Unique Dining Options from SkyVue Apartments in Pittsburgh
August 16th, 2016 by Ryan Sundling
SkyVue apartments in Pittsburgh is located in the heart of Oakland, perfectly situated for a world-class urban living experience. SkyVue offers the modern apartments Pittsburgh professionals want and need in the middle of the city. Of course, part of the Pittsburgh experience is getting out and finding all the nooks and crannies that make Pittsburgh so special. That’s why every month the team at SkyVue apartments in Pittsburgh is bringing you ideas for new places to explore when it’s time for an adventure. In today’s blog we’re exploring a few interesting dining options that you simply won’t find in any other city. Whether it’s the building you eat in or the menu you look at, these eateries are unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. We also recommend the website Atlas Obscura as a great resource for unique destinations in Pittsburgh that are off the beaten path.
St. John’s Baptist Church was built in 1902 to serve Pittsburgh’s booming immigrant population. As a staple of the Pittsburgh community for over 114 years, the church has served the residents of Polish Hill in many ways. The church and its staff provided food and shelter to struggling industrial workers and their families during the toughest years of the Great Depression. Shortly afterward, the city’s flood refugees sought shelter at the church during the Pittsburgh flood of 1936. This is now known as the St. Patrick’s Day flood, when the waters of the Allegheny and Monongahela swelled nearly 50 feet, drowning the city and destroying over 100,000 buildings in the process. The church stood tall though, remaining a pillar of the community until the city’s economy began to falter in the ‘70s and ‘80s. The church gradually lost its constituents and was completely abandoned by 1993.
In 1996, Church Brew Works came along to renovate the church and turn it into a functional brew hall. The brewery placed a huge emphasis on reusing existing features and materials in order to preserve the historic feeling inside the church. The beer hall is even made out of old church pews! Church Brew Works is celebrating its 20th year of serving the Pittsburgh community this year. They’re open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday and serve pizza until midnight on Friday and Saturday, so come on by for an ale and some delicious pub food at one of Pittsburgh’s most unique watering holes.
Conflict Kitchen is a take out restaurant that was opened in 2010 by two Carnegie Mellon University art professors. The ever-changing storefront was once described by NPR as, “an experimental public art project — and the medium is the sandwich wrap.” The restaurant serves ethnic food from countries that the U.S. is in conflict with. Conflict Kitchen undergoes a complete transformation every 6 months or so by changing its storefront, menu, and decorations to reflect the customs and traditions of a different country. The current menu features food from Iran, but past versions of Conflict Kitchen have included cuisine from Afghanistan, Cuba, North Korea, Palestine and Venezuela.
The take out spot does more than just serve the food from these unfamiliar countries, they also seek to educate patrons about the countries by including print material with each order. The owners often travel from country to country conducting interviews with locals to get first-hand information for their informative sandwich wraps. For patrons who want an even deeper cultural experience, Conflict Kitchen offers special events like Skype dinner parties with international guests, workshops, live music and discussions with documentary filmmakers.
Enjoy these interesting dining options and be sure to follow SkyVue apartments in Pittsburgh on social media for more dining tips!