Hiking Dead Man’s Hollow for Factory Ruins and Nature

Dead Man's Hollow near McKeesport is a 450-acre park with approximately 8 miles of hiking trails. While this one could be considered a beautiful green space on its own right, there are actually a number of highlights you can see here when hiking as well!

We visited this one on a beautiful spring day and had a rather amazing time out in nature.

Read more

Shelly Pie Review – Large Pizzas in Turtle Creek

Whenever we share our Pittsburgh pizza roundup post, we often receive a ton of recommendations of where to go next. This is not surprising as Pittsburgh has one of the highest concentrations of pizza shops per capita of any metro area in the country. Naturally, this means our to-do list is quite large on the pizza front.

One shop that came up time and time again was Shelly Pie in Turtle Creek (just east of the city) and we decided to visit as quickly as possible to see why this one is so popular.

Read more

Big Rig’s BBQ Review – Tender Meats in Monroeville

We regularly get reader recommendations on where to go next. We try and go to all of them, but with the number of places we still have to visit it is hard to prioritize everything. When we hear the same recommendations over and over again, we know we have to hit those immediately, and Big Rig's BBQ in Monroeville was one such recommendation.

This barbecue spot opened in late 2019 and is making waves within the local community, so much so that we went to check it out just a few days after receiving the (admittedly large number of) recommendations to do so.

A few days was too long of a wait for this one.

Read more

Food Truck-a-Palooza – Pittsburgh’s Largest Food Truck Rally

We're always on the lookout for the best Pittsburgh food truck rallies, and we have to admit that our options for roundups of local food trucks are few and far between.

When they happen, they're often quite small. And when they're free, they often are too crowded or the trucks sell out of food in record time.

So it was with great excitement that we went out to the Monroeville Convention Center one Saturday in winter in order to check out the annual Food Truck-a-Palooza event- the largest food truck rally we've been to yet!

Read more

Mary’s Vine Review – A High-End Wine Bar in a Church

Mary's Vine is a high-end wine bar that opened in the Pittsburgh borough of Rankin in late 2019.

This one can be found in a converted church and provides an ambiance and wine selection that is truly unlike no other wine bar in the region.

So if strong attention to detail and an impressive (albeit expensive) wine selection is what you seek, a trip to Mary's Vine is a must.

Read more

The Headkeeper Review – A Small Plate Tapas in Greensburg

The Headkeeper is a popular tapas bar located in Greensburg, PA- just about an hour east of downtown Pittsburgh.

The restaurant is acclaimed for its small plates/tapas menu, but also comes along with a large seating area (including an impressive outdoor space), a modest draft list, over 600 bottles of beer available in cans/bottles, and a lot more!

I visited this one while exploring the area with Westmoreland Heritage, and share some thoughts on our meal and the restaurant as a whole in this one!

Read more

A Behind the Scenes Tour of The Palace Theatre in Greensburg

The Palace Theatre in Greensburg is a popular performing arts space that is known for its history as much as its world-class performers that take the stage each week.

While I am still looking for the perfect show to take in a performance at the theater, I was able to get in on a behind-the-scenes tour to check out more of the history of this iconic spot!

Read more

Barking Slopes Conservation Area Is a Quiet Spot East of Pittsburgh

Barking Slopes Conservation Area is a rather small park located near Oakmont and New Kensington, PA- about 40 minutes east of Pittsburgh.

The park is roughly 150 acres and is managed by the Allegheny Land Trust as a conservation and biological diversity area due to its unique geological features.

For the casual hiker, this one is not much different than other conservation areas in the region. But the park offers a nice hike out in nature with potential wildlife spottings all the same.

Read more