Pittsburgh Shitsburgh? Part III

Checking into the hotel seemed to be the turning point of the trip…

We decided to start with drinks at the Speak Easy, located in the basement of the hotel for drinks while we figured out our dinner plans.  The Speakeasy was a nice little spot located in the basement of the hotel.  The drinks were amazing–as were the textured wall paper filled walls and the bar furniture.  However, it was freezing cold in there, so I couldn’t really enjoy my drinks or take in the atmosphere as I would have liked.

One of the great things about Pittsburgh is that the cabs are very inexpensive.  I am leery of any and all cab drivers–especially if it is clear that I’m from out of town.  I almost expect to be driven around a bit for them to jack up the fare.  But even if you get taken around the block a few times, the cab fare won’t come close to the fare you’d pay in a major metropolitan city.  But the downside of cabs?  (Oxymoron I know).  Allegedly, the racism is so pervasive in Pittsburgh that a black man would have an easier time catching a cab in NYC.  That’s bad.

The two places we ate in Pittsburgh were nothing short of amazing.  We went to Nakama for dinner–a trendy, crowded hibachi restaurant and sushi bar.  The wait for a table was over an hour and a half–which seemed quite outrageous for Pittsburgh.  We opted to scout out the bar for seats and eat there.  We found seats after about 15 minutes–which was a total win considering you could order food from the hibachi tables at the bar as well.  Despite walking out smelling like hibachi–the food at Nakama was well worth it.

We also ate at Pamela’s for breakfast the next morning before the game.  Pamela’s has several locations through out the city and are famous for their crepe style pancakes.  As the story goes, Obama ate at Pamela’s on one of his visits to Pittsburgh and liked it so much that he flew the owners to the White House to cook breakfast for him on his first day.  That is pretty impressive–and after eating the crepe style pancakes…which aren’t even really my thing…I have to say that I COMPLETELY understand the hype.

So all in all, i think it was a pretty decent trip.  As  I said, I think every city has SOME redeeming quality–and in Pittsburgh case, the Shits-burgh label was a bit premature.  The only thing that really deserved the Shittsburgh label in the city were those hot dogs at Heinz Stadium.  I would definitely return for a weekend–but I would likely skip the Steelers game and visit:

* the Andy Warhol Museum

*Rivers Casino

*Heinz History Center

*Alleghany County Courthouse

*August Wilson Center for African American Culture

*Soldiers and Sailors Museum