, now might be a good time to get off the fence.
In April, it will become a little more expensive to obtain an FHA mortgage. HUD is raising the cost of the mortgage insurance premiums (MIP) on FHA loans. This will cost FHA borrowers more upfront and a little more each month.
When: The increase is effective with FHA case numbers received on April 9th and thereafter. Because it can take a day or two to obtain a case number, it would be wise for an FHA borrower to apply for their FHA loan a no later than April 7th so that their case number is obtained prior to the change date.
Upfront MIP Change – the upfront MIP premium is changing from 1.0% to 1.75%. This is a pretty hefty increase. 99% of all FHA borrowers finance this premium into their loan amount so this change should not affect their cash needed to close but will affect their mortgage amount and monthly payment.
Annual MIP Change – the annual MIP is the cost to renew the MIP premium and is paid for by borrowers on a monthly basis. The annual MIP charge is changing from 1.15% to 1.25%.
While these are pretty significant changes to the MIP premiums, let’s take a look and see how it will potentially affect a borrower’s monthly payment based on a few different sales prices. Let’s assume that the buyer is making the FHA minimum down payment of 3.5%.
Sales Price Estimated increase in monthly payment due to MIP increase
$100,000 $11 per month
$150,000 $18 per month
$200,000 $22 per month
$250,000 $29 per month
$300,000 $35 per month
As you can see from the figures above, the change in MIP premiums will result in slightly higher payments for FHA borrowers.
You gotta love Pittsburgh. Whatever list is published…best places to live, best place to raise kids, best sports town…Pittsburgh shows up in the top 10.
This time - less is more. Pittsburgh is the 5th Least Stressful Place to Live, according to Sperling, a research firm specializing in livability rankings. The study looked at factors relating to stress like suicide, divorce, crime, joblessness and lengthy commuting. They also looked at number of cloudy days but found that factor to actually have the least impact on overall stress.
So 5 bright, sunny cities in Florida end up in the top 10 list of most stressful places to live. And with 204 cloudy days, Pittsburgh racks up another win.
Ah, embrace those cloudy days and celebrate your Pittsburgh pride.
There weren’t any red or blue fish at St. Joan of Arc’s fish fry in South Park on Friday – thank goodness. Just thought it would be fun to remember Dr. Seuss’s birthday last week and borrow the title from one of his books.
Back to the real fish story… at St. Joan’s. Their fish fry is very popular and was recommended to us by a number of different people as the best in the South Hills. To give you an idea of their popularity, we drove by two Friday’s ago at 4:30 on our way to show houses in South Park. There were a few people going into the church. When we came back at 5:15 – there were hundreds of people and the beginnings of a real traffic jam.
We went at lunch time and it was not crowded or backed up. Tried both baked and fried fish. The fish was very similar in consistency and taste to the fish at St. Benedict’s. The baked fish was not overcooked and did not have a bread crumb topping – IMO, that made it much better. The biggest differences appeared to be in menu items and quality of side dishes. The mac and cheese was better at St. Joans; the cole slaw was better at St. Benedict’s.
St. Joan's menu offered soup, sides, shrimp po boys and more. One of our friends ordered the shrimp po boy and he said it was fantastic. Said he would definitely want to come back and order it again.
For overall good fried and baked fish, we’re giving St. Joan of Arc’s fish fry 4.5 stars.
Since Michael is a builder/contractor, we tend to visit the home shows each year. Last year, we missed the Pittsburgh Home Show at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Not sure if that much has changed or if we were just in the right mood for a home show but we had a GREAT time.
We went on opening day – Friday afternoon. Instead of the usual crowds and lines, attendance was pretty thin. We could actually get near every vendor, even the ones with giveaway items. The show seemed more organized than I remember.
There was a large variety of vendors in attendance – of course, the typical and expected home improvement companies, plumbers, HVAC, window manufacturers, landscapers, kitchens, doors, Home Depot, etc. So many hot tub and infrared sauna companies vying for business. Have you seen the swimming pool spa? For about $20K, you could be the envy of your neighbors. Sign me up – I want one!
More local wine vendors were present - free samples are always welcome. Lots of vendors were selling dips and snacks and kitchen items. A whole aisle dedicated to pets & pet items. Mattresses and pillows - I can't remember seeing that many mattress companies at a home show in any previous year. Do you know they sell bras at the home show? Crazy.
I found a slab of granite I could build a house around. Well, Michael could build a house around it...for me. So beautiful - I think I went to sleep dreaming about it last night. And a designer glass bathroom sink that looked like a piece of jewelry. Want that, too!
One of my favorite things about the home shows...you can barter. It really is the best place to buy a large ticket item, like a hot tub. All of the manufacturers reps are available, so you go to one and get their price; then you make sure they see you walk over to their competition and get another price. And you go back and forth until the price is right.
