How is 2025 already halfway over? June felt very busy, and yet I didn’t feel like I did a whole lot either. I ate a few great meals. I went to a bunch of great events. I was in Happy Valley again this month for a camping trip with Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and other content creators. I also took another quick trip to Cleveland for an awesome event. However, I also spent a lot of time in June working, which is always less fun than restaurants and events.
Restaurants
I learned how to make some refreshing cocktails at the Wigle Whiskey Poolside Cocktail Class. Wigle regularly does classes and tours. This one featured making cocktails that would be perfect to drink by the pool.
I was part of the friends and family preview at Top Pot Hot Pot and Korean BBQ in Southside Works. This is another new all you can eat hot pot and Korean BBQ. This one had lots of trendy décor. I really liked they have a buffet with additional hot foods and sauces and seasonings to put in the hot pot or on the meat to grill.
I got the Chicken Katsu Sandwich at The Warren Bar & Burrow. The Warren is one of my favorite places downtown. This is also one of my favorite fried chicken sandwiches in Pittsburgh. It’s always large and it has a great spicy mayo. I also regularly get the sweet potato tots instead of fries. I was at The Warren at least 2 other times in the month.
I had an impromptu dinner at The Commoner at the Hotel Monaco downtown. I got an incredible pork loin with peas and asparagus. The Commoner is consistently a great meal.
I got drinks at Space Bar in Market Square downtown. They were celebrating Bees Knees Week with Barr Hill Distilling. They were making special cocktails when posted to social media would help contribute to a donation to plant pollinator fields. Space Bar is also a great bar downtown with a cool space sci-fi theme and consistently great cocktails.
I got together with a bunch of my OG Instagram foodie friends at Avva Modern Mediterranean in Aspinwall. We went into this dinner hungry and ordered two plates of meze to try all the dips. Each were tasty, but my favorite was the roasted red pepper dip. For my main course, I got the Adana ground lamb kebab with salad, red cabbage slaw and rice. The kebabs were tender and flavorful.
I got a late dinner at Jamison West Liberty in Dormont. This is close to home and has great food. I got one of their Basi Burgers and we shared some wings. I should be eating here more.
One of my favorite dishes in Pittsburgh is the 50 oz Tomahawk Ribeye Steak at Meat and Potatoes. It had been a while since I last devoured it, but with friends in town, it was the perfect dish to order and share. Ours was plated beautifully, cooked to perfection, so tender and flavorful, and it was more than enough for the three of us to eat. It comes with some savory bone marrow and a choice of potatoes. We added on more bone marrow so we could each have our own. We also needed some vegetables to go with all that meat, so we got the fried brussels and glazed carrots.
I got a late lunch at Cinderlands Warehouse. I got the crunchwrap with beef and enchilada sauce.
I got afternoon beers at Grist House. Still my favorite brewery. They had their 11th Anniversary stout on tap.
I was back at Wigle Whiskey for the preview of their Stars, Stripes and Spirits summer pop-up. This has fun festive drinks and great Americana bites like corndogs and fried Oreos. The popup is on weekends in July.
I finally made it to Chengdu Gourmet 2 out on McKnight Road. I always loved going to the first one in Squirrel Hill. They have fantastic, authentic Chinese food. We ordered a bunch of things, but my favorite was the Green Peppercorn Whole Fish. Not something I would typically order, but the flavors were so good. The green peppercorns gave it almost a numbing sensation.
Takeout
I got the last Beef Roja Crunchwrap from Blue Sparrow as my meal at Beers of the Burgh. These are so good when available. The roja sauce was at the right level of spice.
I picked up a pizza from Slice on Broadway to have dinner with my parents. We did a pepperoni pizza and it had a nice crisp crust. I also like that you can finally request they cut the pizza in 8 slices.
I ordered pizza from Badamo’s in Dormont. One of the best NY style pizzas in Pittsburgh.
I got wings again from Big Shot Bobs…like I do every month.
