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When I visited for work, we mainly ate at chain restaurants. But I have heard amazing things about Primanti Brothers.

I visited Pittsburgh a few years back for a college graduation and was pleasantly suprised! The city has some wonderful dining and entertainment options. Don't miss the cocktail hour at the Warhol museum (do they still do this?). And yes, Primanti Bros is worth a stop. French fries IN your sandwich. Enough said. Also, try a yeungling beer (not sure about spelling). We enjoyed several good meals around the Pitt campus.

I have only visited, but I think pittsburgh has excellent food.

"The Strip" has every kind of grocery store you can imagine, the Pennsylvania Mac. Company has an astounding cheese counter, fresh bread, imported Italian goods, and next door to a sausage maker and butcher shop, had some of the best drycured soppresetta. Shadyside market has fine butchers.

the "big burrito group" owns and operate some excellent fine dining establishments, I have eaten at Eleven and Casbah and had excellent meals and they were most kind and helpful in preparing equally exciting and delicious food for my vegan girlfriend no problem. Nine on Nine was great as well, but I don't think they are affiliated with that group

some good thai food around (silk elephant? maybe I can't remember)

Zenith Tea Room has great veg. food

La Prima, excellent coffee and pastries.

Penn Ave. Fish Company for a fishmonger and some good food

I dig the Primanti Brothers but I think it was overhyped for me and ultimately a disappointment (BUT you should still go there). Fries on a sandwich is great but the sandwiches are too damn big and ultimately weighed down and too greasy.

plus the city is quite lovely, the hills the rivers and the stairs, I love the neighborhoods, the lack of obnoxious hipsters, and some fine rock music.

pittsburgh gets a bad rap but I have found the sources of negative pittsburgh comments to be fools.

If you like German food and interesting brews, you MUST to go the Pennsylvania Brewing Company. Even if you don't like German food or interesting brews, it's worth a look.

Somewhere up near the top of the hill that the brewery sits at the bottom of is an old church that contains a multitude of relics of saints, which is a bit creepy. And the hill boasts the steepest street in town, nicknamed "pig hill." I'm sorry, but I don't know the actual name of the street, but if you ask someone local, they will tell you. It's only a block or so long, paved with cobblestones, and when you're at the top of the hill in your car, you actually can't see the street surface until you start going downward. And then you pretty much stand on your brake the whole way down. Ya gotta do it at least one, but preferably not after you've been to the brewpub. Oh yeah, and that street lets out onto a rather busy one, so you'd better have good brakes.

There's a good restaurant on Washington hill -- I think the big draw may be the view, because I don't remember what I ate there, or even what the cuisine was.

The strip district is worth a half-day of browsing, and just wander around until you find an eatery that interests you.

Folks should be aware that Primanti Bros puts both fries AND cole slaw on your sandwich! But don't expect "serious eats" there. It's sorta like Pgh's version of the Philly cheesesteak: it's local "diner" fare -- nothing fancy. In fact, it's downright sloppy.

Also, please be advised that the "Strip District" is not at all what it sounds like! It's a "strip" of land along the Allegheny River where all the wholesale markets are (Penn & Smallman streets). The dry goods in the Asian markets are as varied as we have here in north Jersey. There's also a local coffee roaster there who does a heckuva local and internet business. "Lydia's" is indeed in "The Strip," but don't expect anything like the Bastianich places in NYC.

And I can't believe nobody's mentioned the South Side! To the extent that Pittsburgh has a "happenin'" neighborhood, that's it. Just drive along E. Carson St., about 10 blocks or so either side of 18th. Go much further to the East and you'll be in a "new" area where it's all chain stores & restaurants. I can particularly recommend "Nakama" for sushi (and the wonderful chocolatier 1/2 block east) and "Le Pommier" for French.

While in the South Side, go west along Carson until you reach one of the 2 inclines that will take you up to the top of Mt. Washington. It's cheap, fun, and you get stunning views of Pgh. While up there, you can enjoy a number of more formal restaurants. "Monterey Bay Fish Grotto" is always a good place to take your parents!

And, if you go through the Liberty Tubes and into the South Hills (not to be confused with the South Side), go on to Mt. Lebanon and have Minneo's Pizza. My Dad used to bring us take out from there onceinawhile when I was a kid -- and I'm talkin' 30-some years ago! It was right by the trolley stop, and he could walk to our house in Mission Hills. Mmmm, nice memories!

The coolest thing about Pittsburgh is that you can park centrally and walk to all these places. The Strip and the South Side are at opposite ends of the city, but it's no more than a 30-40 minute walk -- and a very nice one, right through the city center.

