Best Pittsburgh Weekend Ever!

Shelbie came to visit this weekend! She showed me some awesome sights in the city so far. Saturday morning, we went to the markets in the Strip District. I bought garlic so fresh it still had stems as well as basil and meats. The Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. is an awesome Italian market where you can bottle your own olive oil if you want! You can bring your own or use their gallon glass jugs and fill your oil from a huge cask. There were cheese samples and all the amazing foods you could feast on.

We ate biscotti and cheese dip and grilled fish. You can catch your own fish in Wholey's Meat Market or buy living sculptures made from moss at the craft stores. The strip district is a fantastic place and I am glad to have it in my city.

After that, we walked around Point Park and watched some of the Pirates/Cubs game on the jumbo-tron across the river. All the boats line up outside the field and wait to catch home runs! We could also catch a view of the crowds filing in to the football stadium for the Pitt/Notre Dame game.

THEN we did the coolest thing of the whole weekend and ate at the Church Brew Works. An enormous, stained glass window endowed church has been remodelled into a microbrewery. They have a fantastic menu, a living hops garden, and a golden brew works in lieu of the alter. You eat your meal sitting in the pews while the sun streams through the stained glass apostles. We enjoyed Pittsburgh perogies, which are ground kobe beef, onions, blue cheese in a mushroom and red pepper sauce. YUM! And I drank pipe organ pale ale. Anyone who comes here needs to eat at this place.

We ended the fun at a series of cool bars in the south side, including a stop to eat cheese steaks at a place with doors all over the walls and ceilings as well as a stop at the rugby bar owned and operated by the Pittsburgh Rugby Football club. Today, we are off for some pancakes and a visit to the Natural History museum to see the bog people.