OK, for a change of pace, how about a ranking of something that’s actually important (to me at least), and for which Pittsburgh barely rates at all. According to a survey by the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, the cities with the most diverse food options are San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles — with San Fran scoring a perfect 100.00. And at the bottom is Detroit, scoring an equally perfect 0.00.
Pittsburgh doesn’t even make the ranking. And, well, I’ve been to Detroit a lot, and it’s pretty culinarily diverse; I’ve had great Yemeni and Burundian food there. So, a zero score is pretty ridiculous. And yet, it’s hard to imagine Pittsburgh scoring better than Detroit on any such ranking.
Maybe we’re diverse in ways that conventional studies don’t pick up. I had a friend back in my newspaper days who blurted out once, “I never knew there were this many kinds of white people until I moved to Pittsburgh.” I mean, he’s right.
So, this isn’t to complain about Pittsburgh’s food options — which, for the record, I think are pretty good, and decently diverse. I think it’s funny that my son’s favorite foods are bagels and lox, barbecue, and Uzbek cuisine, because why not? Those are all great.
This ranking seems bogus, but I think having more diverse culinary options is a worthy goal, and one that doesn’t detract from a city’s distinctiveness. But how do you get more diverse cuisines to show up, and locals to appreciate them?
I don’t know, but I suspect that you either have to be really friendly to immigrants or create so many jobs that they come here anyway. Given the xenophobic climate of the country right now, I’m not holding my breath for either.
What does this have to do with housing? I don’t know, but I think having more dining options nearby is better than having less, and that shouldn’t be controversial.
For rent: New King Edward Apartments, 4601 Bayard St., Oakland, $1,200-2,000/month.
This has got to be one of the most beautiful apartment buildings in Pittsburgh, with Gothic terra cotta touches reflecting the Cathedral of Learning nearby. The catch: the studios are 321 square feet, which isn’t much bigger than a college dorm room. Still, downstairs is Butterjoint, which has been one of Pittsburgh’s best restaurants for the better part of a decade, to which I would consider outsourcing much of my dinners.
For sale: 69 Transvaal Ave., Ross, $215,000.
This home has a few things that anyone can appreciate: a quiet street, a giant porch, and a few that may amuse only me, like mint-green-painted walls inside. And then you turn the corner and suddenly the walls are purple! Sure, most people don’t want a kitchen that looks like Grimace exploded in the microwave, but we aren’t most people, are we?
For rent: Shadyside Apartments, 5721-5727 Elwood St., Shadyside, $1,249/month.
The website Walkscore.com ranks neighborhoods/zip codes by walkability (among other things), and it deems Shadyside a “Walker’s Paradise” with a 91 score out of 100, meaning “daily errands do not require a car.” Maybe you love driving, maybe you don’t, but it’s nice to not be forced to drive for every little thing.
For sale: 504 North St., Baldwin, $174,000.
Here’s another close-in suburb that doesn’t have a big draw (like restaurants) beyond the people who live there. And yet, it’s got some very inexpensive homes, very close to the city. This one is weird, but they’re all weird at this price point. They’re not making homes like this anymore, because this looks like it was built by some guy who decided to just go ahead and build it himself between shifts at the steel mill. (My grandpa actually did this.)
For rent: 301 ½ Winebiddle St., Bloomfield, $1,295/month.
Well, I don’t love the heinous addition built onto the front of what looks like a historic façade, but the price here is pretty good, and the location is great. During the ‘80s and ‘90s, a huge percentage of the bigger homes in Bloomfield and Friendship were chopped up into multi-unit apartments, because people aren’t having 10 kids, butlers, and maids anymore. Most of the time, it didn’t look as bland as this, though.
For sale: 1860 Jancey St., Morningside, $299,000.
American cities used to be full of vibrant, healthy, safe, working-class neighborhoods that normal people (recent immigrants, even) could afford to buy into. But for very stupid reasons, we let them die out, and for even stupider reasons, we can’t build new versions. Pittsburgh is one of the last holdouts, and you won’t find a better example than Morningside. This 1928 Craftsman-esque home has some nice woodwork and four bedrooms, and is still a steal for the East End.
This article appears in Jul 16-22, 2025.