Events
I started June with the Good Taste Pittsburgh Pizza Fest at Dough Daddy Brewing in Gibsonia. This is one of my favorite events because I get to eat a lot of pizza and try new pizza places. This year was probably the best yet, with 9 pizzerias participating, live music, and plenty of room to spread out and eat. My favorites this year were Yellow Bridge Brewing, Slice on Broadway and Caliente Pizza.
I attended the annual Mattress Factory Garden Party. This year’s theme was pink. This is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the art museum and attracts a who’s who of Pittsburgh. They feature food from multiple local restaurants, live music and access to the museum.
One of my favorite beer festivals, Beers of the Burgh, was at Carrie Furnace again. I love this festival for all the local breweries I get to try and all the people I get to share a beer. I usually discover a beer I didn’t know before.
Happy Valley
I had lunch when I got to town at Bonfatto’s Italian Market in Bellfonte. I seem to get lunch there every time I’m in Bellfonte now. I ordered the Pancetta panini with a delicious fig jam. Great combination of savory and sweet.
I met up with Happy Valley Adventure Bureau and other content creators at Re Farm Café at Windswept Farm. They are a regenerative farm that uses the produce grown on the farm and other locally sourced items to create amazing dishes. The café also provides educational opportunities for those looking to build experience in the culinary industry. We did a tour of the farm followed by an amazing 4 course meal. I got Catfish Croquettes and Grilled Lamb Chops.
We were staying at Black Moshannon State Park in their rustic cabins. This was great since it rained all weekend. The rustic cabins can sleep up to 4 comfortably and have electricity with stove, microwave and fridge. You do have to share the campground bathroom through.
We had breakfast at Breakfast on Boal in Boalsburg. They offer fantastic elevated diner food. I got a Hash Platter with sausage and peppers.
I was with outdoors content creators and they convinced me to go on a rainy hike at Colyer Lake on Hubie’s Trail. It was a nice trail and fun to get out in nature for a bit.
Lunch with the group was at the new Flour & Stone by the people at Pine Grove Hall. They serve a mix of foods with a focus on locally sourced ingredients. I got a pretty good Italian beef sandwich, but the waffle and the empanadas looked amazing.
I did the tour at Penn’s Cave and Wildlife Park in Centre Hall. This was a great boat tour cave where they show you the different rock formations underground. We were there when the water was a little high, so we didn’t get to see where the cave exits. After the cave, we did the wildlife park, which has many animals native to North America.
Dinner was at the We Are Inn, a restaurant known for their giant collection of Penn State Football memorabilia. I got their cheesesteak which was quite good.
My final breakfast in State College was at Webster’s Bookstore. I used to get coffee and tea there all the time in college. Now they have a fully vegan menu. On Sundays, they have a brunch buffet, but I opted for a tofu wrap. Probably the healthiest thing I ate all weekend and it was pretty good.
I finished my Happy Valley trip at the Happy Valley Ironman. I was volunteering with Happy Valley Adventure Bureau to congratulate the finishers and hand out Penn State Berkey Creamery ice cream. People were excited to be done and to get a delicious calorie replacement. I had a cup of the chocolate ice cream.
Cleveland
I made a quick trip out to Cleveland to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They invited me, along with other creators, to an exclusive guided tour of Saturday Night Live…Ladies and Gentlemen, 50 Years of Music exhibit. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is my favorite museum and Saturday Night Live is one of my favorite shows. I loved seeing all the costumes and outfits from my favorite musical sketches and guests. There was also a recreation of the stage where I could pretend to be on the show. Our tour also included a stop in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Vault, where they keep all the items in the collection that get rotated out or might not be able to be put on display. We got to see some really impressive items like Elvis’s military jacket, part of Lady Gaga’s meat dress and Jimi Hendrix’s outfit. I also did the full tour of the hall of fame again. I also love looking at the items on display.
After the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I went to dinner at Butcher and the Brewer. We got an assortment of appetizers. The Black Truffle Meatballs and Beef Sliders were the favorites.
