Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The truth about the Steel City with a heart of black and gold
By Kelly Mellott
Published: September 13th, 2006 | 3:05pm
The saying goes that you never know what you have until it’s gone. Personally, I never believed that until I decided to move to a city that is eight hours away from the city I grew up in, 462 miles from everything and everyone I knew. I never even took the time to appreciate all the perks and quirks of my culturally explicit hometown until I was halfway across the country, lost in the crowds and skyscrapers of Chicago.
Approaching my third year as a Chicagoan, I still find myself constantly explaining and defending the Steel City, from gum-cracking yinzers (I’ll explain later) to putting fries on my salad an’at. I found it strange in the Windy City that none of my new Midwestern friends knew what to do with a Terrible Towel (you swing it around your head when the Steelers do well, duh!) or even who Ben Roethlisberger is (the Steelers’ young quarterback is more important than the mayor to most people I know back home). True, Pittsburgh was voted the worst U.S. city to be single in for four consecutive years (2001-2004) by Forbes, but you can’t blame Pittsburgh for being located in Allegheny County, with the oldest population in America — even beating out Palm Beach County in Florida!
So here I am to set the record straight about the hardworking city I love to hate and hate to love (but just can’t help myself!). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a drinking town with a football problem — this is your ode.
SPEAK
Like most foreigners, visitors to Pittsburgh are often perplexed by the native tongue, better known as Pittsburghese. Yes, you may think I’m joking but I swear it’s real. One of the most characteristic words is “yinz.” Like what "y’all" is to the south, yinz is the Pittsburgh way to pluralize “you.” According to Wikipedia.org, yinz is “a second-person plural used almost exclusively in Pittsburgh and the surrounding region in the Western Pennsylvania of the United States. It was derived from the Scottish term ‘you ones’.” One who uses the word frequently may be described as a “yinzer.”
For example: What are yinz going to do tonight?
Next lesson — an’at. This is a contraction of the phrase “and that” and is often added to the ends of sentences for absolutely no reason at all. May also be seen spelled n’at or an’nat.
Example: Yinz going to watch the game, an’at?
Also, play close attention to dialect, as words like downtown, the Steelers, and even Pittsburgh are pronounced “dahntahn,” the “Stillers,” and “Pixburgh” in Pittsburghese. Now, let’s practice it all together:
Yinz guys goin’ dahntahn to watch the Stillers game, an’at?
EAT
Chicago has its pizza, Philly has its cheese steaks, and Pittsburgh has Primanti’s. This historical sandwich shop is “almost famous” for its larger-than-life sandwiches that come complete with all the fixings right on top. That’s right, fries, coleslaw; it’s all there between those buns. The story goes that the Primanti brothers opened the shop during the Great Depression with the idea to sell sandwiches to warehouse workers in Pittsburgh’s Strip District that were unloading food all night long. But they forgot one important thing: utensils. So these innovative restaurateurs just started piling all the works right onto the sandwich, including the sides. This way, the customers could eat with one hand and continue working with the other. And as the Primanti brothers say, “The rest is history, an’at.” Another Pittsburgh classic is diner chain Eat’n’Park, affordable and open late. If the opportunity arises, don’t pass on picking up one of their famous Smiley Face Cookies. And last, but not least, is my personal favorite, Oakland’s garage-inspired Fuel and Fuddle. Nestled in the heart of the University of Pittsburgh’s campus, Fuel and Fuddle offers innovative “wild-fire” baked pizza pies with a sense of humor, like the Jamaican sensation, “Big Fat Jerk,” complete with Jamaican jerk roasted chicken, smoked cheeses, and roasted veggies.
HEAR
At one point, Pittsburgh was booming with music venues. Sadly, many were closed, leaving music enthusiasts and local bands to fend for themselves. Luckily, cooperatively run The Mr. Roboto Project has proved itself as a powerful constant. Located in the Wilkinsburg area, Roboto has been a haven for small, local, or unsigned touring bands as well as a starting point for more recognizable acts like Minus the Bear and the Blood Brothers. Since November 1999, Roboto has been more than just a show space also featuring an art gallery and zine library “for the kids by the kids.” Other venues have been popping up across the city from Mr. Smalls Funhouse/Theater, a rehabbed church in Millvale that merges together all aspects of performance with a state-of-the-art theater, two recording studios, a skate park, the Rock Hostel for artist housing, and an Audio Visual Department that can capture any concert live and produce Label-worthy live concert DVDs and live recordings. Other smaller but nevertheless mention-worthy venues include Garfield Artworks, Modern Formations, Quiet Storm and the Shadow Lounge.
SHOP
If cash is burning a hole in your pocket, check out the Southside for a great mixture of choices. Rebuilding has given birth to the new Southside Works, a shopping district with big names like Urban Outfitters, H & M, and Steve Madden. If you venture further down into the older section of the Southside, you’ll find unique boutiques like Lux and The Pittsburgh Jean Company. The Northside’s Kharisma is a hotspot for all vintage hunters. If it’s music you’re searching to spend on, Paul’s Compact Discs is notorious for their excellent selection of hard-to-find albums for great prices.
SEE
Now, every yinzer in town is going to tell you one thing when it comes to Pittsburgh pastimes: The Steelers. Regardless of season or stance, the home team is the pride and joy of every true Pittsburgher. They are the 2005 Super Bowl Champions, after all. But it’s more than that; the Steelers are truly the heart and soul of this blue-collar city, so much in fact, that mourners could be seen like sleepless zombies after superstar quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was severely injured in a motorcycle accident in early June 2006. But if the Stillers don’t get you all riled up, there are numerous other activities that shouldn’t be missed. As the hometown of famed pop-art icon Andy Warhol, Pittsburgh hosts the Warhol Museum. More than just a tribute to the innovative and controversial artist, the museum features many fun and interesting events and workshops in which to get involved. From April to October, there’s only one stop for overpriced amusement-park food and the excuse to act like a little kid: Kennywood. One of the oldest amusement parks in the world, Kennywood has it all — old-school wooden coasters, heart-stopping new ones, and drenching water coasters. If you’re looking for a more cultural experience, check out the ethnic Strip District, the area of town that is home to big and small distributors of the most delicious imported, fresh, and hard-to-find foods.
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