The Strip District

Yesterday I decided to venture out and explore the Strip District, which could easily become my new and favorite home away from home.

Thanks to my friends over at Wikipedia I can report that this area of town was hope to many mills and factories during the 19th century.  Its close proximity to the Allegheny river made it easy to transport goods and raw materials.  As year went by, many merchants began to set up shop in the Strip, and by the early 20th Century this area was filled with produce/meat/poultry wholesalers; restaurants and grocery stores quickly followed suit as workers needed a place to grab a quick bite after work.  Fast forward a  few years and goods were starting to travel the highways as opposed to railways/water.  It is estimated that nearly 80% of the existing produce industry and manufacturing plants/mills have left the area.  Over the past few years there has been a resurgence of the area with many ethnic food stores opening up, as well as art studios and small shops.

But lets be honest - we all know that I am in it for the food culture, ethnic grocery stores and farmers markets. 

The Strip is home to the Permanti Brothers Restaurant.  What they are really known for are their oversized sandwiches that are stuffed with homemade coleslaw and FRENCH FRIES.  The sandwiches are so famous that they have even been mentioned on Man vs. Food.  I am happy to report that Toni made my sandwich, pictured below!

 After being properly fueled, I decided to hit the streets and pick up some groceries for the upcoming weeks.

One of the original wholesalers, Wholey's, is still around.  As soon as I walked into the store I was greeted by this fish (he had seen much better days)

The sidewalks are PACKED with different vendors selling everything from grilled pizza to Steelers fanware, dessert to gourmet dog treats.  It was not uncommon to see something like this outside a bakery or my other favorite place, the Pennsylvania Macaroni Co.  If someone had told me I was dropped off somewhere in NYC's Little Italy I would believe them.  What is even better is that most of the shops in the area take FOOD STAMPS, which will be a lifesaver over the next few months. 

We all know that I LOVE ME A GOOD FARMERS MARKET and thankfully I stumbled across the Farmers@Firehouse, a local market that I had read super amazing things about. 

AMAZING!!!