Although banh mi sandwiches have been trendy for a while now and regularly pop up on all sorts of menus around the city, there are relatively few restaurants in the city solely dedicated to Vietnamese cuisine. Enter Banh Mi and Ti in Lawrenceville, a cute new spot with a self-explanatory name.
Eat & Drink
Altius Pittsburgh Review – Fine Dining With a View
Altius on Grandview Ave in Mt Washington is a relative newcomer to the fine dining scene in Pittsburgh set among establishments such as Le Mont and Monterey Bay Fish Grotto.
With all of these restaurants, you're understandably paying a premium for the Pittsburgh city views, so we recently dined at Altius to see if the food and experience was worth the cost.
Taiwanese Bistro Cafe 33 Review – Holding Its Own in Squirrel Hill
We're slowly working our way through the plethora of Asian restaurants in Squirrel Hill, and on our most recent trip we found ourselves at Taiwanese Bistro Cafe 33.
This spot on Shady Ave. right next to Starbucks is housed in what used to be the neighborhood laundromat, and it serves up a huge menu that's a mix of Taiwanese food as well as Americanized Chinese food.
With stiff competition just steps away, we wanted to find out how this one stacks up.
Piccolo Forno Review- Tuscan Cuisine in Lawrenceville
Piccolo Forno in Lawrenceville is a rustic Italian restaurant serving up wood-fired pizzas and pastas.
This place has been around for over 12 years, meaning they were in Lawrenceville before Lawrenceville was cool. We hadn't visited in several years, so we were eager to see if it was still as good as we remembered. In short? Yes!
Onion Maiden Review – Vegan Food and Heavy Metal
Onion Maiden closed for dine-in service in March 2023, but has frequent weekend take-out popups. This review is from an in-person experience prior to closing the dining room.
Vegan restaurants seem to be popping up all over Pittsburgh nowadays, and even though we're not vegan in the slightest, we have really been enjoying these new spots like Onion Maiden in Allentown.
I've always thought it takes more creativity and skill to make restaurant-worthy vegan dishes than meat dishes, and Onion Maiden definitely gets this right.
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.
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.
Acacia Review – A Fabulous Speakeasy in South Side
In a neighborhood where it would seem almost impossible for a business to be hidden away, especially one that serves alcohol, the South Side cocktail bar known as Acacia is just that.
Ringing true to their speakeasy theme, this spot should be on your list of places to seek out in the city if you are in the mood for a superb drink.
If you can find it, that is.
Golden Pig Review – Korean Food Worthy of the Drive
Golden Pig is a hole-in-the-wall Korean joint in Cecil, PA, that has pretty much everything you'd expect from such an establishment: super welcoming owners that will treat you like one of the family, delicious Korean food made from scratch, and an abundance of kitschy pig knick knacks located just about everywhere.
The Harmony Inn Review – North Country Brewing and More
What do you get when you take a historic house in Harmony, PA that is said to be haunted, add in a German-inspired restaurant, and put on a draft beer list from one of the region's most acclaimed breweries? The Harmony Inn, that's what.
Although its location about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh is a bit of a drive for most, those who make the journey will be rewarded with an amazing dining experience that we go back time and time again to enjoy.