Weekend in Pittsburg
 

My husband and I are planning on taking a weekend break in Pittsburg March 23-24. We are going to Pittsburg because we live in a rural area and need a reminder of what cities are like. We enjoy art museums, great food and wine including ethnic restaurants and exploring interesting shops (not malls and not chain stores). Any suggestions for places to stay, things to see and do and places to eat?

I brought up a couple of old posts about Pgh for you..suggestions:1) Sheraton at Station Square and the shops there,Grand Concourse rest.and the Gateway Clipper boats and a dinner cruise on the river..2) Morning Glry Inn(B&B) on the South Side and do the South Side shuffle of bars and entertainment..you could go to the Carnegie Museum(close on Pitt campus in Oakland section)and the Cathedral of Learning intenational rooms ..also a Holiday Inn and few other Oakland hotels..3)downtown Pgh..Hilton,Ramamda,Mariott,etc..therest. is a Ruth`s Christ Steakhouse or a few others (Opus)ck out Pittsburgh.com for listings and click on Deb`s reviews..there is the Strip for shopping and bars and micro brews,entertainment ..have to stay at a downtown hotel..ck the post I brought up...then there is the North side..great German rest..Max`s Allegheny Rest.(not Max and Erma`s)..and the Aviary,The Carnegie Science Center&Imax,The Buhl Planeterium,Andy Warhol Mus.-The Matress Factory(art),etc.. 4) on top of Sataion Sq. is Mt Washington ,great rests.love the Grandview Saloon..great views up there and ride the incline..Monteray Fish,etc--ck pittsburgh.com for setions of town rest.--~~Jelly Rolls(dueling pianos-crazy place) is in Station Sq...this is a start for you

also have a unique place to stay in Pgh`s North side..it`s called the Priory..it`s and old church and Great Hall...think you can go to Priory.com~$115 to 150 is the price range.....and there is an old German beerhall(not far on Troy Hill section) called Penn Brewery great place..microbrew and German food and Oompah bands...

it`s:www.the priory.com ~ if you need more info, ask----also it`s Pittsburgh w an H....

Amy:<BR><BR>I'd suggest going to the Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History in Oakland. It is right near Craig Street, which has a restaurant called Star of India. They have a luncheon buffet for $7 or $8. There are small shops, like Irish shop, fancy gift shop, old bookstore, tea shop, etc. You could then go to Heinz Cultural Center in the Strip District (museum) and then go to Spaghetti Warehouse.<BR><BR>Second day you could go to the Aviary (birds) and Carnegie Science Center in the North Side. Station Square is a nice place to walk around in w/lots of specialty shops.

One more suggestion. Go to Shadyside shopping area. There is a Mexican restaurant called Cozumel. They have live entertainment on weekend nights and I believe people dance to it. My mom and brother rave about this place.<BR><BR>My suggestion for a place to stay in a Holiday Inn just off Fifth Avenue in Oakland. 15213 zip if you want to go to HI website.

"We enjoy art museums:" Carnegie Institute and Frick Museum. Allegheny Observatory on the the North Side is fun if it's open when you're there. There's also a science museum. If you haven't seen one, it might be worthwhile. The Sky show is entertaining. The Pgh. Playhouse might have something on. They have a very good national reputation. Samewith the symphony. <BR><BR>"great food and wine including ethnic restaurants:" Sorry, not in Pittsburgh. It's about the worst eating city around. Pittsbugh has almost no ethnic population, so you forget about that. Every year, Pizza Hut gets vpoted best pizza in town. That abiouyt says it all. You might try the Grand Concourse, to food is OK and place is spectacularly beatutiful. The best dinner in Pittsburgh, oddly enough, is seafood. Poli's in Squirrel Hill is a decent choice. Thank's to the state liquor control board, finding decent wine is not easy. <BR><BR>"Exploring interesting shops:" Not much in Pgh - it is a real meat and potatoes place. Ignore suggestions about Station Square. There is really very little there. The place is becoming a ghost town as business after business fails. There is a small shopping area near South Hills village with a lot of uppercrust shops. It's name escapes me. Might be the Galleria. The South side has some antique shops.<BR><BR>"Things to see and do and places to eat?" The basic Pittsburgh experiences are 1) go up the incline to Mt. Washington (but don't eat in any of the horribly over priced tourist traps there, although you might consider a drink at the Georegtown Inn to get the view), 2) The Strip. 3) The Point. Some people like the riverboat cruises. <BR><BR>

I'm not sure when the previous poster was last in Pittsburgh - if ever -- but s/he must not have explored much. I can't believe that anyone who's ever spent any time here could write that "Pittsbugh (sic) has almost no ethnic population." This city has one of the most ethnically diverse populations -- eastern European, Greek, Italian, Lebanese, Indian -- of any city its' size in the country. It has numerous universities and museums -- I would highly recommend the Warhol in addition to the others already mentioned. For interesting shops, head to Squirrel Hill and/or Craig Street, where (on both counts) you'll find lots of restaurants of all types - Union Grill on Craig is a personal favorite. The Strip District is amazing -- my brother regularly comes from DC to shop there -- lots of food purveyors, bakeries, pottery/cookware/funky stuff. Downtown, near the new Renaissance Hotel, there's a whole street of bistro-type restaurants -- again, Greek, Italian, Cuban; personal favorite is SouthWest Bistro. There's also (downtown) Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor for 'serious' shopping, and Kaufman's and Lazarus - nice department stores but might fall into your 'chain store' category. <BR><BR>A place we enjoy taking visitors for a drink at sunset - but not necessarily for dinner - is Monterey Bay Fish Grotto on Mt. Washington, -- their downstairs bar opens at 5 (I think) and has the same menu as the restaurant if you want an appetizer (412 481 4414). You might check out the downtown Marriott - their restaurant (Steelhead Grill) has been recognized recently in Bon Appetit as well as other national publications and, if you call the city's Convention & Visitors Bureau (412 281 7711 -- www.visitpittsburgh.com) I think they can make a discounted reservation for you, there or at several other locations.<BR><BR>I will agree that restaurants are sometimes 'iffy' - we've had some really good meals here, but it is not a stellar dining city for some reason.<BR><BR>Be sure to pick up a copy of the Post-Gazette if you get here on Friday to see the weekend entertainment/what's on guide.<BR><BR>Welcome -- Have a great time!

