Spent a Saturday morning recently in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. It’s located in an area of the city that can’t exactly be called “beautiful”; however, major plans are in place to completely renovate and revitalize it within the next few years. Ultimately, the goal is to turn the area into a public open-air-style market with an international flavor, which hopefully will attract shoppers and tourists alike. But even now that the improvements haven’t been made, The Strip has much to offer foodies like me. Grocers, bakers and various artisans can be found in this half-square-mile area and I could easily have spent a day there or two. A list of Strip District vendors can be found here.

Our first stop was at Mon Aimee Chocolat which I wrote about earlier. Their salted caramel was addictive and apparently has already attracted a cult following. Then the kids had bagels and got a couple of European breads at the neighboring MediTerra. We just had coffee at the hotel or we’d have stopped at Fortunes Coffee. The aroma as we passed the place was sorely tempting. Another Pittsburgh coffee institution, LaPrima Roastery, is a bit further away — it’s rumored to have driven Starbucks out of business in that area.

We did manage to make a stop at PennMac (Pennsylvania Macaroni Company) owned by David Sunseri. That shop alone was worth the trip. You can get olive oil from the extensive selection displayed on the long, floor-to-(almost) ceiling shelves lining one wall, or you can help yourself to some bulk extra virgin olive oil. The pasta selection was unbelievable. Pasta-making equipment are at the top of the shelves so don’t miss those if you go — prices were great, considering that I got my pasta machine for $40 10 years ago and you could still buy them at this price (and under) at PennMac. One disappointment: I was hoping they carried salt-packed anchovies, and I was directed to look down at the bottom of some shelves, but all I found were regular oil-packed. I asked if they sold them by bulk; the answer is no.

Another shouldn’t-miss is Wholey’s, which consists of two stores: the Fish Market, where they also sell meat, poultry and fresh produce, and Balcony Cookware, completely packed with people at 10 am. Between the two Wholey shops is Mancini’s, a little Italian bakery that had this giant “crocodile bread” on display — or was that alligator? You can tell I don’t know my crocodilians very well. My kids enjoyed “the show” — Mancini’s bakers kneading their dough on a counter right by the window.

An Italian air presides on Penn Street, specially evident as you go past the outdoor tables and there’s nonna with her grandkids dining alfresco. The smell of coffee fills the air, and older men sit (or stand) on the curb, Italian voices drowning each other out in conversation. We even spotted some guys playing a lively game of bocce. It was like being transported back to Umbria.

What’s fascinating is you could walk just a few steps further and here are the Asian stores with improvised noodle stands set up front. You feel like you’ve visited different parts of the globe just on that one street.

The Asian stores are all similarly-priced, so you pick your favorite. I have to confess mine is the newest one, but I can’t remember the name, sorry — I like the quaintness of old-world old-style markets but big-city-style grocery shopping does have its perks, cleanliness and wide aisles for starters. Anyway, it’s easy to spot because of its fluorescent-lit-interior and its proximity to Wholey’s. The other smaller Asian stores are okay, except they’re a little bit more disorganized and, uhm, filthier. When I walked into one they had this big chunk of meat drying out, unwrapped, sitting on top of a box near the veggies. The owner was reprimanding the help for taking a break when he (a big hunk of a guy) should have been stocking the shelves. You can just imagine how fast I zipped in and out of there.

We were there really early to avoid the crowds, but that meant we left early too, so we missed lunch at Sushi Kim’s, which comes highly recommended by Mika of greenjackfruit‘s friends. We also wanted to get ice cream at Klavon’s but it was further away and my kids were getting tired. We settled for sandwiches to tide us over on the drive home. Off we went to Primanti Brothers, a legendary Pittsburgh institution known for their humongo sandwiches. They were huge alright, but the meat-fries-coleslaw all-in-one sandwich just didn’t strike a chord in me. Call me unadventurous but I still prefer to eat my fries and coleslaw separately. They get an 8 for originality though. The vegetable soup was nothing to write home about and the wall decor was so-so. (Oh, and the ladies’ room was out of service too.)