The City of Pittsburgh

 Mom wants to go out to eat. She wants to sit outside.

I have NO IDEA where to go to eat and sit outside on a Sunday.

Halp!

Sorry, but I'm going quite insane with way-behind-schedule planning stress, and have all these pent-up questions.

1.) Need to find the least expensive place possible (without being positively disgusting or poisonous or fast food) to have a rehearsal dinner for like 20 people, strongly preferably on the North Side OR in or near Millvale. Something like a tasty, nifty, cheap diner, maybe?

2.) Need to find a good secondhand jewelry store that would likely have lots of rings to choose from.

3.) Do you have renter's insurance? (Do they even do renter's insurance, in PA? Or is this something they do in other states only?) If so, where did you get it from?

You are all my personal heroes. TY.

Please, folks, indulge me and help out a bit with the following!
(Edited to add: Wedding is this Nov. 15th)

1.) If you were taking a group of approx 5-18 out-of-state visitors out to dinner, and wanted to impress them a bit, as well as sort of "show off" some nifty aspect(s) of the city of Pittsburgh, where would you take them?

• One very important consideration is that I'm seeking someplace that is quiet enough to have good long conversations with old friends and spend quality time, but not so quiet/stuffy that if we have a little uproarious laughter at our table we'd be a nuisance.
• Excellent food and good drinks needed, too, obviously.
• While I won't say that "money is no object"-- I am definitely willing to spend enough to make sure it's the right kind of pleasantly memorable experience/setting.
• Some places I have considered: I last was at the LeMont about 20 years ago, but not sure what it's like there, lately. Have been to Lidia's and enjoyed it, although it was only lunch service. I have been to The Carlton and found the food dreadful and overrated. Also, my last two visits to The Church Brew Works were tremendous disappointments; I don't know when they went so far downhill, but, wow, did they ever!
• Have been reading good things about: Eleven, Le Pommier, Six Penn, Sunnyledge, & the Shiloh, but have never been to any of these.
• If many more people RSVP "yes" than I'm expecting, then due to budget I might need to scale back expectations a bit and we'll be headed for more affordable sites like Primanti's or the BBT. (Also, what is Gooski's like, inside, tables-and-seating-and-atmosphere-and-food-wise?)

2.) If you only had 2-3 days for an inexpensive-ish honeymoon and didn't want to go more than 3 hours' drive from Pittsburgh, where would you go? Where would you stay, what would you do? (Nothing gambling-related, please.)

3.) The bakery that I had planned to ask to do our wedding cake has been disappointing me lately. Suggestions on a good wedding cake source that will make something custom without costing an arm and both legs?

4.) Suggestions for a local, old-fashioned, highly-skilled seamstress/dressmaker? Bonus points if you know that they are good at plus-size formal-ish dresses. Not entirely sure at this point if I will be asking to make something (from pattern) from scratch, or simply getting an existing dress altered.

i will be in Oakland the last week in October and first week in November while my father has surgery at UPMC. i've been trying to do research on my own, but Yelp Pittsburgh seems a little thin and i don't know enough about where to look for local reviews.

please, kind citizens, comment with your favorite places, a street where restaurants cluster, or websites i should check out for recommendations.

i'm looking for suggestions within a twenty minute walk of UPMC or the Wyndham hotel on Forbes for:

- places with free wifi
- a coffeehouse or tea shop (bonus if hot beverage and wifi go together)
- restaurants - especially places that serve vegetables. while i'm looking forward to enjoying the greasy delights of the kind of places that cluster near colleges, more than a week of it nonstop will kill me. asian food good. south asian food good. (but i also would enjoy some pierogies. and subs. and cheesesteak.)
- a grocery or convenience store for snacks

if this stuff has been covered in a previous post, please point me to it. thanks.

where are your favorite places for food in the strip district? or bakery stuff? or snacky things? or anything else good to eat?
is there anywhere that has smoothies?

