Year: 2016

Pittsburgh Weekend Guide – Outdoors Edition

In many cases, weekend guides in popular cities focus on the main attractions that you should see and do. We enjoy these (and even wrote about them all in our first time in Pittsburgh weekend guide), but more often than not they leave us wondering what else a city has to offer outside of the iconic spots.

For our weekend guide series, we wanted to look at Pittsburgh from different perspectives. To do this we put together what we think are awesome itineraries for those who are on a mission to dive deep into just one aspect of the city.

For our outdoors weekend in Pittsburgh guide, we wanted to share some of our favorite outdoor spots in and around the city, all while keeping some of the major highlights in mind that you'd expect to visit during a weekend to Pittsburgh.

Note: Unlike other guides in this series, we know that going outdoors for a long hike can be rather exhausting. As such, we've built more downtime into this guide so you can relax or explore nearby attractions and Pittsburgh neighborhoods on your own.

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Unblurred – First Friday Gallery Crawl in Garfield

If you're like us, odds are good you pass through Garfield quite often but very rarely stop to explore. There was likely a good reason for this, as it wasn't until recently that this neighborhood began a massive revitalization. Thankfully we are here to say that businesses are starting to come back and push the neighborhood into the spotlight.

Out of all of the businesses types that have opened up in Garfield in recent months, none are more abundant than independent galleries run by local artists. Be it public galleries, DIY workshop spaces, and everything in between, Garfield is quickly becoming home to some of Pittsburgh's most talented artisans.

But there is one problem- you probably don't know any of these exist. Factor in odd working hours, subtle storefront signage, and the low foot traffic in the neighborhood and you may not notice the true revival that is underway when you drive through.

Enter Unblurred, the neighborhood's first Friday event that is changing the perception of this neighborhood one month at a time.

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What are the VIP Suites at PNC Park Like?

There are some experiences in any city that come along once in a blue moon, and then there are some that are even rarer than that.

Despite the number of Pirates games we've attended over the years, enjoying the game from a VIP suite was one of those rare experiences we were only recently able to have.

But be warned– once you attend a game in a VIP Suite, PNC Park will never be the same again.

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Teppanyaki Kyoto Review – Unique Japanese Fare in Highland Park

When you hear the word teppanyaki, your first thoughts are probably about those horribly themed hibachi restaurants that are available in just about any city in the country.

I'm here to report that the Japanese restaurant Teppanyaki Kyoto in Highland Park is not that.

What this restaurant is, however, is one of the most authentic Japanese establishments you'll find in Pittsburgh. As someone who has eaten his way around Japan, and loves just about everything there is about the country, it is high praise when I say that Teppanyaki Kyoto does it right.

But as much as Teppanyaki Kyoto offers an incredible menu full of Japanese items you may never have tried, the real gem of this restaurant is one particular dish: okonomiyaki– my favorite Japanese food of all.

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Monterey Pub Review – Neighborhood Pub of the War Streets

Note: In fall 2021, Monterey Pub reopened with new owners. We have not visited since the pub was purchased. The below review is from a visit with the previous owners. As such, things may be different now. We will update this review once we return for another visit!

Tucked among the quaint row houses in the Mexican War Streets, Monterey Pub is exactly the kind of neighborhood watering hole you'd expect it to be: it's the kind of place with regulars, wooden booths, and dark corners.

But it's also got a few delicious tricks up its sleeve, including a great food menu full of Irish pub fare, burgers, salads, and sandwiches.

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The Best Happy Hours in Pittsburgh for Local Beer

When it comes to happy hour specials in Pittsburgh, just about every restaurant and bar has them. Restaurants just love offering discounts during everyone's favorite time of day, and we're not going to complain about that in the slightest.

Although we could highlight every single happy hour special the city has to offer, we only want to look for the best. In our Pittsburgh cocktail happy hour post, we focused purely on the restaurants and bars that offer craft cocktails at significantly reduced prices (upwards of 50%).  In this beer happy hour guide, we wanted to take a similar approach and only share the locations that have a good selection of Pittsburgh breweries with discounts to match.

So while we may not share everywhere you can go to find a $2 Yuengling or Bud Light, we do want to give you the best places to check out when you want some of the local brewers' finest creations!

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Kennywood – A Visit to Pittsburgh’s Closest Amusement Park

As far as day trips from Pittsburgh are concerned, perhaps the most popular of all is visiting our regional theme park: Kennywood!

When the folks at Kennywood invited us out for a visit, we jumped on the opportunity. I am a roller coaster enthusiast who loves the most extreme experiences imaginable and Angie, well, she agreed to join me with the promise of potato patch fries- something she has been craving since her last visit several years prior. So on a gorgeous July day we made the trip out of the city to take in as many flips, dips, spins, and fries as possible.

But why should you make the trip out to this park? We share our favorite reasons below.

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A Brief Hike on the Trillium Trail in Fox Chapel

One of the things we absolutely love about Pittsburgh is that you can pick any direction you want to go, drive 10-15 minutes on a highway, and end up out in the middle of nature.

This lends itself to the incredible opportunity of finding hiking trails and nature preserves, well, just about anywhere.

During our exploration of Fox Chapel, we decided to make a small detour to the Trillium Trail that is featured in the book 60 Hikes in 60 Miles (Pittsburgh Edition). This small nature preserve may not seem like much on the surface, but is one of those unique features you expect to find in a nature-oriented city like this one.

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