City Dining Cards offer $10 off at over 50 Pittsburgh restaurants

While catching up on some blog reading, I noticed a several-week-old blog post from the wonderful people at eatPGH.com. Apparently City Dining Cards have arrived in Pittsburgh, with each card offering a $10 discount to one of over 50 Pittsburgh restaurants. And best of all, the included restaurants are all locally-owned and many are some of Pittsburghers’ favorite establishments. Respected places such as Square Cafe, The Church Brew Works, Abay Ethiopian Cuisine, OTB Bicycle Cafe, and Sausalido joined the program.

Click the image to see an interactive map of all the participating restaurants.

Here’s more specifics on the cards themselves:

• It’s $20 for a set of 52 cards. 5% of each purchase gets donated to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
• 50 of the cards are valid at a different Pittsburgh restaurant for $10 off purchases of $30 or more. Each one can only be used once.
• Then there’s 2 wildcards with each giving you either a free small coffee or espresso at Espresso a Mano or one free beer at The Church Brew Works (go for the beer, people!).
• Can only be used towards the food portion of the bill, which means it can’t be used for alcohol, tip, or tax.
• Expire at the end of 2013.

Even better, eatPGH is offering free shipping if you order online! Just enter “eatPGH” for the Promo Code AND Shipping Code (you have to do it for both), and you’ll get free shipping on as many as you want. Thanks, eatPGH! You can also find in-store retail locations to buy a pack.

I haven’t been to a decent amount of the restaurants on this list (quite a few are out of my current price range) but some perennial favorites appear, as well as places I’ve been meaning to check out. Bites and Brews in Shadyside is my favorite place for pizza and beer, with an extensive draft list and build-your-own pizzas and sandwiches. Across the street is another one of my staples, Harris Grill (whose website has been down for a while). It’s been mentioned on here before but bacon night deserves to be mentioned as much as possible. They have a fantastic, unique cocktail list and on Tuesdays after happy hour, they put out baskets of free bacon for patrons to munch on.

Oh yes. That’s a hot dog topped with macaroni and cheese from D’s. Photo by somenametoforget on Flickr.

I used to go to D’s Six Pax and Dogz in Regent Square almost every week, at the very least to explore their beer cave featuring more than 1,000 (according to them) craft micro-brew and import bottles. They also have pretty great food with slightly atypical pub food, creatively-topped beef, turkey, and veggie hot dogs, and tasty pizzas. Industry Public House in Lawrenceville features a modern wood and metal decor, a wonderful draft list, artisanal cocktails, including a signature smoked bourbon drink, and creative, homemade food.

Tequila, Cointreau, and grapefruit drink from Round Corner Cantina. Photo by somenametoforget on Flickr.

I’m most excited to finally check out the Church Brew Works, Round Corner Cantina in Lawrenceville, and Pi Coal Fired Pizza in South Side, and even possibly splurging on a meal at Root 174 in Regent Square. Overall, the City Dining Cards are a great deal and an excellent opportunity to explore new restaurants. Your purchase will pay for itself with just two uses and, as far as price and types of cuisine go, the options are varied and extensive. They’d also make a great holiday present for any food-loving friends and family, so go ahead and grab a deck or two!

Interview: What do you love about Pittsburgh?

Photo by Sakeeb Sabakka on Flickr.

This week I asked two dear friends what they love about Pittsburgh. One, as expected, is a born-and-raised Pittsburgh girl with nothing but the best to say about the city and the other… a life-long Cleveland resident. Who, surprisingly, also had great things to say. See? Pittsburgh is pretty great no matter who you ask.

Music: “The Happiness of Larry” by radiotimes.

Jessica is a resident of Shadyside and employee at the Pittsburgh Zoo. She loves to dine out, go dancing, and destroy a cup of Razzy Fresh as much as I do. Craig, sadly, still lives in Cleveland but is looking to make the move to the better city. Both have lists of their favorite places in Pittsburgh that they gladly shared.

Although he loves the Cleveland Indians, as an avid baseball fan, Craig is impressed by PNC Park. It’s a great venue with picturesque views, wonderful food options (for a stadium), and maybe, if you’re lucky, some decent baseball too. Mt. Washington also features spectacular views, especially via the incline, that even a Cleveland resident can enjoy. He also likes visiting the city parks in Pittsburgh, having spent quite a few afternoons exploring the trails in Schenley Park.

The Strip District. Photo by Devon Christopher Adams on Flickr.

Jess loves the Strip District for the variety of activities they offer. From speciality food stores, tons of places to buy Steelers gear, delicious restaurants and cafes, flea markets, and clubs and bars, there’s literally something for everyone. She also loves how supportive and active the LGBT community is in Pittsburgh, with her favorite bar being 5801 in Shadyside. Also a big salsa dancing fan, she usually can be found dancing up a storm at Mexico City, Cabaret at Theater Square, or Emiliano’s.

Head Brewben and PCI (Pretty Cool Italian) Headwiches at Fat Head’s. Photo by Craig Zeltner

Of course, I had to ask about their favorite restaurants in Pittsburgh. Jess had quite the list: Church Brew Works, especially for their pierogie pizza; Emiliano’s for great lime margaritas and flautas; Harris Grill, particularly on their famous bacon night; and Mercurio’s for fantastic wood-fired pizza and dozens of flavors of gelato. She also goes nuts at Crazy Mocha for chai lattes and Prantl’s Bakery and Oakmont Bakery for their sweets, which she says she’s an unofficial expert on. Craig will be the first to admit that he’s slightly obsessed with Fat Head’s for their superb beer selection and gigantic, delicious sandwiches. Both of them also said they enjoy the lively atmosphere and large, tasty beers at Hofbrauhaus, although Jess prefers Penn Brewery for a more authentic German experience.

So give it a listen and hear what a long-term Pittsburgh lover and a recent convert have to say about our lovely city!