Starting all over again: Some thoughts on Pittsburgh...

So we just walked in the door from our little trip to Pittsburgh. Everyone was worried about the bad weather that was forecasted for this weekend but, with the exception of the cold temps, we pretty much missed it. There was a little snow in Pittsburgh this morning when we left and we ran into a little snow in WV on our way back but never had any actual trouble.

As you know, this is our second short trip to Pitt since we went almost a month ago for our first Steelers' game. I didn't write a whole lot about it here because that was right around the same time I went to LA and it was such an incredibly busy and overwhelming time. So I thought I'd write about both of them now.

1. The games

The first game was in November and I had bought tickets the second they went on sale back in July. I had no clue what to get so I just got cheap seats. The weather was perfect, the seats were less so. This time, we bought tickets off StubHub. It was nerve-wracking, since the tickets were late shipping and we were concerned we would get screwed, but they ended up not only getting us the tix in time but even upgrading them. So, this time, the weather was crappy but the seats were perfect!

2. The hotel

The first time, we stayed at the Residence Inn, which just happens to be between the Steelers' and the Pirates' stadiums. We got a two bedroom suite and it was spectacular, but expensive. The people were awesome, but the pool was small (important to my heatherns), so we decided to try the hotel next door this time, Springhill Suites. This time the room had two Queens and a couch bed. It was cheaper, but for a very good reason. In the end, we decided to just deal with the price and head back to the Residence Inn next time. The guys can walk to the game easily and Sis and I can lounge without being on top of each other.

3. The food

I'm a foodie. Not-So-Ex is a foodie. We even have smaller foodies in our kids (more so with Hunt than Sis), so food is a big part of our trips. The first trip, our big find was Pittsburgh BBQ Co. It's a tiny place but their BBQ is incredible (and their fried apples are to DIE for). It's not a restaurant per se, since there are no seats, but we had a nice little kitchen and eating area in our suite so it was absolutely perfect for us. It was so good that I was absolutely craving it this time BUT they were closed for the season! I was devastated. We also ate at Dor-Stop the next morning, which is a DDD restaurant, and, while the pancakes and french toast were awesome, Not-So-Ex wasn't really impressed with his steak and eggs. On this trip, the food was mostly meh. And sometimes just ugh. But I did have one major find. I found some truly exceptional cupcakes. Probably the only famous cupcakes I've ever tried have been Magnolia, but the ones from Vanilla Pastry Studio trumped them easily. Easily. I don't normally gush, but their chocolate peanut butter were as good as mine. Their Red Velvet was nice, although it had a lighter frosting than I use and I'm not sure that I liked it better. Their Key Lime actually had flavor to it! And I liked their decorating style. It was very clean and simple. If you're ever in the area, go. That's all there is to it.