September 1 – September 30

Conflict Kitchen has launched a campaign on Kickstarter.com, a website
that helps innovative projects get funding. We have had a successful launch
with Kubideh Kitchen and have sparked conversations about Iranian culture and politics
with over a thousand people. Now we need your help in making our next iteration,
Bolani Pazi, as successful as our last. Please help us in this new venture by pledging today!

Donations of any amount are accepted. By pledging you can get great
supporter gifts like food vouchers, compilation CDs with music from Iran,
and even your name in lights on our massive billboard atop Conflict Kitchen!

Conflict Kitchen is looking for staff for our takeout window during these times:

Monday-Friday
Shifts are from 10:00am-3:00pm

No prior experience is necessary. If you or anyone you know might be interested, please contact us ASAP at:

dawn@waffleshop.org

Saturday, August 21
11:00pm – 12 midnight

Episode 1: Pathology
David Malehorn, Pitt scientist, is not what you’d expect in a Waffle Shop host. Still, W.S. management is humoring him with a trial program anyway, as he continues to work through his own midlife crisis. In perhaps a misguided attempt at scientific performance art, Dave has convinced Dr. Lawrence C. Nichols of the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, to conduct an autopsy, on paper. The interactive interview and real-time presentation is designed to explore the full sensory and emotional impact of the post-death experience, as well as its medical purpose, though be it in an unlikely manner.

Come see the autopsy LIVE at the Waffle Shop, Saturday August 21st at 11 pm, or watch it as live stream online at waffleshop.org.

Saturday, August 21
12:30pm – 1:30pm

Classically trained chef Jesse Sharrard returns to Waffle Shop and invites audience
members on stage with him for his educational cooking show. He explains knife skills,
cooking techniques, flavor combinations, and plate presentation, while inviting questions
from live Waffle Shop patrons.

Don’t miss the second episode of Kick Ass Cookery and a taste of what Jesse cooks up next!

To read his food blog, visit: http://corduroyorange.com/

Saturday, August 14
12:00pm – 1:00pm

Everyone is talking about The Waffle-Wopp! Pittsburgh’s ONLY live, teen magazine talk show!

The Waffle-Wopp! is a new & exciting show, produced and hosted by young people.
It’s provocative, engaging and just plain fun! With live music, guest artists, insightful interviews,
games and prizes, Hip-Hop On Lock & Pittsburgh teens are bridging the gap with
meaningful conversation & artful dialogue.

Join us for fresh waffles & hot topics at the Waffle Shop, Saturday August 14th at 12 noon.
If you miss the live show, watch us online at www.hiphoponlock.org and visit our forum
and post your ideas for topics you’d like to see on our show!

Friday, August 13
11:00pm – 12 midnight

Join your host, Michelle Illuminato, and her band of local guides on a series of “detours”
through Pittsburgh! The show is packed with interviews, favorite points of view,
mostly true facts, slideshows, games and dancing (we may be kidding about the dancing).

Learn about Pittsburgh’s famous, nearly famous and infamous citizens and what their
homes look like from across the street! Visit the largest collection of relics outside the
Vatican! Discover the identity of our mystery guest! Then test your knowledge by playing
“Identify This Spot” and “I Know a Secret” to win a unique Pittsburgh prize!

Come see it live at Waffle Shop or watch it stream live online at www.waffleshop.org.

Check out a recent KDKA interview with Jon Rubin, Waffle Shop founder and Carnegie Mellon professor:

http://kdka.com/video/?id=74399@kdka.dayport.com

for the next month our billboard will be used to list some of the big and small needs we have at the waffle shop. If you bring in one of the things we need, we will create a special display with your name next to the thing you bring in, and add a new item to the billboard list as we always seems to be in the need of something.

Waffle Shop was recently reviewed by the anonymous food critic, Munch von Munchausen. Read what he or she had to say here:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10203/1074357-440.stm

Thanks to Doing Good Works and GiftCardGiver.com, we had a great fundraiser event in South Park this past Saturday! There was food, local music, and people willing to lend their ears and their unused gift cards to our cause. Doing Good Works is travelling across the U.S. holding these fundraisers that take unused or partially used gift cards. They put them to good use by reissuing them to people and organizations in need. This event helped to raise gift card money for Conflict Kitchen to use to buy our fresh ingredients. Thanks to all who attended the event!

