"There's so much that I like about Pittsburgh, actually. The cultural district and museums are wonderful, and I encourage everyone to check them out. And the food is excellent, too!" -Troy Polamalu
To sum it up, everywhere we ate in Pittsburgh was delicious. I was looking up places on my phone near the University of Pittsburgh, where there are two main streets, Forbes and Fifth Avenue, where most shops are located. We enjoyed every meal and got a mix of cuisine, including Pamela's Diner and The Original Hot Dog Shop, which are both fairly well-known.
1) Spice Island Tea House
A cute Southeast Asian cuisine restaurant. I loved the cozy vibe. Plus, you got a lot of food for a good price. There were large piles of noodles with a lot of meat mixed in. Also, if you've never tried Thai ice tea, I highly recommend it. It has a slightly spicy taste but it is also sweet and has a really good aftertaste.
Malaysian Saté Noodle with Seafood- wheat noodle, shrimp, scallop, squid, carrots, broccoli, sacha sauce $12.00
Thai ice tea- spicy and sweet $3.00
Singapore Rice Noodle- Shrimp, beef, chicken, bell pepper, onion, Madras curry $11.50
http://www.spiceislandteahouse.com/
2) Pamela's Diner
My Mom and I made some great decisions at this adorable diner. It is a local chain with board games on the wall. My Mom and I split their Chocolate Chip Banana Hotcakes, which are crepe style, and Croissant French Toast. They were both delicious, but rich. I'm glad we split them and got a good mix of both. This is a cash only restaurant. Our meal was around $20.
http://www.pamelasdiner.com/
3) Piada Italian Street Food
I was SO excited when we found this place. It is a fast-food Italian place, think Chipotle style, that is similar to an old favorite restaurant from my hometown that had closed down. I talked about cannoli chips for years before we found them again. I think next time I would try one of the pre-made bowls instead of a make your own, but it was pretty good.
I made my own pasta bowl (around $8.00 for a regular size bowl). I had angel hair pasta with grilled chicken, alfredo sauce, black olives, corn, mozzarella, broccoli, and pancetta (this was bacon instead of the traditional thin-sliced pancetta).
Cannoli chips- Full cannoli shells with chocolate chip cream icing. YUM. We made a bit of a mess in the hotel room, but no regrets $3.00
https://mypiada.com/
4) The Original Hot Dog Shop, Inc.
A local favorite, we were recommended to try a hot dog from here. However, it was larger than expected and you can get basically anything here- hot dogs, subs, burgers, fish, and pizza.
Hot Dog Parmesan- My Mom and I split this twist on two dishes. It was quite good and the perfect thing for a late, light lunch $5.00
http://www.theoriginalhotdogshop.com/
5) All India Restaurant
I have been craving Indian food and Pittsburgh had a lot of diverse food to offer. My Mom and I did the buffet. There was a lot of a variety and we enjoyed each dish that we tried. It was $32 for my Mom and I to do the all you can eat buffet complete with naan and desert.
https://www.allindiapittsburgh.com/