Pittsburgh (September 2016)

My spouse and I visited Pittsburgh for a two-night stay in early September 2016. We had not been to the city in approximately 18 months, and things have changed! The Macy’s department store (previously the Kaufmann’s flagship store) is now shuttered; we remember 15+ years ago when there was a Macy’s (closed 2015), Saks Fifth Avenue (closed 2012), Kaufmann’s (closed 2005), Lazarus-Macys (closed 2004), and Lord & Taylor (closed 2004)  downtown. Now they are all closed. But what is disappointing on the shopping front is completely the opposite on the dining and hotel front! So many new restaurants (too many to name, but we want to try them all!), and even a few new hotels (Hilton Garden Inn, Embassy Suites, and Kimpton Monaco downtown, Holiday Inn Express North Shore, Homewood Suites Strip District, Ace, Indigo, and Hyatt House in Shadyside, with the Distrikt, Drury, Rivers Casino, Forbes, AC [Marriott], and Even and Holiday Inn [InterContinental Hotels Group] still scheduled downtown, Andrew in the Strip District, and the Home2Suites and Hampton Inn slated for the South Side). We were in town for the Pitt-Penn State game, the first rivalry matchup since the year 2000. Other friends and family joined us to tailgate on the river (how cool is that!) and to sit on opposing sides of the field. Pitt won the game 42-39, so at least two of us were happy! Good food and good comradery this weekend!

Hotel:

• Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Link to my review

Restaurants:

• Pizzaiolo Primo Link to my review
• Diamond Market Bar and Grille Link to my review
• The Butcher and the Rye Link to my review
• Revel Link to my review
• Grand Concourse Link to my review

Activity:

• Heinz Field Link to my review