On Saturday, July 10, people gathered in Pittsburgh and Tehran to attend a live screening of YouTube videos shot in both cities. Both audiences could see into the daily lives of the other and through Skype, could discuss and reflect with each other. Some of the topics that were discussed and compared across countries included gay pride, public protesting, alternative hairstyles, and graffiti art.

To watch the videos that were curated, check out our YouTube playlist:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=43EECF48AEA8D574

On Friday, July 9th, Locally Toned TV debuted at the Waffle Shop and invited members of the audience to participate in the live making of custom ringtones. These ringtones were created “on the spot,” and included such instruments as the concertina, hand harmonica, and mouth horn.

Locally Toned is a not-for-profit venture that involves Pittsburghers in the creation of original ringtones, and then provides the free tones to the public via a website and MMS (multimedia messaging service) distribution. The project is headed by artist and media literacy consultant, Teresa Foley and supported by Deeplocal and Encyclopedia Destructica.

To see photos from the event and download the ringtones, please visit:

locallytoned.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/lttv-ringtone-series/

Thanks to Locally Toned TV for putting on an interactive show and a fun night for all!

Where: The Waffle Shop, 124 S. Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh (next door to the Kubideh Kitchen)
When: 11.30a, Saturday, July 10

This event was originally developed by Sohrab Kashani and Jon Rubin for Red76 and “The YouTube School for Social Politics”.

When: Saturday, June 5, 10:00am Pittsburgh, USA 6:30pm Tehran, IRAN
Where: The Waffle Shop, Pittsburgh/ Sazmanab Project, Tehran

The Conflict Kitchen held its first public event, a meal held simultaneously in Pittsburgh and Tehran, where diners in both cities sat around long tables that were joined via webcam: an international dinner party. Each city prepared the same exact recipes and shared food and conversation. The event was free and open to the public.

The joint menu included:

- Tah Dig with Yogurt and Saffron, “bottom of the pot rice”
- Khoresht Fesenjan, chicken stew with pomegranate and walnuts
- Kebab-e Barg, lamb kebabs
- Khoresht Ghormeh Sabzi, beef stew with greens and dried lime
- Barbari Bread, freshly baked with black sesame seeds
- Doogh, a yogurt and mint drink

Go to: http://www.kubidehkitchen.com/?p=167 to see more pictures!

Saturday, June 5

When: 10am to 12 noon
Where: Waffle Shop

Have a seat in the Waffle Shop at a table that extends into a live projected video of a table and meal in a Tehran gallery. Converse live with both the Tehran and Pittsburgh diners over traditional Persian dishes, including:

- Tah Dig with Yogurt and Saffron, “bottom of the pot rice”
- Khoresht Fesenjan, chicken stew with pomegranate and walnuts
- Kebab-e Barg, lamb kebabs
- Khoresht Ghormeh Sabzi, beef stew with greens and dried lime
- Barbari Bread, freshly baked with black sesame seeds
- Doogh, a yogurt and mint drink
- and our fresh kubideh sandwiches for $5.00

If you’re driving down Centre Ave, a peculiar billboard may have caught your eye recently. It is a lit marquee of hand-made letters that seem to float in the nighttime sky. It reads, “PEOPLE THINK I’M A GHOST. I DON’T KNOW, IT’S REALLY HARD TO TELL. I’M KIND OF LIKE A GHOST, AND I MIGHT BE INVISIBLE.” This quote was taken from an eight-year-old guest on the Waffle Shop talk show. We are hoping that this can serve as our “thought bubble” to broadcast the conversations and ideas that go on here at the Waffle Shop.

If you haven’t done so yet, come and see the billboard and have some waffles while you’re at it!  The changeable rooftop billboard is now up above the Waffle Shop at 124 S. Highland Ave.

See what’s the latest conversation captured and find out more at our website:

http://www.waffleshopbillboard.org

The first iteration of Conflict Kitchen is “Kubideh Kitchen”, an Iranian take-out restaurant that serves kubideh, a favorite Iranian takeout sandwich that incorporates ground beef and spices in freshly baked barbari bread with onion, mint, and basil. Developed in collaboration with members of the Pittsburgh Iranian community, the sandwich is packaged in a wrapper that presents information on everything from Iranian food and poetry to the current political turmoil, all from the perspective of Iranians both in Iran and Pittsburgh.

