Back in 2014, we set off on a road trip to watch the Braves play in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Our first stop was…you guessed it…Pittsburgh. We ate some delicious food, watched baseball with an amazing view and slept in a unique bed and breakfast. Read on for more on our trip to the Steel City.
Lodging
We stayed at The Parador Inn, a great bed and breakfast within walking distance of PNC Park and Heinz Field. This was awesome for us because we didn’t have to worry about finding parking or a ride to the stadium. Each room in the inn has a different theme and the breakfast is prepared in house. The owner, Ed, was also great at helping us find things to do and discounts to do them. Our room was unlike any we had ever stayed in and very spacious. This is a great place to stay. (Also, Ed still sends us Christmas cards every year.)
Food
When we got to town the first night, we just wanted to find some food and go to sleep. However, after finding a new pub in a church, we knew we had to go. We had never seen anything like The Church Brew Works, and imagine that some of our family would condemn this as blasphemy on a high level, but the beer was good and the setting was just cool. The pub is currently closed as we write this, but will hopefully reopen soon.
When in Pittsburgh, you basically have to eat at Primanti Bros. It’s a rule. We ate at the one near the Carnegie Museums. What is so special about this place? They put French fries on the sandwiches. Just put them right on there. The sandwiches were good and we got that Pittsburgh experience. If you are expecting an amazing sandwich story like we had in Florence, you won’t get one from us here, but it was good and it’s an experience worth having.
One night, we ate at Soho after the ball game and had a delicious chocolate martini. It’s been awhile but (we think) we shared some quesadillas and, for some reason, feel like they had Buffalo chicken pierogis. That may be a fake memory, but we otherwise remember the food being good, not great, but good. But if you’re looking for a place open late, a place to have drinks after work (or a baseball game), or you like chocolate martinis, check this place out. They are also currently closed at the moment but hope to reopen soon.
We also found a now mysterious restaurant that was open late, and we went there for supper after a ball game. They had daily specials and, the day we went, they had mac & cheese for $5. And it was just a little extra to add a protein. We cannot recall the name (hence the mysterious bit), but remember the mac & cheese being really good. And we couldn’t believe the price! Any Pittsburgh residents out there who can help us out? 🙂
Things to Do
Of course, the primary objective of this trip was to watch the Braves take on the Pirates at PNC Park. When we went, the tickets were very affordable compared to all of the other stadiums where we have attended games. PNC ranks up in the top of stadiums as well because it has a magnificent view of the city skyline in the outfield. It is a beautiful ball park and the Braves took home two Ws so yay!
I, Courtney, am a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan, so I jumped at the opportunity to tour Heinz Field while we were in town. Our tour tickets were less than $10 each and we literally toured the whole stadium while hearing all sorts of Steelers lore. Being in the locker room was a little surreal and the whole experience was phenomenal for a Steelers fan.
Pittsburgh has a few inclines that you can ride that take you to the top of a hill overlooking the city. We took a ride on the Duquesne Incline. The view is incredible and you can even see the convergence of the famous three rivers: the Allegheny, the Monongahela, and the Ohio. The rivers are all slightly different colors which you can really only tell from on high. It provides great photo opportunities, so if nothing else, do it for the gram.
We are a sucker for dinosaurs. When we found out that the Carnegie Museum of Natural History had a complete t-rex fossil, we had to go see it. They also had a small mummy exhibit that was not nearly as dark and creepy as the one in Houston. We love museums as you know, so we enjoyed this one and getting the chance to say we went to a Carnegie museum seemed like something to write home about.
We love food tours. Which is no surprise given that we love both food and tours. So combined? Heck yes. And since Pittsburgh has a lot of incredible food, we thought a food tour would be a great way to experience it. We did our tour through the Strip District with ‘Burgh Bits and Bites. This tour is highly recommended, though we’re sure all of their tours are just as fantastic. The tour combined so many stories of Pittsburgh history with yummy food tastings. The Strip District is an awesome area of the city because it represents so many cultures in one area. We were able to try biscotti, hummus, homemade pasta, and pierogis, a Pittsburgh staple (and so delicious). Also, this food tour told us the origin story of the terrible towel and we went by the shop that started it all. Naturally, I had to grab one to bring home.
So overall, Pittsburgh was great! It is one of the cleaner cities we’ve been to (at least it was in 2014) and we felt safe walking around by ourselves. We would definitely recommend adding it to your list!
Our McTravels 