I remember when Market Square consisted of not much more than Chipotle, Starbucks, and PPG Place. Luckily things have dramatically changed for the better with the gradual addition of great restaurants.
On a recent visit we decided to visit Pizzaiolo Primo to check out their Neapolitan style pizzas made with an authentic wood-fired oven, as well as their incredible pastas that ended up being the biggest surprise of the night.
If you feel like modern Asian fusion cuisine is overdone and usually mediocre, you should head to Soba in Shadyside for a change of perspective.
With unpretentious but solid service, sleek and stylish decor, and inventive dishes that combine traditional Asian flavors with unexpected but delicious modern touches, Soba is an excellent choice if you're looking for a place to spend a special night out.
On our last international trip, we came home with a new addition to our family: our dog Tamale!
As we don't have a backyard, we are extremely grateful for the many green spaces, parks, hiking trails, and dog parks in and close to the city. As a part of our newest series, Dogsburgh, featuring all of the dog friendly places in Pittsburgh, we turn our attention to a popular spot for dog lovers and their four-legged friends: dog parks.
Our quest to find the best dog parks in the city is currently underway, and a selection of our favorites are featured below. As we explore more of the city and find unique parks to add, you can be certain this list will be updated!
In a neighborhood full of colleges and universities, you might not expect to find much more in the way of dining besides fast food and coffee shops.
However, there are several bright spots in the Oakland neighborhood serving up delicious, thoughtful cuisine- one being The Porch located in the beautiful Schenley Plaza in the heart of the neighborhood.
Note: Some of the Turkish pizzas and specialties mentioned below may no longer be offered at some Ephesus locations. At last check, the downtown Pittsburgh and Aspinwall location still offered some of the menu items discussed below but the Bellevue location did not.
When I first heard of Ephesus Pizza, I clung to the hope that they would actually serve some Turkish food and that the name wasn't just a pizza restaurant trying to sound exotic.
Specifically, I was hoping the restaurant would serve Turkish pide (basically a Turkish pizza), one of our favorite dishes from our travels in Turkey.
As I checked out the menu online I couldn't have been happier. Not only did they have our beloved pide complete with sujuk, a dry-cured meat sort of like pepperoni, but they also had lahmacun (another type of meat-topped flatbread), kebaps, and other gyro-esque wraps.
We just had to visit, and it only took us a few days in between hearing about this place and actually getting there. Since that first visit, we've found many reasons to return time and time again.
Lola Bistro appears to be permanently closed.
Lola Bistro on the North Side is a cute, cozy spot in a residential neighborhood that describes itself as serving international comfort cuisine.
Offering dishes from many different countries around the world and executing them all equally well is an ambitious goal, but in theory we are big fans of the concept. It's the kind of restaurant that we really want to like- but we think it needs a few tweaks before it will be there 100%.
When we heard that Proper Brick Oven had a wood-fired oven for making their pizzas, we knew we had to check the place out. You pretty much can't go wrong with a pie baked in one of those.
On our recent visit the pizza didn't disappoint, but nearly everything else was uninspiring at best- even the service.
From the name alone, The Pub Chip Shop might not sound like anything other than a greasy fish and chips place for those who have imbibed a bit too much (after all, the restaurant is located in South Side).
However, the menu is rather extensive and offers some tasty surprises that are delicious even when perfectly sober, as we were on our recent visit.
Sometime in the last few years, Squirrel Hill has turned into the Little Asia of Pittsburgh. Korean, Thai, Chinese, ramen, teppanyaki, sushi, and even Asian style baked goods- all of these foods can be found in this bustling neighborhood.
At first glance this seems a little it odd- how many different Asian restaurants do you need in just a few blocks? But we've been visiting these restaurants one by one, and the cool thing is that each one has a pretty specialized menu with a distinct type of cuisine that they focus on.
Everyday Noodle is one such restaurant, where the emphasis is on, you guessed it: noodles.
Note: Butcher and the Rye has been closed since the COVID pandemic and the space is currently being used as rotating pop-up bars. We hope that Butcher and the Rye will return soon.
Butcher and the Rye is one of the hottest restaurants in Pittsburgh, and guess where it is? Downtown!
We've always thought that this is one part of the city that needs more unique restaurants, and hearing about people going downtown just to eat is welcomed news.
In fact, so many people are trying to eat at Butcher and the Rye that it is quite difficult to get a reservation. We tried for weeks to get a table on a Saturday night that worked with our schedules, and after trying for quite some time we were finally able to get in at 9PM by calling just over a week in advance.
Not knowing when we'd make it back and that reservations are hard to come by, we went all out.