Conflict Kitchen is a project by John Peña, Jon Rubin, and Dawn Weleski and is funded by the Sprout Fund, Waffle Shop, and the Center for the Arts in Society. Graphic design by Brett Yasko. Architectural design by Pablo Gracia of POiNT. Special thanks to Illah Nourbakhsh, Marti Louw, Harrison Apple, Sara Faradji, and Courtney Wittekind, and all of those from the Iranian community who supplied us with their opinions and perceptions.

For more information, go to the official site here.

What if something overheard in a restaurant ended up on a billboard? Starting this week Pittsburgh’s late night Waffle Shop, which happens to have a talk show right on the premises, launches a billboard driven by its guests and their conversations.

A storytelling system developed by Waffle Shop founder Jon Rubin and architect Pablo Garcia, the long defunct billboard structure atop their building in East Liberty has been re-purposed in the style of a large, analog Twitter account.  The static message of a typical commercial sign is supplanted by a set of custom-made, hand-cut letters that float on rails with only the sky as the background creating a live marquee that that can change on demand.

The Billboard’s first message reads, “PEOPLE THINK I’M A GHOST. I DON’T KNOW, IT’S REALLY HARD TO TELL. I’M KIND OF LIKE A GHOST, AND I MIGHT BE INVISIBLE.” This quote was taken from a eight-year-old guest on the Waffle Shop talk show. For the first several months messages will feature overheard conversation from customers visiting the Waffle Shop, while future billboard posts might include: 120 character biographies,  micro-resumes for locals looking for work, or conversation overheard at area businesses.
Rubin says, “The billboard functions as one more way of broadcasting the conversations and ideas that are catalyzed by the Waffle Shop’s open talk show format. It’s almost like a thought bubble for the building.  The new design for the billboard takes the “board” away from the billboard and presents the text floating on rails with only the sky as the only background. The visual form seemed to nicely reflect the more poetic and personal nature of the statements it will support.”

Garcia says,”The billboard is an interesting twist on our current preoccupation with the digital broadcasts of a person’s thoughts. It seems familiar in its Twitter-like format, but inserted into the public realm disguised as a familiar advertising venue.”

The billboard is made possible by generous support from East Liberty Development Inc., Sota Construction Services Inc., and We Do Property Inc.

Sota Construction Services has generously donated time, money, and labor to help bring our new billboard into fruition. Special Thanks to Ernie Sota, Joe Nelson, and Zottola Fabrication.

Pittsburgh’s favorite food bloggers on COOKSPEAK w/ Chef Tom Totin. Check out more about this food filled session and food photos HERE!

Future episodes of Tom Totin’s out of the box culinary podcast, produced live, EVERY Sunday 11a-noon.

See the The Wrong Airport perform live!

Hear them in advance at: http://www.myspace.com/thewrongairport

Join Strataspore, a platform for collective knowledge about mushrooms, for an evening workshop at the Waffle Shop.

Check out more at http://strataspore.com/

Internationally famous modern jugglers, Shoebox Tour, are coming to the Waffle Shop THIS Sunday! See them dazzle around the shop, juggling intimately with nearly anything not glued down.

To find our more about their troupe, check out www.shoeboxtour.com

Local comedic talent Davon Magwood takes our stage with outrageous skits, raw interviews, and his very own “comfortably weird” personality.
www.davonmagwood.com

Wondering what are the best and newest restaurants in Yinz town? Hear it from our very own Wandering Fro. Even join the conversation by telling us what are your favorites at the show or ahead of time by emailing mona27@cmu.edu

Can’t make it but want to know what restaurants get the top rating in the Wandering Fro’s passport book? Then watch it streaming live on http://www.WaffleShop.org

Our Objects will be silenced no more! Give your voice and help support this underground movement. Come to the Waffle Shop and find out what everyone’s talking about.

Come in for these and other specialty waffles. Have an idea on new waffle flavors? We’d love to hear them. Submit to info@waffleshop.org

Read more about this event and the rest of the GA/GI Fest here!

Discussion led by Marc Fischer (Temporary Services) around issues raised in Art Work: A National Conversation about Art, Labor, and Economics. Food available.

@ The Waffle Shop, 125 S. Highland Ave. at Baum

ALSO: Feb. 26, Fri. – 12pm: Talk by Marc Fischer. Fischer will speak about Art Work, Temporary Services, and his experiences after graduating from CMU (BFA ’93). – 1-2pm: Economic Depression Reception. Refreshments available. @ Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave. at Morewood

RSVP on Facebook!

