Mets at Pirates: Annual Trek to Pittsburgh

Roberto218 · Post by **Roberto218** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 3:28 pm

Coming to Pittsburgh for yearly visit with some buddies for the Mets series on July 26,27,28 and 29. Arriving the 25th and got a great deal at the Renaissance Hotel. Searching for Bucs victories, good food and sight-seeing opportunities. Have been to Primantis, Pamela's Diner, Penn Brewery, Fatheads, Hofbrauhaus. Any other dining suggestions. Might go to Clemente museum again. How is the Honus Wagner museum. Any other sightseeing suggestions? Is the Aviary worth a visit? Finally, can the Bucs sweep the Mets? 1,000 mile roundtrip!

UtahPirate · Post by **UtahPirate** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 3:55 pm

That makes two of us.

Coming from SLC for the Friday and Saturday games. Pretty excited. I don't get to PNC very often (last time was 2014). So I will enjoy any suggestions as well!

timozbuck · Post by **timozbuck** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 1:23 pm

1825282F383E25787B724A0 wrote: Coming to Pittsburgh for yearly visit with some buddies for the Mets series on July 26,27,28 and 29. Arriving the 25th and got a great deal at the Renaissance Hotel. Searching for Bucs victories, good food and sight-seeing opportunities. Have been to Primantis, Pamela's Diner, Penn Brewery, Fatheads, Hofbrauhaus. Any other dining suggestions. Might go to Clemente museum again. How is the

Honus Wagner museum. Any other sightseeing suggestions? Is the Aviary worth a visit? Finally, can the Bucs sweep the Mets? 1,000 mile roundtrip!

Church Brew Works looks like a very cool place. I haven’t been there yet but have drank a few of their beers and they were outstanding. Andy Warhol museum is close and worth the trip.

Don’t hold your breath counting on a Bucco sweep

rucker59@gmail.com · Post by **rucker59@gmail.com** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 3:37 pm

For both if you:

Lawrenceville is a great place to visit. As is the entire East End (Strip District, Lawrenceville, Garfield, Highland Park, East Liberty, Oakland, Shady, Squirrel Hill and the entire area.

If you want to see the transformation of Pittsburgh into a tech giant just explore from downtown through East Liberty and Oakland. From downtown, just follow the river (Smallman Street, etc) to Lawrenceville. The entire area seems to be under construction with housing to AI and robotics labs. Google is at the far end of the East End redevelopment, in Bakery Square.

10 years ago there was nothing going on. Where the Target sits, there was a ~20 story public housing that spanned Penn Avenue; you’d drive though the building.

I’m not unaware of the challenges of gentrification, but what is in process is completely redefining Pittsburgh.

Back to Lawrenceville: look for a Little restaurant called Smoke on Butler Street. They specialize in tacos and they are awesome. More expensive than the typical taco but still a relatively cheap lunch or dinner. Then for a throwback experience, check out Kickback and Arsenal Bowling, both located in the same block of Bulter Street, just a few blocks from Smoke.

Kickback is a Pinball arcade/ restaurant. They have probably 20+ machines, a combination of the newest machines and some old classics. Many folks are surprised that Pinball is still around, much less that it is making a real comeback with several new manufacturers.

Arsenal, on the 2nd floor of the same block, is old school bowling and very cool. It can get REALLY crowded in the evenings. Go during the day.

The Roberto Clemente museum is in the area. Great restaurants all over the place, Shadyside and Squirrel hill shopping, Phipps, the Universities (CMU is singlehanded reshaping Pittsburgh and one of the Most important universities in the world) and beautiful parks: the East End is way cool.

Also - if you never been to Mount Washington, got to do it. Coolest way to visit: take the “T” from downtown to the 1st stop on the Other side of the Mon (Station Square?). From that stop you can visit Station Square but you can also ride the incline up Mount Washington. There are neat restaurants, ice cream, etc on Mt W. Note, the T is free from North Side to that first station Southside. The incline is a few bucks.

Mt W and Point State Park are must visits, especially in the evenings.

One last suggestion: rent a bike downtown and ride miles of trails downtown and along the rivers. See if you can find the bicycle museum on the North Shore, past the Casino: you can spend hours there if you have time, and virtually no one knows about this crazy place.

