Shale's Cafe

This bar looks completely sketchy and scary from the outside. There's no light on the sign and it looks dirty and dingy. We had to do a double take to determine whether it was even open.

Once inside, though, we realized it's our favorite kind of dive bar. It was a non-hockey night so there were just a few people in the bar. A couple of regulars were down the way and we sat next to a new Pittsburgh transplant from Russia who had also never been in the bar. The bartender was super friendly and engaging and made all of us feel at home. We had a nice chat about Pittsburgh, New York, and the history of the bar. Most importantly, she had a heavy hand on her pour. We contemplated getting another drink there and just hanging out because we were having such a nice time, but alas the next bar called.

She also totally caught us taking a picture of the exterior. It’s always hard to come up with an excuse as to why we do the things we do when pressed. We have a few stock answers, but sometimes we get caught off guard. At any rate, we had to be extra sly about reviewing the place and as a result we're missing a little info and a lot of pictures. You'll have to just take our word.

It doesn't have a great selection. It's a little worn down and smoky. But it was our favorite bar of the night. The next time we go to a Pens game we are looking forward to seeing what it’s like in full swing. 

Address:	1208 Fifth Ave, 15219	Games:	Pinball, Golden Tee, Poker
Façade:	Scary	Scene:	Hockey Dive
Parking:	Easy (on non-game nights)	Patio/Outdoor:	No
Kitchen:	None	Cleanliness:	Normal
Smoking:	Some (non-smoking bar upstairs)	Jukebox:	Internet Crap
Hours:	-2am	Cig Machine:	Yes
Drink Prices:	Average	# taps:	6
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Game Specials
Live music:	Never	Riley Factor:	Don't Know
ATM:	Yes	Cash Only	Yes
TVs:	3	Size:	Normal

The Blue Line Grille

It’s a hockey night in Pittsburgh! With the NHL playoffs coming up, we figured we would hit up all the bars around the Consol Energy Center to see what kind of options there are for your pre-game drinks, post-win celebration or post-loss commiseration. We started at the newest bar in the area: The Blue Line.

The Blue Line, as the name suggests, is a hockey bar. It is not one of the gritty local hockey bars where locals go to scream at the TV and hit their heads off the bar when Fleury lets in a dribbler. This is a hockey theme bar. The bar itself is made of “boards.” There is hockey themed stuff everywhere and there is even a place called the “sin bin,” which is a mini hockey rink area that can accommodate large groups of people. It is all very shiny and new, and you can smell that it has not settled yet.

The bar is very adequately stocked, with a very nice beer selection. A ordered a shot of Jameson, which was real Jameson, and look how huge this thing was! However, buyer be warned, they charge about $7.50 for the giant shot and a half. So you are paying for that big shot. This is a bit underhanded. We ordered a shot, not a shot and a half.

The menu is full of fancied-up bar food and after much back and forth, we both ordered something small. A got the poutine, which was surprisingly delicious, and J had a chorizo and wild mushroom quesadilla, which got a bit messy and sloppy, but was also good.  The staff seemed young and slightly overwhelmed even though the bar was sparsely populated, which makes us wonder how they handle it when there is a game on. We are sure it is a madhouse in there.  We are also pretty sure they schedule a ton more people on those nights.

Since this is the new hockey bar next to the arena it is probably hard to get a seat if you don’t get there super early on game night. It is an interesting space with surprisingly good food and we definitely recommend dropping in one day if you can squeeze in.

Address:	1014 Fifth Ave, 15219 http://www.bluelinegrille.com/	Games:	None
Façade:	Not Scary	Scene:	Hockey
Parking:	Easy (on non-game nights)	Patio/Outdoor:	No
Kitchen:	Fancy Bar Food	Cleanliness:	Normal
Smoking:	None	Jukebox:	Internet Crap
Hours:	Sun-Wed 11am-12am Thurs-Sat 11am-2am	Cig Machine:	No
Drink Prices:	Average	# taps:	20
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Early and Late Happy Hour, Game Specials
Live music:	Never	Riley Factor:	$10.00
ATM:	No	Cash Only	No
TVs:	>10	Size:	Normal