Pittsburgh has given me the itch to write. In three days, one of which doesn't count since I didn't even venture into the city, Pittsburgh has reached to my inner writer, grabbed hold and made me love it. So now, in turn I must do the same (whether the reader has an inner writer or not, I want the city to grab something and make you love it).
Today, my father and I ventured down to what is known as the Strip District. Saturday is a huge market day, where in addition to the normal stores and permanent markets, vendors come sell wares and foods on the sidewalk. It's also the day most people come down. So, it's a bustling, lively place on Saturdays.
The strip district has a bit of a gritty feel to it. It's not gross or slummy, but it's not architecturally pretty or historic or like Faneuil Hall in Boston. It has a lot of warehouses that have become large markets, and in between there are smaller specialty shops. But really, how it looks isn't what you'll notice or care about if you're wandering the streets. I say this from experience, I can barely recall how it looked.
What I can recall, is that this is a foody's paradise. A foody (foodie?) in a very loose sense is someone who adores exploring food, is a food snob or loves exotic/eccentric foods. This place has a famous market for fish and meats called Wholey's right when you enter. I saw a girl walk by with a bag full of frozen octopus and passed by a animatronic steer head singing and “talking” to passerby over a cooler full of ribs. Someone has a sense of humor in this place. Also, it's huge. A fun place to explore and looks nothing like a conventional supermarket, with huge tanks of live trout and lobsters and a warehouse feel (but not like Bjs or Sams club, this place is more open, not organized strictly into rows/aisles) it makes for a more interesting and appealing layout.
Though there are a few other large markets like Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. which is a sprawling place with whole shelves dedicated to hot sauces and olive oils.\ All the brands were unrecognizable and sporting interesting names. The variety was stupefying and even somewhat baffling. But nonetheless fun to explore and I suspect fun to try out. It was such a large store it could afford to just find every type of everything it seems. And it's so much more homey (despite the size) than both our grocery stores and the wholesale outlets!
Then, you have the specialty markets. There is one for everything. There is a large Asian market, a Mediterranean food market, and an Italian food market filled with imported goods. Fancy chocolate shops, coffee shops bearing fascinating jams, jellies and breads and huge lists of latte flavors fall on the smaller side of the ethnic food markets which are large considering the specific niche of foods they supply. Other interesting shops include an entire shop devoted to spices, clothing shops, restaurants and the only sign of a chain is the lone McDonalds tucked at the end of the street. As a whole, chain places tend to fall towards an occasional cluster of fast food places, which are few and far between and the necessary grocery stores. But in the neighborhood even those are more HWole foods and Trader Joe's. The city seems to have embraced independent markets, coffee shops, and small businesses.
Another great find was a huge discount grocery store, filled with bizarre odds and ends (but so many the place a jam packed with everything you'd need for basics and then some- just don't go looking for a specific brand or super specific need) for prices my father and I were exclaiming over. It's a poor student's paradise in there, with everything at a extremely low price it's worth the short driver into the heart of the city on a Saturday to do all the weeks shopping in the district. Between this place for staples and the many ethnic food markets, Wholey's for meat and super cheap produce places (I didn't even mention the produce place we found- dad was comparing prices and EVERYTHING was significantly lower than at home. Example: 3 lbs of Gala apples for $3.00 at home it has never gotten below $2.00 per lb!), being on a budget wont be as much of a stretch at all.
Furthermore, it's a great place to grab breakfast or lunch while out shopping for cheap. On the street vedors were selling huge pieces of chicken for $3.00, lobster rolls for $5.00 and fresh made salmon/shrimp dinners with rice and grilled veggies for as low as $6.00.
Furthermore, Dad and I found people to be friendly. We made friends with a guy advertising Wholey's products on the street via a sound system and talking over his lunch break he revealed he OWNs the Wholey's business and it's actually a huge company, way beyond the market we saw (a 100 million dollar enterprise) and he even gave us his card. We began talking to another few guys and one was visiting from Rome!
Also, the city is sports crazed. I hate to say this but it seems to rival and possibly even surpass our beloved Red Sox nation. I have never, ever seen as much black and gold merch being sold. Even in the heart of Boston, there is nothing like the way these people rep their sports teams. It's intimidating to someone not local. I feel as if I scream outsider by not stopping to browse the sports teams products on every corner!
I haven't even started on the residential neighborhoods. Those are a fascinating blog in themselves. But, maybe tomorrow.
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