These days it’s hard to ignore the increase in restaurant openings in Pittsburgh.
Come to think of it, why would you want to anyway? If you’re in the know, you’ll know exactly where to head when you’re hungry for a new dining experience.
Even still, let’s assume that somehow you managed to miss the local buzz. If that’s the case, it would only be a matter of time until word of the new and coming soon eateries invaded your newsfeed. Except this time, the praise is being heaped on Pittsburgh by national outlets applauding dining options that far exceed a certain sandwich topped with french fries.
Pittsburgh: A destination food town
Well, you can add Eater to the list of out of town outlets taking an interest in the hype that promises to put Pittsburgh’s food scene on the map. This time, Bill Addison asked the question, “is Pittsburgh the nation’s next destination food town?” Then in his article, by the same name, he set out to eat his way to an answer.
Addison first got a taste of Pittsburgh eats back in 1989 when attending a pre-college summer music program at Carnegie Mellon University. As this foodie writer discovered upon returning to the Burgh 26 years later to comb the city for the best bites, the landscape of creative cuisine in the Steel City has drastically evolved.
As part of his mission to make sense of Pittsburgh’s “next big food town” claims, Addison made his way to nearly a dozen top-notch PGH restaurants. From unique cross-cultural dishes at Tako, to purist pierogies at Legume, to “smoky-sweet” bread at Bread and Salt, to finger-licking burgers at Meat and Potatoes; Addison had a taste of it all.
Survey says…
His conclusion? Addison resolved, “…Do I think it’s time for food fanatics to book a flight solely for the purpose of dining through Pittsburgh? Not yet. The dining scene is still shaping a distinct identity though the dynamism among its strongest players is tangible.” So maybe we aren’t the “it” city for cuisine, but Addison realized what we’ve known for years, that the city has a heck of a lot of drool-worthy grub.
And the writer went on to affirm, “Beyond national talk, proud Pittsburgh doesn’t strike me as a city of people clamoring for validation.” Precisely. We will gladly continue to enjoy the Pittsburgh restaurants we know and love, regardless of national rankings.
Head over to Eater to check out the full article with Addison’s complete list of “essential” PGH eateries.
This content was provided by a local, independent contributor to Made in PGH, a lifestyle blog.