Giovanni’s Pizza Review – Pizza and Delicious Garlic Rolls in Dormont

When it comes to Giovanni's Pizza in Pittsburgh, we have to take a step back and make an important distinction: there are actually several Giovanni's in the region.

In fact, there are three very close by- two in downtown proper and one in Dormont, and they all appear to be independent of each other.

So it should be no surprise that when we ordered our pizza from Giovanni's, we assumed we were getting it from one when it in fact came from another. Oops.

As it turns out, we ordered from the Dormont Giovanni's which boasts that it is home to a winner of “Pittsburgh's best pizza” and “famous” bread twists- two claims we wanted to find out about first hand.

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North Side Music Festival – Three Days of Music

The North Side Music Festival takes place each July in Pittsburgh's North Side and features hundreds of bands, dozens of stages throughout the region (most in Deutschtown, giving the event the former name the Deutschtown Music Fesitval), food trucks, art and other vendors, and so much more.

In fact, there is so much to see in this three-day event you really plan to spend the entire day down at the festival to get the most out of it!

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Flight 93 National Memorial – A Somber Memorial to 9/11

Sometimes as travel writers there are just a few spots we visit that are impossible to put into words. Destinations so sobering about the low points in human history that I simply cannot do justice in any one article.

I've found myself in this particular spot in many places around the world- be it Dachau in Germany, the ground zero spots of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, and the 9/11 Memorial in New York City to name a few.

In these particular cases I've tried time and time again to write about them, but end up being at a loss for words. Rather than ignoring the topic altogether, I ultimately end up only sharing photos as a means to try and provide a visual understanding of the experience.

So it should be no surprise that my visit to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, is no different. Today, I wanted to share a few photos from the memorial to encourage everyone to visit.

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The Quest for the Best Tacos in Pittsburgh

If we made a list of all of the foods we could eat day in, day out and not get sick of, tacos would be high on our list. In fact, when we spent about four weeks in Mexico I ate well over 100 Mexican tacos on my own in addition to a plethora of other delicious and local foods- much to my stomach's delight.

If I saw a street cart serving tacos I would order at least one, if not three, even if I had just ate a meal. It was kind of like that.

In Pittsburgh, the topic of authentic Mexican fare is a hotly contested debate. Some will tell you our Mexican cuisine is terrible. Others will argue we have great Mexican but will pull out many examples that are, sadly, not Mexican. We have mixed thoughts on the topic, but generally think that you can find good Mexican fare in the city if you look hard enough.

Our quest for the best tacos in Pittsburgh is not that. While we will say that most all of the best tacos are authentic Mexican, we do recognize that you can make a stellar taco without it being traditional in the slightest.

In this quest, we want to find some of the city's best. Are they good because they're authentic? Are they good because they're unusual? Are they so cheap they command attention? Or are they simply good and we need not say anything else? All of these are on our radar and can be called a “good taco.”

Note: In the past, our quest style articles organized tacos in various categories from below average to excellent. Since then, we have decided to remove any category style tier. That said, tacos in this article loosely ordered by increasing preference in this article. So if you want to see our very favorites, scroll to the end!

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The Quest to Explore all 90 Pittsburgh Neighborhoods

Duquesne Incline and Pittsburgh's Skyline

Since founding Discover the Burgh, we've made it our mission to do everything Pittsburgh has to throw at us. From eating at all the great Pittsburgh restaurants, visiting all the museums, to exploring the many public spaces and hiking trails (to name a few), we've tried to live by the mindset of if it is there, we want to check it out.

Naturally, one of our goals along these lines was to visit all 90 Pittsburgh neighborhoods and find the highlights in each of them.

While we have visited all 90 neighborhoods multiple times throughout the years, we are still working our way to finding something unique in each of them as many are primarily residential. That being said, to date we have found unique highlights in 67 neighborhoods which is nothing to scoff at.

In this guide we wanted to share one recommendation for each neighborhood we've found something awesome in so far.

Are you ready to go exploring?

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Hampton Inn Green Tree Review – A Standard Hotel With a Few Surprises

Normally when we review Pittsburgh hotels we select our properties to stay in to review them for their location or unique amenities.

In the case of the Hampton Inn Greentree, we selected this one for its price as we were getting some work done on our house and needed to be away for two nights with our dog without spending a lot of money.

As many hotels do not allow pets, and those that do charge an insane pet fee on top of their price, we set our sights on the Hampton Inn Greentree to take a look at their offering as one of the most budget friendly hotels in the city- and we were pleasantly surprised by what we found.

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Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens – A Secluded Garden in Oakdale

The Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens is a nature reserve in Oakdale, PA- located right next door to Settlers Cabin Park. The park opened in early 2015 on a 460 acre plot of land once used for mining and logging, and currently has about 60 acres that was transformed back into pristine nature and open for visitors to enjoy.

This one does require a payment for entry, and those who visit will enjoy a serene hike in nature through several themed zones and unique art pieces.

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Imbibe Northside – Local Beer and Contemporary Art Combine

We've been in the habit of checking out many of Pittsburgh's beer tours and beer events in Pittsburgh recently, and one of our favorites so far is also one of the newest: Imbibe Northside.

This event is the brainchild of the team over at the soon-to-open War Streets Brewery and is hosted at the Mattress Factory museum of contemporary art.

If that combo isn't enough to pique your interest, the other dozen or so breweries, wineries, and distilleries in attendance will definitely do the trick.

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