THOUGHTS ON PITTSBURGH

First observation on my second experience here, but first in the real city part of town, is how talkative the cab drivers are. A couple of the ones we had get us around were really funny and filled with stories.
Unlike New York, which is what I’m used to, the cabbies here seem to mostly be local and take a lot of pride in their city. We were talking sports with a few and one pointed out some of the local buildings, etc. worth mentioning.

Secondly, I have to say I was disappointed by the most famous sandwich in the Burgh. Primanti Brothers, a well-known chain, offers a unique eating experience. The sandwiches have your choice of meats and cheeses, but are then topped with French fries, cole slaw and tomatoes — I opted against the latter since I’ve never been a fan. It all comes together on two big pieces of bread and the Web site (premanitbros.com) makes them out to be monstrous.
Well, between myself and the other writers that went for the experience, we all walked away still a little hungry. That brings us to the next highlight.

Fatheads, a bar located in the nightlife part of the city that is the South Side, was a place we visited our first time around two weeks ago for the West Virginia game. We enjoyed the list of 40 beers on tap and thought the food was pretty good last time.
Then we had the wings. Monday night was wing night and we were all very happy to have stumbled on this opportunity.
Still hungry, we all partook in a variety of choices — 40 cents each and they don’t mind you ordering just one of any that you’d like. They were good enough to keep us from the beers for a little while, at least until the burn started to settle in.

Lastly, the other memory I’ll take from this Pittsburgh experience was the reporting I did for a story set to run this Sunday on the Duquesne men’s basketball team.
I’ve known its coach Ron Everhart since my college days and we’ve always had a good relationship. We spent a little time catching up as I did some interviewing and then he let me sit in on Tuesday’s practice. After the shootings this team endured and all the aftermath, Duquesne is a school everyone should be rooting for.