What should I be doing in Pittsburgh this weekend?
November 30, 2015 2:07 PM Subscribe
Yinzers of Metafilter, I'll be visiting your city this weekend and need your help to have an even better time than I usually do there.
I love Pittsburgh and end up there at least once or twice a year, but I still feel like I barely know it. I'm looking for your suggestions - both this weekend-specific and generally - for what I should be doing to make a great Pittsburgh experience a stellar one. Some general areas of interest:
- Music (free / improvised jazz, and experimental/abrasive/punk/garage of all stripes, also pretty much anything that falls broadly under the category of folk/traditional of any nation or ethnicity). Leads on shows not promoted in a way a guy from out of town just Googling around would be likely to be find will be hugely appreciated.
- Art (very broad net, but most interested in modern/post-modern/conceptual)
- Local history (especially anything that involves walking around - particularly interested in left/labor, mass transit, and architectural history)
- Nature (getting outside broadly, but anything with a gardens/botany/horticulture focus would be great)
- Food / bars (Pittsburgh is home to the best pastrami sandwich I have ever had, bar none - any suggestions for more high-quality, low pretense food and drink would be greatly appreciated.)
Thanks in advance - I can't wait to get on the road.
I love Pittsburgh and end up there at least once or twice a year, but I still feel like I barely know it. I'm looking for your suggestions - both this weekend-specific and generally - for what I should be doing to make a great Pittsburgh experience a stellar one. Some general areas of interest:
- Music (free / improvised jazz, and experimental/abrasive/punk/garage of all stripes, also pretty much anything that falls broadly under the category of folk/traditional of any nation or ethnicity). Leads on shows not promoted in a way a guy from out of town just Googling around would be likely to be find will be hugely appreciated.
- Art (very broad net, but most interested in modern/post-modern/conceptual)
- Local history (especially anything that involves walking around - particularly interested in left/labor, mass transit, and architectural history)
- Nature (getting outside broadly, but anything with a gardens/botany/horticulture focus would be great)
- Food / bars (Pittsburgh is home to the best pastrami sandwich I have ever had, bar none - any suggestions for more high-quality, low pretense food and drink would be greatly appreciated.)
Thanks in advance - I can't wait to get on the road.
http://www.handmadearcade.com is this weekend - it's a great time.
If you haven't had a hot dog at D's in Regent Square, do so post-haste!
posted by punchtothehead at 2:33 PM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you haven't had a hot dog at D's in Regent Square, do so post-haste!
posted by punchtothehead at 2:33 PM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The exhibition reviewed in this article is at the Carnegie Museum of Art. If I were anywhere near Pittsburgh, I'd be going to it.
posted by asterix at 2:42 PM on November 30, 2015
posted by asterix at 2:42 PM on November 30, 2015
When you're at the Pittsburgh airport, be sure to check out the Fraley's Robot Repair display for some quirky local art!
If you go to Mineo's in Squirrel Hill, also check out Sumi's Cakery just down the street. It's a Korean bakery that serves from very nice pastries.
posted by dean_deen at 2:57 PM on November 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
If you go to Mineo's in Squirrel Hill, also check out Sumi's Cakery just down the street. It's a Korean bakery that serves from very nice pastries.
posted by dean_deen at 2:57 PM on November 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
Winter Garden Festival of Lights at Phipps!
posted by bfranklin at 3:06 PM on November 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by bfranklin at 3:06 PM on November 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Check out the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area page. The Carrie Furnace is closed for the season but their page had lots of info on upcoming and ongoing local labor history events.
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:04 PM on November 30, 2015
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:04 PM on November 30, 2015
Schenley Park in Oakland fits your nature stuff. The Phipps conservatory is lovely and there are lots of wooded trails for running and general city escaping.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 4:11 PM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 4:11 PM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also the Nationality Rooms at the Cathedral of Learning are decorated for the holidays right now. They're totally free to visit.
