Jeremy

Jeremy is the co-owner of Discover the Burgh. His favorite Pittsburgh activities include discovering unusual attractions, trying new breweries, and seeking out the city's best happy hours. He also runs the long-term travel blog, Living the Dream.

Huszar Bacon Roast – A New Tradition in the North Side

Close your eyes and imagine the perfect camp fire. If you're like us, and everyone in the United States without an Eastern European heritage, you are probably thinking of marshmallows roasting on a stick.

But if you are fortunate enough to have Eastern European family, especially those from Hungary, you may be envisioning something a bit different- a bacon roast.

The premise is exactly the same as making S'mores over a fire, but swaps the marshmallows for pork belly, and the graham crackers and chocolate for bread and vegetables, to make what could be the ultimate sandwich.

It wasn't until we were invited out to the North Side Hungarian bar and restaurant Huszar for their annual roast that we knew this was a thing, and we'll never look at camp fires the same way again.

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Round Hill Park – Gorgeous Green Spaces and a Working Farm

Round Hill Park in Elizabeth, PA, is a 1,100 acre park that takes on a familiar layout as far as local parks are concerned- namely being home to a large concentration of pavilions, unblazed hiking trails, and a few play areas for kids.

In fact, for the longest time we thought this was all that was available at Round Hill Park, and for that reason we made it the last of all of the Allegheny County Parks we visited.

But there was one thing we did not know that Round Hill Park has, and that is a working exhibit farm that is so impressive it is worth the drive to Elizabeth alone.

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The Pavilion at Star Lake Concerts – What is the Venue Like?

Pittsburgh's outdoor amphitheater, The Pavilion at Star Lake (formerly S&T Bank Music Park, KeyBank Pavilion, First Niagara, and Star Lake before that), is the preferred venue for many of the world's best bands and musicians as they make their touring stop in Pittsburgh.

But this pavilion, located about 45 minutes west of downtown Pittsburgh, has had some notoriety about it throughout the years as accessing the arena is quite difficult with its one and only road in and out. But since many of our favorite bands play there, we've sucked it up several times over the years to see performances with vastly different experiences.

As with everything, this review is not about the performance, but rather is about the arena itself. So, what did we think of Star Lake and what can you do to have the best experience when visiting? Read on!

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Our Favorite Things in Each of the 9 Allegheny County Parks

Boyce Park

Since founding Discover the Burgh, we've made it our mission to see, do, and experience everything Pittsburgh has to offer. One of our goals was to explore each of the nine county parks of Allegheny County, and over the last two years we finally completed our task of visiting them all.

What we discovered about these Pennsylvania parks from our visits is pretty incredible.  The nine parks in Allegheny county cover 12,000 acres (that's 18.75 square miles), have well over 60 blazed trails covering over 70 miles (our estimates), and feature numerous other activities throughout the year that will keep even the most active busy for a considerable period of time.

To help you determine which of the Allegheny County parks you should visit on your next outing, we put together this guide which shares some our favorite aspects of each park in the county. For more information about each park, click the link in the description to be taken to our full article!

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PPG Paints Arena Concerts – Is the Venue Worth It?

Everyone in Pittsburgh knows that PPG Paints Arena (formerly CONSOL Energy Center) is home of the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins. But outside of hockey season the arena does not sit empty, and is instead one of the best spots in the city to catch some of the largest bands and musicians in the world as they make a stop in Pittsburgh to perform.

One band we got to check out at PPG Paints Arena in 2017 was Red Hot Chili Peppers, and while we enjoyed the performance we wanted to take a look at PPG Paints Arena itself to see if it is truly a good spot to check out live music, what to consider before visiting, and what to avoid.

In knowing these things, you'll be better prepared for purchasing a ticket for when your favorite band comes to town!

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Raccoon Creek State Park Wildflower Reserve – A Spring Visit

Raccoon Creek State Park is a gem for hikers in southwestern Pennsylvania. This massive park contains miles of paths, creeks, a lake, waterfalls, and even is home to an impressive wildflower reserve that has a twice a year bloom.

We were very fortunate to check out the wildflower reserve during peak bloom in 2017, and we wanted to share our experience to encourage you to get out and explore this one during the next bloom event as it was our highlight of the spring season!

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5 of the Best Hotels in Pittsburgh with Stunning City Views

When it comes to hotels with city views in Pittsburgh, we are fortunate enough to have several of them. In our quest to visit the city's top hotels, we've come to find that while many hotels have city views, not all of them have great views in relative abundance. As such, planning on getting a room with an epic view can be tricky depending on where you stay.

To help with this, we found five hotels that not only have great views, but views in a good number of rooms as well. You may still have to do a bit of work to get one, but if you plan accordingly your chances for that stellar scene go up quite a bit!

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Pizza Fiesta Review – No Frills Pizza, Delicious Fiesta Rolls

When we write about pizza in Pittsburgh, we often write about the corner pizza shop phenomenon where most every neighborhood pizza joint tastes almost identical to each other.

If you want a quick, cheap, and often greasy pie but aren't in the mood to go out of your way for a favorite spot, they are the kind of place you would go to out of convenience more than anything else.

As much as I don't want to say it, Pizza Fiesta is one of those places.

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Brillobox Review – A Perfect All Around Bar in Bloomfield

Normally when we visit a new bar around the city, we often categorize it based on what they're good at. Allegheny Wine Mixer is great for wine. Independent Brewing Company has a killer draft list if you like Pittsburgh beer. We could go on.

While you can go to all of these spots for other reasons, odds are good you're going to gravitate to their specialties because, well, that is what they're known for.

Brillobox in Pittsburgh's Bloomfield neighborhood does not have one of these primary focuses. Instead, they shine on all three. Throw in a unique and welcoming ambiance and you have a bar that that comes together for the coveted goal of being good at many things- a rare treat in the city.

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