KDKA Story on Hotel Occupancy During G-20

This is a story from KDKA television, our local CBS affiliate, on hotel occupancy and special requests from international guests. The Priory is prominently featured. FYI.

Shout Out for The Priory from the Nation's Capital

With the G-20 upcoming, the Washington Post in its Sunday, September 20 Travel Section, ran an article focusing on three Pittsburgh neighborhoods worth a look - the North Shore, Lawrenceville/Strip District and Oakland. In a box entitled "Where to Stay," The Priory was mentioned as one of three area hotels worth a try (thought the Post refers to The Priory as a former "convent," when it was, in fact, a monastery (i.e., it housed brothers, not sisters). It's always nice to get a little recognition from the national media!

Good Reviews for Two New Pittsburgh Restaurants

Paris 66 and Yo Rita

China Millman, dining critic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, recently gave exceptionally good reviews to two new casual restaurants in Pittsburgh, Yo Rita, which serves a Mexican cuisine, and Paris 66, which serves a French bistro-type cuisine. Yo Rita's is located on the South Side and Paris 66 is located in East Liberty. Both restaurants are new to the Pittsburgh dining scene. I have not had a chance to go to either, but they have been generating a lot of buzz. Here is China Millman's piece about Paris 66 and Yo Rita's. Here is China Millman's Twitter site.

G-20 Security Update

Here is the latest news on the G-20 Security perimeter in downtown Pittsburgh next week from the official Pittsburgh G-20 Website.

Crazy Mocha comes to the North Side

Crazy Mocha, the funky local coffee house chain, is opening its first North Side store, at the corner of Federal Street and North Avenue, about 1 block to the West from Allegheny General Hospital. It's a convenient location in a corridor which is booming with new construction, from a massive townhouse project to the new Carnegie Library. With the Federal North project on the way, which will include the rehabilitation of the old Garden Theater and other landmark buildings, this promises to be a neighborhood which will take off. We'll keep you posted.

New Library

The Federal Street Corridor is host to a new shining North Side jewel, the newly constructed North Side Carnegie Library. The old library, housed in a landmark building in Allegheny Center, was closed when its steeple was hit by a bolt of lightning, causing the steeple to cascade into the building proper. The new library is airy with state of the art data services, and will now be a community icon for years to come. It opened at the end of August, and is well worth a look.

Rivers Casino In Its Second Month

I've had the opportunity to visit the nearby Rivers Casino several times since its opening in early August, and I can say that I've had nothing but positive experiences. While the massive parking garage is a bit clunky and overbearing, the entrance to the casino and its facade is very appealing, as are the portions of the building facing the river. Inside, the finishes of the casino are all top notch, with materials of excellent quality. The decor, which includes some Chihuly glass sculptures which greet you at the entrance are the same as people waited in lines to see at the Phipps Conservatory last year. Overall, the interior quality is easily on a par with upper level Las Vegas casinos.

Incidentally, here is a recent Post-Gazette article discussing the impact of the casino on its North Side neighbors, most of whom, including me, have been favorably impressed.

While I have not had a chance to eat at any of the restaurants, I did get to sample during one of the dry openings, and the food was superb.

On the gaming side, I'm not much of one for slots or poker machines, but the ones featured at the Rivers Casino all appeared to be pretty cool with their various themes. One thing the casino does offer which is very cool are "virtual" blackjack and roulette tables, which feature virtual dealers and which re-create the look and feel of the actual table games. They are a pretty good substitute for the real thing.

They are likely to be a moot point soon, however, as the state legislature and the governor have agreed to legalize table games which, we're told, will go precisely in the spot of the virtual games.