Quail · Post by **Quail** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 4:27 pm

Lots of great suggestions already given. When I get back to Pittsburgh for a visit the aviary, Carnegie museum and the Heinz museum are always on my itinerary. My favorite 'burgh eats are a fish sammich at Robert Wholey's in the strip for lunch, and for dinner a pizza from Mineo's in Squirrel Hill. There is an incredible amount of cool stuff to do in Pittsburgh! Have fun!!!

DemDog · Post by **DemDog** » Thu Jul 05, 2018 11:17 am

My friend VA has given you a great rundown on what to do and eat in the Burgh and they are all very exciting as he says. Only bummer will be at the Pirate game for obvious reasons. I especially agree about the trip to Mt Washington. Some of the greatest views of the city are from the observation deck up there. My wife and I used to visit there several times a year especially at night when the city is lit up. Awesome for sure.

rucker59@gmail.com · Post by **rucker59@gmail.com** » Thu Jul 05, 2018 5:49 pm

6B4A426B40482F0 wrote: My friend VA has given you a great rundown on what to do and eat in the Burgh and they are all very exciting as he says. Only bummer will be at the Pirate game for obvious reasons. I especially agree about the trip to Mt Washington. Some of the greatest views of the city are from the observation deck up there. My wife and I used to visit there several times a year especially at night when the city is lit up. Awesome for sure.

Possum, I’d challenge you to a bowling match at Arsenal, but my 95 average would not look nearly so good against your 255. But I’ll take you on in Taco eating!

DemDog · Post by **DemDog** » Thu Jul 05, 2018 8:58 pm

3235232B2532757900272D21292C6E232F2D400 wrote: My friend VA has given you a great rundown on what to do and eat in the Burgh and they are all very exciting as he says. Only bummer will be at the Pirate game for obvious reasons. I especially agree about the trip to Mt Washington. Some of the greatest views of the city are from the observation deck up there. My wife and I used to visit there several times a year especially at night when the city is lit up. Awesome for sure.

Possum, I’d challenge you to a bowling match at Arsenal, but my 95 average would not look nearly so good against your 255. But I’ll take you on in Taco eating!

Bowling is not one of my things. I need the kiddie rails along side the alley to keep the ball out of the gutter. Although as a Sr in high school so many eons ago I did set pins at the local bowling alley before they go the automatic pin setters. Got more than one pin hurled behind my head by some of the power bowlers in town. As for tacos that might be a good match up for sure.

Roberto218 · Post by **Roberto218** » Mon Jul 09, 2018 6:10 pm

Thanks to all for some valuable insights!

Roberto218 · Post by **Roberto218** » Mon Jul 16, 2018 1:19 am

I bought these tickets on the first day they went on sale. The Mets and the Pirates started off very well and slumped.....The Mets more than the Pirates. Now the Pirates are playing well again and perhaps can salvage a decent season, if not a wild card spot. The outfield is playing pretty well, we have some depth in the starting rotation and the bullpen has improved. We need some more offense from the infield, and I hope Cervelli recovers from his concussions. The Mets have two of the best starters in deGroom and Syndegaard, but their offense and bullpen have been terrible. Their starting staff is pretty good, so don't underestimate them. When I bought these tickets, I was hoping we would keep Cutch, but I thought these might be some of his last games as a Buc with the trade deadline looming. I was way off of course. I do miss Cutch and the harsh reality that baseball is a business demonstrates itself in many ways: my ticket price paid in 2017, is higher than similar tickets cost today with dynamic pricing, and about double what they would cost on Stubhub. I wonder if Bob Nutting, when he looks at cutting salary when he trades Cutch and Cole, ever considers the impact on revenue when you trade your two best players, which has a dramatic impact on the psyche of your fanbase. The Bucs may be a bit better than they were last year, but I don't think I will change my passwords from Cutch.....ever. But I will keep rooting for the Pirates as I have done for the past 58 years since I was four years old. And the 5 game sweep of the Brewers gives me some hope. So I am looking forward to the trip, and Josh Bell's hit today reminded me of Roy Hobb's hit with the Savoy Special in The Natural. And I will eat at the restaurant, Verduttis ?, with the Clemente mural, and have a great time, and perhaps another Pirates sweep!