Month: October 2014
Location: Pittsburgh
I had lived in Pittsburgh for
over 4 years and have a certain affinity towards it. So when it came to selecting the starting
point for my expedition, this was a perfect choice. I took a flight on Friday evening and arrived
at familiar airport that I had first see on a snowy evening more than 7 years
ago. The plan had been to drive my
rental car to the hotel and check-in, before proceeding to ‘Church Brew Works’, a place that I used to frequent quite a
bit. However, a delay in arrival as well as
the long wait at the rental line prompted me to make a change, where I would go
straight to the restaurant.
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| 'The Church Brew Works' |
One of the more fascinating
“introductions” to a city is the exit
from the long
‘Ford Pitt Tunnel’ into
the heart of Pittsburgh downtown. I
always look forward to that and make it a point to tell everyone else to
anticipate that. Today was no exception
as I drove through the tunnel and past the Baseball stadium. I drove past my old apartment and down the
same road that I used to take to go to work every day. I arrived at the restaurant and found parking
in an always crowded lot.
‘Church Brew Works’ is exactly what it
sounds like. A brewery built inside a
church…really. And it makes amazing
beer. I sat at the bar and ordered
‘Celestial Gold’, one of the all-time
classics…in fact the beer that got me into beer drinking. While in Pittsburgh you must have
‘Pierogis’ and while having those and the
beer, I sent a picture of the place to an old colleague with whom I used to
come here. After a sandwich and
‘Pious Monk Dunkel’, the beer they are
most known for, it was time to head to the hotel. They gave me a suite that included a kitchen
and utensils for cooking...and it was safe to say that those would not be
used. But the best thing was the view,
which was facing
‘PNC Park’ one of
the most beautiful baseball stadiums.
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| Freshly made Donuts on the 'Strip' |
I woke up the next morning to
overcast conditions. But it was
Saturday, meaning only one thing – a walk to the
‘Strip District’. For all the years that I had lived in Pittsburgh,
my Saturday morning walk across the
‘16th
Street Bridge’ to the
‘Strip
District’ was a ritual that I looked forward to. I took the river trail to the familiar bridge
and crossed over to arrive at the bustling street, which is a typical of a
Saturday morning in Pittsburgh. My first
stop was at my favorite coffee place,
‘Prestogeorge’
for
‘Vanilla Bean Latte’. What separates their latte than others is the
addition of vanilla powder. With my
coffee in hand, I went to some of my usual spots like
‘Wholey Market’ and
‘Penn
Mac’ where I used to get my cheese.
I also had to stop at
‘Enrico’s’
to get a fresh biscotti to go with my coffee and the gift shop where I have
spent significant amount of money in the past. Typically I would have picked a
place to have lunch, but I was headed somewhere else…but not before a
‘Maple-Bacon Donut’ at
‘Peace Love and Little Donuts’!
I walked back to my hotel, taking
an alternate route past the ‘Convention
Center’ and over the bridge next to the ball park. I dropped off some of my stuff and the jumped
in the car, headed to ‘Waterworks Mall’,
another place where I have spent a lot of time.
I was meeting a couple of my friends, Jessica and Caton, for lunch at ‘Uncle Sam’s’, home of arguably the best
sandwiches of all time. We caught up on
old days and after lunch I walked about the mall for a bit before heading off
to another part of town – ‘Walnut Street’
in ‘ShadySide’. There are a couple of places that I always
visit when here, a cards and books shop and then ‘Coffee Tree Roasters’. The
coffee shop was full of visitors but I managed to find a small table in the
corner and spent the next couple of hours in the serenity that a only a
familiar coffee shop can provide. My
next stop was the ‘Waterfront Mall’
and in particular, ‘Barnes and Noble’
bookstore where I spent many a Saturday evening, sitting at the tables. During my time there I had
observed a group of people who, like me, were regulars and met every week to
catch up. I went over to see if they
were there and while I think I recognized someone, I guess I was just looking
for ghosts.
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| The view from the restaurant |
Over my stay in Pittsburgh there
was one certainty – the Wednesday evening
‘Movie
Club’ at my friends, Sheehy’s. Even
today those 3 years remain some of the best of my life and something that I
know will never happen again. The
Sheehy’s had moved away, but through them I had met Lynn and David, and little
Gracie. They were still in Pittsburgh
and I made a quick stop at their place and it was truly wonderful to see them
even if briefly. I came back to the
hotel for a short while and then I was next headed for dinner on top of
‘Mount Washington’, to
‘Monterey Bay Fish Grotto’ a restaurant
which truly presents one with the absolute best views of Pittsburgh. I drove the car up the steep mountain and took
the elevator up to the top. I was early
and so decided to go get a drink at the bar on the lower level. As I went there, I saw that there was a table
available right next to the window overlooking the city. I knew that I would not get a better view
than this in the main dining hall and so decided to stay here. After a wonderful evening it was back to the
hotel for the night.
 |
| The beautiful river walk |
The next morning I went back to
‘Waterworks Mall’ to have coffee with my
dear friend Jen. We used to work
together and have stayed in regular touch.
She took me over to show her new house and after that it was back to the
hotel to pack and up and then I was headed to
‘Station Square’ and
‘The
Grand Concourse’ for brunch – something that I never managed to do over my
4 years stay. I was early for my
reservation and so walked through the charming shops that are over there,
before going over to the big hall where Pittsburgh’s most famous Sunday brunch
is served. After that there was one more
thing to do before leaving.
 |
| The sign that I knew so well |
Just as every Saturday morning
had been a visit to the
‘Strip District’,
every Sunday afternoon had been reserved for my walk alongside the river, all
the way past the stadiums, the museum, the casino, to this one spot under a
bride where some had painted graffiti -
‘Spok’. That had been my indication to turn back
home…and a stop for beer at a local watering hole. I wanted to do the same before heading for
the airport and so I left my car by the side of the trail and did the same
“pilgrimage”. It was a splendid day for a walk and after
reaching the sign I turned back and instead of coming back straight to the car,
crossed over across the
‘Allegheny’
to the
‘Point Park Fountain’, where
the 3 rivers merge. From there I went to
the central square of
‘PPG’ place - another area where I used to come watch the
"dancing fountain" - though the fountain over there was under construction.
Then it was a walk through the downtown and a brief stop in a art studio
above the downtown subway station – it took me all these years to realize that
Pittsburgh downtown has a subway station!
It was now time to head back and
I picked up the car and drove back to the airport. It had been a great visit and a terrific start
to my quest. I love Pittsburgh and
always will. That’s because of my time
there, the routine that I had and the relationships that I had built.
Lot of things have changed since...people have moved on. And every time I come back I say goodbye to a
part of my old life. However I’m not
done yet. I will be back; but maybe not
for a long time. There are 50 other
places to go to.
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