#177: Pino Gelato - No Pizza Cone Here

The Best Pizza That Goes With You


After our adventure at the Hofbrauhaus, Emily and Michelle stopped at Pino Gelato which was only a few blocks away. Here, we were supposed to get what we thought was pizza gelato. The server looked at us with a puzzled look and asked if we meant the pizza cone. We said "Sure" to which she replied "We don't have it." We weren't at all disappointed. This is just the first of many times we will have to make it up as we go. Emily ordered a baby cone of mango and Michelle ordered a x-small cone of butter pecan. Yum.

5 down, 360 to go.

#62: Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh - Chuck E. Cheese for Adults

The Best Place to Celebrate Oktoberfest All Year Round

We are no strangers to the glories of Hofbrauhaus. Ever since our first trip, we've been pining to get to the Tapping of the Keg, a celebration that occurs on the first Wednesday of each month when the Hofbrau Seasonal Bier is introduced.


We arrived around 6:30pm. Faced with a 45 minute wait for a table in the Great Hall, we opted instead to sit at the bar. Michelle ordered her German staple food, Jagerschnitzel, while Emily opted for the "lighter" meal of Kartoffel Suppe (creamy potato soup) with potato pancakes, applesauce and sour cream on the side.

Around 6:45, we noticed a line was forming along the outside of the Great Hall. Emily offered to save our seats while Michelle waited in line for the keg to be tapped. Right at 7:00, the new keg of May bier (Maibock) let in a parade of people, including the polka band. Some held steins, some held flags, and everyone smiled like it was Christmas morning.

The parade wove in and around each row of tables before making its way to the front of the room. The brewmaster spoke briefly about Maibock before introducing the honorary keg-tapper, an editor of a local magazine. We sang along to a few "German" songs and then, at the height of anticipation, the keg was tapped! People cheered and the beer started flowing.

Lessons learned:
1. If you want a table, you must arrive between 5:00 and 5:30pm. Reservations are not accepted.
2. The line forms early, as there is a limited supply of free beer from the new keg.
3. The Jagerschnitzel is always a win. Substitute the veggies for fries if you aren't "green."
4. Contrary to popular belief, "tika-toka, tika-toka, oy-oy-oy" is not German, per our new (real) German friend.

4 down, 361 to go.

#69: New Dimensions Comics - A Light Among Darkness

The Best Place to Buy Comics

On Wednesday, we made the daring trek to Century III Mall in West Mifflin, PA. Neither one of us has an interest in comics, and the mall doesn’t have much to offer aside from department stores, so this was a quick trip. 

New Dimensions Comics has a wide variety of comics among which you can choose. While Michelle went in search of X-Men, Emily was fascinated with the Batman section. While browsing, we both came across a rather large collection of comics for under $2, some of which were even free! I bet you can guess which ones we went with…

 



For The Simpsons' Comic Book Guy, this would be heaven but for us, it was just another check mark on the list.

3 down, 362 to go.

#166: Caliban Book Shop - The Shop Around the Corner

The Best Place to Find that One-of-a-Kind Book

Just a hop, skip, and jump past our office is a great little book shop filled with more than 25,000 books including first print edition, rare collections, poetry, Americana, and more. On Tuesday, we walked to South Craig Street in Oakland to explore Thing #166 – Caliban Book Shop.

Now that the academic year has ended, Michelle has started to develop her summer reading list. Going to Caliban offered her an opportunity to find a book that would be added to her list. Michelle felt overwhelmed by the numerous shelves of books but gravitated toward the suspense and drama section. Michelle browsed through the books and picked up books such as “The Other David” and “Great Expectations”.  After shuffling through several books, Michelle finally stumbled upon “The Black Book” by Lawrence Durrell. When Michelle read that the book was prohibited publication in England and in the US until 1960 and 1973 consecutively because of it’s sexual content, she was immediately sold.

For her 25^th birthday, Emily, by request, received a copy of William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies.” Her brother, in a fit of jealousy and rage, started pouting about how he wanted the book too. Since then, Emily has been searching for an inexpensive copy of the book to no avail. After perusing the bookshelves on the first floor of Caliban and finding nothing of interest, she discovered a back door on which there was a sign for paperback fiction on the ground floor.  Hoping it was really a nexus to another universe, she ventured through and found another small room filled with none other than paperback fiction! Lo and behold, she came across a copy of LOTF just two blocks from her humble abode for only $2. Feeling satisfied with her find, she maneuvered her way back through the aisles to make her purchase.

