If you are seeking traditional barbecue in Pittsburgh that is as delicious as it is no frills, Showcase BBQ is the place for you.
You wouldn't think twice about this unassuming house in Homewood West if it wasn't for the modest sign out front and two massive smokers along the side. But as soon as we arrived, we knew we were in the right place for barbecue.
We are told that Maifest is no longer returning at Teutonia Mannerchor; however, they will have other festivities throughout the year for the public.
German beer lovers, rejoice!
You don't have to book an expensive plane ticket to fly to Germany to drink great beer.
All you have to do is wait for one of the many events held by the local German club, Teutonia Mannerchor, to take place*!
Bigham Tavern is one of those places that you may never come across when exploring Mount Washington unless you are expressly looking for it.
We would know- we lived on Mount Washington for two years and had no idea that Bigham street had a gastropub, and we lived just a few blocks away.
It wasn't until we published our neighborhood guide that we got a lot of feedback that we missed this hidden gem, and we made a return trip to the neighborhood to check it out.
We really were missing out.
The Meadowcroft Rockshelter is located in Avella, PA, about an hour southwest of Pittsburgh.
Although this one is a bit of a drive, it is worth the trip during their seasonal hours in order to check out the 19,000 years of human history found on the property!
Cross Creek County Park is a 2,000+ acre park in Washington County just east of Avella, PA (about 50 minutes west of Pittsburgh and just a few miles from the Meadowcroft Rockshelter).
The park features several areas with facilities such as picnic tables, kids play areas, and more, but the real gem of this park is Cross Creek Lake!
La Casa Narcisi is a beautiful winery in Gibsonia that's more than just a tasting room.
It's more like an estate, complete with a restaurant, outdoor seating area, and stages for concerts. In our opinion, there isn't much better than sitting on the patio on a warm summer night, listening to live music with a bottle of wine and a classic Italian meal.
Art All Night is an annual pop-up art event in Pittsburgh that takes place each spring with an incredible array of art, hosted without juries or censorship, open for just one day (including overnight) for guests to enjoy!
The location of this one often changes from year-to-year, and is part of the fun as you never really know where the art event will pop up next until just before the next year is announced!
Bull River Taco is a popular short order taco join that first opened in the South Hills. In 2017 they expanded to have their second location located right in the heart of Squirrel Hill, and their buzz continued to grow from there.
After many reader recommendations, we finally made it out to their Squirrel Hill location to see what they're all about.
Driftwood Oven was a popular Pittsburgh food truck until early 2018 when the owners decided to ditch the wagon and open a brick and mortar restaurant right in the heart of Lawrenceville.
We were always big fans of this particular pizza as, well, who could say no to mobile brick oven pizza? We were a bit bummed to find out they wouldn't be at our favorite breweries moving forward, but were also excited to see how they'd expand their pizza into a traditional restaurant concept.
They didn't disappoint.
Although new breweries have been popping up all over the region the past few years, a newer trend is breweries that have their own restaurants. Cinderlands Beer Co. in Lawrenceville is one such brewery/restaurant hybrid that offers creative and delicious beers with interesting small plates and entrees.
Cinderlands Beer Co. has three locations, one right on Butler St. in lower Lawrenceville, a second in the Strip District, and one in Wexford north of the city.
While the bulk of this review is based off our visits to the Lawrenceville location, we've also enjoyed The Warehouse in the Strip District many times as well. The Lawrenceville spot features cozy wooden booths along the length of the restaurant, an upstairs seating area, an exposed brick wall with a huge Cinderlands logo painted on it, and of course, the sophisticated bar that makes you feel like you've been transported back in time.
But Cinderlands has more than just good looks. We visited shortly after they opened (and several times since) and one thing that strikes is just how interesting and good the beers are for being such a young brewery. Tea kolsch, coffee double IPA, and strawberry sour IPA are just some of the unique beers you'll find here. And although the food menu is somewhat small, we really appreciate the effort they're putting in to crafting and creating these dishes.