Two foodies and music fans moving from Chicago for about 3 years (Pittsburgh: sale, apartments)

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by UKyank

Next time your around, check out the newish Carmella's Plates & Pints. Excellent beer & whiskey selection & their food is top notch (nice atmosphere too). Very happy for it's addition to the area.

ooo - Carmella's does look tasty. It's on the list for next time I have courage to venture over the Mon

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by Frenemies

Thanks! Any examples for the bars? We are Visiting in a month or so for apartment hunting, and would actually like to have some leisure time this time around.
Definitely sad to hear about the ethnic options though. Mexican and Chinese (authentic sze chuan/SW Chinese especially, Chengdu-style dumplings,etc) are some of our favorite go to's.
Really glad to hear that there are farm to table options in Pittsburgh, as we love going to those here in Chicago, too.

Shadyside was our first choice too, just based on research.

1947 Tavern in Shadyside has a nice whiskey selection, and a fine beer bar next door. Avenue B on the edge of Shadyside is a very fine bistro (and BYOB) with quality food.

Sichuan Gardens and How Lee in Sq Hill are excellent Szechuan food.

Butcher and the Rye in downtown (and it's older sibling d Potatoes) are both great bars with some really good food. The Porch at Schenley serves some very good food too, has an excellent atmosphere, and is right in the middle of the University campuses.

there's fun to be had around here - lots of choices

[sskink]

Originally Posted by Frenemies

Thanks! Any examples for the bars? We are Visiting in a month or so for apartment hunting, and would actually like to have some leisure time this time around.
Definitely sad to hear about the ethnic options though. Mexican and Chinese (authentic sze chuan/SW Chinese especially, Chengdu-style dumplings,etc) are some of our favorite go to's.
Really glad to hear that there are farm to table options in Pittsburgh, as we love going to those here in Chicago, too.

Shadyside was our first choice too, just based on research.

Much of the interesting restaurant/bar activity is in E. Liberty/Garfield, easy from Shadyside area. Lawrenceville also becoming a top destination for interesting food.

There is one good Szechuan place I can recommend, but it's in the North Hills burbs (China Star). Pittsburgh is getting better at noodles though (see Gortonator post above). Since you're a fan of Szechuan, have to warn you that among first things you'll note here is that Pittsburgh tends to tone down heat/spiciness across the board, regardless of cuisine.

You asked about bars with good food... it's a pretty long list. Bar Marco and Butcher and the Rye are personal favorites. The Pittsburgh Foodies thread is a good start. Also see Pittsburgh Magazine top restaurant lists.

Couple of links to get you started:
The 50 Best Drinks in Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Magazine - August 2013 - Pittsburgh, PA
Best Restaurants 2014 - Pittsburgh Magazine - June 2014 - Pittsburgh, PA

[ForYourLungsOnly]

Everyone has posted some solid advice. As someone who is from Pittsburgh went to college in Pittsburgh, and lived there after college for a few years before moving to Chicago (which I have now lived in for 3, almost 4 years), I have a decent grasp on both places. You seem to already understand that the number of options you will have for food/dining/entertainment will be far less than in Chicago. That should be obvious based on the sizes of each city. Pittsburgh has a decent scene for it's size though, and it won't be a bad place to spend 3 years.

As others have stated, your ethic options will drop drastically. This actually may be the biggest downgrade you'll encounter with your move as far as food goes (aside from a smaller number of places to choose from in general). The Mexican food in Chicago is top notch, and you just won't find a comparable scene in Pittsburgh (or most other American cities). You also won't find the interesting gastro places like Moto in Pittsburgh.

My favorite restaurant in Pittsburgh is Cure in Lawrenceville. I would also argue that Cure is the type of restaurant that Pittsburgh's "restaurant renaissance" is excelling best at. Farm to table cuisine that uses seasonal ingredients in interesting ways. You can sort of compare it to Girl and Goat or Purple Pig and restaurants like that in Chicago. The owner of Cure is also opening another spot in Lawrenceville that will focus on Tapas. Again, you won't have quite the quantity of good farm to table restaurants as you do in Chicago, but the quality is definitely there.

You won't find clubs like Neo or Smartbar in Pittsburgh, but Cava in the Strip District is ok sometimes.

The bar scene is decent in Pittsburgh, and definitely better than it was just 5 years ago. I prefer the Chicago bar scene because there is more variety, but you should be ok in Pittsburgh. Check out Sharp Edge or tour Wigle Whiskey distillery.

Brillobox is fun for smaller shows, but I think you will miss the Chicago music scene. Pittsburgh was sorely lacking a midsized venue until stage AE came around. It's your typical corporate LiveNation venue (see Lifestyle Communities pavilion in Columbus), but it has decent sound and will get good acts time to time.

I think you'll definitely enjoy your stay!

[Frenemies]

Originally Posted by sskink

There is one good Szechuan place I can recommend, but it's in the North Hills burbs (China Star). Pittsburgh is getting better at noodles though (see Gortonator post above). Since you're a fan of Szechuan, have to warn you that among first things you'll note here is that Pittsburgh tends to tone down heat/spiciness across the board, regardless of cuisine.

Interesting about toning down the spiciness. I will check out Everyday Noodles some time, but I don't know if I'd drive to the burbs for Chinese haha.

