To celebrate noted environmentalist Rachel Carson's 100th birthday on Sunday, Pittsburgh chefs are teaming up with Slow Food Pittsburgh and Farmers@Firehouse vendors to put on a Rachel Carson Sustainable Feast at her homestead in Springdale.

Between 12:30 and 5 p.m. chefs such as Bill Fuller, big Burrito Restaurant Group; Kevin Sousa, Bigelow Grille; Jeff Iovino, Iovino's Cafe; Dave DeCollo, Parkhurst Dining Services; Adam Manculich, Cafe Brugge; Chris Jackson, Six Penn Kitchen; April Gruver, Vanilla Pastry Studio; and Kitty Latham, Green Chef Deli will serve up the samples of Western Pennsylvania's planet-friendly food.

Suppliers include Creekside Mushrooms, Freebird Chicken, Harvest Valley Farms, Joe Jurgielewicz & Sons, Keswick Creamery, Kretschmann Farm, Marburger Farm Dairy, Mildreds' Daughters Urban Farm, Natural Acres, Starbucks, Three Sisters Farm, Wil-Den Family Farms and Whole Foods.

Besides food, there will be bluegrass music, Carson homestead tours, talks by conservation leaders, kids activities, eco-friendly vendors and more. Cost is $5; children under 6 are free. Details: 724-274-5459.

New Lawrenceville eatery

New at 5147 Butler St. in Lawrenceville are the Big Belly Deli and Geno's Restaurant, owned and operated by the husband/wife team of Gene and Lisa Giguere, who have more than 20 years in the food business.

The deli lives up to its colorful name with Bubba-sized hot and cold subs served with fries, pizzas, chili, salads and the Sweet Belly Dough Boy, a fried dough bowl filled with peach, strawberry or apple filling.

At 5 p.m. candles are lit, the atmosphere becomes relaxed and the restaurant begins serving dinner. On the menu are an array of appetizers, salads and entrees, from chicken and veal to seafood and steak. Wine, martinis, imported and microbrew beers, and espresso are available.

Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekends. Details: 412-781-3432.

Brat Fest this weekend

Kick off the summer with a Memorial Day weekend road trip to the World's Largest Brat Fest, held by Johnsonville in Madison, Wisc.

The fest's goal is to serve more than 200,000 brats at $1.50 each to break the record of 189,432 brats sold. Proceeds benefit charities.

Key to the effort is the Johnsonville Big Taste Grill, which weighs 53,000 pounds, is 6 feet in diameter, 20 feet tall and 65 feet long, and can make 2,500 brats an hour. Helping out will be 20 other 6-foot grills.

Details: www.bratfest.com..

Who makes the best?

The June issue of Cook's Illustrated tested canned crushed tomatoes to find the best brands. Recommended ones include:

Tuttorosso Crushed Tomatoes in Thick Puree with Basil

Muir Glen Organic Crushed Tomatoes with Basil

Hunt's Organic Crushed Tomatoes

Redpack Crushed Tomatoes in Thick Puree

Progresso Crushed Tomatoes with Added Puree

For the full story, see the magazine or the for-members Web site www.cooks illustrated.com).

Pierogi primacy

At Ambridge Nationality Days this past weekend, the "Pierogi Challenge" pitted a half dozen local churches against each other. The winners?

Good Samaritan Catholic Church won in the potato category and St. Mary Byzantine Church won for sauerkraut, according to Ambridge Area Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber president Tom Patrician says that Good Samaritan immediately made a commemorative T-shirt, and they'll sell the shirts at the church's own festival in August.

"It was all in best of fun and isn't a reflection on the quality of the pierogies," he says. "All the pierogies were excellent."

He adds, "Everybody has their favorites. But everybody loves all of them."

The last word

"The smell of coffee was a reason for growing up, because children were never allowed to have it and nothing haunted the nostrils all the way out to the barn as did the aroma of boiling coffee." Food writer Edna Lewis.