Archive for December 15th, 2023
Rain and night in Pittsburgh
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
They kind of roll the sidewalks up pretty early here in Pittsburgh, at least by NYC standards. Lifestyle wise, Our Lady of the Pentacle and I don’t go ‘out’ all that much here, and certainly nowhere near as often as used to back in NYC. A recent exception to our rule included a visit to a British style pub and ‘chip shop’ located in the South Side Flats area.
This zone is known for its nightlife, and has a ferocious reputation due the often deadly hijinx of raucous youths on the weekends. Fights, the occasional use of pistols, all that stuff.
There’s a dizzying array of restaurants and bars in this area, including the pub which we were visiting. We had left the car back at home and used a Lyft rideshare to get here. I was planning on having a few pints of draft Guinness, which is a bit harder to find on tap hereabouts than you’d imagine.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Cities look best when it’s raining, I always say. We had dinner at the chip shot, and my English bride was happy with the menu’s offerings, as it was based on several comfort food dishes from her faraway homeland. Mushy Peas, Scotch Eggs, all that.
Pictured above is East Carson Street, which is the ‘Main Street’ of this section of the Pittsburgh metro, dubbed the South Side Flats.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A few nights later, a humble narrator found himself wandering on the same street, and encountered this wonderful neon display in the front window of a tattoo shop. Everybody I encounter here, seemingly, has ‘ink’ and there are many tattoo shops to choose from.
Retail space is comparatively cheap to lease here, meaning that you see a lot of local entrepreneurial energy expressed in the store fronts, rather than the sort of bank machine/big box/franchise activity which dominates the modern retail spaces back in NYC.
Back next week with more from the Paris of Appalachia, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
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