All events are free + open to the public. Events co-organized by the School of Art and the Miller Gallery, in connection with the exhibition of ART WORK: A National Conversation About Art, Labor, and Economics at the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University through Feb. 28, 2010.

Waffles and beverages will also be available for purchase!

WHEN: Friday, February 12th (Midnight-2am)

Justin Strong’s alter ego, Dickie Leftfoot, with his sidekick Toronto. Watch them as they expose their views on the “End of Love.”

Watch last month’s Dickie Leftfoot episode,

” Conspiracy Theories”:

.

Can’t make it? Then watch it live on http://www.WaffleShop.org

Out of the box Culinary Commentary by an experienced Cook who still loves the business in spite of himself.

Weekly Features- Beef of the Week, Stunt Food, Annoying Culinary Terms, and Restaurant Workers Input.

Live from the Waffle Shop from 11am-noon!

Can’t make it? Then catch it streaming live or afterwards on http://www.WaffleShop.org

Saturday, February 20th: 8pm-2am

at the Waffle Shop

Join us for an intriguing night of make-up, hair, gossip, and fun. Get advice and the scoop on all that’s happening around The Salon Chair!

Live from the Waffle Shop!

Can’t make it? Then catch it streaming live or afterwards on WaffleShop.org

Check who’s already planning to make it through the Facebook event

with Steve Bhaerman (Live via Skype), Rick DiClemente, and Janet McKee!

Live from WaffleShop.org

Columnist & Co-Author of Spontaneous Evolution, Steve Bhaerman (aka Swami Beyondananda) will discuss how to use Love to direct the evolution of our own bodies at the cellular level. Read all about Steve and his new book in the latest issue of Point of Light Magazine, or listen to the interview at http://www.peaceburgh.com!

Astrologer Rick DiClemente will discuss how the revolution of the planets affects our love life. Mr. or Mrs. Right is always ready for you, but are YOU ready to be Right for them? Holistic Health Counselor* Janet McKee *will create some healthy and delicious culinary delights designed to create a revolution in one’s love life! Ask questions live in person or via chat on Skype.

Watch clips from previous Cafes at http://www.waffleshop.org

The Live Audience will enjoy a tasty vegan waffle, sample Janet’s delicious preparations, groove to live music and ask questions of the guests.

All live guests win a FREE PRIZE!

Tickets are very limited! Buy tickets online for $25

or $30 at the door, if available.

Checkout who’s already planning to come through our Facebook event

Attendees are invited to sing, stomp, and otherwise revel in the collaborative performance of tunes by the likes of R. Kelly, Dolly Parton, Beck, and more!

So stop by at the end of Unblurred First Fridays/Gallery Crawl to enjoy refreshments and join the fun!

Front Room Gallery is a Cleveland-based co-operative art gallery and event space
http://www.frontroomcleveland.com

The Waffle Shop is Pittsburgh’s premier late-night waffle emporium, TV talk show, and general creative laboratory.
http://waffleshop.org/

Attendees are invited to sing, stomp, and otherwise revel in the collaborative performance of tunes by the likes of R. Kelly, Dolly Parton, Beck, and more!

So stop by at the end of Unblurred First Fridays/Gallery Crawl to enjoy refreshments and join the fun!

Front Room Gallery is a Cleveland-based co-operative art gallery and event space
http://www.frontroomcleveland.com

The Waffle Shop is Pittsburgh’s premier late-night waffle emporium, TV talk show, and general creative laboratory.
http://waffleshop.org/

Are you looking for a hip venue for your upcoming seasonal get-together? Are you looking to have someone else do all the work for you? Do freshly made waffles hot off the griddle cause you to outwardly express immense joy?

THE WAFFLE SHOP IS FOR YOU.

The Waffle Shop (your friendly neighborhood restaurant/live online TV show), conveniently located at 124 S. Highland Avenue, is the place to host your seasonal get-together of up to forty people. Let us do the cooking or bring your own food!

What we offer:

• · Hot, fresh waffles in whatever flavor and style you desire
• · A trendy, relaxed environment complete with stage, PA system, computer, and more
• · Flexible, affordable pricing options to fit every budget
• · A unique opportunity to participate in a personalized Talk Show just for your organization
• · An option for BYOB
• · A dedicated staff who will cater to your every need
• · Simple, stress-free planning process
• · Tax deductible fees

Have the ultimate party and take all the credit! Contact Justin Fyala at justinfyala@gmail.com for more information and to start planning today!

