Crystal on Penn

This is a random little bar tucked away on Penn Avenue towards downtown, but still in the Strip. On the Monday we were there, there was a very serious Texas Hold ‘em tournament going on that filled up the entire back room. People were shouting rules and reminders and times and blinds, and one particularly obnoxious guy yelled "BOOM" and stood up whenever he won. It was all very serious.

At the bar, it was not any less weird. The older man at the end of the bar was counseling a friend to "never, ever, ever sell real estate." What if someone offers you 4x what your real estate is worth and then you use your massive windfall profit to buy more real estate? We find his theory to be flawed at the very least. In the same conversation there was also some shouting about a volcano. We’re amateurs, but we think that if there’s a volcano that you should definitely go ahead and sell that real estate.

We are beating up on this little place too much, so let's talk about the good. There are Hot Fries. You remember, the Andy Capp Hot Fries that you never see anymore. How Andy Capp became associated with Hot Fries we don’t know, but we both used to love them and hadn't seen them for ages. So if you are looking for your Hot Fries fix, Crystal's has got you covered. Also, the bartender was cool and was digging into a bag of Hot Fries herself.

The bar itself is average sized with average beer and average booze. It is nothing special. But if you stop in there one day, you might hear crazy loud phrases and terrible advice. There's a Volcano!

Address:	1211 Penn Ave, 15222	Games:	Magic Touch
Façade:	Scary	Scene:	Slightly weird
Parking:	Easy at night	Patio/Outdoor:	No
Kitchen:	Bar Food	Cleanliness:	Naormal
Smoking:	None	Jukebox:	Internet Crap
Hours:	11:30am-2am	Cig Machine:	No
Drink Prices:	Dirt Cheap	# taps:	4
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Happy Hour 5-7
Live music:	Never	Riley Factor:	$6.50
ATM:	Yes	Cash Only	No
TVs:	5	Size:	Hole in the Wall

Zano's Pubhouse

We have never seen a more blue collar bar on a Friday night. This newly re-opened bar in "The Run" (it used to be Chaser’s) is a pretty hopping place on a weekend night. We kind of felt like this is what bars must have been like in the old steel days: hardworking folks and girls with giant hair. For some reason Flashdance comes to mind.

It was too crowded for us to get seats at the bar so we had to sit at a high top in the back, which happens when you go out on a Friday night. The space itself is nice enough: long bar, wide hanging out / high top area. It’s still your typical drop-ceiling and wood panel neighborhood bar, though. There is a pool table in the back where a middle-aged guy wearing an Eagles jersey was spinning some righteous tunes. There is also a seating area in the bar with booths and tables, so we are guessing they have some sort of food available as well.


We had a nice enough time there, but would never recommend that anyone go out of their way to go there. The Run is such a weird little neighborhood. We are glad they have a bar like Zano's to call their own.

Address:	3806 Acorn St, 15207	Games:	Pool, Darts
Façade:	Not Scary	Scene:	Neighborhood Dive
Parking:	Easy	Patio/Outdoor:	No
Kitchen:	Bar Food	Cleanliness:	Normal
Smoking:	Some	Jukebox:	Internet Crap
Hours:	10am-2am	Cig Machine:	Yes
Drink Prices:	Dirt Cheap	# taps:	12
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Daily
Live music:	Sometimes	Riley Factor:	$6.00
ATM:	Yes	Cash Only	Yes
TVs:	6	Size:	Normal

Verdetto's

This bar might win the prize for the most unexpectedly riotous stop we've made. It took us a few minutes to get to it after being blocked by the one way streets and alleyways of the North Side, but as soon as we walked inside we knew that these people were having a good time. In fact, they were having the kind of good time that is instantly infectious.

Before we had even sat down a guy came over, introduced himself as "Wild Bill," and offered to buy J a Jell-O shot. This can be the sign of either a very good place or a very bad one. The bartender came over and said, "Don't worry, he works here." Well, alrighty then. Any bar with an employee named Wild Bill can’t be that bad.

There were only about ten people in the bar on that Friday night, but they were having a better time than any other ten people we saw that weekend. People were singing along, kung-fu fighting, dancing, climbing structural poles, joking and laughing. It's possible they were having more fun than any people we've seen all year.

