Pittsburgh Outing {From South Side to the Cathedral}

Hands down, one of the best parts of blogging is the ability to make friends you otherwise may not have known.

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So, when I found out I was going back to Pittsburgh (and this time with slightly more advance notice), I was able to make plans with one of my blog/twitter friends I’d never met in person before – Abby from Abby Normally.

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Abby was a total doll and offered to not only meet me for dinner after work, she gave me a mini tour of Pittsburgh. Our first stop – dinner in South Side.

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I didn’t really know what to expect from Pittsburgh, but I’ve felt so comfortable here. Everyone seems so nice, and the town has a laid back atmosphere. Even as we walked towards the restaurant, I passed houses with flowers outside and doors wide open.

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The South Side seems like a really artsy area of town with cool architecture…

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…and lots of people on bikes.

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We headed to the Double Wide Grill for dinner. I really liked how the restaurant had so many options (lots of vegetarian, vegan, and GF, too!). I strongly considered making my own TV dinner, but I ended up going with the first thing that caught my eye.

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I had the coconut chicken dinner with cilantro rice and snap peas. I thought the sauce was going to be a little more thick (I guess I was thinking it was made with coconut milk or something), but it was still really good. I especially liked the crisp snap peas – they tasted so fresh.

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After dinner, we wanted something sweet, so Abby drove us over to Oakland for dessert.

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We went to one of Abby’s go-to spots, Dave & Andy’s, for homemade ice cream.

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Upon entering, you’re greeted by the sweet smell of freshly made waffle cones. Mmm…

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Abby said they make the best birthday cake ice cream here, so I had to try it…with a waffle cone, of course. I’m a bit of a slow ice cream eater, so I asked them to put my cone in a bowl. It’s sort of wrong, but it’s better than having ice cream dripping all over my hand.

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We took our ice cream over to the Cathedral, which is part of the University of Pittsburgh.

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The inside of the building is stunning – from the stone work to the super high ceilings.

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Inside, it was as quite as a library.

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Can you imagine studying here?

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How about just eating ice cream here? I can tell you from personal experience – that is awesome! Oh, and Dave & Andy’s birthday cake is delicious. They even mix bits of cake into the ice cream.

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This was definitely a side of Pittsburgh I wouldn’t have been able to see on my own. I felt so lucky Abby was available to hang out with me!

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Big thanks to Abby, who is one of the nicest people I’ve met, for being so friendly and welcoming!

11 thoughts on “Pittsburgh Outing {From South Side to the Cathedral}”

  1. Too bad we didn’t know you were coming to town. We were probably eating at the Double Wide same time you were. I like their avocado club sandwich, seitan wings with barbecue sauce, peanut soup and Ca-li-for-ni-a salad. How many towns do you know where you can get ribs and vegan food at the same biker bar?

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  2. I am so happy you are enjoying Pittsburgh. It is an awesome city. My favorite flavor at Dave and Andy’s is coconut but my mom loves the mango. It is especially awesome with the mango cake at Spice Island Tea House in Oakland. The cake is more like a brownie constancy and it is served warm. So good!

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  3. I had never thought to study in a cathedral! That is a very cool idea. When I was contemplating working somewhere other than a cafe – usual default of park not available as it was raining hard – I thought to myself “Well I guess I could go the the pub…” 😉

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