Book now! Desirable dates going fast!

Instrumental trio Shambolish battles a cappella quartet Vocal Assembly to create live musical scores for YouTube videos.
Through a large projection screen in the main room, audience members can view the videos alongside a live audio/video feed of the musicians performing from the kitchen.

Come witness the amazing.

Three different musicians will receive a MYSTERY BOX containing items they must incorporate into a live twenty minute set.

Items may include VHS tapes, HACKSAWS, and pumpkin PIE, as well as more intangible elements like tasks, instructions and DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS.

All contestants will receive the same items.

Audience members (YOU!) will evaluate each contestant based on how well they incorporate the MYSTERY BOX into their show.

Dickie will be present his pseudo-scientific musings on CONSPIRACY THEORIES.

Guests with expertise in subjects including Reptilian God Theory, How the Mayan Calendar and PGH are interconnected, and The Michael Jackson Issue will appear on the show.

Come on by and share your two cents (because that is all that you have left) with Dickie.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 13th, 7:30pm-9:30pm

The holiday season is filled with holiday cheer, joy and celebration but also stress, anxiety, and the painful rehashing of family dramas.

Customers at this café will:
• Discuss the Taoist fundamentals of yin and yang
energy and how the universe constantly seeks balance

• Learn and practice mental, emotional and energetic
tools designed to create that balance

• Sample healthy and delicious edible creations that
can bring balance to your holiday gatherings

• Learn how to practice everything you learn from this
cafe at family gatherings

• Discuss how blessing your meals literally adds
spiritual power to your diet

• Enjoy some of the Waffle Shop’s famous vegan waffles

•••• Prizes •••• Waffles ••••

Be a member of the Live Audience at the Waffle Shop!

Participate in questioning the guests, enjoy a vegan waffle,
plus delicious samples prepared by Janet and Melissa.

Tickets are very limited!

$25 online at Peaceburgh.net,
or $30 at the door, if available.

JOBMASTER is a nomadic, ever-evolving, gameshow – - – from one episode to the next the types of games and challenges presented are always new and different from previous iterations. As the format and rules slowly change and evolve over time – each contestant is confronted with a unique series of tasks and situations that must be mastered. There are 10 categories of challenges:
1) Feats of Endurance
2) Feats of Wit
3) Feats of Construction
4) Feats of Destruction
5) Feats of Consumption
6) Psychic Games
7) Space Games
Critical Concentration
9) Serious Time
10) Crazy Time
Performances are evaluated by guest judges – who reward efforts with semi-precious objects and “interesting prizes”. You, the Audience, may choose to take on the challenge and become a contestant, or passively watch – - – the choice is yours! The chance of a lifetime – free and open to all – display your multi-talents – and be the JOBMASTER.

The Judges:
Janera Solomon, Executive Director of the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater; Bill Peduto, City Councilman; Visionary artist Lowry Burgess; And You the studio audience.

Where: East Liberty Presbyterian Church
When: Saturday, October 3rd 9:00pm -10:30pm

Learn fun techniques for the infiltration of activist groups, how to earn benefits and a pension as an agent provocateur, and how to “expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit or otherwise neutralize” your neighbors!

Agent White Will be interviewed after his presentation by Michael Chemers.

The Ideas:
We’re looking for really BIG ideas here, not just a run-of-the-mill proposals for a more fuel-efficient car or a better coffee grinder, but visionary schemes for things like: how to survive the end of the planet, a way for animals to run governments, a cloning system that reinvents history, or an entire alternate universe of your own design.

The Event:
Ten participants will be selected from all walks of life, from scientists to bricklayers, children to seniors, to pitch their visionary proposals in front of a live audience and panel of judges on October 3rd at the Waffle Shop in Pittsburgh. Locals to the area will pitch in person and international participants will present their ideas at the event live via a skype-feed body double*. Local experts from diverse fields will act as judges.

Participants will be chosen based on the nature of their idea and their ability to pitch it to a live audience. The idea must be presented orally and without any electronic accompaniment (no laptops, video projections, CD players, transparencies). Each delivered pitch will be limited to a maximum of 4 minutes in length, with 2 minutes for questions from our panel of judges. The top three selected contestants will then defend their proposal against questions from the entire audience.