As mentioned above, head to Shadyside. It's a cool little area in a great, old neighborhood. Some neat little shops and restaurants.

A postscript to my previous reply: I don't know if you're interested in theatre, but the Pittsburgh Public Theatre's performance of 'Dinner With Friends' will be on then. Information:<BR>42 316 1600; www.ppt.org

Because Pittsburgh is one of the host cities for this weekend's NCAA events, the Post-Gazette put together a guide to the city for out-of-town visitors in today's Magazine section. You can find it online at http://www.postgazette.com/ae/20020315madness1.asp<BR><BR>And on the front page of the paper, you can read about the French architect who's been selected to design the addition to Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Museum -- the same guy who designed the Arab Institute in Paris.

<BR>Pittsburgh has tons of ethnic groups with strong identities! A friend's grandmother thought Squirrel Hill was ``yoost like Tele-viv'' (her home). Oakland has the best middle eastern food I've ever tried. I've also had great korean, polish, italian, and indian food. Go to the strip district (not as racy as it sounds) which is the wholesale food district of Pgh, full of amazing warehouse-type stores filled to the brim. Try a Wholey's fish sandwich and shop the giant cheese emporium.

The Carnegie Museum of Art and The Carnegie Museum of Natural History are housed in the same building, I don't know if they offer a combined admission. Although it's been years since I was there, I do remember that the Natural History Mueeum had an awesome mineral collection.<BR><BR>The Phipps Conservatory is located nearby, and is certainly worth a visit. According to their web site, their Spring Flower Show will be on while you are there.

Hi Amy,<BR>As a born & raised Pittsburgher, I feel obligated to tell you about a great lunch/late evening spot in the "strip district" called Primanti's where you can get the true taste of the city in a great selection of sandwiches. Try it when you want a huge fun meal! No glitz here...just true blue collar gourmet!

Pittsburghers don't get around much it seems. Ethnic diversity doesn't mean Bulgaria vs. Slovakia. For a big city, Pittsburgh is remarkably little touched by the wave of noneuropean immigrants. The immigrants bring their food with them. Try to find a decent Mexican, Indonesian, Jerk, Thai or Indian restaurant in Pittabugh. Or even Chinese. Forget it! <BR><BR>As a born raised Pgher, I know how defensive the locals are about the place. They are midwesterners trying to pretend to be easterners. They are still fighting off the image of the smokey city, the depressed town of the failed steel mills where the ignorant locals says things like "yinz goin to Sliberty?". When they want to portray the working class, they always set the movie in Pittsbugh. <BR><BR>The place is what is: not a city, but a bunch of neighborhoods that have changed little in 50 years. That's the charm, but it's also the limitation.

So, Amy, with trepidation I wonder how your weekend in Pittsburg-h went? A trip report, please?

X:<BR><BR>Hi bitter X. Have you ever heard of Cozumel? It's a Mexican restaurant in Shadyside w/a live band. There are 3 Indian restaurants in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh - my favorite is (Star of India). There is Ali Baba (Mid-Eastern) restaurant right next to Star of India. There is Yom Wok for Chinese/Thai food. All these are on North Craig Street in Oakland. You are probably too lazy for look for anything cultural because your so ignorant of what it is. By the way, maybe you should leave Pittsburgh since you have such a distain for it.<BR><BR>

Pittsburgh has really only 3 good things<BR>1. Mount Washington incline. 2. Sports- Pirates-Penguins-Steelers 3. Point state park- <BR>Shopping is pretty much non-existent and sporadic- city needs serious gentrification.

guess you haven`t hit a mall in Pgh...or downtown...there is tons of shopping//and the Robinson Town Center just added more...

My hubby is from the PittsburgH area. We go back regularly to visit the in-laws. I wouldn't TOUCH a Pizza Hut pizza in the Pgh area! Not with the abundance of 2nd and 3rd generation Italians in the area and all the little mom & pop pizza parlors! YUM!!! The reputation of Pittsburgh being nothing but a dirty steel mill town is about as appropriate today as the reputation of the South being nothing but red-neck and backwards. Unsubstantiated.<BR><BR>I have decided to start taking my children to something cool on each trip. We've been to the Carnegie Science Center, through the submarine, the University of Pittsburgh Sports Medicine (or whatever it's called - part of the Science Center), Christmas parade in downtown Pgh, the block house, Pointe Park, and the museum at Point Park. There is so much more to do in the area that we won't run out of activities for years. Years ago, I was in the area for a job interview and stayed at the William Penn hotel. Is it still nice? Station Square is the number one tourist attraction in the area. But I don't think I'm as interested in going there right as I would be going to the Mt. Washington Incline or the Strip District.<BR><BR>All this said and done, Pittsburgh is a GREAT place to visit. But ____ hasn't frozen over yet, so I won't be moving there.