One of the things I like the least about the home show…because you can barter, you can end up buying something bigger/more expensive than you anticipated. For instance, you look at pillows. Of course the company selling the pillows also sells mattresses. Next thing you know, you’re lying on a mattress hearing about how it conforms to your body, doesn’t get hot and is resistant to bed bugs (really?). Then they turn on the adjustable base and your head goes up, your feet go up, your head goes down, massage goes on, then the bed does a little maneuver like a wave at Heinz Field. All this while staying cool and resisting bed bugs? Pillows? Who needs a pillow – I want this bed!
I LOVED the 2012 Pittsburgh Home Show! It was so much fun. Here is my advice: Go on a Friday afternoon while the rest of Pittsburgh is busy at work. You’ll have a hard time finding a place to park, but not having to share the home show with thousands of Pittsburghers will make the parking challenge worthwhile. Eat first. Wear comfy shoes. Bring money or credit cards. Bring friends – friends make everything better. Drink free wine samples. Pick up free stuff. Talk to the vendors. Laugh. Have fun. Whatever you do…if you want to buy a pillow, don’t lie down on those cool, bed bug resistant, wave creating mattresses!
Next year, I'm going back for that spa/pool thing.
The fish fry signs are up on street corners throughout the Pittsburgh area. Everywhere you turn... Fish! Fish! Fish! We decided it might be fun to try a different fish fry every Friday. Last week we visited St. Benedict's Church in Peters Township.
After showing houses all afternoon, the decision to go to St. Benedict's was one of convenience. It is the closest "fry" to home and work. We were happy to get a parking place and get through the line for ordering and seating in a short amount of time. The folks at St. Benedict's were friendly and organized. The menu included baked fish and fried fish - sandwiches or dinners. Pierogies, mac & cheese, clam chowder and cole slaw were also offered; as well as a bake sale for dessert items. Soft drinks, coffee and beer were available.
We tried a fried fish and a baked fish dinner. The fried fish was the winner - large portion, nice, flaky white fish - not greasy. The baked fish was kind of dry and the mac & cheese a bit runny.
For friendly service and overall good fried fish, we're giving St. Benedict's 4 out of 5 stars.
The deadline for those owning properties in Pittsburgh, Mount Oliver, and suburbs east of Pittsburgh to request an informal review for their new assessment has passed (February 15th).
The deadline for all owners of property in Allegheny County to file for a formal appeal remains April 2nd. This April 2nd deadline applies for appeals of both 2012 assessments and the new 2013 assessments.
On February 20th, new assessment values will be dropped in the mailbox for properties in the southern suburbs of Allegheny County. This includes:
· Baldwin Borough
· Baldwin Township
· Bethel Park Borough
· Brentwood Borough
· Bridgeville Borough
· Carnegie Borough
· Castle Shannon Borough
· Collier Township
· Crafton Borough
· Dormont Borough
· Green Tree Borough
· Heidelberg Borough
· Homestead Borough
· Jefferson Hills Borough
· Mount Lebanon
· Munhall Borough
· Pleasant Hills Borough
· Rosslyn Farms Borough
· Scott Township
· South Fayette Township
· South Park Township
· Upper St. Clair Township
· West Elizabeth Borough
· West Homestead Borough
· West Mifflin Borough
· Whitaker Borough
· Whitehall Borough
The deadline to request an informal review for properties in those above-named southern municipalities is March 7th.
When requesting an informal review, keep the following in mind:
· You must have the parcel ID handy
· If attempting to schedule informal reviews for multiple parcels at the same time, you will need to call 412.350.4600 to schedule
· Click here to request an informal review
The final set of new assessments, for properties in the northern and western suburbs of Allegheny County, will be mailed on March 2nd. As of this writing, no deadline to request an informal review for these regions has been determined.
As of Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 17,000 informal reviews had been requested.
As a member of the Community Scholarship Foundation of Canon-McMillan (CSFCM), I was shocked to learn that student loan debt now totals $865 billion – an amount greater than all outstanding credit card debt and all other types of household debt excluding mortgages.
College graduates have an average of $25,000 in debt. The debt load is so high and the job outlook is so bleak, student loan default rates have almost doubled. This is not projected to improve anytime soon.
Mounting student loan debt combined with low job prospects and wages have led many 25-34 year olds to move back in with their parents. Almost 6 million 25-34 year olds now live with their parents, a number that has increased 26% from when the recession began in 2007.
High school students (and parents of high school students) need to do their research to see which career paths will afford the best possibility for employment after completing college or secondary schools.
Benefactors including alumni, parents and corporate sponsors: please consider generous donations to scholarship organizations like CSFCM to help lower the amount of loans needed by student graduates.
The bad news: It will take longer than ever for young people to qualify for mortgages, with higher debt ratios and possible credit dings from unpaid student debt. While it is hard to find a silver lining in these latest statistics, the good news is an already hot rental market in the Pittsburgh area will continue to grow. There will be increased opportunity for real estate investors and rental property owners. Inventory of lower priced properties & multi-units is good, although most properties will need work. Give us a call - we'll be glad to help you find a solid investment.
