If you find yourself on Carson Street on the southside of Pittsburgh you need to get yourself into Dee’s Cafe. Enjoy the atmosphere, people watching and profound bar staff but for the love of God never, ever order a soft drink or get in a fight with one of the patrons.

Surprise

This post started out as an April Fool’s. I’ve never had a martini at Dee’s Cafe. They might not even do them. But there’s something very special about this venue. It’s like a nostalgic but rough-edged rift in the space-time continuum. My favourite thing hands down was the lady behind the bar. She had a very refreshingly low tolerance for bullshit which I hope prevails today. She didn’t believe in the concept of soft drinks “why not just drink a beer?” A very enlightening perspective on life.

My long road to Pittsburgh

I spent several years of my career as an intelligence analyst, including work covering Somali piracy. I had Google alerts set up to ping me any news related to pirate activity on a daily basis. However, this also meant that I was regularly updated on the ups and downs of pirate activity in Pennsylvania – the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team to be specific. I know nothing about baseball but by default I have become a Pirates fan.

Subsequently, whilst visiting a very good friend in New York, the opportunity for us both to visit Pittsburgh popped up and I jumped at the opportunity.

As well as the fantastic Andy Warhol museum (I mention it in my post on Absolut Vodka) I got as close to the stadium as possible (it wasn’t open on the day) but then went searching for somewhere to spend my afternoon waiting for my friend who was at a conference.

An American colleague based in London had recommended Dee’s so I trotted over some bridges in search of a drink.

The Venue

Dimly lit, abuzz with pool tables and showing ‘The Young and the Restless’ on the television, it felt homely, even though I felt like an alien. I sat at the bar and was entertained for several hours by the hostess, plus numerous, often terrifying looking regulars who came in and deferentially greeted the matriarch. It felt both dangerous and comfortingly safe. I was regaled with history of the steel industry and beer brewing tradition in the state and I found it altogether charming.

I’ve read reviews online which describe the service as rude and all I can say is that having been there, those reviews reflect worse on the authors than the venue itself.

So if you find yourself in Pittsburgh, there are three experiences I thoroughly recommend: Andy Warhol, the Pittsburgh Pirates and a well-earned cultural experience at Dee’s Cafe, long may she reign.

And go Pirates!