Sharing The Best of Pittsburgh and Southwest Pennsylvania
With the liquor laws easing in Pennyslvania, many brewers, distillers, and alcohol aficionados have been looking at getting into the business of helping appease a thirsty population.
In Carnegie, Quantum Spirits has been improving the libations game one spirit and cocktail at a time.
While this one is still young by distillery standards, with each passing year they are getting better and better with their spirits, bar program, and now even a full kitchen with a stellar food menu as well!
Umi is a Japanese restaurant located in Shadyside, and it is part of the Big Burrito restaurant group. Having been around since 2000, Umi has quite a long history of serving up some of the city's best sushi and omakase (set menus determined by the chef each night).
Umi is located on the second story above Soba, and it has a pretty traditional Japanese feel with minimal decor, seating at the sushi bar, and tatami seating as well as regular tables.
I remember when Wigle Whiskey opened their doors in Pittsburgh. I was so excited that the craft spirits scene was taking off, and eager to get my hands on any of the (limited) concoctions that the distillery was producing.
It is unfortunate to have to admit this, but at the time their namesake whiskeys were not to my liking. I have never been fond of white rye and wheat whiskeys and usually prefer my grain spirits to be aged for several years to get the flavors from the large oak barrels. In being a new distillery, their aging program simply did not exist at the time, so I knew I would have to wait longer for the styles I enjoy.
Although I wasn't fond of the whiskey when Wigle launched, I found myself oddly attached to the Ginever Gin they also produced- another spirit I never really got into the habit of drinking. Soon after I was consuming every cocktail in the city with this delicious spirit and couldn't get enough.
That was in 2012 when Wigle was founded. Fast-forward to the present day, and all that has changed.
Gi-Jin, a gin, sashimi, and handroll bar in downtown Pittsburgh, is the latest concept from Richard DeShantz. If you've been to any of his other restaurants, you know that they are borderline over-the-top in their theming and ambiance while also delivering consistently amazing food and service: Gi-Jin is no exception.
The striking dragon mural and wood decor, high quality and creative sushi, and impeccable service all combine for one of the best sushi-eating experiences we've had in Pittsburgh.
Is there anything better than home-cooked family recipes from around the world? We can think of no greater joy than finding an international restaurant in the city with homemade dishes using traditional recipes.
As far as Pakistani and northern Indian cuisine is concerned, you'll get just that at Kabab & Curry on Banksville Road. And apart from feasting on their massive menu, you'll do well to talk to the owners here to get to know a bit of their family history as well!
But before diving into the food, we have one word of warning here- the menu is massive. You're going to need several visits to this one to try it all.
Note: I visited Kabab & Curry as a guest of the restaurant with a few fellow food bloggers/Instagrammers in the city. As part of this, we were able to taste our way around a good cross-section of the menu with far more dishes sampled than in our normal restaurant outings. As such, this one is oriented a little differently than our traditional reviews as we have about three or four meals' worth of food to discuss here.
The Tryp Hotel opened in Lawrenceville in 2019 and had a few unique features about it. First, it is found in a former school. Second, it is the first hotel to open in Lawrenceville (something that was much needed). Finally, it is home to not one, but two on-site restaurants and bars with one having an incredible rooftop patio looking out over the city!
We were fortunate enough to be able to stay at the Tryp Hotel as guests of the property, and during the course of our stay got a chance to try out the rooftop bar (Over Eden) as well as the first-floor restaurant (Brick Shop).
In this one, we wanted to share a bit about what you could expect with these as they can truly be paired up for a one-two punch.
Whenever we think of dining in the Cultural District of downtown Pittsburgh, our thoughts tend to go to the high-end restaurants that have a reservation waitlist on the order of weeks or months.
While there are restaurants in the area where you can walk in and get a seat with ease, these are becoming less and less common as higher-end restaurants open in the area. As such, we always think this part of downtown could use more approachable spots to balance out the options for those who do not want to plan that far in advance or pay an arm and a leg in the process.
Thankfully, the Cincinnati-based fried chicken restaurant known as The Eagle opened up in the heart of the Cultural District and checks a lot of boxes for us- most notably that, at the time of their grand opening at least, 50% of their seats are kept open for walk-ins!
We had the chance to check this one out at their soft open for friends & family night (thanks to our friends Bold Pittsburgh) and share more in this review!
We're suckers for a good wine bar, and it didn't take long after 23rd & Vine opened in Pittsburgh's South Side for us to make it in for a couple of flights of wine.
While this one is heavily tilted to a few regional producers in Italy and California, we have to admit we loved the variety in the wine list here and can see returning many, many times in the future.
There are a number of reasons to love Levity Brewing in Indiana, PA.
First off, they make stellar beer (really all that matters for a brewery). Second, you can round out your visit with food to make a meal out of it. Finally, and perhaps most interesting to us beyond the brews, is that they are located just steps off of the 10-mile Hoodlebug Trail and a short drive from the trailhead for the Ghost Town Trail in Black Lick.
So if you need reasons to make a day out of it when making the hour drive to the brewery, well, you've got some great options to consider!
If you've spent any amount of time on our site, you may have seen our review for Oishii Bento in Oakland. This small restaurant in the heart of the neighborhood serves up an array of bento box creations as well as other Japanese staples with decent portion sizes at an amazing price point.
So when the team behind that restaurant announced a new concept, Oishii Donburi in Lawrenceville, we were in.
While this one serves up an array of traditional Japanese menu items, we also found some of our favorites from Korea on the menu as well- all for the same great price point we love from Oishii Bento!