This past Monday, I attended one of my favorite events so far.  My fellow intern, Krista, and I went downtown to Heinz Field for the Best Restaurants Party where 51 restaurants, voted Pittsburgh’s best by locals, were handing out samples of their signature dishes. 

I was excited to see the suite level where the party was held, as I’d never been up there before.  It was beautiful, of course, with bars, tables and huge windows with a great view of the city.  Everything was especially nice for the party that evening, and they even had a jazz band playing.  All of the partygoers were dressed up in fancy dresses and polos, and most of the chefs had nice, white outfits with their names monogrammed on their shirts.  Everyone seemed to be having a great time, which made me all the more excited. 

Because we arrived at the beginning of the party, Krista and I had some time to talk to the owners and chefs of some of the restaurants, and everyone we spoke with was really friendly and eager to have their pictures taken for the WPXI website.  I remember the owners of Paris 66 Bistro being especially nice, and they even insisted we try their beautiful, multi-colored macaroons, which looked and tasted absolutely amazing.  There were a ton of samples all over the place, including everything from Italian to Asian to American, but I’d learned my lesson at the Best Wings contest and refrained from trying absolutely everything before it turned into too much of a good thing.  All of the food looked extremely delicious though, and I definitely kept the list of restaurants so I could try them out in the future.

Even though I’ve lived in Pittsburgh my whole life, excepting my last two school years in college, I was surprised to see so many cool restaurants I’d never heard of before, alongside a few of my familiar favorites like Mineo’s Pizza House and Mad Mex.  A lot of the restaurants were Italian, which shouldn’t be a surprise to any Pittsburgher, but they all served really different dishes.  Some of them even spoke Italian, and since Krista has lived in Italy, it was fun to hear her talk with them.  It seems like learning Italian can be a good way to make some friends in Pittsburgh.

Because the venue was so bright and beautiful, and everyone was so great about us taking their pictures, we got a ton of awesome shots for our slideshow.  I could tell, when I was at the party, that I already felt much more comfortable talking to strangers and asking for their names and pictures than I’d been only a few weeks before.  Plus, I’m a lot better at operating the fancy camera.  Now all I need is to learn a little Italian, and I’ll be all set for my next assignment.