everest's pittsburgh guide
food -
thai gourmet - cheap family run spot, byob if you want, enormous portions
noodlehead - cash only hip spot with actually delicious noodles despite the kind of silly vibe
millies - fancy ice cream
salem's - great halal counter service
kyoto teppanyaki - a very sweet and tasty japanese place. not that cheap but not that expensive either.
all india - foods only okay, but they do a buffet until 1 am on the weekends which is honestly v rare here
sree's foods - cash only counter service veggie indian lunch spot downtown, its a steal for the price and charming
bitter ends - farm to table breakfast spot
azorean - portuguese breakfasts
bloomfield farmers market- sat mornings 9 - 1 in the summer
east end food co-op- just a food co-op
schezwan gourmet - fucking killer schezwan food. get the mixed veggie hotpot ! or anything else
taiwanese cafe bistro 33 - yummy taiwanese food
everyday noodle - i never eat here bc not much gluten free, but friends say their soup dumplings are very good
bar marco - fancyish brunch and dinner spot. but no tips (service is all included) so cheaper than you'd expect at the end
spice island tea house - malasian and thai in a cozy space
kavsar halal - a tasty uzbeki restaurant up on mt washington
don't get tacos in pittsburgh, but if you must, baby loves tacos is fine (its like, bbq cauliflour and stuff) OR go to Las Palmas in oakland and hope the guy is outside w the grill
this city is famous for pierogies, sandwiches, and pizza but i can't eat any of those things so i can't recommend anywhere in particular
drink -
apteka (5 - 10 pm weds + thurs, 5- mid fri-sun), nice cocktails and vegan polish food (better than it sounds). sit in the garden till 10, or weekends inside for good djs. good vibe
ace hotel - gentrifying garbage people, but one of the only quiet bars open till 2 around (not quiet on weekends tho)
kelly's - decent food + okay drinks, old-school vibe
brillobox - also serves late-night food, lightly warhol themed. cool in 2010, hasn't changed
tina's - stiff basic cocktails. very straight but a cute interior and chill booths if you're there early. negronis on special.
de fer - coffee shop w cocktails in the afternoon. in the strip district
over eden - the only real rooftop bar in town
bar botanica - fancy cocktails
squirrel hill cafe - extremely smokey old school dive. bad fried food, but classic pittsburgh
sonny's - s/a
p town - gay bar dive
blue moon - same as above
coffee / tea-
constellation coffee - austere and peaceful vibe, excellent drinks. only open till 5
convive coffee - open till 9 most days (for now) in lawrenceville. small but nice
adda - good drinks (pea blossom matcha latte is beautiful and /blue/), generally nice to work in but busy on weekends
kaibur - also serves food, its the punk-oriented shop
artisan - coffeeshop below / sharing space w a tattoo parlor and it has those vibes
ineffable ca phe - vietnamese coffe + bubble tea place, also serves bahn mi
commonplace coffee- multiple locations, just your basic good espresso folks in sort of sterile surrounds
dobra - very weird vibes but one of the only places that makes actually good tea if you want something sit-down
rose tea cafe - bubble tea & food, get the oolong tea imo
fuku tea- S/A
books-
big idea bookstore - the anarchist bookstore also serves coffee. good selections
caliban books - amazing store but has been embroiled in a rare book theft scheme for years so idk, maybe don't buy there? or do??
copcetic comics - indie comic store in polish hill
white whale - a curated store of mostly new books
church-
first unitarian church, first united methodist church, and st andrew lutheran church all have good politics
party-
first friday art crawl - art crawl all up and down penn ave on first friday of the month. bunker projects, likelike, + pullproof are always worth checking out.
hot mass saturday night / sunday morn, queer-friendly dance party 1 am to 6 am. $15-$20 cover includes open bar, but bring tips. gets weird but maybe in a cool way? idk
jellyfish - queer dance party at p-town, a classic gay bar. way more tame than hot mass
drag at blue moon
rowhouse cinema plays 4 curated movies a week in a converted rowhouse. you can bring beer from next door and they have drafts & great popcorn at the counter.
banjo night at the elks lodge is wednesdays, its kind of amazing? 10-30 person banjo orchestra and cheap drinks. idk how queer/weirdo friendly they are, i always go w a big enough group that theres a buffer
thursday is adult night at the roller rink
collision pgh - DIY venue in the east end that hosts experimental music mostly
mr smalls - the bigger venue that has interesting artists through
'culture' -
phipps conservatory - lovely glasshouse w flowers
mattress factory - multi-floor art installation museum
the warhol - if you are a warhol fan
reliquary - largest collection of relics outside the vatican. go, its wild
miller gallery - on cmu campus musuem. always free.
carnegie main library - a wild old-school giant libary. worth it for the architecture
carnegie museums - art + science, admission will get you into both. the dinosaurs are good
the national aviary - if you like birds, they've got em
allegheny observatory - has star parties on friday nights in the summer
pittsburgh cultural district galleries - lots of small spaces downtown. wood street gallery has a tech focus
the frick fine arts museum - very weird historic money collection, but it is free
nature -
frick park- miles and miles and miles of hiking trails, good mushrooming
allegeny cemetary - my favorite place to relax, calm and cool
the river - have a drink on 'the buttons' (old cement barge sidings), or walk the river trail
mt washington - go up and get that good city view in. ride the incline (a public city transit hill car!) up for the full city experience
neighborhoods you might go to -
my house is in friendship. cut up victorians, grad students, nurses, and professors who own homes mostly honestly. not much going on in friendship proper, but close to everything
bloomfield (libery ave + past) is the old italian neighborhood
polish hill is traditionally polish, obvs, also the old punks live there
shadyside is mostly for rich people and fancy gays. they have the apple store.
east liberty is gentrification. where the whole foods and target is and also ace hotel. honestly the vibe is w e i r d but the architecture is interesting
highland park is a old-money neighborhood thats maybe gotten barely cheaper over time? the zoo is there
the strip - food markets and, recently, robotics companies. normal people go here to party after 8 pm or so
lawrenceville - its okay. some cool stuff to do and also some annoying folks. very 'cute'. the good cinema is here, also bowling
point breeze - for rich people who only have authentic mid century modern furniture
squirrel hill - historic jewish neighborhood, also a lot of international grad students and campus-oriented shops
oakland/north oakland- the student neighborhoods
garfield - across penn ave from friendship. kind of a mix of early stage gentrification and strong communities who own their homes? also lots of diy spots/galleries
regent square - pittsburgh tax haven for middle-upper middle class folks & old hippies.
wilkinsburg - the actual township regent square is a part of
braddock- similar to above, but for some reason full of 'social practice' vibe artists?
AVOID the southside on anything but mon + tues after 4 pm, its just a bar crawl
the northside - some cool old houses, lots of museums - warhol, mattress factory, randyland, bicycle museum, chilren's museum. a nice coffee shop or two. otherwise its p quiet
downtown ?? idk i never go there basically? thats where conferences are. theres some galleries. wood street, 937, SPACE, and future tenant show contemporary work.
this forum is a gem, people still use it to talk local gossip like its 2009 --> http://nevertellmetheodds.org/