During a relatively quick drive from DC to Pittsburgh, we hit patches of rain while barreling northwest. Eventually hitting Route 51, a very scenic and pretty drive, stopping at a local establishment, Braddock’s Restaurant & Tavern in Farmington, Pennsylvania. The meat for BBQ was sourced and smoked locally. This provided a nice mid afternoon stop.
Route 51 provides an easy access into downtown Pittsburgh on an early Friday evening, timing your travel time to avoid heavy congestion especially in the larger cities can help make your journey that much more enjoyable. Choosing to depart DC close to the mandatory checkout time, we managed to avoid major traffic, the DC area appears to never sleep, with a constant flow in and out of the nation’s Capitol.
Valet Parking may seem to be an exorbitant cost, but for the sheer convenience, it is worth the expense, especially in the big cities, where garages can go for $50-60 for a 24-hour period, and the fact that you don’t have the hassle of finding parking in an unfamiliar location. Do not forget to tip!
We have good experiences with the Hilton Hotel Chain, clean rooms and friendly staff in most of the locations we have visited in our travels. This time we stayed the Joinery Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, Curio Collection by Hilton, forgoing the usual booking through the
company, we were able to secure a room with a king size bed for $100 online forgoing
reward points for booking directly, sometimes a deal is a deal especially at a very nice boutique hotel.
Veronica informed me that the hotel had a curated record collection for guests to listen to and a wide selection of books to take back and leave in your room for the next guest to read. Something else to explore on a late, wet Friday evening.
Our room had a unique view of an enclosure of all the brick buildings coming together, we were on the 8th floor and it provided a unique snapshot of early Pittsburgh Architecture.
We barely had time to unpack and catch our breath before we headed out for the evening’s entertainment, the Andy Warhol Museum.
On Friday evenings the museum is open from 5-10 pm. Navigating the streets of Pittsburgh I found to be relatively easy, phone service can be hit or miss and a majority of the roads appear to be one way. The evening we were there, traffic moved very smoothly, we were able to make it to our destination in under ten minutes. The museum located at 117 Sandusky Street has it’s own private parking lot ($8). It’s not hard to miss. the attendant’s station is painted Warhol-style as a Brillo Box!
The cost of the visit for adults is $25. if you are a Carnegie member, the cost is free. Before we left we purchased a membership for the two of us at the price of $50 a person. This membership also includes admission to over 250 museums across the United States and some in other countries. For the price of admission to the Andy Warhol museum for the two of us, we have already paid for one of the memberships. We look forward to the benefit of this membership during our travels.
At the front desk if you are a first time visitor they will review the rules and policies. They recommend starting on the 7th floor, each floor dedicated to each decade of his life and career. The museum itself is enormous, some of that space is necessary for the extraordinary size of the murals he did during his career. The museum touches upon Andy’s love of technology and the need to discover every new piece of technology that came out, from a portable voice recorder to the latest in film and camera, I wonder what Mr. Warhol would have thought of today’s technology. After visiting the museum the answer is quite clear, he would have embraced it.
The museum is not just about his artwork, it shows how Andy Warhol helped shaped generations of aspiring artists helping them embrace that certain something that he saw in them, his story is brilliantly captured through film, art, photography and captures his ability to embrace life itself. We spent two hours there and if we had not spent the entire day driving through the mountains, we probably would have stayed longer. The Andy Warhol Museum is truly a unique place that requires multiple visits to fully appreciate the amount of work collected.
Returning to the hotel, we did have trouble getting cellphone service for directions, but succeeded by following one way streets going in the general direction. Finding open dining areas was not as easy as in DC and we did not get a chance to familiarize ourselves with the area, fortunately the hotel had a very nice restaurant attached. The dining area sat ‘down’ in the restaurant, meaning we were required to navigate steps to it. I did notice later in the evening of what appeared to be an entrance on the dining level.
According to their menu, “ the design pulls from the Gothic-revival style building, formerly the auditorium of the 1924 Salvation Army of Western Pennsylvania. The furnishings emulate Christian James' signature attire--his leather boots and Levi's jeans--invite you to be comfortable and polished, as you're warmly welcomed to your table.”
What we both found refreshing was the hands on approach the owners, Kimberley Ashley and Joshua Haugh, have with their restaurant and most importantly with the staff. Joshua, greeted and seated guests, while Kimberley navigated the dining and cooking areas, both of which melded into one another separated by chest high wall where fresh food was placed to be sent to tables. The dining area is of good size but is not extremely large, our table was near where the two areas met, while some may be put off being that close to the action in the kitchen due to the noise associated with it, instead we were able to watch and listen to the owners and staff work together and it was impressive. The entire staff working together as a well tuned machine, doing tasks as they arose, not leaving it for another staff person or grabbing a hot plate of food for another server, ensuring the guests food arrives at the table hot and fresh.
Closer to the end of our meal, we overheard a discussion, our server must have been recently hired as Kimberley was going over the evening with her, asking how she was doing, if she getting used to the computer system, things of that nature. It was all done in a manner with both professionalism and friendliness that provides an excellent workplace culture ensuring success for the business and employees alike.
Veronica enjoyed dessert first, ube (purple yam) panna cotta, followed by a cup of leek soup, and since it was St. Patty’s day, an Irish inspired mixed drink. I had the Grilled Caesar Salad with scallops and two glasses of wine. Our bill and tip $100. While this may seem lavish, we are able to budget for it by taking advantage of the free breakfasts offered, skipping lunch or lightly snacking. This gives us the opportunity to enjoy something nicer in the evening, it can be done. Location was the other factor, being connected to the hotel, it could have had it risks, instead it turned out to be an amazing dining experience and would recommend it. Ask to have dessert first!
Growing up four hours west of Pittsburgh, I find it strange that I never actually spent anytime here. Being a Bengals fan, my disdain of their NFL team, may have played a small part in not spending time there before. MoshPlayLive will continue exploring, this time in Auburn Hills, Michigan for the next few weeks while Veronica is on assignment.
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