Follow us on Twitter. Ground level reporting from the G-20 all day, today and tomorrow. Aside from serving a great lunch, Franktuary reports the news they don’t want you to know.

Angry Russians, mounted police, Japanese tour groups… It’s all there.
Franktuary’s Twitter Feed

As Tim and I were about to leave the Cathedral this evening, the building’s fire alarm was triggered. It is usually activated by less-than-reputable folks who smoke crack in the bathrooms, yet we didn’t see anyone exit the building from that direction. A grill at Franktuary once set off this fire alarm during the most holy day of the year, Good Friday, in the middle of the most somber church service known to church goers. The building was evacuated. We felt really, really bad.

Today, however, the fire alarm was not our fault.

Also not our fault was the altercation outside between the arriving firetruck from Greensburg Fire Department (Greensburg is far!) and the black, heavily tinted Mercedes van with Russian plates. On the sidewalk directly outside of Franktuary were mingling Tim and I with our bicycles, at least 10 Russians in casual dress, the Cathedral custodian, a priest, and 5 fully suited firefighters. The van driver was trying to navigate out of his parking spot past the firetruck, the firemen were trying to figure out why there wasn’t a fire, and the Russians were talking amongst themselves and listening to us say “Welcome to Pittsburgh! Welcome to Pittsburgh!” We waited in hopes of shooting a photo with the Russians, the firemen, the diplomat van, the firetruck, the priest, and ourselves, but sadly, the van disentangled itself from the chaos and parked 20 feet further up the street. On the sidewalk. Almost immediately, the firetruck roared away. The diplomat van then rocketed off the curb in reverse, backing down the one way street past the Oliver Garage entrance while one of the Russians directed traffic from the middle of the street, waving his arms until the diplomat van pulled into the entrance and disappeared underground.

Apparently the Oliver Garage, directly across the street from Franktuary, is parking headquarters for the Russians. No joke, a priest told me!

Follow all of our stories, loosely gathered as “G20 Sights”, at www.twitter.com/franktuary.

Happy G-20 week! Come try some of our fabulous local products and introduce yourself to a taste of the Steel City. Our organic grass-fed frank, soda from the Natrona Bottling Company, and pierogies are a great place to start.

Franktuary is downtown, only blocks from the convention center. 325 Oliver Avenue, between Wood and Smithfield Streets. We’re open from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. 10:00 am to 3:00 pm tomorrow. Visitors most definitely welcome!

Recently I was participating in a personal fitness class next to a young woman who was expressing great anxiety about the upcoming G20 Summit here in Pittsburgh. Granted, there have not been many advance details. The Downtown Partnership is doing a great job with their website, but let’s face it, the climate of the event is largely unpredictable. Who can know what will happen? Hence the lack of details. However, you should not miss this exciting multi-layered interactive security map, since your tax dollars most likely funded it.

There is a lot of fear in the air. Fitness Class Lady was talking about her fear of going to work, being at work, and getting home from work. My assumption that she was employed Downtown turned out to be false – she works about 4 miles from the Hard Perimeter (I learned this phrase from Jack Bauer.) I then assumed that she must live downtown to warrant her paranoia, but no, she lives 17 miles outside of the city. Seventeen! And her path to work doesn’t take her anywhere near Downtown, or through any of Pittsburgh’s famous tunnels.

Meanwhile, the entire staff here at Franktuary is wondering if we will be allowed to cross over the bridges into Downtown to get to work. We will be carrying IRS proof of employment and photo IDs. We’re waiting to hear if our bicycles are considered “vehicles” and therefore required be inspected at security checkpoints. We have heard, though it could be rumor, that we can’t wear scarves, hoodies, or certain colors. Costume animal heads are definitely out, so probably the hot dog suit won’t be kosher either.

It all makes me wonder why Fitness Class Lady is so afraid. Why are Americans so afraid? We’re the most comfortable people on earth. The G20 Summit is certainly causing the city some inconvenience, but I just can’t manage to be afraid of it. Of anxiety-producing situations, my husband and I ask ourselves, “What’s the absolute worst case scenario?”

Worst case scenario? Call me uncreative, but I can’t get much past Downtown being blown to bits. Which is certainly tragic and frightening to consider, but if you will think back to September of 2001, can happen to unsuspecting people anywhere, G20 Summit or not. I read a few autobiographies recently about lives in wartime: Germany in the 1940s, Iran in the 1970s, the Sudan today. There are truly unsafe places to live in the world, but we are not anywhere close to experiencing similar threats in Pittsburgh.

Which leads me to this simple conclusion: do not be afraid, people. Do not choose fear.

In fact, you don’t even have to be afraid of not finding a good meal on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th of September. We’ll be open extra late, just because we can, 10 am to 5 pm.

Franktuary is not afraid.

It really irks me that during a time of peace the Federal government can just come in and shut down a city while keeping its residents in the dark. I don’t know that Pittsburghers should have a say in the planning of the event, but they should at least know what the plan is! I mean maybe we’re valuing the people participating in the Summit just a bit too much. The people who live in the city deserve better. Seems out of line to me!

Check out this link and you’ll see what I mean.

Then, on the other side, there are G-20 protestors currently advertising in the City Paper. Said activists depict a guy in a business suit eating a burning, bleeding globe with a fork and knife.

Talk about feeling stuck in the middle. An event that should be great for small-scale capitalists in the city of Pittsburgh is drawing total hatred from one extreme, and completely paralyzing fear from the other. And as usual, the little guy has to put up a scrappy fight just to survive. Geez.

Hello, friends of the Frank. As regular readers know, this space is seldom used for shameless self-advancement. Typically people come here seeking enlightenment. After all, this space is a sacred testament to the power of natural casing.

Did I ever tell you, by the way, that a frankfurter is a close relative of baloney?

Nonetheless, today I have a request of whomever may be reading. We at Franktuary would really like the opportunity to serve our Locavore to the globally significant people attending the G-20 Summit. In all seriousness, we think our newest menu item fits tightly with the theme of why Pittsburgh was chosen as a host city in the first place.

If anyone out there has suggestions on how to obtain the right audience for discussing this matter, we’d love to hear from you! Shoot an email to tim@franktuary.com. Free Locavore to anyone making a new suggestion that brings us to our goal!

This morning there was a brainstorming session at Point Park University. The purpose? To figure out how to knock the socks off the distinguished guests the Steel City will soon play host to during the G-20 Summit. I say cocktail weenies in the Stanley Cup! If I were a distinguished guest I’d be very impressed.