Originally Posted by ForYourLungsOnly

Everyone has posted some solid advice. As someone who is from Pittsburgh went to college in Pittsburgh, and lived there after college for a few years before moving to Chicago (which I have now lived in for 3, almost 4 years), I have a decent grasp on both places. You seem to already understand that the number of options you will have for food/dining/entertainment will be far less than in Chicago. That should be obvious based on the sizes of each city. Pittsburgh has a decent scene for it's size though, and it won't be a bad place to spend 3 years.

As others have stated, your ethic options will drop drastically. This actually may be the biggest downgrade you'll encounter with your move as far as food goes (aside from a smaller number of places to choose from in general). The Mexican food in Chicago is top notch, and you just won't find a comparable scene in Pittsburgh (or most other American cities). You also won't find the interesting gastro places like Moto in Pittsburgh.

My favorite restaurant in Pittsburgh is Cure in Lawrenceville. I would also argue that Cure is the type of restaurant that Pittsburgh's "restaurant renaissance" is excelling best at. Farm to table cuisine that uses seasonal ingredients in interesting ways. You can sort of compare it to Girl and Goat or Purple Pig and restaurants like that in Chicago. The owner of Cure is also opening another spot in Lawrenceville that will focus on Tapas. Again, you won't have quite the quantity of good farm to table restaurants as you do in Chicago, but the quality is definitely there.

You won't find clubs like Neo or Smartbar in Pittsburgh, but Cava in the Strip District is ok sometimes.

The bar scene is decent in Pittsburgh, and definitely better than it was just 5 years ago. I prefer the Chicago bar scene because there is more variety, but you should be ok in Pittsburgh. Check out Sharp Edge or tour Wigle Whiskey distillery.

Brillobox is fun for smaller shows, but I think you will miss the Chicago music scene. Pittsburgh was sorely lacking a midsized venue until stage AE came around. It's your typical corporate LiveNation venue (see Lifestyle Communities pavilion in Columbus), but it has decent sound and will get good acts time to time.

I think you'll definitely enjoy your stay!

Thanks! Cure sounds great. Looked at the menu and it's right up our alley. I definitely am not expecting the music scene to be better than Chicago's, but it seems like I'll survive haha. Brillobox seems decent, but you're right, a lot of the medium/medium-large sized acts are funneled through Stage AE at quick glance. Where did those acts go before Stage AE?

[sskink]

Originally Posted by gortonator

Sichuan Gardens and How Lee in Sq Hill are excellent Szechuan food.

I tend to be in line with your recommendations in general. I haven't tried Sichuan Gardens since it was China Star (which moved up to McKnight) and How Lee used to suck *** gonads. Do either actually use Szechuan peppercorns in anything?

(what? you can use Yac with abandon, but not y a k ?)

[Evergrey]

Pittsburgh's ethnic cuisine strengths are Nepalese and Uzbek.

[Craziaskowboi]

There's a blog I follow occasionally called PennsylvAsia, which promotes Asian social, cultural and dining activities in the Pittsburgh area, and they've highlighted a lot of new restaurants in the last six months that have either opened or are about to open. Here are some of them:


Asian Noodle Bar (Noodles)
Na Kwon Garden (Korean)
WholeChi (Delivery)
Hawker Stand (Southeast Asian, temporary)
TOP Shabu-Shabu & Lounge (Hot pot)
LA Galbi (Korean BBQ)
Chick'n Bubbly (Korean fried chicken)
Golden Pig (Korean)

Apparently there's also some Northwest Chinese Pop-Up Restaurant that operates temporarily in different places around the city.

The blogger is Korean, so he seems to highlight Korean restaurants a lot. There's also a few Indian, Thai and Vietnamese places in the city. Apparently there's a void in Filipino options, though.

Originally Posted by Frenemies

Where did those acts go before Stage AE?

Cleveland.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by gortonator

Sichuan Gardens and How Lee in Sq Hill are excellent Szechuan food.

When you say "Sichuan Gardens," do you mean Sichuan Gourmet at 1900 Murray Avenue? If so, I had two of the most mediocre Chinese meals of my life there recently. Extremely uninspired scallops one day (the cheap, probably chemicalized kind), and a chicken/broccoli/veg dish a week later that tasted like...nothing.

I am hoping you've found a place I don't know about called Sichuan Gardens, gortonator, but all I get is Sichuan Gourmet when I google "Sichuan Gardens 15217."

[Frenemies]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

There's a blog I follow occasionally called PennsylvAsia, which promotes Asian social, cultural and dining activities in the Pittsburgh area, and they've highlighted a lot of new restaurants in the last six months that have either opened or are about to open. Here are some of them:


Asian Noodle Bar (Noodles)
Na Kwon Garden (Korean)
WholeChi (Delivery)
Hawker Stand (Southeast Asian, temporary)
TOP Shabu-Shabu & Lounge (Hot pot)
LA Galbi (Korean BBQ)
Chick'n Bubbly (Korean fried chicken)
Golden Pig (Korean)

Apparently there's also some Northwest Chinese Pop-Up Restaurant that pops up in different places around the city.

Great. Thanks for the resource.

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Cleveland.

Ouch.