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.
Every city needs a great museum to let its history shine, and in Pittsburgh that museum is the Heinz History Center in the Strip District.
Our first observation after entering the Heinz History Center was that it was much like the popular Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC. But instead of having separate buildings for each theme as in our nation's capital, the Heinz History Center has everything in one building.
Well, as it turns out the museum is in fact affiliated with the Smithsonian, and the legacy of the nation's most popular museum collection shines in every exhibit in this city gem.
When it comes to websites and social media for the city of Pittsburgh, we're not alone here at Discover the Burgh. In fact, there are dozens of websites out there run by the city, neighborhood associations, or other individuals like us that we think are simply awesome or quite valuable to know.
If you are looking for more content from the city of Pittsburgh outside of this site, be it news, events, emergency updates, city info, or simply great local content, we recommend starting with these sites first!
Much to the chagrin of music lovers in the city, Pittsburgh's concert scene often gets poor reviews. Sure, a super group may play at Acrisure Stadium once a year, a few big bands will play at the impossibly frustrating First Niagara Pavilion, and smaller but still well known bands may show up at Stage AE from time to time.
The frustration music fans have stems not from a lack of venues, we do have quite a few in the area, but more from the fact that for whatever reason, the huge bands people want to see just don't come here like in other cities. (To be fair, the music scene of lesser known groups can be quite good if you are looking for it).
Luckily for us, one of our favorite bands, the bluegrass-inspired Punch Brothers led by MacArthur Fellowship award winner Chris Thile (a musical God if there ever was one), loves to play in Pittsburgh and often hit a new venue during each visit. The most recent of which led us to a night out at Mr. Small's Theater in Millvale, where we have one of the most enjoyable music experiences in recent memory.
In April 2022, Healthy Ride formally launched a rebrand to be called POGOH. Stations are being replaced and availability is presently limited. We will update this article accordingly when the POGOH stations are fully available in the coming weeks.
Over the past several months you've likely seen Healthy Ride bike kiosks popping up all over the city. These bikes are one of the many new services coming out to help encourage visitors and locals to get out and explore the many bike trails the city has to offer, and with over 500 bikes and 50 stations, they're doing a great job at it.
We finally got the chance to try one of these bikes on a day out exploring the North Shore bike trail, and had a pretty interesting experience with the service.
In August 2025, Maggie's announced the closure of their South Hills location. The Strip District location appears to have re-opened in late September.
We are spoiled to have many great distilleries in Pittsburgh. Pick a spirit, and odds are good you can find it being made locally.
Some of our local distillers are highly specialized, and focus on one (or a small handful of products). One such distillery is Maggie's Farm Rum, producing all things, you guessed it, rum!
This one is proof that you don't have to fly to the Caribbean or Indian Ocean to find amazing rum, and their accolades speak for themselves. Maggie's has won numerous national awards including Pennsylvania Distillery of the Year at the NY International Spirits Competition and America's Best Rum by the American Craft Spirits Association to name a few.
Thirsty yet? You know we are, which is why we find ourselves returning to the distillery's two locations again and again.