(vegetarian friendly is lovely! but you can still share anyway, if it isn't)

Has anyone tried Maggie's Mercantile vegetarian cafe' on Craig? It opened up just a few months ago. I walked in there the other day when I didn't have time for lunch, looked at their food and menu, which pretty good, and reminded myself to try it when the time is better. The place is easy to miss, in the middle of a block of solid, modern buildings, and you can't see into it very well from the sidewalk or street. If you've tried it, what do you recommend?

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I know this has been discussed before, so apologies--I've checked the tags, and got some good ideas already. But I'd like a few more.

I have some friends coming from out of town who are vegetarians. What tasty restaurants can I bring them to? Is The Quiet Storm recommended? We're in Sq. Hill and I know about Aladdin's. I see other vegetarian/vegan places along Murray etc. but I have no idea if they're any good or not.

Also, where is a good spot to go where one can have a few quality (?) mixed drinks and talk without having to shout over music etc.? Some relaxing spot?

Pittsburgh LJ Community: I salute you!

On July 30th $1.50 gets you a slice of cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory. :)

Celebrating “30 Delicious Years,” The Cheesecake Factory is serving up several sweet initiatives throughout 2008.

To kick-off the anniversary celebration and in commemoration of National Cheesecake Day on July 30th, 2008, The Cheesecake Factory restaurants will offer every delicious slice of its more than 30 varieties of cheesecake with a dollop of nostalgia by featuring all cheesecakes at $1.50 per slice, limit one per guest, dine in only, on that day—as they were when the restaurant first opened in 1978.

In addition, a special, limited edition cheesecake, the 30th Anniversary Chocolate Cake Cheesecake, will be introduced on July 30th with $0.25 from the sale of each slice sold this year benefiting the national hunger-relief organization, America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network. Additional activities will be announced throughout the year.

http://www.cheesecakefactory.com/default.asp

Hi all.

My parents, husband and I will be in Pittsburgh over Labor day weekend and are into railfanning (watching freight trains). Boring to some but it is free entertainment and we truly enjoy it. I was wondering if there are any railfans on here that might have some suggestions on places to catch some action.

Also, I was wondering if you could suggest some good greasy spoon type diners, mom and pop establishment's and places you MUST eat at when in Pittsburgh.

Thank you! :)

Is there anywhere in Pittsburgh to get a decent fish taco?

I tried to go to Iguana Grill in the Southside last week and it looked...closed. As in, for good.

I didn't have a chance to investigate further, and my Google searching has been to no avail. Anyone have any idea about this? Please tell me one of my favorite little "Mexican" places in town is not closed. While I appreciate that at least Harris' is reopening, I refuse to accept the Pittsburgh bar "circle of life."

And while we're on the subject, where's your favorite Mexican place in town? I know and love Mexico City, Mad Mex, Cozumel and El Campesino. I like the semi-authentic...I like the totally Americanized...I just plain love anything in/on a tortilla. Anywhere great I am missing out on in this city?

Can anyone recommend a place to get gelato in the city?  I'm not looking for a restaurant that happens to serve one or two desserts with a scoop of chocolate gelato.  Rita's gelati doesn't count either.  Ideally I'm looking for a parlor that serves a decent selection of flavors.

Shamefully enough, I live in Bloomfield but have no idea if there's a gelato place here.  I haven't been here for too long, so I'm still exploring. 

hello everyone!

okay, i'm going to my first Pittsburgh Penguins game tonight [!!!!!] and my friend and i would like to eat some place before going. is there any really good place around Mellon Arena that would be easy to get to or a short, simple drive away? we don't care if it's a chain place or just some small local cafe thing. anything would work! thank you so much! :D

Here I am bugging you all again about things because I know I'll find what I need in this community:

First: it's coming up on Farmers Market season and I'd like to know where the best ones in the city are.

While living in Illinois, I spent the last several years haunting one in Evanston that was out of this world - red, purple and yellow carrots; apples of every flavor imaginable; blue, pink, russian cream and fingerling potatoes; and mounds upon mounds of so many vegetable varieties it could make your head spin - and all of it organic!

I'd love to find that kind of organic variety in the Pittsburgh area. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Second: while I grew up with and still love Mineo's Pizza, over eight years I got a deep-seated taste for Giordano's Pizza as well. Does anyone know where I might find a "taste-alike" around here? I wasn't so much into the deep-dish stuffed pizza as their thinner crust style. I've been having a hankering for it lately. Are there any transplanted Chicagoans in the community who've found a good substitute locally?