It's a cute little neighborhood bar and it’s ridiculously cheap. They do free Jell-O shots when touchdowns or hockey goals are scored. They have nachos and soft pretzels. They have Wild Bill. To say that we recommend stopping here would be an understatement. This is a special little bar.

Address:	814 Madison Ave, 15212	Games:	Magic Touch, Poker
Façade:	Not Scary	Scene:	Awesome Yinzer Dive
Parking:	Easy	Patio/Outdoor:	No
Kitchen:	Bar Food	Cleanliness:	Normal
Smoking:	Some	Jukebox:	Internet Crap
Hours:	11am-2am	Cig Machine:	No
Drink Prices:	Dirt Cheap	# taps:	4
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Jell-O Shots
Live music:	Never	Riley Factor:	$5.00
ATM:	Yes	Cash Only	Yes
TVs:	4	Size:	Normal

Kelly's Korner

It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh! If you are looking for a true Pittsburgh hockey bar, look no further than Kelly's Korner. It’s the kind of bar where you will make new friends while watching a hockey game and screaming at the TV. If there is a hockey game on and you have no interest in hockey, please go somewhere else. You will be annoyed by the screaming hockey fans and they will be annoyed by you. It is just a vicious circle of annoyance.

About the bar: It is a small Irish bar in the Pittsburgh vein of Irish bars (which means that it has some ugly green shamrock stuff up). It’s pretty much exactly what you would expect. It’s pretty tiny, is cash only and there is smoking. It’s a neighborhood bar where you watch hockey, as opposed to a sports bar. The drinks are pretty cheap and they are served with indifference to non-regulars. However, we did see much love between the bartender and some of the permanent fixtures there. The regulars even seem to help make sure everyone is taken care of, which creates a nice vibe.

The only other thing we will say is that we are happy there is not a “Kozy” in between Kelly's and Korner. We once accidentally rented a racist cabin in Deep Creek with a name like “Kozy Kottage Kabin.” We did not think much of it until we found the KKK section of the guest book. It definitely gave a different feel to our lakeside cabin and we felt super weird about it. Then we got drunk. It’s called coping. At any rate, we’re hoping Kelly’s Korner doesn’t have the same issue.

Address:	285 45th St, 15201	Games:	Poker, Pinball, Darts, Magic Touch
Façade:	Hidden, Not Scary	Scene:	Tiny Sports Bar
Parking:	Easy	Patio/Outdoor:	No
Kitchen:	Bar Food	Cleanliness:	Normal
Smoking:	Some	Jukebox:	Internet Crap
Hours:	-2am	Cig Machine:	No
Drink Prices:	Dirt Cheap	# taps:	4
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Not Really
Live music:	Never	Riley Factor:	$7.00
ATM:	Yes	Cash Only	Yes
TVs:	3	Size:	Hole in the Wall

Scarpaci's

The only thing we could find online about Scarpaci’s was a thread on barsmart where someone called it "Murder Central." We were immediately intrigued. What a delightful nickname. We really looked forward to finding out how exactly we would come to be murdered. Would it be booby-traps? Psycho-Killer? Alcohol poisoning?

As it turns out, whoever wrote that probably just needs to get out more. We were not murdered. We weren't even maimed or harmed in any way. It was a bit of a let down really.

It's just a local dive bar. The bartender was friendly to us and everyone seemed to know and like each other. One patron, who quickly made us as bloggers or people trying to open a bar, was too nice to us, truth be told. Some of our stats may be incomplete because we didn't want to stick around writing notes much longer after that. Once they're on to you things get weird.

There were sixteen draft beers but none of them were any good. They had every crappy domestic beer you can think of on draft and that's all. It's actually pretty impressive. They even had the elusive Coors Original. There was also a sign-up sheet for a bus to the Kid Rock concert. So. That's all there is. Scarpaci's is a fine local dive bar with cheap beer and questionable taste in music. Maybe that hyperbolic barsmart poster just really hates Kid Rock. That's understandable.