Good luck!

Ok, to further "pimp my town" with Pittsburgh recommendations:

1. Italian: please, god, do not go to Bucca di Beppo. If you MUST have red-sauce Italian/American/huge portions/deep-fried cheese, go to Pleasure Bar in Bloomfield. For interesting Italian food, you can taste Dish on the South Side, Piccolo Forno in Lawrencville, Alla Famglia (sp?) in the South Hills, Vivo in Bellevue (my personal fave), or Girasole in Shadyside. Bona Terra in Sharpsburg is sort-of-Italian, but always delicious, and is nationally recognized for their locally-sourced seasonal menu. As a plus, they are BYOB, as is Vivo, due to Pennsylvania's psychotic liquor laws.

2. "High-end" dining: The Big Burrito group has Eleven, Kaya, Casbah, and Soba, all of which are consistently good and occasionally outstanding. I am particularly fond of Kaya, which is less expensive and a bit more adventurous than the other restaurants. I have found that the other places in this category are serviceable if boring, catering as they do to the expense-account crowd downtown. Hyeholde is a unique experience though it is out in the boondocks.

3. Sushi: the only two decent sushi places in Pgh are Chaya, in Squirrel Hil, and Umi, in Shadyside (above Soba; Umi is also owned by Big Burrito).

4. The rest: Local restaurants we just like include Sassy Marie's and Muriel's on the North Side, Thai Cuisine in Bloomfield, Tazzo d'Oro in Highland Park, Kazansky's Deli in Squirrel Hill for knishes and awesome matzoh-ball soup, Pamela's for breakfast and yummy crepe-style pancakes, Fathead's for wings and good microbeer selection, Point Brugge Cafe for moules frites and Belgian beer, Mineo's and Napoli for pizza, Eat Unique for meaty and vegetarian soup, Zenith Cafe and Quiet Storm for vegetarian cuisine, Joe's Rusty Nail in Bellevue for breakfast and Turkey Devonshires, Tessaro's in Bloomfield for the BEST hamburgers (they are always mentioned in national "best burger" lists from Esquire and the NYTimes), and 21st Street Coffee for Clover-brewed joe that will literally give you caffeine-tingles and heart palpitations for hours.

I think I'm going to copy this whole thread and e-mail it to my friend who lives in Pittsburgh! He goes to the same places all the time and I think he needs to broaden his horizons... :D

Hell, we've recently driven ~3 hours (includes getting lost) to go to Pittsburgh to eat at Sonic and visit IKEA.

True story.

We don't have a closer Sonic or IKEA. :)

I live and work in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh and don't often move beyond a 3 mile radius for dinner. Fortunately there are dozens of good, cheap to moderately priced restaurants in my little slice of the world. Here are a few that haven't been mentioned: For nice Italian food La Cucina Flegrea is usually quite good. The Noodle Hut in Regent Square is cheap, and addictive. Likewise for Rose Tea Cafe, if you enjoy Taiwanese food. I think Sun Panang is pretty good too. People's India in Garfield is cheap and tasty, you guessed it, Indian food. Have you noticed cheap is a big thing with me? There's a Pamela's in Squirrel Hill too - for breakfast all day. Bona Terra in Sharpsburg has already been mentioned and is not cheap, and is more than 3 miles from my house, but I like it enough to highlight it again anyhow.

@Susquehanna - as much as my friend prides him self on some culinary adventurousness, he does tend to dine frequently at the same places. His comfort zone is Italian so I'm excited to see all the other prospects for him to try. If I ever get to Pittsburgh to see him, I'll enjoy all these discoveries as well!

CC's Cafe and The Gran Canal in Sharpsburg are two of the best Italian restaurants in Pittsburgh. Also, Lunardi's in Beechview is excellent Italian food. For locally sourced food, try Iovino's in Mt. Lebanon.

I'm probably the only Pittsburgher who doesn't like Pamela's. It's really greasy and their home fries are odd. I haven't been impressed by bonna terra (also in sharpsburg and previously mentioned).

For lunch, try Colangelo's in the Strip (Tuesday is spinach pasta day). It's right by La Prima Espresso - some of the best coffee in the city.

Pittsburgh, part 2

Over around Greentree-Crafton, go to Angkor. It's in a small strip mall area (2350 Noblestown Rd), and dthe same folks who own the Lemongrass downtown own it. The food is primarily Cambodian-Thai, with a few Chinese dishes added. We have never had anything bad there. My favorite is Lock Lack, beef tenderloin pieces marinaded and cooked, served with lemon pepper sauce. oh, and don't forget to try their version of fried ice cream

Moroeville - go to TaiPei Tokyo. Wonderful sushi and sashimi, and you can choose Japanese or Chinese dishes. The whole fish in black bean sauce is all there is to one dish, but each bite gets better and better...Again, everything we have had so far there is better than the last. Bento box lunches are fun also...salad, soup, California rolls, and tempura veggies - nice, healthy and delicious.