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:11 PM on November 30, 2015
posted by soren_lorensen at 4:11 PM on November 30, 2015
Response by poster: Great stuff so far - marking bests as things I'm very likely to look more closely at, but please keep them coming!
And I have had a hot dog at D's, but I'll be returning - it's where we traditionally gird our loins before heading out on the town on Saturdays.
posted by ryanshepard at 4:15 PM on November 30, 2015
And I have had a hot dog at D's, but I'll be returning - it's where we traditionally gird our loins before heading out on the town on Saturdays.
posted by ryanshepard at 4:15 PM on November 30, 2015
Best answer: Also - keep in mind that 376 will be closed right after the Squirrel Hill tunnel (inbound) to prep for blowing up the Greenfield Bridge. It messed up the traffic in Squirrel Hill, Wilkinsburg, and Regent Square pretty badly when they did it a couple weekends ago.
posted by punchtothehead at 5:00 PM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by punchtothehead at 5:00 PM on November 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: This, um, doesn't really apply to any of your listed interests, but have you been to the Bayernhof Museum? It's a ridiculous, extravagant house built by this super rich dude. It's also stuffed full of mechanical musical instruments. You have to call to make an appointment for a tour, and it's only 10 bucks. There are pictures on the website, but I would encourage you to know as little as possible going in. My eyes grew to the size of dinner plates by the time the tour was over. The house is CRAZY.
posted by missmary6 at 6:37 PM on November 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by missmary6 at 6:37 PM on November 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
Have you been to The Mattress Factory yet? Way better for modern/installation art than the Warhol.
posted by MsMolly at 7:09 PM on November 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by MsMolly at 7:09 PM on November 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
My suggestions are all very "this weekend" specific:
1) As mentioned above, Handmade Arcade is this weekend. I look forward to it every year - it's a curated arts & crafts show at the convention center. Admission is free (unless you buy tickets to get in early) but don't think of it as a bunch of plastic cross stitched tissue box covers. We've found a lot of very good, up & coming, art available there. Affordably. I suspect we buy a new piece every year to hang somewhere in the house.
2) The Lawrenceville Cookie Tour is this weekend. You probably know the popularity of Lawrenceville already, but for us, it gets us off of the main drag into smaller galleries and stores we might not know yet. If nothing else, Wildcard is worth a stop - they have a very similar Handmade Arcade feel, but they also have a small gallery space in the back.
3) Vaguely cheesy, but if you're into Christmas at all, consider Kennywood's Holiday Lights. I have deep love in my heart for Kennywood, not for the rides, but for the history, and there's something sweet about going at night and seeing it all lit up. I only mention it since you'll be in town during the beginning of the holiday season.
posted by librarianamy at 4:30 AM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
1) As mentioned above, Handmade Arcade is this weekend. I look forward to it every year - it's a curated arts & crafts show at the convention center. Admission is free (unless you buy tickets to get in early) but don't think of it as a bunch of plastic cross stitched tissue box covers. We've found a lot of very good, up & coming, art available there. Affordably. I suspect we buy a new piece every year to hang somewhere in the house.
2) The Lawrenceville Cookie Tour is this weekend. You probably know the popularity of Lawrenceville already, but for us, it gets us off of the main drag into smaller galleries and stores we might not know yet. If nothing else, Wildcard is worth a stop - they have a very similar Handmade Arcade feel, but they also have a small gallery space in the back.
