Headed to Pittsburgh

Friday morning we decamped Seven Springs and headed for Pittsburgh. The ride was just over an hour and we got a sweet deal at the Wyndam Grand by booking our hotel at the last minute. We have a room on the 14th floor overlooking three bridges, a huge fountain, both sports arenas and an elegant hill. It’s nicer than our usual digs. I’ve been to Pittsburgh before, but always for work, so I’ve only seen limited parts of the city (mainly near the original Pittsburgh Whole Foods Market). 

We needed to stop at a Target on our way into the city (don’t ask) and while we were there I Yelp-ed a noodle place for lunch that sounded good. We were making our way there, when I noticed a petite French bistro (Rachel is obsessed with things Parisian) and we decided to check it out. While we were perusing the menu a man started to walk in and I asked him about the food. I was pretty sure he worked there (he was wearing the requisite black T and black jeans) and after he intensely explained the entire menu to us, including which dishes were his favorites, we felt pretty invested.

The place was tiny and sweet and trés French. Rachel ordered quiche, and I had a croque monsieur. The were tasty, and substantial enough to get us through our afternoon’s activity, a visit to the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. It was fantastic, and huge, Rachel took over 200 photos, and I took several as well. There were lots of bees everywhere enjoying the flowers. We saw hundreds of varieties of plants, but my favorite spot was the butterfly forest. It was filled with butterflies and their all their favorite plants and it felt like visiting a fairyland.

 

 

 

We were there for what seemed like hours, and left after six, ravenous and wanting dinner immediately. Three different friends had recommended we go to Tram’s Kitchen, a Vietnamese restaurant, that was a quick drive from the conservatory so we headed over and were met with this sign:Fortunately for us we met a couple out front who had come  for dinner (regulars who were equally bummed to find the place closed) and recommended a place nearby, they had heard was good. And after some Yelp-ing and discussion about our options, our bellies insistently growling, we decided to check out the couple’s referral, Pho Minh. 

The place is decidedly devoid of any charm (I hear Tram’s is as well), and at first the woman taking care of us seemed brusque and annoyed, but she warmed up, the place filled up (we ran into the couple from Tram’s who had decided to take a pre-dinner bike ride)  and we had a great meal. The spring rolls were the best I’ve ever had. In fact all spring rolls up until last night seemed pretty much the same. These had tons of flavor, were unusually big and packed with pieces of shrimp, carrots, and other veggies that seemed to have been seasoned before getting rolled into their packets. Sticking out of the bottom of each roll was a shrimp tail from the whole shrimp packed inside. They came to the table within seconds of getting pulled from the fryer, too hot to eat, which drove us a little mad with anticipation. We had two other dishes that were tasty, well seasoned and also filled with loads of veggies, including a noodle dish that had large chunks of roasted carrots that were soft and sweet, and also like nothing I’ve had before at a Vietnamese restaurant. I’m sorry we missed Tram’s but this was an excellent meal.

We returned to the hotel tired and full. I had writing to do, Rachel had reading, and we watched darkness fall over the city from our huge window overlooking the Allegheny River. In one day we crossed the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers about a dozen times. Pittsburgh seems huge and confusing the way most new cities feel. One of the sad things about relying on GPS is that we/I blindly follow the directions, perhaps it would have been better if before we headed to Pittsburgh I had looked at a map. Does anyone still use maps?