Bloomberg Businessweek selected Cecil Township as the 8th Best Place to Raise Children in the US and the Best Place to Raise Children in the state of Pennsylvania, citing above-average math and reading scores and a median family income of $76,343. Congratulations to Cecil Township. As my daughter is a first grade teacher at Hills Hendersonville in Cecil Township - I was really happy to see the township get this national recognition.
This is NOT your typical Cape Cod. Everyone who tours this home comments on how much bigger it is inside, than it appears on the outside. The first floor features a good sized living room, dining room, updated kitchen, family room, bedroom and bath. There are two large bedrooms and bath on the second floor. The lower level is finished into a HUGE game room plus bath, laundry & storage. This house has been well maintained and is clean & bright. There is a big covered patio in the rear. Level entry, level yard, easy maintenance—all features that are hard to find in the Pittsburgh area. Call us today for your personal tour!!
Immaculate Duplex - Cheaper Than Rent!!
• 1 bath, 3 bdrm ranch "Level Entry" - 
MLS® $119,900 - Great Investment!!
North Strabane Township, Washington County - Wow! Wow! Wow! Call today to see the interior of this amazing duplex. Lower level includes a kitchen/dining room combo, large living room, 3 bedrooms, 1 full bath, laundry room and storage all one one floor with level entry and off-street parking right outside the door. Currently rented at $400+ utilities - this rent can be increased.
Upper level includes a huge living room, huge kitchen with large dining area, a den or family room, 3 bedrooms, 1 full bath, laundry room, lots of storage, level entry and off-street parking right outside the door. A one car garage is also included and a huge enclosed front porch. Currently owner occupied.
Everything has been updated and remodeled. This is a great investment for any home buyer to live in one unit and rent the other - help pay your mortgage & gain equity quickly. Or buy as an investment. Award winning Canon-McMillan school district. Great location near Rt. 19, I 79 and Rt. 519.
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North Strabane Township, Washington County - Announcing a price reduction on 815 S. Central Avenue, a 1 bath, 3 bdrm ranch "Level Entry". Now MLS® $119,900 - Great Investment!!.
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BELIEVE IT OR NOT, YOU CAN STILL BUY A HOME WITH NO MONEY OUT OF POCKET !!
This is the best kept secret. To qualify for a loan with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, and/or local banks, you will need to have at least 3% down. 3% down may or may not be a problem for you. But when you also have to come up with closing costs, that may break your bank.
Consider the typical $150,000 home in Canonsburg that has property taxes of $2500. Regardless of where you would go for the loan, closing costs would be in the neighborhood of $10,000. That would mean you would need to come up with an approximate total of $14,500 for the closing. Now, one may argue that you can ask the seller to pay 6% towards your closing costs with an FHA loan. That is true but assuming they would accept the offer you would still need a total of $5,500 for closing.
Consider the alternative, the USDA loan. With this government program, you get the same 30 year fixed rate that you would get with an FHA loan, however you don't need the downpayment as they will finance 100% of the purchase price. Additionally, you may be able to finance all of your closing costs. Thus $0 money down. Another feature with this program is that, unlike FHA, there is NO monthly private mortgage insurance which means that you will get a lower monthly payment than the comparable FHA loan. You don't need to have perfect credit to get this loan either. Lastly, if the home needs some repairs you may be able to borrow that money as well.
If you are considering the purchase of a home in the next year but don't have any money set aside for a downpayment - this program may be just perfect for you!
Also, with the passing of the new first time homebuyer tax credit, you can get up to $7500 back when you file your tax returns next year. You don't need to be a first time homebuyer to qualify for the USDA financing but you do to get the tax credit.
Please call or email me with any questions.
David A. Simon, MBA
Vice President
AJM Mortgage, Inc.
1195 Washington Pike
Suite 330
Bridgeville, PA 15017
412-257-6005 phone
1-866-296-2323 toll free
412-257-6009 fax
412-916-3543 cell
WWW.AJMmortgage.net "Great Rates. Impeccable Service"
Bigger Than It Looks!
• 1 bath, 3 bdrm single story "One Floor Living" - MLS® $104,900 - Priced to Sell
East Washington, Washington - Don't judge a book by it's cover - this house is so pretty and very well maintained. There are some newer windows, an updated kitchen, bathroom, electric service, fresh paint, hot water tank and more. Lots of charming features including built in bookcases, a ceiling arch between living room & dining room and gleaming hardwood floors in living room & dining room. Huge 21x12 screened porch.
The home includes a carport and a long driveway for off-street parking for multiple cars. It is located near Rt. 19, W & J College and the Washington Hospital. A HSA Home Warranty is included.
Call today - this is a great house for the price!
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