Pittsburgh Restaurant Suggestions
 

We will be staying in Pittsburgh the weekend of Feb 16th to attend a concert and are looking for some good casual restaurants to try. We are especially eager to try pizza in that area. Does anyone know if they have any New York style pizza places. Thanks for the help.

Can't help with pizza but can heartily recommend Mallorca - great Spanish food http://www.mallorcarestaurant.com/

Where are you staying? Will you have a car? There are several good pizza places, but what do you mean by New York style? Is that thin crust? Crispy? Narrow down the area of the city and I'll give you some suggestions.

Kristen

We will be staying in Bridgeville(its about 10-15 min from the city) from the 16th until the 18th, but we plan on eating in Pittsburgh. It doesnt really matter where in the city the restaurants are, we are looking forward to trying different places. New York style pizza is a thin to medium crust that is cut into triangular shaped pieces that can be folded or bent when you eat it. It is my favorite type of pizza! We will be going to a concert at Mellon Arena on the 17th. Any suggestions you have would be appreciated!

Yes, we will have a car.

Hi:

Not a whole lot right in Bridgeville, Armstrong's has a pretty decent take-out only Italian menu and Burgh's has good wings. The night of the concert, eat before you head to Mellon Arena, there isn't much around there at all and the limited choices are always packed because pickings are so slim. Park in the Chatham Center garage for a more rapid egress and it is indoor parking.
Pizza: Fiori's on West Liberty Ave (corner of Capital near the busway ramp) is awesome! Total hole in the wall (neighborhood is Brookline) would be a good place to stop before the concert if you took Route 19 in instead of the parkway. Il pizziola is in Mt. Lebanon. They have wood oven pizza "gourmet" type of pizza which I really like. Also good pastas and a great antipasta (get the miso if you go). Mineo's in Dormont has good pizza, but don't try a salad unless all you want is iceberg lettuce- truly a pizza and hoagie joint. Most of the crusts around here are a little thicker than you are describing but Mineo's or Fiori's should be good.

The Southside is a fun neighborhood with a large selection of restaurants. This is where Mallorca, mentioned in a previous post, can be found. Nakama has really good sushi. Tom's Diner is good for breakfast or late night. The Pittsburgh Steak Company has good food that isn't outrageously priced. Kassab's is a good Middle Eastern Place. Fat Head's and Piper's Pub are 2 bars that have good sandwiches and bar type food. These are all right on Carson Street.

If you want a casual place with a killer view of the city head to The Grandview Saloon on Mt. Washington. Most of the Mt. Washington Restaurants are expensive and formal, but not this one. If you want expensive try Isabella's for Italian or Monteray Bay Fish Grotto fro seafood.
The Strip district is another nieghborhood with character. Primanti Brothers original place is here (there are also locations in Oakland and on the South Side.) An artery clogging Pittsburgh tradition (sandwich with fries on it). Lydia's is good Italian, Eleven is good, but expensive.

I tried to name local places but we have most of the chains. . . there is a Cheescake Factory on the Southside, PFChang's at the waterfront, the Melting Pot at station square...also at Station Square is Bar Louie, Houlihan's (I love the smore dessert and the martini sampler), Red Star Brewery and the Hard Rock Cafe.

Page me if you have any more specific questions. Hope this was helpful.
Kristen

I'll second Fiori's for pizza! Agree it is a total hole in the wall but they have great pizza and italian hoagies.

Is Vinvents still around? I remember great pizza there, but definitly not NY style? It was in Penn Hills or vicinity.

Vincents, not vinvents. guess my fingers are still numb from the sub zero temps here!

I have to be honest, I've been to Mallorca twice and hated it both times(snobby waitstaff, fruit flies everywhere both times, a "medium" steak came to us BURNT, and you sit thisclose to the next tables).
Fiori's is good but definitely not NY style. I actually can't think of any place I've had NY style pizza in Pgh.
There's a restaurant in the Marriott, the Steelhead Grill, right by Mellon Arena. I've never been but I'm going on Sat. You could also try the cultural district downtown for restaurants(culturaldistrict.org has good info).
South Side is cool--you could drive down East Carson from 10th st. to about 27th st. and see if any restaurants strike your fancy.
Kristen has good suggestions but I'll add the Georgetown Inn in Mt. Washington--it's a little more upscale than the Grandview Saloon but not too fancy and you can't beat the view. Neither place has the best food in the world, but the location is the draw.

Enjoy your stay in the burgh!

Thanks for all of the suggestions! Does anyone have a web site or phone # for Fioris Pizza or 11 Pizziola, any help would be appreciated!

I hope this isn't too late for you.

Fiori's is 412-343-7788 - I've had that one memorized for 25 years!

IL Pizziola is 412-344-4123. And it is not 11 it is eye-el. Pronounced ill. If that helps. More of a nice restaurant with an outdoor courtyard which I know you won't use this weekend.

Thanks for all of the suggestions! We ate dinner at il Pizzaiolo and the pizza we had was excellent! It reminded us of the pizza we had in New York City.Next time we are going to try the pasta. I highly reccommend them!