Two foodies and music fans moving from Chicago for about 3 years

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by Frenemies

We'll check out Spak since we still need to see the Garfield neighborhood. We'd like to do downtown for dinner since Cure isn't an option (checked the website and they are closed due to building maintenance for a bit). Meat and Potatoes sounds/looks good. Reservation may be needed, though. That's a shame Carmella's lost their chef. Maybe that's why the food didn't seem too great. If meat and potatoes isn't an option, we'll check butcher if they are open, if not, grit and grace hopefully!

You can't go wrong with any of these restaurants. Don't sleep on Grit & Grace. I think they are the unsung hero of the downtown restaurants and seem to be easier to get a table than Meat & Potatoes or Butcher and Rye. Those two seem to hog all the oxygen for some reason but G&G is easily on their level.

Also, quickly skimming your bigger post about your previous experiences, I would suggest steering clear of the South Side for most stuff. It's a really great urban environment with a few quality places, but there are a lot of ways to go wrong down there. It's a lot of quantity and not a lot of quality these days.

If you want less of a frat bro bar scene, head to Shadyside or Lawrenceville. Check out Tamari, Round Corner Cantina, Tender, or Tamari for cocktails.

Also*– if you really want a SmartBar-esque clubbing experience – you still have to check out Hot Mass (only open Saturdays). Sounds like you'll miss it this trip but add it for next time. Be ready to rage until sunrise.

[charisb]

Originally Posted by Frenemies

We are looking for one bedroom that is updated for 1000-1100/month. Our budget is a bit smaller now that one of us will be in school full time. By updated, I don't mean it needs to have granite countertops, all stainless steel, etc., but not something that hasn't been updated since 1990 either. A washer/dryer in-unit is near the top of our list as well. We will have one car, and are fine with street parking (if we did it in Chicago we can do it here). The stuff we looked at this go-round was all on craigslist, and it was more or less a scope out. We wanted to see, in person, what we could get for our money in certain neighborhoods. Next time around, we will use sites like Padmapper (along with Craigslist, still). Does Pittsburgh have a city-specific renting site like Domu (for Chicago)? The next time we come out, we will actually have to land a place, so it will be a more important trip when it comes to apartment hunting.

I would recommend driving around neighborhoods you like, too. It seems like a lot of people with individual units (i.e., not an agency) just put up signs. I don't know of any city-specific renting site but Howard Hanna has some rentals listed, and they seem to synthesize data from other real estate companies that have rentals.

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

You can't go wrong with any of these restaurants. Don't sleep on Grit & Grace. I think they are the unsung hero of the downtown restaurants and seem to be easier to get a table than Meat & Potatoes or Butcher and Rye. Those two seem to hog all the oxygen for some reason but G&G is easily on their level.

Also, quickly skimming your bigger post about your previous experiences, I would suggest steering clear of the South Side for most stuff. It's a really great urban environment with a few quality places, but there are a lot of ways to go wrong down there. It's a lot of quantity and not a lot of quality these days.

If you want less of a frat bro bar scene, head to Shadyside or Lawrenceville. Check out Tamari, Round Corner Cantina, Tender, or Tamari for cocktails.

Also*– if you really want a SmartBar-esque clubbing experience – you still have to check out Hot Mass (only open Saturdays). Sounds like you'll miss it this trip but add it for next time. Be ready to rage until sunrise.

Very solid recommendations.

[onwardandupward]

Right now is a tough time to be looking for apartments. Most of the apartments in the East End are one year leases beginning in mid- to late-summer, to catch all of the students in the area. Not too many leases end before the end of the semester, so the supply that you'll see now is not the same as what you'll be seeing then. Something to keep in mind.

[BarqCider]

if theres one thing I miss about Pittsburgh, its the local breweries. down here im stuck with generic bud crap and I still pay out the rear for some ($7 for 14 oz at places)