3) Vaguely cheesy, but if you're into Christmas at all, consider Kennywood's Holiday Lights. I have deep love in my heart for Kennywood, not for the rides, but for the history, and there's something sweet about going at night and seeing it all lit up. I only mention it since you'll be in town during the beginning of the holiday season.
posted by librarianamy at 4:30 AM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: St. Anthony's Chapel in Troy Hill has the largest collection of relics of Catholic saints anywhere outside the Vatican, if that sounds interesting to you. They, uh, don't allow pictures in the chapel, but it's still a neat experience, even for a heathen like me.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 6:05 AM on December 1, 2015
posted by Mister Moofoo at 6:05 AM on December 1, 2015
I came in to suggest the Handmade Arcade and Kennywood's Holiday Lights, but I see both of those are already covered. The Handmade Arcade is great fun if you like odd/unusual stuff - we bought our niece a pierogi-themed onesie there one year, and got a really cute dog print last year. And as librarianamy says, Kennywood is special year-round, but seeing it lit up for Christmas is especially delightful. Since you've been to Pittsburgh before I'm assuming you've hit up Kennywood, but if you haven't, you really owe it to yourself to visit our over-100-years-old amusement park.
To add a couple boozier stops to the list: we recently took a 'grains to grass' tour of East End Brewing Co, and it was really fun - looks like the next one is the weekend after this one, but it's worth considering for another time (or you can just stop by the brewery and pick up a growler of delicious local beer!). Be warned that the area it's in looks a little run-down, but once you get inside it's pretty cozy - there's a good coffee roaster in there as well, if that's more your style. And while it's still on my to-do list, I've heard good things about the tours and events at Wiggle Whiskey.
Finally, my wife - MeFi's own nakedmolerats! - will be singing with the Renaissance City Choir (Pittsburgh's LGBTQA chorus) this Saturday as they perform with the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra in their holiday concert; I'll be there with bells on!
posted by DingoMutt at 8:29 AM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
To add a couple boozier stops to the list: we recently took a 'grains to grass' tour of East End Brewing Co, and it was really fun - looks like the next one is the weekend after this one, but it's worth considering for another time (or you can just stop by the brewery and pick up a growler of delicious local beer!). Be warned that the area it's in looks a little run-down, but once you get inside it's pretty cozy - there's a good coffee roaster in there as well, if that's more your style. And while it's still on my to-do list, I've heard good things about the tours and events at Wiggle Whiskey.
Finally, my wife - MeFi's own nakedmolerats! - will be singing with the Renaissance City Choir (Pittsburgh's LGBTQA chorus) this Saturday as they perform with the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra in their holiday concert; I'll be there with bells on!
posted by DingoMutt at 8:29 AM on December 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
I am a huge fan of the Strip District, and as point out above, you can walk to the Heinz History Center. I can vouch for pretty much all the food available in that neighborhood, but would particularly recommend Pamela's (go early; get the corned beef hash or the blueberry hotcakes), Kaya (tempura avocado banh mi tacos), and Thin Man Sandwich (oh god, EVERYTHING).
posted by specialagentwebb at 10:43 AM on December 1, 2015
posted by specialagentwebb at 10:43 AM on December 1, 2015
Best answer: punchtothehead: "Also - keep in mind that 376 will be closed right after the Squirrel Hill tunnel (inbound) to prep for blowing up the Greenfield Bridge. It messed up the traffic in Squirrel Hill, Wilkinsburg, and Regent Square pretty badly when they did it a couple weekends ago."
Update: Parkway East Weekend Closure Postponed One Week
So you should be good.
posted by octothorpe at 8:01 AM on December 3, 2015
Update: Parkway East Weekend Closure Postponed One Week
So you should be good.
posted by octothorpe at 8:01 AM on December 3, 2015
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Check out the Mexican War Streets. It's a fabulous little neighborhood, full of great architecture and art glass. You'll miss the Christmas party, but it's still a good time.
Mineo's Pizza on Murray Ave in Squirrel Hill is a great place for a take-out pie. (I suppose you could eat it there...but the ambiance is negligible.)
Take the incline up to Mt Washington, pick a restaurant, and enjoy the view.
Hit the John Heinz History Center on a Saturday, after strolling around the Strip, where you can enjoy the original Primanti Brothers sandwich, or a bazillion other tasty noms.
If you like nightlife, check out the South Side, Carson St is the main drag, but there's a Tiki Lounge down there, and I would be ALL over that!
How jealous am I?
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:21 PM on November 30, 2015