NorthSide

Mike’s Beer Bar Celebrates All Things Locally Made Beer

When we go out to bars in the city, we are often dismayed about how little our Pittsburgh brewery scene is represented on draft lists. In the many, many bars we have visited, it seems like local brews are generally overlooked for larger and more nationally known craft brewers.

This is, on its own, not necessarily a bad thing- we still can find a great craft beer either way. But this viewpoint comes about as we live in a region with nearly 100 breweries within an hour of downtown, and with that kind of stock, you would think more places would carry them as a focal point on the menu!

Enter Mike's Beer Bar on the North Shore. This one may look like just another bar near PNC Park, but is one that elevates their offering with over 80 beers on tap, a monster can selection (500+ bottles), and, perhaps the best part, almost all of them are local!

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Acrisure Stadium Concerts – Is The Venue Worth It for a Show?

There are conventional tours at amphitheaters like Star Lake. Then there are larger stadium tours, like concerts at PNC Park. And then there are the biggest, most outrageous stadium tours for the world's most famous performers.

In Pittsburgh, only one venue is large enough for an event of this size, and Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field) concerts have historically attracted acts like Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, Beyonce, U2, and perhaps the most legendary of them all, The Rolling Stones- who we finally got to see at the stadium in 2021.

So in this one, we thought we'd share a bit about what the show was like, thoughts on the seating and sound at the stadium, and other venue-specific points you may want to keep in mind!

Note: Photos in this one were taken at various focal lengths with our phone. True-to-view shots as seen from our seats will be noted in the captions. 

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PNC Park Concerts – Is The Venue Worth It for a Show?

We always have a bit of apprehension when it comes to stadium concerts in Pittsburgh, and the Hella Mega Tour featuring Weezer, Fall Out Boy, and Green Day at PNC Park in 2021 was no different.

The reason for this is not specific to PNC Park outright (a stadium we absolutely love particularly for its views of the city), but rather that most sports stadiums are simply not the best for concerts from a viewing perspective. The stages are generally set up in the outfield and are rather far away from the bulk of the seats which inherently makes for less-than-stellar views outside of the pit.

As it turns out, we ended up really liking our experience at PNC Park and would gladly return for a future show as the vibe, sound, and views of the city more than made up for the views of the stage outright.

So in this one, we wanted to share a few things to keep in mind before buying tickets to PNC Park concerts!

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The Roundabout Popup is a Relaxing Beer Garden on the Ohio River

The Roundabout Popup Closed Permanently in 2024. East End Brewing will be taking over starting at the end of May 2024; however, we have not visited to yet to see if there are any differences from our previous review.

We regularly lament the lack of riverfront drinking options in Pittsburgh, and whenever a new space comes out onto the scene we try and get as much of it as we possibly can.

One of the longest-running riverfront beer gardens comes from the (now former) Lawrenceville-based brewery, Roundabout, and is the kind of urban oasis we absolutely adore. But to enjoy this one, you're not going to be heading to the Allegheny River in Lawrenceville, but rather the Ohio River in Chateau (just steps from Bicycle Heaven)!

It really is hard to beat this one on a hot summer night. 

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Fig & Ash Review – Wood-Fired Dining Exceeding All Expectations

If you pay attention to restaurant opening news like we do, odds are good you've been anticipating Fig & Ash in the North Side for quite some time. This restaurant was on the books for over 3 1/2 years before finally opening for business in late 2020. 

In that time they won Pittsburgh's Sandwich Sampler event not once, but twice (one of which we were fortunate enough to try), received a fair bit of press coverage, and even gutted the entirety of the restaurant space to make way for their indoor fire pit.

Naturally, we went to this one as soon as it opened!

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A 5-Mile Walking Tour of Pittsburgh to See 17 Highlights

When we visit cities around the world as travelers, one of the first things we do is figure out a grand walking tour in order to get a feel for the city. We generally take anywhere from a half-day or full-day to do these self-guided city tours and really love checking things out on foot.

Until now, we had never put together one of these guides for Pittsburgh as our 90 neighborhoods often make it difficult to get around and see them all. Still, the neighborhoods in and around the central business district in downtown Pittsburgh have quite a lot to see and many of these spots are on the radar of those visiting Pittsburgh for the first time as well as long-time residents.

So in this one, we wanted to share what we consider to be the ultimate walking tour of downtown Pittsburgh! This walking tour covers five miles in the North Side, downtown Pittsburgh, Mount Washington, and Station Square and has 17 unique highlights worth checking out. 

So put your walking shoes on and get to exploring this beautiful city!

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Boarding a Tench Class Submarine at the USS Requin

Not every city can boast that they have their own submarine, which makes the USS Requin at the Carnegie Science Center one of Pittsburgh's most unusual attractions (and a personal favorite).

Visitors to this one can explore the submarine as either part of the Carnegie Science Center ticket or with an a la carte ticket in order to learn more about what life was like on a mid-20th century submarine!

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VegFest Serves Up Vegan Fare and Themed Products at This Festival

Sometimes we visit festivals after doing minimal research, if only because we want to take things in without any preconceived thoughts on what it should be like.

We can safely say we did this for the Pittsburgh VegFest (which takes place in the North Side each August) because we only learned of one very interesting point just before arriving- this one is a vegan festival.

This little detail only made the event better.

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Southern Tier Pittsburgh Offers an Array of Options on the North Shore

Southern Tier Pittsburgh is one of a handful of breweries that did not originate in the city but expanded here due to the producer's popularity in the region.

Originally from New York, this brewery expanded into Pittsburgh in early 2017 and has been a popular spot in the North Side ever since. While we are often frequent visitors to this brewery for the beer, we were recently invited out as guests of the brewery to try more and to sample a bit of the food menu as well.

As a result, this guide to the brewery was born!

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