Just moved to Wexford, missing the stuff in Squirrel Hill (Pittsburgh: apartment, rent)

[maba]

Hi All,
After having lived in a rented place in Squirrel Hill for 3 years, we moved to our own home in Wexord (Pine township) and I sorely miss my old neighborhood. Nothing is in walking distance (not that we didn't know that before moving) and since we are new to the area, we don't know of the fun things to do here. First thing I noticed after moving here is that there really are no good authentic restaurants in the vicinity. I'm looking for ethnic restaurants and not chains like Olive Garden, Applebee's etc. People who live here or are familiar with this area, would you please tell me what some of the good restaurants, movie theaters (theaters that play non main-stream movies like the Squirrel Hill and Manor theaters in SH) and local stores and cafes are? Which would be the closest neighborhood that has the things I'm looking for? (Boylocke and Hopes, please come to my rescue.)

P.S.: I don't mean to sound cynical or disparaging about the suburbs, but it's just that I miss the city. I'm sure once I become familiar with this area, I will feel at home.

[globalburgh]

I hope someone else has something better to report, but when I lived in the Wexford area (late 1990s) I ALWAYS went into the city to scratch my itch for culture. My wife grew up in Ingomar and most of her friends lived in the city. She spent a lot of time on the bus. She loved growing up in Wexford, but that was for the great schools and nice neighborhoods. In her estimation, she enjoyed that she was close enough to the "big city" in order to have the best of both worlds.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by globalburgh

I hope someone else has something better to report, but when I lived in the Wexford area (late 1990s) I ALWAYS went into the city to scratch my itch for culture. My wife grew up in Ingomar and most of her friends lived in the city. She spent a lot of time on the bus. She loved growing up in Wexford, but that was for the great schools and nice neighborhoods. In her estimation, she enjoyed that she was close enough to the "big city" in order to have the best of both worlds.

My niece lived there last year (came back here, but that's a different story), she felt the same way. Not much there but chains, etc. I thought the area was beautiful last fall when we visited!

[vwscottie]

Originally Posted by maba

Hi All,
After having lived in a rented place in Squirrel Hill for 3 years, we moved to our own home in Wexord (Pine township) and I sorely miss my old neighborhood. Nothing is in walking distance (not that we didn't know that before moving) and since we are new to the area, we don't know of the fun things to do here. First thing I noticed after moving here is that there really are no good authentic restaurants in the vicinity. I'm looking for ethnic restaurants and not chains like Olive Garden, Applebee's etc. People who live here or are familiar with this area, would you please tell me what some of the good restaurants, movie theaters (theaters that play non main-stream movies like the Squirrel Hill and Manor theaters in SH) and local stores and cafes are? Which would be the closest neighborhood that has the things I'm looking for? (Boylocke and Hopes, please come to my rescue.)

P.S.: I don't mean to sound cynical or disparaging about the suburbs, but it's just that I miss the city. I'm sure once I become familiar with this area, I will feel at home.

When I accepted my position in Pittsburgh, the first area I looked into was the Bethel/Castle Shannon/Upper St Clair areas because they are close to where I work. After spending a day looking in that area, I knew I had to live in the city, way to suburban for me. I would rather rent a beautiful apartment like we have now instead of buying a home in an area like that where you can't take in the city on foot.

[maba]

Oh dear! Sounds like we have to go to the city for the things I'm looking for. What about public transport from here - is this area well connected by Port Authority bus? After being used to driving no more than 5 miles to work, I dread driving 20 miles each way to get to work. What are some of the public transport options from here? Do people car-pool? Since Wexford is such an up and coming area, is the city of Pittsburgh considering expanding the public transport system here? Or am I being too unrealistic?

[nynjmapa]

Originally Posted by maba

Hi All,
After having lived in a rented place in Squirrel Hill for 3 years, we moved to our own home in Wexord (Pine township) and I sorely miss my old neighborhood. Nothing is in walking distance (not that we didn't know that before moving) and since we are new to the area, we don't know of the fun things to do here. First thing I noticed after moving here is that there really are no good authentic restaurants in the vicinity. I'm looking for ethnic restaurants and not chains like Olive Garden, Applebee's etc. People who live here or are familiar with this area, would you please tell me what some of the good restaurants, movie theaters (theaters that play non main-stream movies like the Squirrel Hill and Manor theaters in SH) and local stores and cafes are? Which would be the closest neighborhood that has the things I'm looking for? (Boylocke and Hopes, please come to my rescue.)

P.S.: I don't mean to sound cynical or disparaging about the suburbs, but it's just that I miss the city. I'm sure once I become familiar with this area, I will feel at home.

Pine Tree Shoppes in Wexford has great Thai cuisine, called Thai Palace.
Walnut Grove (opened in the past month) is at the next traffic light north.
Patron Mexican Grill (opened in the past couple of months) is a traffic light or two south of Pine Tree Shoppes.
To the best of my knowledge, all restaurants are the non-chain variety.
There are no "alternative" movie theaters in Wexford.

There are a couple of park and rides available; one at the theater on 19, another a few miles north at the intersection of Warrendale Bayne Road and Brusch Creek Road.

Good luck!

[maba]

Thanks nynjmapa. We did go to the Thai place in Pine Tree Shoppes (we live about a mile and half from there) - looks like we'll be going there often. I have seen Walnut Grove but haven't been there yet. Must check out the Mexican Grill you are talking about. Thank you all so much. I hope to see more posts in this thread. I love how all the posters in this forum are so cordial, friendly and truly helpful - is it the forum or the city

[Katarina Witt]

My niece (native Coloradan), lived in Wexford for a year and felt there were no decent Mexican restaurants in all of the Pittsburgh area. I cannot corroborate. A lot of Mexican restaurants here are owned by Hispanics with a Mexican background, so that is her comparison.

[claremarie]

I grew up in Ross Twp, my parents and inlaws still live there, and we go back several times a year to visit. You might try Bellevue -- we found a nice pizza place there where you can BYOB; it has since closed, but other independent restaurants seem to be opening there.
Overall, the North Hills is not known for trendy or authentic ethnic cuisine. But it is not that far from downtown, especially on weekends.

[nynjmapa]

Originally Posted by maba

Thanks nynjmapa. We did go to the Thai place in Pine Tree Shoppes (we live about a mile and half from there) - looks like we'll be going there often. I have seen Walnut Grove but haven't been there yet. Must check out the Mexican Grill you are talking about. Thank you all so much. I hope to see more posts in this thread. I love how all the posters in this forum are so cordial, friendly and truly helpful - is it the forum or the city

During my commute, I was able to pass by/recollect a couple more non-chain venues:
Koto Buki, Japanese right next to North Park on Babcock
Forgotten Taste Pierogies, a take out venue on 19 (I think it is called Pine Creek shopping plaza, across the street from CVS)
Stone Mansion Restaurant, just past the intersection of 910 and 79

Hope these selections keep you satiated!