William's Gay Guide to Pittsburgh

Originally published on Gay.com/travel

Name: William
Age: 45
Profession: Admin. Asst.
City: Pittsburgh, PA
Relationship Status: Single
Sexuality: Homo

What was the last vacation you took? Where did you go and where do you most want to go?
The last vacation I took was three years ago to North Carolina, but I wanted to go to New York City. I still want to go to NYC.

Are any famous people from Pittsburgh?
Gene Kelly, Jeff Goldblum, Shirley Jones, Perry Como, and the Stillers.

What are some of the things you love most about Pittsburgh?
Decent infrastructure, great old architecture, affordability.

If someone came to your town for just four hours, what is the one thing he should do?
Take a cab into downtown, going through the Ft. Pitt tunnel, have a sandwich at Primantis to see what crap Pittsburgh passes off as food, take the incline up to Mt. Washington to a) ride the incline and b) see the view; then cab back to the airport.

What are some great restaurants for a night out with gay friends?
Spice Island Tea House in Oakland (near the Pitt campus). Fantastic Asian dishes from a variety of Asian Islands, at unbelievably reasonable prices, and high quality in a comfy atmosphere. Chicken Latina in the Strip District for the best authentic Peruvian rotisserie chicken in the area. Ritters or Delucas diners for breakfast.

What are some great restaurants for a romantic gay date? What about these restaurants appeals to you?
Spice Island Tea House. Its the only restaurant in all of Pittsburgh that really impresses me as something unlike typical Pittsburgh.

What are your favorite gay bars and/or dance clubs?
None. In Pittsburgh the motto should be: "Tonight were gonna party like its 1979."

What are your favorite gay parties or events and what's the crowd or scene like at those places?
The crowd or scene at gay Pittsburgh events is a little on the scary side. The A-List are all attitude and no aptitude, pretending they're Chelsea boys with no substance to back it up either in style or behavior. The others are basically street trash fags who are in desperate need of personal attention.

What is the gay community like there? Do you consider yourself to be part of any particular "scene?"
Bears are HUGE in Pittsburgh (I guess the pun can be intended), seeing that Pittsburgh is a fat, lazy town with junk food abounding. Other than that, there really isn't any other scene. There really isn't that much of a community in the pull together sense.

Where do you shop for clothes?
Marshalls, or vintage stores. I'm not a logo whore at ALL, and most gay guys in Pittsburgh are only minimal logo whores, being that by purchasing one Abercrombie shirt, they firmly believe that they are the pinnacle of trendiness.

Where do you go for other forms of entertainment -- live theater, concerts, movies, art exhibits? Are there any local gay performance groups, bands, or artists that you're a fan of?
Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre presents the best high-production value, GOOD, live theatre in Pittsburgh, albeit scripts that you may or may not have any interest in seeing. City Theatre tends to pander to their donors, and presents half-hearted fare, and Civic Light Opera presents high-end community theater musicals. Better to wait for Broadway tours to come through.

If you had gay friends visiting from out of town for the first time, what are some "must-dos" you'd recommend?
Drive through the tunnel, ride the incline and see the view from Mt. Washington, walk the Strip District once, and visit each mainstream neighborhood (Squirrel Hill, South Side, Shadyside, Oakland) and have breakfast at Ritters.

Is there a local cocktail that's popular in your town?
Yeah BEER.

Where do the hot boys in your town tend to hang out?
The few hot boys here are college students, and they're only hot because they haven't yet been abandoned by their own metabolisms. But you might find a few of them at Pegasus (yes, QAF fans, it exists) on Liberty Avenue.

If you had to describe the "average gay boy" style of your town in two words, what would they be?
Fat, bearish.

Do gay men and lesbians hang out together in your town or is that just unheard of?
Hell, the gay men hardly hang out. Mingle with Lesbians? Are you crazy?

Has your town ever had a "gay scandal?"
Just recently, a local bathhouse came under media fire after a closet case from Ohio overdosed on poppers and cocaine and died there. The media attention was drawn to which politicos were paid off by the millionaire owners to keep the place open.

What are your favorite gay bars and/or dance clubs?
None. In Pittsburgh the motto should be: "Tonight were gonna party like its 1979."

What are your favorite gay parties or events and what's the crowd or scene like at those places?
The crowd or scene at gay Pittsburgh events is a little on the scary side. The A-List are all attitude and no aptitude, pretending they're Chelsea boys with no substance to back it up either in style or behavior. The others are basically street trash fags who are in desperate need of personal attention.

What is the gay community like there? Do you consider yourself to be part of any particular "scene?"
Bears are HUGE in Pittsburgh (I guess the pun can be intended), seeing that Pittsburgh is a fat, lazy town with junk food abounding. Other than that, there really isn't any other scene. There really isn't that much of a community in the pull together sense.

Where do you shop for clothes?
Marshalls, or vintage stores. I'm not a logo whore at ALL, and most gay guys in Pittsburgh are only minimal logo whores, being that by purchasing one Abercrombie shirt, they firmly believe that they are the pinnacle of trendiness.

Where do you go for other forms of entertainment -- live theater, concerts, movies, art exhibits? Are there any local gay performance groups, bands, or artists that you're a fan of?
Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre presents the best high-production value, GOOD, live theatre in Pittsburgh, albeit scripts that you may or may not have any interest in seeing. City Theatre tends to pander to their donors, and presents half-hearted fare, and Civic Light Opera presents high-end community theater musicals. Better to wait for Broadway tours to come through.

If you had gay friends visiting from out of town for the first time, what are some "must-dos" you'd recommend?
Drive through the tunnel, ride the incline and see the view from Mt. Washington, walk the Strip District once, and visit each mainstream neighborhood (Squirrel Hill, South Side, Shadyside, Oakland) and have breakfast at Ritters.

Is there a local cocktail that's popular in your town?
Yeah BEER.

Where do the hot boys in your town tend to hang out?
The few hot boys here are college students, and they're only hot because they haven't yet been abandoned by their own metabolisms. But you might find a few of them at Pegasus (yes, QAF fans, it exists) on Liberty Avenue.

If you had to describe the "average gay boy" style of your town in two words, what would they be?
Fat, bearish.

Do gay men and lesbians hang out together in your town or is that just unheard of?
Hell, the gay men hardly hang out. Mingle with Lesbians? Are you crazy?

Has your town ever had a "gay scandal?"
Just recently, a local bathhouse came under media fire after a closet case from Ohio overdosed on poppers and cocaine and died there. The media attention was drawn to which politicos were paid off by the millionaire owners to keep the place open.