We live in Pittsburgh, Pa and spend a LOT of time thinking about, shopping for, and eating food.  Here are links to some of our favorite places. This is by no means an exhaustive list of all of the great food-related spots in Pittsburgh; if you’re from here or have visited and want to add a shout out to a specific place, please post a comment below!

CSA and Markets

• Kretschmann Organic Farm and CSA.  We subscribe to the Kretschmann CSA and recently toured the farm.  We cannot say enough good things about our CSA and Mr. and Mrs. Kretschmann.
• Wild Purveyors Market. This specialty market, which focuses on local, organic and sustainable foods, just opened a few blocks away from our house!  Score!  It also serves as the drop off for our CSA box.
• Farmer’s Market Cooperative of East Liberty.  We are there bright and early every Saturday morning. This is a small, year round market and most of the offerings are local and/or organic.  We supplement our CSA box with produce, meat, dairy, eggs and miscellaneous finds from the market.
• The Farmer’s Wife – Henry Family Farms.  Farmer Maggie raises the most amazing pastured eggs I’ve ever tasted.  You can find her at the Farmers@Firehouse market in the Strip District on Saturdays from 9 AM – 1 PM.
• The East End Food Co-op.  We’ve recently started shopping here and really like it.  Not only does the co-op offer local and organic produce, but also a great bulk foods section, and there’s a nice selection of staples (OJ, cheeses, crackers and cereals) that we can’t get at the farmer’s market.

Lawrenceville (our neighborhood)

• Arsenal Cider House.  Amazing hard cider made right in our neighborhood.  Arsenal Cider House’s ciders range from dry to sweet, and you can buy a growler to take with you and bring it back next time for a refill.
• La Gourmandine. The best pastries and bread in the city, baked fresh daily.
• Arsenal Cheese.  These folks make some awesome local cheese.  We’re huge fans of the Cannonball Curds and the Herb & Bourbon.
• Brillobox.  Our favorite bar, which inspired this salad.  They serve up a number of vegetarian options and many of their dishes feature local and/or organic food.

The Strip District (Pittsburgh’s wholesale food district)

• Penzey’s.  Located in the Strip District, Penzey’s is a national chain where we buy many of our spices in bulk; this is especially helpful if you have a dill pickle habit and need a ton of dill seed for your canning projects.
• Penn Mac.  Penn Mac has an amazing selection of imported meats and cheeses (and they let you sample!).  You can also find every kind of pasta (fresh or dried), olive oil and tomato product imaginable.
• Reyna’s.  There’s no substitute for fresh tortillas, and Reyna’s makes them fresh on-site every day.  You can also find chorizo, queso fresco, homemade salsas, dried chiles and an array of hot sauces.
• Wholey’s.  The place to go for seafood in the burgh.  Local and sustainable?  Probably not in most cases.  But the selection is amazing.
• Mancini’s Bakery.  I grew up on Mancini’s Italian bread, and we can’t walk past the store without stopping in to pick up a loaf.  They give the kids free breadsticks (and I would never, ever, steal bites of the kids’ breadsticks, for the record).  And oh, the pepperoni rolls!