Year: 2017

Handmade Arcade – An Annual Craft Fair in Pittsburgh

Handmade Arcade is a free independent craft fair held at the David L. Lawrence Convention center every December.

If you're looking to pick up some unique presents, or just want to support independent artists from the region and the country, the Handmade Arcade is the place to be!

Note: Many of the artisans at Handmade Arcade sell their products online via Etsy storefronts. When applicable, we'll feature links to the stores directly within this article as well (may contain affiliate information).

Read more

Baby Loves Tacos Review – Delicious Tacos in Bloomfield

Baby Loves Tacos is a popular taco joint that opened its first brick and mortar store in Bloomfield in early 2018.

The restaurant opening was eagerly anticipated as this one hosted frequent pop-ups around Pittsburgh and gained a legion of die-hard fans along the way. The popularity is worth it, as Baby Loves Tacos makes what we believe are some of the best all-around tacos we've had in the city.

Read more

Muddy Waters Oyster Bar Review – Oyster Happy Hour in East Liberty

Oyster bars seem to be having a moment in Pittsburgh with spots like Muddy Waters in East Liberty popping up.

We have to say, before this phenomenon we hadn't really been into oysters, but these restaurants are doing their part at convincing us that oysters are delicious and may end up becoming the next big thing in Pittsburgh.

Read more

Todd Nature Reserve – A Peaceful Sanctuary in Sarver, PA

The Todd Nature Reserve in Sarver, PA, is a 175 acre forest and wildlife sanctuary managed by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.

The land once belonged to W.E. Clyde Todd, a passionate bird watcher and Curator of Birds at the Carnegie Museum in the early 1900s who used to bird watch on the property. In an effort to keep the land a wildlife sanctuary for generations to come, Mr. Todd donated the land to the Audubon Society in the 1940s and they have managed it to date.

With many hiking trials, a beautiful pond full of frogs, bird watching, and spring wild flowers, there is truly a lot to see at the nature reserve bearing Mr. Todd's name!

Read more

Threadbare Review – Local Ciders and Artisan Pizza in the North Side

Threadbare's North Side location is seemingly only open for special events. Try their ciders at their Ross Park Mall store!

Threadbare Cider House in the North Side is the brainchild of the folks at Wigle Whiskey, arguably Pittsburgh's most famous local distiller.

When wanting to branch out into a new venture, the owners stumbled upon the history of Johnny Appleseed (or John Chapman by his real name)- a rather eccentric fellow who, in the late-1700s/early-1800s, wandered around the region, preached conservation and planted nurseries to be tended to by locals (giving rise to the modern legend), and spreading the gospel far and wide.

Some stories of his travels had him based near Pittsburgh for a while (possibly even during the famous Whiskey Rebellion that Wigle proudly promotes), and when the owners realized this the idea for Threadbare came to life. Fast forward a few years, and they are now ramping up production of fine ciders made with locally sourced apples and are serving them at their North Side production facility along with stellar artisan pizzas.

Shortly before opening, our friends at Wigle gave us a call and invited us down to try out their menu- and sample the menu we did. Between three separate visits we had just about everything they offer!

Read more

The Living Dead Museum – Behind the Scenes of a Cult Classic

In November 2020, The Living Dead Museum moved to the Monroeville Mall. Our article was from our visit to the museum when it was located in Evans City. As such, the museum and experience may be different than described below. Once we are able to visit the new location we will update this article accordingly.

You may be aware that the cult classic zombie flick, Night of the Living Dead, was filmed outside of Pittsburgh.

But did you also know that Pittsburgh has its own Living Dead Museum dedicated to the franchise?

Although small, this one does a fantastic job paying tribute to all things from the Living Dead series, zombie media at large, and then some!

Read more

10 Pittsburgh Gifts to Share a Taste of the City

Are you looking for a gift for a Pittsburgher? It is no secret that we all love this city, so why not pick up a Pittsburgh inspired gift that is sure to wow them!

In this guide we are sharing 10 gift themes that focus on all things Pittsburgh. Within each theme we have featured multiple different ideas to hit all interests, gift types, and budgets. So go beyond a restaurant gift card and impress your favorite Pittsburgher with one of the below!

Note: This article contains gift ideas for all budgets. Recommendations are as low as a $10 Pittsburgh novelty or book, a $20 shirt, and can be as expensive as a $100+ ski pass or $200 Steelers ticket. We wanted to give a range of ideas in this one and as such prices run the full spectrum.  

Read more

Hundred Acres Manor – A Horrifyingly Good Time in Pittsburgh

When it comes to getting scared senseless at a haunted house during Halloween in Pittsburgh, it is safe to say that Angie and I are not rushing to volunteer.

To put it bluntly, we don't really care for horrors, frights, or bumps in the night even when we know what is about to happen. The best horror scenarios to us are left to the movies- ones that are contained to a DVD, shrink wrapped in a case, and on the back of a store shelf far, far away.

But when Hundred Acres Manor came knocking and asked if we wanted to visit their haunted attractions just south of Pittsburgh for a review, we were in. Well, I was at least, and Angie came along kicking and screaming all while threatening to fake a heart attack to get out of it.

As it turns out, the reason we don't really care for haunted attractions is not because we don't like being scared (I may be speaking for myself on this one), but rather no one has done a good enough job to date to make us excited to visit a haunted house in the first place.

That is, until now.

Read more