Pittsburgh's alcohol scene is growing at an incredible pace, and over the last few years we've been fortunate to have many breweries, whiskey distilleries, rum distilleries, and even a vodka distillery open and call the region home.
One alcohol style we have not been fortunate enough to have is an infusion producer. This all changed when Bella Bambini Cello opened its doors in Coraopolis in late 2017.
Pittsburgh Barbecue Company is one of the region's more popular barbecue joints, and with two locations to visit, affordable prices, and delicious flavors we can see why that is!
When it comes to Christmas displays in Pittsburgh, we're used to over the top and extravagant. It is just what we do during the holidays in southwestern Pennsylvania.
We visited Overly's Country Christmas in Greensburg with a great deal of excitement because of this, and ended up being a bit underwhelmed!
Dive Bar is, in contrast with its name, a modern gastropub with three locations in the area in Lawrenceville, South Side, and Wexford. The menu features several standard bar favorites like burgers and wings but mixes it up with some twists including unique appetizers and sandwiches. They've also got a great happy hour deal which is $2 off draft beer and half off appetizers.
We visited the Lawrenceville location recently for happy hour and were pleasantly surprised at our meal. We thought Dive Bar was going to be just another mediocre bar in the sea of many in Lawrenceville, but there were a few things that set it apart.
The Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning are one of Pittsburgh's true gems. These rooms function as classrooms for the University of Pittsburgh, but they are much more than that- they are also designed in the style of classrooms from various countries around the world.
Although we always love taking out of town visitors to these rooms, perhaps the best time of year to do so is the Christmas season.
From late November to early January every year, these classrooms come alive with Christmas trees and other holiday decorations that are representative of decorations from their respective countries. And if that wasn't enough, the common area of the cathedral is also decked out with even more Christmas trees and decorations as well!
Udipi Cafe in Monroeville has been on our radar for quite some time as one of the only places in the area to get delicious and authentic Southern Indian cuisine. We finally recently ventured out to this spot and we have to say, it's worth the drive.
While it won't win any points for atmosphere, this all-vegetarian spot serves up traditional dishes like dosa and Thali sets that transport you straight to India. Southern India, that is.
If there is any Christmas popup bar that we try to visit at least once every December, it would be Miracle Bar.
To call this holiday pop-up bar popular would be an understatement, as seemingly everyone wants a piece of the action- Miracle Bar is routinely the most popular and can have lines to match.
Thankfully, in subsequent years the bar has moved into larger and larger spaces to accommodate guests, and has truly grown to be the premier holiday bar in the city!
Note: Photos in this article may be from past Miracle pop-up iterations and may not be fully reflective of this year's popup design.
In 2022, the Joy of Cookies tour was rebranded as The Lawrenceville Cookie Tour. We visited in a prior year with the previous name; however, we expect the format to be the same. In 2023, the Lawrenceville Cookie Tour will take place on December 9th and 10th.
The Lawrenceville Cookie Tour (formerly the Joy of Cookies Tour) has been an annual tradition for almost two decades.
This event takes place the first weekend in December and is basically an open house for Lawrenceville businesses and restaurants complete with free cookies at each stop.
If you want to support local businesses with your holiday shopping, or if there are shops you've always wanted to check out but always seem to pass by, The Lawrenceville Cookie Tour is a perfect event for you to explore this buzzing neighborhood.
MCG Jazz is a hidden gem at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild on the North Side, hosting live jazz concerts each year in a season that runs from fall through spring. These concerts bring in some of the best names in jazz today, from vocalists to instrumentalists, and from Broadway stars to Grammy Award winners.
Despite living a few blocks from this one for several years, we never knew it existed until a coworker told us about it. Naturally, we bought tickets right away.
City Works in Market Square is a massive pub with a huge draft list, and it's perfectly situated in PPG Place for after work happy hours and watching sports games on one of their 15 TVs.
We visited on a recent week night just after happy hour had ended, and it was bustling with large groups of professionals enjoying the deals ($4 rotating drafts and select $4 appetizers). While we were sad about missing out on the specials, we dove in to our meal all the same.