Stop #92A; The Strip District; Kaya

Date: December 27, 2008

Neighborhood: Strip District
Pitt Stoppers: Jimmy D., Paul, Richard, Toddy, Carol, Tammy, Scott, Frank/Fran/Guy, Lisa, BruceM, SueM, Mindy, Kate Smerb, Steve Smerb, Carolyn, Lily, Beth, Scotty, Kim, Josh, Jongo Funkelstein.

Aside: The final neighborhood! We saved the Strip district to the last and explored some on foot and hit four great bars over the course of an afternoon.

Bar: Kaya

Pluses: The beer selection, the smooth and mellow Caribbean flavors.







Carol and Tammy went formal for the finale and did it proper.









The famous Heinz sign at its new home.












Bruce, Sue, Rich, and Marc Andre walking down Penn Avenue.









Nothing happened there in 2008 either.











Feinberg's in the background, Primanti's in the foreground.












Typical Saturday traffic in the Strip.


















Atypical Christmas lights.













Kaya. The first stop of the finale.















The final beer to make it official.















Thanks to Fran(k) for the next two pics. Great Pitt Stops feel.













Paul and Richard usually aren't so blurry.













Jimmy's outfit has Steve in utter shock.











A thorn among the roses...














Todd went Sassy Nouveau for the finale.

Stop #91; Homewood North

Date: December 27, 2008

Neighborhood: Homewood North
Pitt Stoppers: Jimmy D., Toddy.

Bar: Middle of the Road Saloon








The Official Homewood/Brushton sign. Yes, we were there.

Stop #90; Homewood South

Date: December 27, 2008
Neighborhood: Homewood South
Pitt Stoppers: Toddy, Jimmy D.

Bar: Dana's Bakery

Pluses: The food. I had a homemade doughnut. Toddy had a lady lock. Both were ultra-fine.

Stop #89; Larimer

Date: December 27, 2008

Neighborhood: Larimer
Pitt Stoppers: Jimmy D., Toddy.

Bar: The Putnam Pub.







The Putnam Pub-ish.












A long view of Larimer.
















If you ever need your crankshaft serviced, head to Larimer.

Stop #88; Terrace Village

Date: December 27, 2008
Neighborhood: Terrace Village

Pitt Stoppers: Toddy, Jimmy D.

Bar: Top of the Hill Spot








Toddy jogging behind Trees Hall.














The semi-famous goalpost tower at the top of Cardiac Hill.
















The view of downtown from Terrace Village.

Stop #87; Beltzhoover

Date: December 27, 2008
Neighborhood: Beltzhoover
Pitt Stoppers: Jimmy D., Toddy.

Bar:The Liberty Tube Tavern

Stop #86; Glen Hazel

Date: December 23, 2008

Neighborhood: Glen Hazel.
Pitt Stoppers: Jimmy D., Richard.
Bar: The Cove Overlookish - would be a very pretty view of the Waterfront if open.







Unfortunately, we were not authorized.

Stop #85; Hazelwood

Date: December 23, 2008

Neighborhood: Hazelwood
Pitt Stoppers: Richard, Jimmy D.
Bar: The Lytle Cafe





Hazelwood was home to the LTV steel works. There are rumored to be ROBOTS there now.











The Cellbiot Institute might study robots. It might not.
It's a secret.









One of the many churches of Hazelwood. The bridge leads from "downtown" Hazelwood to Riverside.











That's an optimistically large space for the Pirates...













The No. 1 Pitt fan.

Stop #84.2; Swissvale

Date: December 6, 2008

Neighborhood: None. Swissvale.
Pitt Stoppers: Richard, Bobby D., Pteri, Jimmy D., Wookie, GiNo, Kristin.
Bar: The Map Room.

Pluses: We at Pitt Stops love our maps, so the Map Room certainly earns a mention - regardless of its geographic location outside of the City. A favorite for several of us who are local to Regent Square, the Map Room serves up a wide variety of East End beers and offers a great menu. Marji the owner and oft-times bartender is a wonderful host and keeps the drinks, conversation, and music flowing all night long.





The map-inspired interior of the Map Room.












The tree casts a dragon shadow across the wall.

(Ask Marji about the authentic signed Mahler letter on the wall.)









When pigs fly? Well, they do at the Map Room.














So do guitars.



















The way the night ends on another Pitt Stops.

Stop #84.1; Blawnox

Date: December 6, 2008

Neighborhood: None. Blawnox.
Pitt Stoppers: Richard, Bobby D., Pteri, Jimmy D., Wookie, GiNo, Kristin.
Bar: Bob's Garage

Pluses: The famous decorations and karoake. Being so close to Bob's Garage, we just had to stop by and take in the Christmas decorations.




The decorations at Bob's are indescribably beautiful.












GiNo & Kristin displaying some post- karoke bliss.














Richard is not impressed by Jimmy's Popeye impression.












The well-worn PS book.

Stop #84; Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar

Date: December 6, 2008

Neighborhood: Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar
Pitt Stoppers: Paul, Richard, Bobby D., Pteri, Jimmy D., Wookie, GiNo, Kristin.
Bar: La Cappella

Pluses: The sweet location, which is clearly in the City, and the sweet service from Jena who brought us the beer.








G&K approach the lovely exterior of LaCa.












Another failed attempt to capture the Nordic Wookie.









Pt: Wha? There's a wookie around?

Bo: I shall call to him. Oook!











Jena bringing us the beers to make the Stop official.











The well- stocked origin of our libations.













Love was in the air.












Love was clearly in the air.

Stop #83; East Hills

Date: December 6, 2008

Neighborhood: East Hills
Pitt Stoppers: Minday, Sharmila, Melissa, GiNo, Kristen, Wookie, Paul, Richard.
Bar: Simmie's

Pluses: The food and the owner. The owner Michelle treated our large-for-a-Saturday-afternoon group like royalty. The menu is great and includes Fried Chicken and Waffles (see below).









Simple beauty.
Drive thru menu.
Drive thru beer.















Mindy braved the snow to come on out.












Just as with the Yeti and Bigfoot, the elusive Nordic Wookie is difficult to capture on film.









This blurry shot is the best we can hope for.













The waffle and friend chicken!













The hunter proudly displays his catch.











Kristin moving in close to sneak a taste of chicken+waffle.












Who dare run the gauntlet?














Paul is all thumbs up for Simmie's.












GiNo in pure carb- fried-meat bliss.













Simmie's suspected secret door.