No, Really, it's NOT a Red Light District

So maybe the Strip District isn't the best name for a neighborhood, especially when it has absolutely nothing to do with strippers..or anything even similar to that.

The early Strip District

Back in the day, the Strip District, located along the Allegheny River, was the economic center of Pittsburgh. Early tenants included U.S. Steel, Westinghouse, and The H.J. Heinz Company (if you aren't familiar with the first two, you definitely know the last one. Hello, Heinz Ketchup!) By the early 20th century, the Strip District became a network of wholesalers, selling mostly fresh produce, meat and poultry. With business booming in the area, many restaurants and grocery stores were built to feed hungry workers.

Wholey's, a fresh fish market

Although some of these wholesales (some estimates say 80% of the produce industry is left there) still exist in the Strip District, the area has developed into a historic market district with many ethnic food purveyors, art studios, antique dealers, boutiques and specialty stores.  Nothing beats a summer morning wandering the streets of the Strip District. A delicious breakfast at Pamela's or DeLuca's, street vendors that sell basically nothing but Pittsburgh related things, and tons of specialty shops makes for a perfect day.

The inside of Pittsburgh Popcorn

Luckily for me, I got to spend one of my (very boring) spring break days at the Strip enjoying one of my favorite places: Pittsburgh Popcorn. Now I'm probably one of a few people that doesn't actually like popcorn, but Pittsburgh Popcorn changed that for me. They have all kinds of amazing flavors, my favorite being Reese's. Everyone loves Reese's peanut-butter cups, but peanut butter and chocolate on popcorn are even better. Yes, it's incredibly expensive ($5.49 for a small bag), it's totally worth it.  The rest of the afternoon was spent walking Smallman Street, Penn Avenue, Liberty Avenue, and many other back streets.

If popcorn isn't your thing, try hitting up the chocolate store that's about a 30 second walk away. Mon Aimee sells only specialty chocolates, and is pretty pricey, but the have chocolate from all over the world! I have a slight addiction to German chocolate so I love knowing that there is somewhere I can buy it all from. If you need something to accompany your morning cup of joe, Enrico Biscotti has delicious flavors of biscotti-- and it's actually cheap. Another morning favorite is doughnuts, and the Strip just happens to have somewhere that sells these too, Peace, Love & Little Doughnuts.

Walking the Strip with my exchange student

I never visited the Strip much, except for the visit over spring break and once before when my exchange student was visiting. It's not somewhere I have a lot of memories from, but I already have plans to make them there this summer.