Address:	307-309 Shiloh St, 15211	Games:	Pool, Darts
Façade:	A Little Scary	Scene:	Local Dive
Parking:	Easy	Patio/Outdoor:	No
Kitchen:	Bar Food	Cleanliness:	Normal
Smoking:	Some	Jukebox:	Don't know
Hours:	-2am	Cig Machine:	Don't know
Drink Prices:	Dirt Cheap	# taps:	16
Bathrooms:	Don't know	Specials:	Daily
Live music:	Never	Riley Factor:	$7
ATM:	Yes	Cash Only	Yes
TVs:	2	Size:	Normal

Walker's Pub

From the outside, Walker's looked like it should have everything we love. It was off the beaten path, had an old school awning and neon signs in the small windows. It looked like a lovingly maintained dive bar.

It turns out it is a well-maintained dive bar, but one of the least friendly we've ever gone to. From our experience, this is a real locals only place. There was some serious yinzer stink-eye being thrown at us from under some epic attack bangs.

The front room was dominated by a way too big circular bar. There were darts towards the back and a pool table in a back room. The bartender was sitting at the bar having a conversation on a cordless phone when we came in and she went back to it after she served us nonchalantly. Family Guy was on the TV with the volume on loudly. It was about to be trivia night, but unlike the Modern where we felt roped into playing, no one wanted us to stay there.


If you live nearby and try hard to ingratiate yourself with the locals, I bet it's a great place to get a cheap beer. Everyone there seemed to know each other and was having a good time. We just weren't invited.

Address:	2024 Sarah St, 15203	Games:	Pool, Darts
Façade:	Not Scary	Scene:	Mean Yinzers
Parking:	Easy	Patio/Outdoor:	No
Kitchen:	None-order in specials	Cleanliness:	Normal-Nasty
Smoking:	Some	Jukebox:	Internet Crap
Hours:	-2am	Cig Machine:	Yes
Drink Prices:	Cheap	# taps:	4-only 2 filled
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Daily
Live music:	Never	Riley Factor:	$7.00
ATM:	Yes	Cash Only	No
TVs:	2	Size:	Normal

Nadine's

As seen on TV! Nadine's is still capitalizing on its visit from pseudo-celebra-chef Guy Fieri. Even though it was five years ago, it still gives them some celebrity appeal, which can help a great little place like this stay open.

Having never been there, we were both a bit skeptical when we walked in and looked over the joint. We sat down and a bartender with just the right mix of friendliness and orneriness took our orders. J made the pro move and ordered a bottled beer; A regretted his amateur mistake as his draft beer was "off." We also ordered our traditional shot of Jameson. We’re not saying it wasn't Jameson, but when you have had as much of the stuff as we have, you kind of know what Jameson tastes like, and it also seemed "off." So as far as drinking there goes, negative 10 points to Nadine's.

However, much was forgiven and many points were re-earned by the food, the "charm" of the bartender and the atmosphere in general. The food is prepared right in front of you with lots of something resembling love. Maybe not love, maybe grudging acceptance. We were asked very specific questions during the food making process; it was kind of interactive. We did not get the "Famous" roast beef, but what we got was delicious. J ordered a BLT and A ordered a grilled capicolla with swiss on rye, with an egg. The egg was forgotten, but the sandwich was still delicious.

The check was for something like $15. Two beers, two sandwiches, and two shots. $15. So, there is that too. That’s worth quite a few points.

We liked this place and the bartender. As we have said before, a bartender can really make or break a bar. We bemoaned the state of the Southside with him and learned about his flight to the suburbs. We left feeling pretty positive about the experience and we are glad we went, but we wouldn't tell you to go out of your way. If you’re down near the Southside Works, though, Nadine’s is definitely near the top of the list to stop in.

Address:	19 S 27th St, 15203 http://www.nadinesbar.com/	Games:	Magic Touch
Façade:	Not Scary	Scene:	Pgh Dad
Parking:	Easy	Patio/Outdoor:	No
Kitchen:	Bar Food (plus breakfast)	Cleanliness:	Normal
Smoking:	Some	Jukebox:	Internet Crap
Hours:	6am-	Cig Machine:	Yes
Drink Prices:	Dirt Cheap	# taps:	3
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Food Specials
Live music:	Never	Riley Factor:	$5.00
ATM:	Yes	Cash Only	No
TVs:	6	Size:	Hole in the Wall