*Note – credit and debit cards are accepted, but only on purchases more than $5. Emily found out the hard way and now she owes Michelle $2.

2 down, 363 to go.

#156: BRGR - Backyard Chic

On Sunday, we tried our first of 365 Things – The Best Place for an Unexpected Taste of Truffle. In search of truffle-infused Cheese Whiz and a bourbon milkshake, we ventured to BRGR on the corner of Highland and Penn Circle S in East Liberty. Neither of us had been there before but we had heard great things.

Parking in Pittsburgh tends to be the biggest issue when going out. Lucky for us, Michelle has a knack for finding the perfect (and usually free) spot just around the corner from where we want to go… that’s why Emily always makes her drive.

BRGR has a very trendy feel but is welcoming to young professionals, older patrons, families, and of course bloggers. We were quickly seated at a table on the covered rooftop that provided both a backyard setting featuring mesh tables, paper towels, and plastic condiment bottles and a great view of the neighborhood.

We decided to play it safe and ordered the BRGR fries (with truffle cheeze whiz obviously) and the Salty Caramel milk shake (bourbon, sea salt caramel sauce, and vanilla bean) to share. For a $1, the truffle cheese whiz was neither a large portion size nor nothing to write home about. The Salty Caramel milkshake, however… Michelle’s been restraining herself from going back to BRGR everyday. For $8, you get two servings that can be shared, though next time she may just get her own.

Because the name of the restaurant so closely resembles the word “burger,” we decided it would be more than appropriate to have two of those as well. Michelle ordered the Fire in the Hole featuring guac, jalapeños, pepper jack cheese, and chipotle mayo. Emily opted for the Shroomz, a burger with forest mushrooms, caramelized onions, brie cheese, and some sort of mustard “on the side” (like Sally from “When Harry Met Sally”). Both came off the grill very quickly, which only slightly made up for the lack of quality attention from our waitress.

Overall, we enjoyed our meal at BRGR and would certainly go back for another Salty Caramel milkshake sometime very soon.

1 down, 364 to go.

The Challenge

We are two twenty-something women living and working in Oakland, a small neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With so much available within walking distance, it is often a challenge to find a reason to leave.

The idea behind this blog came after a conversation about getting out and exploring the city. More or less, it went something like this...

Emily: "Wouldn't it be cool to try something new every day?"
Michelle: "You know, Living Social is compiling a list of 365 Things To Do In Pittsburgh."
Emily: "What a great place to start! I wish we could do them all in one year."
Michelle: "Obviously we will, because we are just that awesome."

With that, the challenge was on. Starting today, May 1, 2011, we will attempt to accomplish one of these 365 things each day (on average... we need a break for Christmas people) in hopes that a year from now, we will have tried a whole bunch of new things and much of what Pittsburgh has to offer.

The Rules:
1. We don't have to complete one task every day. Sometimes places are closed or we will be out of town. There will be some days during which we will complete more than one activity, but a minimum of one activity will be completed each week.

2. Events, activities, or locations we have attended previously (i.e. Hofbrauhaus, PNC Park) do not count.

3. The "Things" do not have to be completed in order. We are starting with Thing #156. Get over it.

4. We must complete the prescribed activity. For example, Thing #9 is The Best Happy Hour For Margaritas (at Mad Mex). This means we have to go to Mad Mex during happy hour and have a margarita. Saturdays, Sundays, and lunchtime don't count.

5. We both must be present for it to count, but only one of us has to participate. Emily hates coffee. She won't drink it.

6. The completion of each activity must be documented in some form. This may include but is not limited to photos and videos. If it's not documented, it doesn't count.

7. Some activities require children or dogs. We own neither and wish only for one. In instances where children and/or dogs are necessary, we will borrow them. Volunteers??

8. There aren't actually 365 "Things" on the list (Living Social forgot 34 comes after 33, 134 comes after 133, and 143 comes after 142). We will need your help to come up with replacements!

9. Some events have already occurred and were one night only. In such instances, we will do our best to replicate the activity. Again, your suggestions will be most helpful.

10. All 365 "Things" must be completed by April 30, 2012 at 11:59pm. Failure to complete this challenge may result in Michelle running a naked mile through Oakland.

With the rules in place, we're off to complete Thing #156: The Best Place for an Unexpected Taste of Truffle...