Lindsay’s Pittsburgh

July 02, 2009
8 min read

Greetings, city-lovers! Lindsay Welsh calls Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home, and she’s got heaps of advice on what to see and do in the city.

Want to see your city on IT? Copy and paste our list of fill-in-the-blank questions into an e-mail, fill in your answers, and send your responses to IntelligentTravel@ngs.org. And if you’re still waiting for us to feature yours, fear not! We’re going to keep posting as long as we keep getting them (please include photos and links!).

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is My City

The first place I take a visitor from out of town is

The Strip

.

When I crave Middle Eastern cuisine I always go to Ali Baba’s in Oakland.

This place has been here for years and so has the decor but the food is great and service is quick.  BYOB

To escape the hustle bustle I head for a walk in

Frick Park

.

If I want to people watch I go to the

Beehive

in Southside or

Kiva Han

in Oakland.

For complete quiet, I can hide away in

Phipps Conservatory

.

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If you come to my city, get your picture taken with University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning.  It’s the second highest educational building in the world! And if you’re lucky snap a photo with a Steeler, they love the city as much as the locals!

If you have to order one thing off the menu from

Pirmanti’s

it has to be any sandwich with all the fixings.

The

East End Co-op

is my one-stop shop for great local, organic items, and tasty imported goods.

Locals know to skip downtown and check out Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, The Strip, Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, Southside or the campuses of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.

When I’m feeling cash-strapped I go to Thai Me Up for yummy thai and big portions on a tight budget.

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For a huge splurge on beer I go

The Sharp Edge

in East Liberty.

Photo ops in my city include the skyline from the top of the Ft. Duquesne

Incline

.

If my city were a celebrity it’d be Fred Rogers aka Mister Rogers.

The most random thing about my city is we’ve got the local Yinzers who’ve been the backbone of this city since the beginning and some of the worlds leading hospitals, universities and technology.  Oh and we have our own dialect called

Pittsburghese

.

My city has the most men who bleed Black & Gold.

My city has the most women who bleed Black & Gold.

In my city, an active day outdoors involves shopping for fresh and ethnic foods in the Strip and hiking through Frick Park (don’t forget the picnic basket).

My city’s best museum is …I have to pick just one?

The Warhol

and the many Carnegie museums.

My favorite jogging/walking route is any trail through

Schenley Park

or Frick Park.

For a night of  live music, check out

Club Cafe

in the

Southside

.

The Original Hot Dog Shop in Oakland is the spot for late-night eats. Also a great place to laugh at drunk college students.

To find out what’s going on at night and on the weekends, read the CP or

iheartpgh

.

You can tell a lot about my city from tailgates on a Sunday in fall at Heinz Field.

You can tell if someone is from my city if they are wearing a Steelers jersey to a fancy restaurant. Acceptable dress code to any restaurant, workplace or event. No questions asked.

In the spring you should put on your rain boots and never leave home without your umbrella.

In the summer you should savor it for all its worth and NEVER sit inside. Go to the parks, farmers markets, concerts, festival, baseball games and more.

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In the fall you should put your rain boots back on and grab that umbrella.

In the winter you should go sledding on Flagstaff Hill and ice skating downtown.

A hidden gem in my city is Kelly’s Bar and Lounge in Penn Circle. Great cocktails and hip bartenders.

For a great breakfast joint you have a few choices: college freshmen would tell you in their hungover state Pamela’s

but I much prefer Cafe on the Strip in the Strip District.

Don’t miss the

Three Rivers Arts Festiva

l in June.

Just outside my city, you can visit

Fallingwater

and

Ohiopyle State Park

.

The best way to see my city is public transit to the many unique neighborhoods and walking the streets.

If my city were a pet it would be a big drooling

English bulldog

. Kinda ugly but cute. Stupid and slow but adorable in its own way and fiesty when it wants to be.

If I didn’t live in Pittsburgh, I’d live in Seattle. What can I say we like our rain clouds but miss the ocean!

The best book about my city is The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon. Skip the movie.

When I think about my city, the song that comes to mind is “32 Flavors” by Ani Difranco.

If you have kids, you won’t want to miss the

Carnegie Science Center

.

Six Super Bowl wins

could only happen in my city!!!!!!!

My city should be featured on your cover or website because it gets a bad rap from its sterotypes of being a old industrial city but it is blossoming with culture and entertainment. It’s changing daily and has so much to offer. I love my city!

Photos: David Fulmer via Flickr

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