Downtown Neighbors Alliance Best Restaurants
1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd., Downtown. pittsburghdna.org/best-restaurants.
If Pittsburgh Restaurant Week whet your appetite for sampling some of city’s latest and greatest fare, an upcoming Best Restaurants event has got you covered. Taking place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Wed., Jan. 31 from 6-8:30 p.m., Best Restaurants has assembled 30 of Downtown Pittsburgh’s “top culinary destinations,” allowing participants to nosh on bite-sized samples “from restaurants you may have never been to or heard of before.” Hosted by the nonprofit Downtown Neighbors Alliance, the organization invites the community to join for “a delicious time… whether you are new to the greater Downtown area or have been a resident for years.” Tickets ($25) are available online.Barcelona Wine Bar
922 Penn Ave., Downtown. barcelonawinebar.com/location/pittsburgh
The Cultural District welcomed a new wine bar offering Spanish tapas and a selection of more than 400 wines. Barcelona Wine Bar, which operates restaurants in six states, debuted its Pittsburgh location in the renovated, 5,203-square-foot space that formerly housed the Downtown Sharp Edge Bistro (the changeover was first announced in fall 2022). A press release described the Pittsburgh location as being “designed to recreate the look and feel of an evening in Barcelona,” anchored by a bar with "nods to Pittsburgh’s craftsman heritage.” The menu serves up Mediterranean-style cocktails and NA beverages, and food by executive chef David Lee, including jamón ham and Machengo cheese-filled croquetas, “crispy sizzling” paellas, and gambas al ajillo, a Spanish garlic shrimp. Barcelona Wine Bar is now open Sun.-Wed from 4-11 p.m. and Thu.-Sat. from 4 p.m.-12 a.m. Reservations are available online.Turner Dairy Farms
turnerdairy.net
Turner’s kept its fans guessing as always this week, hinting at a Red Velvet cake flavor in the works, and promoting its “cARTon” contest, which gives artists a chance to design the look of its iconic Premium Iced Tea branding. “Get featured on over a million cartons this summer and receive unlimited yinzer street cred for the rest of time,” an Instagram post reads. Local artists are invited to download an online template and submit their designs by Thu., Feb. 29 for a $2,000 cash prize and merch. Details, rules, and a gallery of past winners can be found on Turner Dairy’s cARTon Design contest website. 
Mrs. T’s Pierogies
mrstspierogies.com
Some say every pierogi is a snack pierogi, but frozen pierogi behemoth Mrs. T’s has released specially-sized Snack Pierogies, now available in Pittsburgh. A press release says the new bite-sized pierogies come in bags of 50 and are “made with a custom blend of pasta and stuffed with your favorite snack time flavors,” including Cheddar Sour Cream & Onion and Cheddar Ranch Seasoned with Bacon. The miniature pierogies are custom-designed for air fryers and cook in as little as eight minutes. Pittsburghers can grab a bag at Shop ‘n Save and Giant Eagle stores. Guy’s American Kitchen + Bar x Westmoreland Live! Casino
5260 Rte. 30, Greensburg. pittsburgh.livecasinohotel.com
Pittsburghers are invited to take a trip to Flavortown with a revamped menu at the Guy’s American Kitchen + Bar location in the Greensburg-based Westmoreland Live! Casino (inside Westmoreland Mall). A press release touts new variations on the restaurant’s theme “Bold Bites, Endless Delights” with Philly cheesesteak egg rolls, shrimp scampi bruschetta, margarita flights, new cocktails, desserts, and more. During January, the eatery is also rotating back customer favorites including a BBQ beer cheeseburger and Jack Daniel’s New York strip steak.
Photo: Courtesy of Live! Casino Pittsburgh
Revamped signature burger at Guy’s American Kitchen + Bar location in Westmoreland Live! Casino
Carmi Soul Food/Carmi Express
1825 Carson St., South Side and 1219 Federal St., North Side.
carmirestaurant.com
South Side mainstay and perennial Pittsburgh City Paper Best Of Readers’ Poll favorite Carmi Soul Food is divesting from its brick-and-mortar restaurant and transitioning to a take-out-only model. “After 13 Years of indoor dining, Carmi Soul Food is now Carmi Express,” the restaurant’s website reads. As Carmi Express, the restaurant is now offering its signature “quality Southern” food for takeout, delivery, and limited appointment dining at its Carson St. restaurant and original North Side location. Carmi owners Carleen and Michael King told the Pittsburgh Business Times that the pivot is part of a larger post-pandemic strategy to sell their Carson St. property and move away from indoor dining entirely.
Still, don't expect to eat at the Carson St. location any time soon. On Jan. 22, Carmi management announced on Instagram the temporary closure of its South Side spot "until further notice." The post reads, "The recent unbearable weather conditions have led to the unfortunate bursting of our pipes, resulting in extensive flooding and damage," before saying that customers can still patronize the North Side location.
