🍕The best pizza in Pittsburgh

🚌 Transit Advocates Push Back on Bus Redesign

The advocacy group Pittsburghers for Public Transit released a report claiming that the city’s bus route redesign is moving too quickly and changes some things that are working well. More than 30 people took their concerns to the board of directors for Pittsburgh Regional Transit — which is proposing to modify or discontinue 81% of current routes, while adding 19 new ones. [Union Progress]

• ➡️ Learn more about PRT’s design plans. [🎧City Cast Pittsburgh]
• 📣 ​​Submit feedback by using this interactive map, emailing [email protected], or calling (412) 442-2000.

🙋 City Council To Put Officials Under Oath

In response to last year’s abrupt retirement by former Chief of Police Larry Scirotto, the city is now requiring nominees for top city jobs to speak under oath during council interviews. [TribLive]

• 🏀 Scirotto left his post after controversy around accepting a part-time referee gig — something he’d told city councilors he wouldn’t do. [🎧City Cast Pittsburgh]

💰 Walmart Buys Monroeville Mall

While the retail giant wants to be a part of the site’s redevelopment, the mall will be managed by Cypress Equities. Cypress wants the area to include shopping, entertainment, housing, and public spaces. [WTAE]

• 🧟 We just hope no one messes with the George Romero bust inside the mall! [Heinz History Center]
• 🚧 Not all malls can be so lucky. Century III Mall in West Mifflin is currently being demolished. Shopping mall enthusiast Matthew Newton shares his nostalgia for the space and explains exactly what went wrong. [🎧City Cast Pittsburgh]

📍 New App Preserves Pgh’s Black History

The augmented reality app Looking Glass, developed by artist Adrian Jones, invites users to explore historical sites and “unearth the stories that were buried in gentrified spaces.” Download it on iOS. [City Paper / Looking Glass]

• 🎉 Here’s how to celebrate Black History Month in the Burgh. [📝 Hey Pittsburgh]

Feb. 9 is National Pizza Day, and Pittsburgh is blessed with dozens of delicious ‘zas. But how do you choose?! We tapped our favorite pizza journalist, Dan Tallarico, for his top recommendations.

🧀 Basic Cheese

Dan agrees that there IS such a thing as too much cheese, so he leans toward the classics — Angelo's and Fazio's in Bloomfield, as well as Mamma Lucia's in Downtown. But he’ll make an exception for Driftwood Oven's four-cheese specialty pie in Lawrenceville.

🪵 Wood-Fired

Dan is still wistful about Pizza Taglio, which closed in 2020 but recommends Driftwood for its family-friendly atmosphere, Mercurio’s in Shadyside and O’Hara, and Gus Franco’s in the Alle-Kiski Valley.

🥖 Thin Crust

Check out Mamma Lucia's thin traditional pie, or consider this hack: if you ask nicely, Fazio's will take their medium pizza dough and stretch it out to a large with a cracker crust. Or if you just like crispy edges, no one does it better than Bedamo’s in Dormont or the North Side.

🚫 Dietary Restrictions

For vegans, Lawrenceville’s Spirit and Garfield’s Spak Brothers know what they’re doing, and Dan also loves Black Cat Pizza, which does pop-ups and festivals around the city. Can’t do gluten? Mercurio’s pioneered gluten free pizza in Pittsburgh, and since the local pizza game is so tight-knit, they gave their dough recipe to the folks over at Iron Born.

🍄 Specialty

For a late night greasy slice, City Cast Pittsburgh producer Sophia Lo loves Fazio’s Hawaiian pizza. Dan loves Iron Born for all its decadent options. Beto’s Ohio Valley-style pizza with its cold toppings can be divisive, but Dan still recommends you give it a try. (Pro-tip: Get it as takeaway; the steam from the box will melt the cold cheese).

Hungry for more? Hear Dan’s pizza expertise on the City Cast Pittsburgh podcast 🎧