When it comes to drinking and dining north of Pittsburgh, Harmony and Zelienople are standing out with a wealth of options. These unassuming boroughs have become a bit of a hub in recent years for new breweries, restaurants, cafes, and more- with spots opening up all the time.
Los Mayas opened up in Harmony to fill the void of delicious Mexican cuisine and rocks it with their robust menu that will have you going back again and again just to get through it all.
The Nutcracker is a classic ballet that is a Christmas tradition for many. With familiar music, hundreds of colorful and dramatic costumes, and a story full of wonder, it's easy to see why this ballet keeps people returning to performances year after year.
The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre has been performing The Nutcracker for decades, and yet each year there are new twists to enjoy.
The Laurel Highlands in southwest PA is a hub of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, and Polymath Park in Acme, PA, takes things one step further with their on-site, Wright-inspired restaurant- Treetops.
As we are always down for fine dining in unusual locations and the Wright architecture experience in the region at large, you know we had to check this one out to see what it is all about.
If you've read other articles on our site, you'd likely know by now that we are a bit wine crazy. Not only are we visiting all of the best Pittsburgh wine bars and local wineries, but we also have taken many wine certification classes through the global program WSET (Jeremy is working on Level 4, Angie has completed WSET Level 2) and even run our own wine blog as a side project.
We trace this love affair with wine back to one particular source, the wine school Palate Partners in Lawrenceville where we've visited for many of their informal First and Third Friday tastings over the years (it is also where we took our WSET Level 2 class as they are authorized instructors for some levels of the program).
The informal tastings are great for those who want to get into wine because they are relaxed and take a somewhat high-level discussion into the wines you are sampling. You don't have to know anything at all about wine to have a great time at these. But for those who want to go a bit deeper, but perhaps not into certification level, Palate Partners offers a number of other themed classes to try out each month as well.
We recently were guests of Palate Partners for a Super Tuscan class, and thought it'd be fun to share a bit more about what the focused lessons are like!
Note: ScareHouse is on hiatus in 2024, but will be offering a few themed experiences like the basement and others this year. We expect ScareHouse to return in full in 2025.
If you're looking to get scared silly during Halloween in Pittsburgh, the city has a number of options for you.
But we have to be honest in saying that we're not ones to get excited about haunted attractions. We can appreciate the work and attention to detail that goes into making a haunt, but we're not rushing to get in line to get spooked, either.
So when we found that ScareHouse offers behind the scenes, lights on tours on select days during their operating season, we were in.
It really is hard to beat any view you can get of the Pittsburgh skyline. We've found views of our gorgeous city from just about every angle you can think of from on the hills, along the river trails, on the water, and more.
But there is one view that is hard to get without some extra assistance, and that is seeing the skyline from the air. When we fly in and out of Pittsburgh International Airport, we always hope for a quick flyby of the city to capture some photos, but the quality of which is often hit-or-miss from our cell phones (and of course, a flyby is never guaranteed, either).
Thankfully, in 2021 a new tour company opened offering customized helicopter flights over Pittsburgh- Vortex Helicopter Services operating out of Finleyville Airport. If you are looking to capture a unique vantage point over the city, this tour is a must.
Note: I was invited to fly as a guest of Vortex Helicopter Services as part of a 30-minute media tour over the city. As always, all opinions are my own.
As supporters of all things local, it should not be a surprise that we buy our meats and vegetables from area farms as best we can. This includes CSA subscriptions in the summer months, weekly visits to farmer's markets throughout the city, and buying bulk meat orders to fill our deep freezer from time to time as well.
While we are not writing this post to get into the ethical debate on meat-eating outright, we do believe that it is important to know where your meat comes from and that the animals are treated as humanely as possible along the way. By shopping at local farms, we are often able to see all of this first hand!
Naturally, when we started shopping for local meats, Birch Creek Farmery in Burgettstown, PA, quickly came on our radar. It didn't take long after looking at their website to realize that the family who runs the farm have values similar to ours in this regard, and we've become devoted customers ever since (including even visiting the farm for a wine dinner in the past as well).
Cut to a few years later, and the team (now friends) at Birch Creek Farmery invited us out for a proper farm tour to see how they raise their animals. As these tours are open to the public as well, we thought it'd be fun to share a bit more about what the experience is like!
Note: Birch Creek Farmery said that tours can be customized a bit for your interests. Want to spend more time petting and feeding animals? They can do that. Want to learn more of the technical details that go into farming? They can do that too. We opted for a general tour which involved a long walk around the property to see as many animals as possible. Be sure to dress accordingly in long pants and shoes you don't mind getting muddy!
Lorelei is another stellar bar concept operated by the team behind Independent Brewing Company and Hidden Harbor in Squirrel Hill.
But rather than adding into their collection of bars at the corner of Forbes and Shady Avenue, this one is located in the heart of East Liberty– bringing a much welcomed addition to the neighborhood's drinking scene.
We were recently invited out by the team at Lorelei to check out the new space, and share our thoughts in this full review! (Note that this review has been updated to reflect additional visits that we made on our own as well.)
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.