The grilled cheese trend has not been one we've been particularly excited about, so when a few friends asked us to meet up at The Yard for late night grilled cheese, our hopes were not high.
Luckily, The Yard came through with many unique offerings, an incredible dessert menu, and for those who aren't into grilled cheese as much, a fantastic bar.
Vietnamese cuisine is a culinary style that hasn't taken off in popularity yet in Pittsburgh, but is one of the best national cuisines in the world. During my travels in Vietnam I fell in love with the cuisine, but also came away with an understanding that it is also hard to do right as there is a fine line to make the sweet, spicy, and salty flavors work in many of the dishes.
There are several restaurants that do an incredible job at Vietnamese food in Pittsburgh, Tram's Kitchen and Lucy's Banh Mi cart being a few, and it was with great excitement that I visited Pho Van in the Strip District to try some more of one of my favorite cuisines.
Unfortunately, I left reminded why this cuisine is so hard to do right. Pho Van was a major let down.
The aptly named North Park in northern Allegheny County is a popular spot for those looking to enjoy a day out for hiking in the woods, walking along the paved lake path, or taking in one of the many other activities available.
No matter why you visit this one, there is enough to keep returning time and time again!
Our quest to find Pittsburgh's best burger brought us to the popular local chain Burgatory, which prides itself on having organic and all natural ingredients, massive portions, and a devious selection of meats ranging from Wagyu beef to grass fed elk.
With multiple locations around Pittsburgh, including in PPG Paints Arena and Acrisure Stadium, we hoped that the burger chain would shine where its major competitor BRGR fell flat. Luckily, after sampling our way around the Burgatory menu, we can most certainly say that it does.
Pittsburgh is one of America's greatest cities, there is no question about that. We have an incredible history, amazing sports teams, an exploding food scene, many local celebrities, and just about everything else you could ask for in a city.
As it is our quest to discover all of these aspects of Pittsburgh, we've recently turned to reading any and all Pittsburgh related books we could get our hands on to learn more about the city we call home.
The following are some of our favorites that we think you should definitely check out!
Note: When available, we offer links to purchase the book on Amazon and Bookshop.org. Bookshop.org is an online retailer that supports local and independently operated bookstores with every sale either through direct purchases (if available) or profit shares. Please try and support local stores as much as possible!
Downtown Pittsburgh is unique in that it sits at the point where three rivers, the Ohio, the Allegheny, and the Monongahela, converge.
The resulting land at the tip of downtown Pittsburgh has played an important role for the city throughout its history, and today is a gorgeous public space known as Point State Park that is a must see spot for all visitors to the city.
When a friend of ours told us to go try out Quik-It Chicken, a chicken restaurant located in the same building as a gas station in the North Side, we thought he was kidding. Gas station food is generally something we wouldn't consider good dining in any capacity. But knowing this friend, and his off-the-wall recommendations actually being amazing most of the time, we went for it and do not regret the decision in the slightest.
One of the things we love about Pittsburgh is its proximity to nature. We may be a large city, but it is incredibly easy to get out and hike through the beauty of Pennsylvania when the weather is nice.
One of our excursions north of the city took us to McConnells Mill State Park, located roughly 30 miles outside of Pittsburgh via I-79, to check out a mill that is over one hundred years old, a covered bridge, and gorgeous fall foliage.
Like any major city in the USA, Pittsburgh is home to an incredible street food scene that is growing larger by the day. Between the dozens of food trucks, mobile carts, and dedicated stands, the one thing that holds true no matter where you go is that it takes quite the effort to find the best in a sea of mostly average establishments.
When it comes finding the best Pittsburgh food trucks we're up for the challenge, and to chronicle our journey this roundup was born.
This list is not a collection of every street food vendor we've tried in the city. Far from it. This list only features what we think are the very best of the ones we've visited to date (we're still working our way through many as well).
By the end we hope that you'll be hopping in your car to try something right away because each business featured deserves no less than your immediate attention and visit.
Let's be honest, Pennsylvania is home to some of the most backwards liquor laws in the country.
Want to go buy a bottle of wine? Good luck finding it in a grocery store. Yay, this law is finally going away!
Want a six pack of beer? No corner store will stock it. (But literally just a few gas stations in the state might)
Want to pick up hard liquor? The state runs a monopoly on the stuff unless you are a local distiller.
I could spend quite a bit of time ranting about how crazy these laws are, but instead I want to help you out with three ways we've come to exploit the system for the best.