LuLu's Noodles, in Oakland, near Pitt University - yes~~~a must go place.

Also in Oakland, (if it's still there), The O for chili hot dogs, fries and onion rings...

Back to Oakmont, choose between Hoffstot's, or the Chelsea Grill. I prefer the old fashioned, elegant Hoffstot's, even when I get a dark beer and fish sandwich. But if you are going for dinner, their scallops or shrimp in the orange and lemon butter sauce are well worth it. My first choice is usually one of their specials OR a dish I have never seen or had elsewhere - Veal Miceli - created by a former chef there. slices of veal, coated with crumbs and fried, wrapped up in deep fried eggplant slices...cheese, sauce...5 **** or better. BTW...sometimes, if you are lucky you will get to see current or past Steelers there.

Desserts, except for Italian cheese cake and their own version of deep fried ice cream with either amaretto fudge sauce, or cherry pie filling or fresh strawberries, the other desserts are not made on site. So before you leave, and if the Oakmont Bakery (in between the 2 restaurants) is still open, check out their Oakmonter or Almond tort (buy a large one, or small 2 person one), or one of their exquisite designer cupcakes. My son and his new bride had the cupcakes at the wedding instead of a wedding cake.

There are folks who don't live here think we still have steel mills blasting away, or that we are all newcomers to the country...but we have tremendous food in Pittsburgfh, inc. the South Siide which now has several new restaurants (try a corned beef sandwich with your Guiness at the Cladagh...)

There are little known places like Jimmy's (brand new) Thai food in Verona...

Darn...I am now so hungry

Yes! Pittsburgh is more than halupki or haluski (both of which I cook at home ... I think we are waiting for Gourmet or Bon Appetit to discover us! But maybe that wouldn't be a good thing.

Hugs from OrigCyn

I am so glad this thread is new!

My DH and I are going to a convention in Downtown Pgh in two weeks. We will NOT have a car, and need recommendations for eateries reachable by foot or inexpensively. We are staying at the Commonwealth Hilton and the maps look pretty bleak.

We would rather not eat at the hotel the whole time, and would love some local flavor!

I can't believe how late I'm coming to this post, but I also live in Pittsburgh and can't say enough about the food scene. Everyone has really wonderful suggestions, so I'm only going to add two places that I dont' think were mentioned:

Udipi Cafe in Monroeville - South Indian diner, amazing dosas and uthappam
Legume Bistro in Regent Square - french/italian country cooking, with a commitment to the local and seasonal

The Strip, as mentioned, is the mecca of food in the city.

I just came back from the Bourdain lecture and I am so happy to read this post and see all the connections to Pittsburgh on SE. Now I want to go and have a meal with you all!

@Littlebluesiren: I was at Bourdain's lecture. Up in the second balcony. Weren't you frustrated with the audience's lame questions? Nobody asked about projects he may be developing, Top Chef, his best frenemy Ruhlman, or what it's like being a new dad. Shyness kept me from the Q & A mike. Wish I wasn't that way.

Anyway, the Pgh line cook contingent was out in full force! Can you believe how they were begging the man to go out for drinks with them or to "come back to my restaurant"? Do you think he was genuinely amused with this -- 'cause he was laughing pretty hard -- or was he just smitten with how pathetic the quality of the Q & A had become? Maybe it's a common thing at his public appearances.

@anybody: Did anybody else go to Bourdain's Drue Heinz lecture?

@Susquehanna:

My husband and I were at the Bourdain lecture last night too. I was also seated in the second balcony, right in front of a group of restaurant folk who were so rowdy they made it hard to hear his responses during the Q&A. I think anyone who has read his books or watched NR fairly often has heard what he had to say before, though he certainly has his schtick down pat! We did enjoy the lecture despite the lame Q&A.

@susquehanna, regarding Bourdain:

Yes, I was really frustrated too. I guess that it was to be expected, with a young crowd of line cooks. Though I probably wouldn't mind having a beer with Tony, that is for sure! I think that he was probably slightly amused but I'm sure he thought it was a little obnoxious and was being gracious. I also, was a little too shy - the girl next to me asked a question. Although, after I got home, I thought of the perfect question: "Was the photo shoot in My Last Supper your idea?" :)