25 Best Restaurants in Pittsburgh - Do you agree with the list? (Greensburg: neighborhood, closing)

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by deargceann

What kind of ethnic restaurants are there in Pittsburgh? From this list it looks like mostly Italian. I'm interested in visiting with an eye for moving, but good ethnic restaurants are a must. I love Thai and Ethiopian, but not a big fan of Italian.

We have about a dozen or so Thai restaurants and 2 Ethiopian restaurants. We probably have 2 dozen Indian restaurants, several Japanese restaurants, tons of American-Chinese restaurants, about 10 Vietnamese places, handful of Korean places, 2 Cambodian places, a few Middle Eastern places, tons of Mediterranean food, 3 German places, a few French places, a few Belgian places, a few Polish places, a Spanish place, tons of American-Mexican places....

Oh yeah, a ton of Italian restaurants too. Don't let this list fool you as it's almost all gourmet, pinky up, wine selection, yuppie places.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by deargceann

What kind of ethnic restaurants are there in Pittsburgh? From this list it looks like mostly Italian. I'm interested in visiting with an eye for moving, but good ethnic restaurants are a must. I love Thai and Ethiopian, but not a big fan of Italian.

Here are two Ethiopian restaurants, both located in Pittsburgh's East End. I don't know if there are others in other parts of town. Abay, in particular, is well-received (I'm not a fan myself, so I've never eaten at either). (If having numerous Ethiopian restaurants is part of your criteria for a place to live, I would suggest Washington DC rather than Pittsburgh.)

Abay Ethiopian Cuisine - Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

Tana Ethiopian Cuisine

But we have almost too many Thai restaurants to mention, including Bangkok Balcony in Squirrel Hill (also East End). Down the street is Sun Penang, a Thai-Malaysian restaurant whose pad Thai I prefer.

Sun Penang Restaurant | 15217 | Pittsburgh | Order Online Thai Food Delivery

:: welcome to Bangkok Bolcony ::

[SteelCityRising]

Bear in mind, also, that Pittsburgh Magazine probably conducts ongoing demographics research of its subscribers, and if the majority of them are the "wine and cheese/nouveau riche" crowd (as I would suspect), then naturally it would come as no surprise that generally upper-crust restaurants made the list. I have bought a few issues of the magazine from time to time while checking out at the grocery store if the cover looks appealing, and I'm considering subscribing soon. Am I nouveau riche? Hardly. I can barely afford to pay my bills as it is in lower-level retail management. Nevertheless I've learned a lot about the city through reading it.

If this publication's list included some "divey" places, as a few had suggested, then they run the risk of losing credibility with their bread-and-butter nouveau riche subscribership balking at the notion of dining anywhere without valet parking for their Lexus SUV or a doorman who will tip his hat. Pittsburgh Magazine isn't the only publication guilty of pandering to the nouveau riche, though. I subscribed to the Washingtonian when I lived in NoVA, and I felt like I was too poor/low-class to be reading it sometimes. It seems like these glossy-covered magazines pertaning to cities are often catering to an affluent demographic no matter what area they happen to be in, as even most advertisers are for higher-end types.

As for me I've only dined at Piccolo Forno in Lawrenceville on that list, and I really, really enjoyed my experience there (great recommendation from jay5835!). A fellow Polish Hill resident operates Salt of the Earth in Garfield, if I'm not mistaken, so that's also on my "must-try" list. Friends of mine have given Casbah in Shadyside mixed reviews, and I've heard Spoon in East Liberty is overrated. This Sunday my plans include church, taking the better half for lunch at NOLA on Market Square (I can't wait to try the croque-monsieur!), and then scoping out the Three Rivers Arts Festival, which includes a free performance by the Philharmonic at 6 PM. I will report back my experience with NOLA, which I'm already excited about.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by deargceann

What kind of ethnic restaurants are there in Pittsburgh? From this list it looks like mostly Italian. I'm interested in visiting with an eye for moving, but good ethnic restaurants are a must. I love Thai and Ethiopian, but not a big fan of Italian.

One thing about Pittsburgh is that you will never have to long for a great array of dining options. You don't necessarily have to head to an upscale neighborhood/suburb, either, to find what you crave. For example, the relatively struggling suburb of Verona has a pretty good Thai restaurant, from what I've heard, albeit I have yet to partake.

I've lived here for six months and have only dined at ONE of the 25 restaurants listed by the OP because I've been far too busy trying other places out. I tend to dine out once per week, so if you figure I've gone out to eat 24-30 times since moving here, roughly, then that bodes well for a great variety of restaurants for a city of just 300,000.

[greg42]

I think Umi on the list would count if you want to consider things on this list as ethnic. I'm not sure I would. I wouldn't necessarily call the Italian restaurants on the list ethnic either, although with both of these examples you could argue either way. It depends upon what you expect. Most ethnic restaurants in this city don't rise to the level of what editors would pick as best restaurants. They don't offer the service, creativity or other details that people creating these lists are looking for. But we do have plenty of ethnic restaurants. What I'm saying is that this best 25 list is a poor way of approximating ethnic restaurants. I think that could be true in many cities.

[sith]

had dinner at joseph tambellini's last night and definitely think it belongs on the list! everything was wonderful and i cannot think of a thing with which to find fault.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Bear in mind, also, that Pittsburgh Magazine probably conducts ongoing demographics research of its subscribers, and if the majority of them are the "wine and cheese/nouveau riche" crowd

You're probably right, however I just checked and noticed that it's only $17.95 for a 13 issue 1 year subscription. That's a decent deal, especially considering its market is limited to those with an interest in Pittsburgh.

[tranceFusion]

The East End neighborhoods are pretty diverse but aside from that, it's a sea of sloppy subs, pierogies, and fast-food knock-offs.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Winghart's (Market Square) is currently my favorite place for burgers in Pittsburgh.

I finally ate there today, and I have to agree. It's the best burger I've had in a restaurant in decades. Mine was cooked perfectly medium rare, something almost no one knows how, or is willing, to do anymore. The French fries were also the very best I've had in forever, though I'm still not a big enough fry fan to finish the leftovers once I've eaten my burger. And I liked the music (Dr. John, the Decemberists, the Pogues, Incredible String Band). Market Square is turning into a neat little restaurant district.

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...en&q=wingharts

http://winghartburgers.com/

[greg42]

Isn't the music in there cool? I love the vibe of that place. The pizza is really good too, surprisingly. The fries don't travel too well, although I guess that's not surprising. I tend to be a take it back to the office type. But still, great stuff. Think I might hit them up tomorrow. I believe I lasted a whole two weeks since the last time.