which one is the top dog: philadelphia or pittsburgh? (Penn: living, restaurant)

[Little Mizz Pittsburgh]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

Someone said Philadelphia has a winning baseball team...but does Philadelphia have 6 superbowl rings and 3 stanley cups to go along with that one world series win in ages and that looks like it wont be repeated for quite sometime. Yea thought so...

[pman]

to be fair, the flyers come in third on that list
Forbes Magazine's Best and worst NHL fan bases. - leafspace Blog post - Official Home of Leafs Nation=

I have a lot more respect for the Steelers than the eagles, more for the phils than the pirates (who haven't held up their end of the bargain on the stadium funding deal which was supposed to allow teams to spend more on players).
there are certainly things philly is going to have based on population alone (the region is more than twice as large and growing, for better or worse) and because they have far more immigrants.some thigns in Philadelphia are better, any objective person is going to admit that. On the other hand, some things in Pitt are better. parks are one. Philly has great parks but their funding level is an embarrassment. although both cities have a terrible, one party system, I think the overall business climate is better in pittsburgh city limits than it is in Philly. Neither city lives up to its potential, IMO, but at least they aren't overrated like DC.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by airwair

I love Pittsburgh as much as the next guy, but Iron City is one of the worst beers I have ever tasted. If being the home of Iron City is supposed to give it a one up on Philly, Pittsburgh has a long way to go.

Victory Brewing Co. alone and Pottsville, PA (Yeungling, anyone?) being less than 100 miles from Philly have Pittsburgh beat by a mile. (On the beer front, anyway.)

I haven't tried it myself, but doesn't Pennsylvania Brewing hold its own against anything Philly has? Fortunately it is back under its former management and made the right way. I think the former owners outsourced its production to...was it some place in Wilkes-Barre?

But Penn Brewery makes beer the German way and its beers have won awards. Sort of wish Iron City would change its marketing strategy to becoming a crafted high-end beer.

[Copanut]

If I'm not mistaken, Iron City is now brewed in Latrobe, hardly Pittsburgh. We always called it Headache in a Bottle. Lousy taste. I like to support local venues, but that beer just plain stunk.

[BrianTH]

Penn was OK, but nothing special in my view. They may be more interesting now, however.

[huphollandhup]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

I haven't tried it myself, but doesn't Pennsylvania Brewing hold its own against anything Philly has? Fortunately it is back under its former management and made the right way. I think the former owners outsourced its production to...was it some place in Wilkes-Barre?

But Penn Brewery makes beer the German way and its beers have won awards. Sort of wish Iron City would change its marketing strategy to becoming a crafted high-end beer.

Penn has some good products, but since they brew german-style beers almost exclusively (except for their pale ale which is brewed with American hops) they lack the variety of styles that many other PA breweries exhibit.

I wouldn't trust Iron City to make anything remotely close to pleasing the craft beer segment.

After reading most of these posts on Pgh vs. Phila, I just knew someone wouldn't be able to resist adding some opinions.
Some people just don't listen and it's probably not worth debating..

[AaronPGH]

East End Brewery is where it's at. No bottling though, only done through kegs, bars & growlers.

[Blackbeauty212]

And look we we're just debating this very thing and PBT comes out with this.

Pittsburgh area filled with established, emerging restaurant rows - Pittsburgh Business Times

[pman]

Originally Posted by AaronClark

East End Brewery is where it's at. No bottling though, only done through kegs, bars & growlers.

I like Penn Pils, esp Kaiser Pils, but I'm more of a fan of East end. I prefer beer on draft anyway. I love Yard's Philly Pale and ESA (on the engine), victory's uncle teddy's bitter, sly fox makes some good brews.
on a beer note, I like Roy Pitz watermelon lager, just a hint of watermelon. they're from chambersburg, pa which doesn't belong to either metro. Troeg's has become one of my favorite breweries, esp hopback amber and it's hopped up cousin nugget nectar.

Blackbeauty-as for restaurant rows, they are increasingly popping up for a number of reasons. on line shopping, malls, etc have produced a plethora of small spaces ideally suited to small restaurants. this "critical mass" seems to help restaurants. it's a sign of health, though I don't know that one can say "it's better here than there" since despite your statements, there are restaurant rows, established and emerging, in Philadelphia...though it is a rebuttal of anyone who might say "there's nothing going on...."

World's best street food
4. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The nation's first capital is also home to some of its oldest and most beloved portable fare: soft pretzels, Italian ices, and, of course, cheesesteaks, now being reimagined in Vietnamese and Mexican versions. Locals get theirs at the century-old, seven-block-long Philadelphia's 9th Street Italian Market, open daily (italianmarketphilly.org).
Street Smarts: Look for the long lines. Certain vendors are more popular than others for a reason, and a few extra minutes of waiting will almost always be worth it.

World's best street food - CNN.com

[BrianTH]

This has nothing to do with the Philly vs. Pittsburgh thing--but the restaurant scene in Pittsburgh has improved infinitely since I first arrived here in 1993, and seems to be getting better all the time.