Coming to visit - best walkable bar neighborhood for 30-somethings?

[DowntownHarrisburg]

I just booked our hotel right off the redline. We'll definitely be spending a lot of time in Ohio City / Tremont, and we'll definitely check out University Circle.. It looks like most of what we want is within a half mile of a rail station, so that works perfectly. How's security on the rail? We know how to handle ourselves in a city, but are there any stops / times we should avoid? Since we'll be doing a lot of walking, are there any bad blocks in those areas we should avoid? Here in Harrisburg, the rule is that if you can see the river or the capital dome, you're in a generally decent part of town. Any similar rules of thumb for these areas?

Thanks again - very helpful stuff!

[osu4brutus03]

The Rapid Stations are pretty safe. You'll be just fine

[Cleveland_Collector]

Originally Posted by DowntownHarrisburg

Fantastic info! I'm really looking forward to Sokolowski's and the market. Velvet Tango Room and Great Lakes look right up our alley. Wonder Bar caught my attention too -- looks like they have some decent jazz acts coming up. All the info in this thread will definitely make picking out a hotel a lot easier - thanks for the input, everyone!

If you're a jazz fan, you might want to check out:

Nighttown, The Best Jazz Club and Restaurant in Cleveland

It's close to Little Italy and University Circle.

The sketchiest stretch on the Rapid is between E. 55th and E. 116th. The Rapid run is generally safe. There really aren't many reports of anything happening along it. I've never experienced anything even close to bad happening on any of the lines.

I have a map that I made of the "avoidance" areas. I'll post it later.

[Cleveland_Collector]

The areas outlined in red are the places I wouldn't bother with. The red highlighted areas are the sketchiest. The green highlighted area (Carnegie Ave., Euclid Ave., and Chester Ave.) is the best area to bridge E.55th through E. 79th. It's not really that bad. Actually, you may even want to stop at Gallucci's Italian market at E. 66th and Euclid Ave. if you're riding the Healthline.

http://tasteitaly.com/

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Thanks for the help, everyone! We drove out this past weekend and had a blast. We stayed out by the airport, within walking distance of the Puritas station on the red line. We didn't have to use our car from check-in to check-out, which was great. RTA was a piece of cake to manage, though getting out of Tower City was a challenge (the rail was out of service east of Tower City). I'm embarrassed to say we couldn't find an exit to the street! It was like we were trapped in some touristy nightmare!

We wound up spending most of our time in and around Ohio City and University Circle. We were both impressed at how friendly everybody was! People would actually spontaneously say "hi" or strike up conversation while they walked by. People even -- gasp -- would hold doors or stand to the side as they passed by. That doesn't happen much around here, and made things a lot more enjoyable.

Unfortunately we didn't get to do all we planned to do. Fortunately, this just means we'll be making a return trip later. Highlights of our trip had to be the West Side Market and Great Lakes Brewery. Some pics from our trip:



You guys sure do like your neon!



Sokolowski's was amazing. I really wanted to go behind the counter and just help myself, but I suspect they would have frowned on that. We walked in the back door, and there were no signs pointing to the service line. Apparently we looked perplexed, because a group at a nearby table pointed us in the right direction. Thanks to this forum, I have to tack on another five hours at the gym this week. But it was worth it!

Speaking of food, Great Lakes Brewery was a hit. We stopped by on Saturday afternoon and were told we'd have to wait about 45 minutes for a table. Never one to turn down dining at a brewpub, we went inside and got two pints at the bar. Barely ten minutes later, they called to let us know our table was ready. Awesome! I had the kielbasa with pierogies, and my girlfriend had the bleu burger. The burger was great. The kielbasa was good, but seemed just a touch bland. Not bad, but not remarkable. We topped it off with a "local sampler" platter.



That's an Edmund Fitzgerald in the foreground and a Holy Moses in the back.



We had this for breakfast at the West Side Market. Incredible:


t
We have a similar (but much smaller) market here called the Broad St Market. It's the oldest continually-operated market house in the US, and our usual choice for weekend dining. We were very happy that someone suggested West Side. We spent way too much time here. Bacon caramel and horchata fudge? That should be outlawed:



We spent quite a lot of time wandering around University Circle. Your region seems to have a real flair for contemporary architecture, and I was surprised at how affordable the housing was. These condos especially caught my eye:



We finished off our weekend with a stop in Little Italy. Breakfast at Presti's (which was PACKED) followed by some wandering around the area.



More images here if anybody wants to see: Index of /images


We had a great trip, and will definitely be coming back in the fall. Thanks again for all the recommendations and advice! Harrisburg is a much, much smaller metro, but anytime any of you are headed out this way, feel free to PM me for advice!

[DixieJo]

Along with DowntownHarrisburg, I wanted to thank you all, myself! Going in to this weekend, DH was being very secretive about his plans and warning me not to go on CityData. He surprised me with everything, and every spot we hit, every bite we ate, every sight we saw was completely perfect. Then I logged in and read this thread, and recognized all the place names.

So THANK YOU for your recommendations! We had a great time, and we're already making plans to come back out. Maybe even bring some others with us!

[costello_musicman]

dthb and dixiejo,

Thanks for sharing! Best posts of the year so far!!!

Those neighborhoods are my personally favorites. Ironically I was in both Ohio City and University Circle/Little Italy most of Saturday as well. We probably crossed paths and didn't know it! haha

If my girlfriend and I visit Harrisburg, we'll come to you for the needed suggestions.

I'm glad you were able to enjoy my fair city so much! Thanks for visiting.

[SteelCityRising]

I also want to thank you both for sharing your positive experiences with us all! My partner and I left Pittsburgh and visited Cleveland on St. Patrick's Day and had a very unpleasant excursion, but reading about how much fun you had is giving me hope that a return visit may prove to be more fruitful.

We'll be giving Cleveland a second chance after reading this thread.

[tribecavsbrowns]

That dish you ordered at the West Side Market cafe is the exact one I order there.