(1) Tell us a little about yourself.
I am the Chef and Owner of Dinette restaurant in East Liberty. My family moved to Pittsburgh when I was 12 and I attended Reizenstein and Allderdice and then left for college. My parents still live here. I moved back to Pittsburgh in 2008 after 11 years away and live in Point Breeze with my husband, Jim Tinsley.

(2) Please tell us about your involvement with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and what about the organization keeps you coming back?
Dinette happily contributes food and gift cards to over 40 local charities.  However, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, specifically the East Liberty Branch, is Dinette’s main cause and the one to which I make a yearly monetary contribution. The simple reason is I love the library and everything it means to a community. My parents took me to the library as a kid, I spent every Sunday during high school at the main Oakland branch and I continue to go regularly now. I feel great every time I enter the main branch and read “Free to the People” above the doors.

(3) Describe how a mentor or someone you look up to has helped you to mold your life.
I have some chefs that I liked, but in truth I never had a mentor. I talked with friends about this recently and how it seems that mentorship is an important part of the path to success that was/is missing in our lives. Really, my family has been the most influential in molding my life. They are all incredibly supportive and caring.

(4) What makes you happy?
Eating and drinking with friends and family.

(5) If you had $1million, what would you do with it?
Probably put it away for our future kids’ college educations. Tuition, room and board and fees for an undergraduate at Columbia University, my alma mater, was $56,681 for the 2010/2011 year. I can’t imagine what it will be in 20 years when my kids go to college.

(6) What type of music do you listen to, and what song will make you get up and dance?
My friend and I joke that our favorite radio station is “Scan.” We mean we just hit the scan button when we are driving and wait till we hear a song we like. When I was a teenager I used to pride myself on seeking out the coolest, newest bands, but I have not been keeping up lately, which I admit is pretty lame.

A song I can’t resist dancing to? It’s a toss up between P.Y.T. (Michael Jackson) and Just Can’t Get Enough (Depeche Mode)

(7) What are 3 things we would find in your refrigerator?
Soda water (we carbonate water at home using the Soda Club), El Yucateco Green Habanero Sauce, Half and Half

(8) What has made you as successful as you are?
Self-discipline.

(9) How do you define success?
As an adult (success to me is) to think how lucky I am to have the life I do. I definitely think I am lucky.

(10) Any decisions that you’ve made that you’ve regretted?
Because I really liked the space (5996 Penn Circle South), I gave in to the landlord on a lot of our disagreements over Dinette’s lease. Now, I deeply regret it as new issues arise. I will know better next time.

(11) What do you like to do on the weekend?
I usually only have Sunday, so my perfect Sunday is as follows:
Sleep in and have coffee in bed
Go out to brunch with my husband
Go to a movie including a big bucket of popcorn and a fountain soda
And then, maybe some Internet shopping.

(12) What is your ideal vacation?
I like visiting big cities. Meals—usually at restaurants I have been researching for weeks—are the main event and all other activities are secondary.

(13) What were some of your favorite childhood memories?
My family always played basketball in the driveway after dinner. I am still looking for the right place to put a hoop at my current house.

(14) Do you have any superstitions?
No, or I would be crippled by fear working in a restaurant.  At least three times a day in the kitchen, someone must say, “Now you jinxed us.”

(15) How would your best friend describe you?
“Kind and understanding.”