Oakland

Spirits & Tales Review – Elevated Dining With a View in Oakland

Spirits and Tales is a modern brasserie-style restaurant on the top floor of The Oaklander hotel. The restaurant holds it own, though, and is more than just a place to eat while staying at the hotel. With craft cocktails, seasonal house made pasta and entrees, and stunning views, it's a destination in its own right for some solid upscale dining in the Oakland neighborhood.

We have dined at Spirits and Tales a few times, but most recently when we were staying at the hotel as guests of the property. On a week night during the Christmas holiday season it was packed full, so we ended up sitting at the bar. A reservation is a good idea here, especially on the weekend and during the holidays.

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Phipps Conservatory’s Winter Flower Show – Holiday Magic

When it comes to holiday festivities, one of the best places in Pittsburgh to visit is Phipps Conservatory. Their winter flower show, which typically begins the Friday before Thanksgiving and runs until early January, is a celebration of the holiday season with festive art pieces, an array of gorgeous winter flowers, and some of the most beautifully decorated Christmas trees in Pittsburgh.

The 2024-2025 flower show is themed Holiday Magic and takes an elegant look at all things Christmas. With traditional decorations and subtle design elements, this one is simply beautiful.

As members of the conservatory, we got the chance to visit early in the season (running until January 5th, 2025) and wanted to share a few of our favorite rooms here!

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Latin American Cultural Center Showcases a Vast History

The Latin American Cultural Center is part of an outreach initiative put on by the Latin American Studies Association that has called Pittsburgh home since the 1980s.

The group's headquarters can be found in a beautiful and historic building right in the heart of Oakland, and features a modest exhibition space sharing the history and culture of Latin America, a theater space for performances, periodic temporary exhibitions, and more!

So while a visit to this one can be quite brief, if you are looking for a unique museum right in the heart of the city, don't overlook this one!

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JJ Poke Bowl Review – Fast Casual Poke in Oakland

Oakland is becoming a hub of excellent fast casual dining for the large college student, hospital, and office crowd in the neighborhood, and we're always finding new gems on every visit.

JJ Poke Bowl is one such restaurant and focuses on all things poke and Taiwanese bubble tea with large portions, great flavor, and, perhaps best of all, a rather attractive price point!

So if you're looking to feast on seafood for less, don't overlook this great little restaurant right in the heart of Oakland!

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Phipps Conservatory’s Summer Flower Show – Under the Sea

The summer shows at Phipps Conservatory are always bright and vibrant, and 2024's Summer Flower Show goes nautical with the theme Under the Sea!

Check out aquatic sea life, join scuba divers exploring the deep, and more in this absolutely beautiful show.

As with all flower shows at Phipps Conservatory, we do not like to give away what you can see at all the rooms. So in this one, we wanted to share a few of our favorites. To see the rest, well, you'll have to visit for yourself!

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Phipps Conservatory’s Spring Flower Show – A Closer Look

As the cold of winter begins to leave Pittsburgh, there is one thing we always look forward to in order to ring in the start of spring – Phipps Conservatory's Spring Flower Show!

2024's Spring Flower Show has the theme “A Closer Look” and invites you to get a closer view of the flowers than you have before!

We visited this one shortly after the show opened and wanted to share some of our favorite rooms and exhibits with you today. As with all of our museum posts, we're only sharing a selection of our favorites because you truly must visit for yourself to experience it all!

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Phipps Conservatory for the Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show

The Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show, aptly themed “Into the Mist” for 2024, brings these two beautiful plants (both favorites of ours) to the forefront of the Conservatory while highlighting how some of the flowers with special water features and lighting.

As always with our show features, we wanted to share a few of our favorite rooms from this show and hope you'll make it out to visit for yourselves!

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Phipps Conservatory’s Fall Flower Show – Hometown Harvest

Phipps Conservatory is known for being one of the largest botanical gardens in the region, and also for its seasonal flower shows that are truly events not to be missed.

For 2023's Fall Flower Show, Phipps is celebrating all things harvest with the theme Hometown Harvest. From beekeeping to grape growing, apples to the harvest moon, there really are a number of gorgeous harvest designs in this one!

As with all of our show reviews, we're not going to share every room in the Conservatory (you'll have to visit yourself to see them all!). Instead, we're going to feature a few of our favorite rooms from the show to highlight a cross-section of the displays!

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K-Town Snack Bar Review – Mr. Bulgogi’s Calls Oakland Home

As far as Pittsburgh food trucks are concerned, it is hard to top the Korean truck, Mr. Bulgogi.

We've been enjoying this truck's delicious beef and spicy pork bulgogi bowls (plus ample mandu dumplings) at Pittsburgh breweries for years and always wondered when the owners would open up a permanent restaurant in the city as, let's be honest, we can always use more great Korean in Pittsburgh.

As it turns out, the answer was 2022 as the team here opened up K-Town Snack Bar right in the heart of Oakland. Even better? The menu here features many of the classics from the truck plus a few new dishes, all in a fast-casual setup that is sure to delight visitors to Oakland all the way to hungry college students looking for a quick meal on a budget.

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Petersen Events Center Concerts – Is The Venue Worth It?

When it comes to concerts in Pittsburgh, many venues have regular shows throughout the year. Some spots, like the Petersen Events Center, host concerts less frequently as this particular venue is primarily used for Pitt basketball games first and foremost.

But clocking in at about 12,000 seats, the Petersen Events Center is a serious stadium (roughly 2/3 the size of PPG Paints Arena) and does attract star talent periodically. While stadium performances are not typically our favorite, we have to admit we loved our show at this particular spot (Billy Strings) and have some thoughts on where to sit, what to consider before visiting, and what to avoid!

So if you plan to attend a concert at the Petersen Events Center soon, keep these tips in mind!

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