The Body Double*:
As all participants may not be able to join the contest in person, the event will provide an actor who will pitch in absentia. The actor will wear headphones connected to a live Skype feed of the absent participant. The virtual participant will pitch their idea as if they were present, and the actor present at the event will repeat verbatim the audio feed they receive from the virtual contestant. Materials may be shipped to the event so that the actor may utilize visual aids during the presentation.

Please send a brief abstract of your written proposal, as well as a short biography, to dawnweleski@gmail.com. Abstracts must be 500 words or less and may include visuals. All applications must be received by September 13. All applicants will be contacted no later than September 20.

Waffle Shop is an experimental platform for media production and public dialogue that combines a restaurant with the production of an online TV show directly on the premises. At Waffle Shop, our customers are our funders, audience and participants as we film each night, inviting interested patrons to express their unique opinions and personalities. Our recordings are streamed live on our website during our open hours, and then produced into episodes which are broadcast publicly 24 hours a day in the windows of the storefront, and made available through our online archive. For more information, please visit: http://www.waffleshop.org

The Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University presents 29 Chains to the Moon: Artists’ Schemes for a Fantastic Future, an exhibition that runs from August 28 through December 6. Curated by Andrea Grover, 29 Chains to the Moon features artists who forth radical proposals, from seasteads and tree habitats to gift-based cultures, to make the world work for everyone. For more information, please visit: http://www.cmu.edu/millergallery/exhibitions/29chainstothemoon

Waffle Shop is taking over the vacant billboard structure on top of our building and turning it into a changeable text marquee. The project is being designed  in collaboration with Pablo Garcia, with generous financial support from East Liberty Development and Eve Picker. This old style billboard will be made out of a custom-cut letter system that will be manually changed on a monthly basis. In keeping with our talk show’s amplification of local culture and attitudes, the billboard will display idiosyncratic phrases overheard at the Waffle Shop and other local enterprises, as well as non-advertising statements from people like you. Think something like a month long Tweet (but less inane). By taking over a vacant space that was once owned by a large corporation and creating a low-fi text system, we are able to use this massive visibility to promote small local businesses, and individuals, that would never have been able to afford this space in this past. Ultimately, the billboard will serve as another public story-telling venue that contextualizes its statements within the life of the neighborhood, and view of the sky.

It was supposed to be a two-semester community artistic social experiment for a Carnegie Mellon University art class, videotaping hip late-night crowds discussing what was on their minds while they ate waffles.

But the combination of homemade treats and homegrown reality show has proven to be an unusual recipe for success since Waffle Shop opened its doors last fall in East Liberty. School is out, but the doors are staying open, weekend brunch hours have been added and the menu has expanded.

The artistic concepts behind it have evolved, too. Now its founders are exploring the possibility of the shop becoming an ongoing venture in a neighborhood that also is forging a new identity.

“The idea has progressed quite a bit and become clearer and stronger,” said Jon Rubin, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Art who teaches the course that created the Waffle Shop/reality show concept.

And, he added, “the waffles are a lot better.”

Anchoring the corner of Baum Boulevard and Highland Avenue, near the lively Eastside retail development, the shop serves up fluffy waffles made from scratch with a variety of toppings, including strawberries and chocolate, and the popular Savory Waffle — a concoction in which turkey bacon is cooked in the waffle batter, with egg and cheese baked on top.

Part restaurant, part art happening, Waffle Shop: A Reality Show opened in October. Students aimed to document the community and what its residents were thinking about through a series of video interviews. It was open for a few hours late at night on weekends, drawing crowds from nearby performance spaces Shadow Lounge and AVA.

Fueled by carbs and caffeine, Waffle Shop customers chat about whatever’s on their minds — politics, society, culture — and become the stars of a live late-night reality video show.

It’s part of an advanced undergraduate art course at Carnegie Mellon called the Storefront Project, in which students develop a concept and take it out into the community to see how people react and interact. The course will be offered again this fall.

Mr. Rubin’s classes have conducted other storefront art and public art experiments in recent years, but Waffle Shop has taken on a life of its own, he said.

In January, when the shop reopened after winter break, the model for the project became more ambitious. The students constructed a talk show set. Now guests are filmed on the stage and videos are more cohesive.

The shop also became more than a night-owl hangout drawing a generally young, hip and vocal crowd. It’s now open for brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, making it a stop for early birds, too, including many families, people from the neighborhood and curious passers-by.

