Strip District, Pittsburgh, PA

I had read about Pittsburgh's Strip District, the foodie neighborhood. On Saturday afternoon, we arrived just as everything was closing at 5 pm. What's with these cities where things close early? And it was way too early for the bars to get going. But we did get Primanti Brothers, and vowed to come back the next day.

Sunday morning, the Strip District was indeed hopping. Church had just let out, so the lines at Pamela's Diner and DeLuca's (2 places we had scoped out for breakfast the night before) were out the door. We settled instead for wandering and snacking.

One stop was Enrico Biscotti Company where we get the above black and white cookie and a classic biscotti with chocolate, and the chocolate dipped macaroon on the left. The macaroon was good - not quite was good as The Little Chef in Princeton - but good. I also couldn't resist getting a peanut butter and bacon biscotti that they had. It was supposed to be a dog biscuit, but I figured it was safe for people. I guess dogs don't complain when things are bland - I couldn't taste much peanut butter nor bacon.

Another great stop was the Pennsylvania Macaroni Company. Redneckhunter loaded up on all kinds of pasta, good flour, coffee. I got fresh handmade mozzarella, and some great bread.

As we wandered, we both agreed that if we lived in Pittsburgh, this would be a weekly trip to the Strip. It was really one-stop shopping. In addition to the Italian establishments, there was a Chinese market, a Vietnamese grocery, Korean, Mexican, Middle Eastern groceries, a fish market, a meat shop, a chocolate store, Penzey's Spices where you could get just about any spice you can imagine, a cooking supply store, several coffee roasters and cafes, ice cream, not to mention all the restaurants, and lunch carts we didn't get to try.