Many thanks!

Odd question:

Where can I order a great pizza that is cut into squares (vs. a round pie cut into wedges)?
I'm originally from Latrobe, where my favorite pizza comes from either Jioio's or Pleasant Unity Pizza (Route 130, Pleasant Unity), and I have a weird theory that square pizza tastes better. (It totally does!) I live on the North Side and am willing to travel at the very most 10 miles in any direction (I'd prefer north or east, though). But if there's a good place in the city (meaning not a suburb) that would be so super. Thanks!

I checked the tags for this but didn't see anything. Does anyone know of any restaurants in/near the 'Burgh that would either have an Easter brunch or dinner? My family is coming to town for that weekend, and I'm not sure they will want to rely on my cooking skills for a nice Easter meal :)

Thanks for any suggestions!

(Edit: I accidentally tagged this as recipes, and now, despite my attempts to remove the tag, it won't go away! I tried to create a holiday:easter tag but it wouldn't let me...)

Important time change: Due to several circumstances beyond our control, the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern has allowed us to push the time for this event back a little. Door time is now 9:00 pm! and not 6:30 pm

The event is 21+,the cover is an easily affordable $3, the bands are phenomenal, and the venue's full menu will be available providing the best Polish food in the 'Burgh!

The lineup is as follows (click links to hear the bands @ Myspace):

Tonight @ Bloomfield Bridge Tavern:

Agnes Wired For Sound - Goth Industrial

Wreckcreation - Rock Industrial

Nyarlathotep - Ambient Experimental Industrial


As for Wreckcreation, this will be our last show of the year! So get out, kick back, and enjoy the tunes, food, and beverages with us as we say goodbye to 2007!

On behalf of all the bands, thanks and we hope to see you tonight.

-Josh-
Wreckcreation

Because I went to the wrong end of Liberty Avenue in search of the state office building this afternoon, I took my first walk along a substantial stretch of that street on my way to the right end.

A few things to report:

At the Driver's License Center at 300 Liberty, I pulled out number 42 when I arrived. Number 26 was being taken care of, at that moment. It took roughly thirty minutes to reach me. Not bad. FYI, no test was required, not even a vision test. My situation was one of already having a driver's license from Illinois and walking in with a pair of glasses on my face. Getting a PA license cost $26. Oh, they let you see the picture they take, and you can get up to four taken before you sign off on one.

Consumed a fine gyro at Mike & Tony's Shish-Kabob & Gyros at 927 Liberty Ave. The gyro was delicious and huge. (Note: Unless you're really hungry, turn down their suggestion that you get their special for $6 that also includes a soda and french fries.) The gyro alone is only four bucks. Had thought about getting a sandwich from Moby Fish at 643 Liberty, but a sandwich would have cost $5.99 and as far as I could tell, one would have to stand and eat one's sandwich from a ledge, as there seemed to be no tables.

In the Broadway Army-Navy store at 909 Liberty, I checked out some rather cool canvas messenger bags/briefcases priced from $23 to $29. One is an "Engineer's Bag" made in India that's pretty keen for twenty-six bucks, and that's one I might buy.

Can't remember the name of the place, but right next door to Broadway Army-Navy is a luggage store that sells some decently priced suitcases. Bought a travel alarm clock as a Christmas gift.

Read movie schedules for the Harris Theater at 809 Liberty. I've been hearing about Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten. I might see the Sunday matinee.

Conclusion: good afternoon on Liberty Avenue.

So, what's your opinion of waffles and pancakes at Eat'n Park?

Are they good?

Are they decently priced?

Any specific recommendations or warnings about them?

I've never been inside an Eat'n Park during my five months here in P'burgh, but I keep walking past the one on Murray Avenue, looking inside at something reminiscent of an Edward Hopper painting, circa 1935, and thinking about going in. Besides, my 12 year-old son loves pancakes and waffles, so I'm always on the lookout for a good source.

I'm sure some of you have opinions.