“It’s a whole different vibe during the day,” Mr. Rubin said.

Many patrons on a recent weekend morning had never been there before, but were driving or walking by and were lured in by the offer of brunch: The reality show part of the experience was just icing on the waffle, so to speak.

Melanie and Tim Peterson of West Mifflin stopped with their children Hannah, 5, and Lucas, 4. They were on their way to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, and were looking for a place for a Father’s Day meal.

“It’s the best waffle I’ve ever had,” Mrs. Peterson said.

For the brunch set, students in the project decided to do something other than a talk show.

Last week, Waffle Shop manager Dawn Weleski sat on the talk show set, listening to Internet news feeds on headphones and repeating what was being said so that everyone could hear — Mr. Rubin called it a “human jukebox” version of reading the Sunday newspaper. The news feeds were constantly switched — Fox News, radio talk shows, international and religious broadcasts, sports and more.

The restaurant side of the business is generating enough income to help pay for some work-study students to be servers, and crowds have increased from a handful of people to full capacity on some nights.

Mr. Rubin has been talking to East Liberty Development Inc. about ways to keep the Waffle Shop project going. They’re looking at several models, he said: hiring a manager and running it as a for-profit venture; or establishing it as an independent nonprofit operation, with the money it brings in going to support the artistic activities. The space then would be eligible to apply for grant money.

Either way, it would be, as he puts it, “an unusual model for how an art space could function.”

Waffle Shop currently operates as a nonprofit under the Carnegie Mellon umbrella. The university has been paying the rent for space in the historic Werner Building in East Liberty, where the landlords, a partnership that includes real estate developer Eve Picker of No Wall Productions, have given the project a discount.

Waffle Shop yesterday began streaming the news reader videos live online on its Web site at waffleshop.org. The site, which was redesigned by programmer Ryan Hickman, will allow users to sign in to Facebook and Twitter feeds and talk back to the talk shows.

It will continue to draw on the “hyper-local” East End community, Mr. Rubin said. “We want an avenue for people to engage in it remotely” as well as in person, he said.

Ms. Picker said she had been looking for the right tenant for the vacant storefront in the building in addition to Shadow Lounge and AVA, a braiding salon and a recording studio. Ms. Picker said she found the Waffle Shop idea intriguing when Mr. Rubin approached her, and is happy with its progress.

“It’s a great community of people who are all artists and work together,” she said. “It’s really a community project. They’ve pulled in the community in a way that’s rare.”

Also, you might have noticed our new “Be a guest on our show live via someone elses body” button. What that means is that from the comfort of your home you can actually be a physical guest on our show. Here is how it works—you sign in and fill out a little info that will help us connect your voice to our stream, then you are sent to our Green Room, while there, you get to choose someone who is working at the shop that night to be your body double. When the time comes your body double will sit in the guest chair and your voice will be streamed live to a headphone earpiece they are wearing. Whatever you say into your computer mic or phone will then be repeated live online by your body double. So now you too can visit the Waffle Shop. We’ll be doing some testing over the week on all of our new technology so please bear with us as we figure out the kinks.

Programming wiz Ryan Hickman has been busting to get us up in time for this weekend. The site is designed by Victor Ng.

The Waffle Shop is supported by the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University, The Center for the Arts In Society, East Liberty Development Inc, We Do Property, Sota Construction Services, the Sprout Fund, Whole Foods, and the sale of waffles.

Located at:
124 South Highland Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15206

Choco $4.50
The classic with chocolate chips

Omelet $5.50
Eggs cooked in the iron

Savory $6.50
House favorite incorporating eggs, bacon and cheese.

Bananas Foster $6.50
Topped with bananas and vanilla bean ice cream drizzled with our special brown sugar sauce

Add-ons
FRIED CHICKEN $3.50
VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM $1.50
WHIPPED CREAM $50
FRESH STRAWBERRIES $1.00
SAUSAGE, BACON, OR HAM $1.50

Cinnamon Raisin Vegan Waffle

w/ Toasted Pecans

]]> http://www.waffleshop.org/tags/?feed=rss2&p=92 0 http://www.waffleshop.org/tags/?p=42 http://www.waffleshop.org/tags/?p=42#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:23:38 +0000 admin http://www.waffleshop.org/tags/?p=42 Pittsburgh City Paper, 2008