Winter Specials Continuing Through March!

We are offering some incredible special rates on both our room rates and rates for our most popular packages, including our Romance, Romance package and our Rivers Casino package. For instance, we are offering our standard queen rooms for $109 per night (plus tax) for much of January and February, and our casino package is $189 per night and $169 per night. Visit our website at www.thepriory.com for more information, or call us at (412) 231-3338 or (866) 3PRIORY to book a room.

February Wine Tasting

Our normal Wine Tasting schedule doesn't start until April, but every February we give a little taste of the Tasting in our Grand Hall. Our little taste this year is on February 16, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in our Grand Hall, and features wines host Deb Mortillaro and Mike Gonze of Dreadnought Wines. In the spirit of the rapidly approaching St. Patrick's Day, we're also offering entertainment by Irish Troubadour Terry Griffith. We're featuring the following wines:

* Louis Scheurebe: A wonderful German white wine, which is softer than a Riesling but balanced with some nice acid. A Kabinet, this is a dry wine.

* Paul Blanck Pinot Blanc, Alsace: Bolder and fuller than the Scheurbe. Not a Pinot Grigio.

* Sattler St. Laurant 2006, Austria: Deb and Mike picked this so that they can tell the story of how this is one of the two grapes that are grafted together to make Zweigelt. This also will show that Austrian wines can handle some age. .

* Lancatay Bonarda, Argentina: If you are tired of hearing the word Malbec try Bonarda. It is a little bigger and more complex. It grows where Malbec does but Deb and Mike think it makes a more interesting wine.

Chefs Pete Phillipy and Mike Henney are offering some culinary treats in the form of heavy hors d'oeuvres to accent our wines:

Shrimp fajita with lime sour cream with the Scheurebele;

Goat cheese soufflé with roasted apples and mango coulis with the Paul Blanck;

Smoked chicken and spinach stuffed with cremini mushrooms with red pepper with the Sattler; and

Roast beef tenderloin with tomato bruschetta on ciabatta bread, with pesto oil, with the Lancatay Bonarda.

It should be a fun night, as always. Tickets are $50 per person. Contact Gene Lucente at (412) 224-6300, or at gene@thepriory.com to make reservations.

Avenue B Redux Redux

I had a chance to review the Shadyside restaurant Avenue B last year, and returned recently. Avenue B still offers excellent, inventive food with friendly, professional service. It's atmosphere is still casual (exposed brick walls, coarse paper over tablecloths on the tables, menu in chalk on the wall). Here's a link to my previous post.

The menu changes daily, with fresh and seasonal ingredients emphasized. While the dishes are typically no fussy, they do typically combine ingredients which look mismatched but which come together nicely. For instance, during my recent visit there was a foie gras appetizer offered with a quail's egg and maple syrup reduction. Other entrees which we encountered including a fresh sea bass with a saffron and vanilla cream sauce, and a flank steak with an excellent red wine demi glace.

The trick with Avenue B is that they are striving to offer an experience you won't see elsewhere -- crabcakes and grilled salmon are not the usual fare. Avenue B is well worth a look in Pittsburgh. Note that Avenue B is a BYOB, so if you'd like a glass of wine, bring your own bottle.

For Your Good Health Valentine's Fundraiser February 10

We're pleased to host "Valentine's Enchanted Evening" on February 10, 2012 for For Your Good Health. FYGH is a Pittsburgh area non-profit organization which aims to strengthen children and families through health education and structured physical activities. The Valentine's Enchanted Evening event is aimed at raising funds to provide free sports clinics and camps to children with asthma and allergy-related health conditions.

Valentine's Enchanted Evening promises to be a night of great music, great food and great fun. Music is provided by Pittsburgh Jazz legend Etta Cox and the FAB Rock Band. FYGH is also offering a fabulous and fun auction. We are offering discounted overnight accommodations at our Priory Hotel as well.

Date: February 10, 2012 (Friday)

Time: 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Food and Beverage: Buffet dinner opens at 7:00 p.m.; Cash bar is available; Valentine candy and roses will be available for purchase throughout the evening.

Tickets: $75 per person. Call 724 822-9742 or 412 350-8808 for information or to make reservations.

Priory in Pennsylvania Magazine

The Priory was recently featured in Pennsylvania magazine, a publication which celebrates the rich fabric of Pennsylvania's history and its present. In "Anchoring a Pittsburgh Neighborhood: Visionaries Transform Run-down Church Properties into Elegant Inn and Banquet Hall," author Bette McDevitt tells the story of the Priory Hotel, the Grand Hall, and the recent expansion of the Priory. It's an interesting and well written story, not available on the web but the hard copy is the November/December issue of Pennsylvania magazine.

Views and Voices Magazine Covers the Priory

Views and Voices magazine, a lifestyle publication, covers the story of the Priory Hotel and Grand Hall in its January issue. Hilary Daninhirsch (by coincidence, a long lost law school classmate), is the author.

Winter Specials!

If you're thinking of coming to Pittsburgh for a quick look around (we are one of National Geographic's 20 destinations to see before you die!), or you'd like to see what our Priory Hotel is about, January and February are a good time to do it. We are offering specials both on room rates and packages for the winter month. It's well worth checking out our website, whether you're looking for a quick trip to get rid of the winter blahs or planning a special getaway with your someone special! You can see our Specials here and our Packages here.