the strip on a sunday

One of the many things I love about Pittsburgh is that I am constantly finding NEW things to love. For how relatively small the city is, there is so much to do here.
(The winter weather, construction and distance from my family are really the only things I don't like about this place. Oh and the Squirrel Hill Tunnel....I.hate.THE.Squirrel.Hill.Tunnel.)

One of the gems that took me way too long to try out for myself was the Strip District. The Strip is a half mile square foot section of town just northeast of down town.
Here's a little bit for you history buffs:

The land that makes up The Strip ws initially developed back in the early 1800's. Due to it's convenient location to the rivers, it was home to iron mills and glass factories. Andrew Carnegie actually had his first iron/steel mill there.  In the 19th century wholesale produce merchants entered the Strip district because of the close proximity to the railroad tracks. In the 1920's these businesses were booming but then in the 1930's the Great Depression hit along with a major floor to the area and many businesses had to shut their doors. In the 1950's there were 71 produce merchants left and by 1970 less than 25. Today The Strip is still the home to several produce stands but also an array of awesome restaurants and specialty food shoppes. Not to mention numerous street vendors selling anything you can imagine with a Steelers logo on it.

To read more check out: Neighbors in the Strip

The first time I experienced the Strip District on a Saturday morning was last year and have to admit was a little overwhelmed. The sidewalks and stores are flooded with people.. some shopping, some playing various instruments, some trying to sell you stuf, and some  (like me) were not quite sure where to start! Since I did not know where to go for what, we shuffled in and out many places just buying a schmorgasbord of items. Where do you go for cheese? bread? meats? produce????
I promised myself the next time I needed a map and a plan. Subsequent trips have been much better and now I have my favorite places.

Yesterday the weather was absolutely gorgeous so my girlfriends Kendra, Rebecca and Jess, decided to grab brunch and go shopping in the Strip. We ate at an awesome restaurant called Eleven, named as such since it's on 11th street. As we were sipping our brunch cocktails we had to laugh when we realized we had a reservation at 11:00 at Eleven, on 11/11. Weird, we are still waiting for something really cool to happen. This place prides itself on using locally grown food and changes its menu quite frequently. I opted for a crab, leek and white cheddar omelet, it was delicious!

 

Afterwards, with our bellies full, we headed to do some shopping for the last thing we felt like looking at.. FOOD.

Smallman Street - the main road where produce merchants used to be

Penn Avenue - parallel to Smallman St where many of the restaurants, specialty shoppes are located

First stop: Pennsylvania Macaroni Company
This tops my list for best places in the strip to buy cheese, pasta, and olive oil. Yesterday wasn't too bad but on Saturday mornings you should see the line for the cheese counter. I've learned you take your number, do your shopping and come back and you will still be waiting a little bit.






















Next stop: Enrico's Biscotti
All different flavors of (you guessed it) biscotti! I didn't buy any yesterday but I enjoy the traditional flavors like Almond and Anise. They even make Doggie Biscotti in a Peanut Butter flavor which Izzy loves.

Next stop: Mancini's Bread for a Pepperoni Roll
You can't go to the Strip without buying a pepperoni roll from the street stand for $5.00. I have to admit, Mancini's is not my favorite for this, Sunseri Bros. is but they are closed on Sunday. When my parents visited earlier this year, my dad had a blast heckling the guy that stands on the corner screaming about how big his pepperoni roll is for only $5!

Next stop: Public Market for Coconut Macaroons
Some days the dessert vendor is in front of Penn Mac, but the last two trips they have been inside the Public Market which is actually in the building where many of the old produce merchents used to reside. There are a variety of vendors inside some with homemade pierogies, others with craft beers, soaps, meats, etc. I bee-lined to pick up some macaroons, baklava and brownies for Sunday dinner dessert and they were scrumptious. (Oops, I didn't mean that, remember I'm trying to be healthy this week!)



Other places I recommend that we didn't check out yesterday are Parma for italian sausage and Wholey's seafood for the freshest fish you'll find in the burgh. If you are from the burgh, what other places do you suggest?

For those of you who many travel to Pittsburgh someday, you must check this out.
You will feel like a pro since I'm telling you where to go so don't be intimidated!