“Pittsburgh’s set up is kind of like a triangle in between the two rivers. Everything in the triangle is the East End, which is where I think all the fun, interesting stuff is happening. But even within that, every neighborhood has a totally different vibe, has different kinds of food, different kinds of people,” says Forsberg.

When he’s not busy doling out house-made farmer’s cheese and grilled cabbage Caesars (or doing the million other things involved in owning and operating a restaurant) you’re likely to find him blowing off steam at a nearby dive or checking out a friend’s pop-up. We snagged a little bit of time with the chef to talk about his favorite spots and typical haunts in the steel city.

How to experience Forsberg’s Pittsburgh

Forsberg shares his recommended Pittsburgh itinerary, in his own words.

Check into the Maverick hotel

The Maverick by Kasa

“It’s a nice place in an old YMCA. It used to be an old Ace Hotel—I actually used to cook there in the restaurant. I think now they’re building out a bar and a restaurant. There’s no-contact check-in and the rooms are reasonable. They kept the same aesthetic from that old Ace Hotel.”

Stroll around the East Side—don’t skip the graveyard

“[The neighborhood] Bloomfield-Garfield has a bunch of art studios and they do a gallery crawl every first Friday. However, there aren’t a ton of restaurants and bars. Lawrenceville is the most concentrated and saturated for shopping, decent restaurants, and walkability. It’s right near the Allegheny Cemetery, which is huge and super beautiful, with tons of old mausoleums. It’s a great place to go on a date, or to go hang out at night and drink wine (which is not necessarily above board). You could definitely take a walk through Bloomfield-Garfield, walk down through the Allegheny Cemetery into Lawrenceville, get your full fix down there, and have a full day.”

Grab some local coffee

“I like Redstart Roasters. They’re sort of near me and the people that run it are really sweet. But in general, I go to this place Commonplace Coffee. They probably have eight to 10 locations in town now. There’s one like a block from my house, so if I need to run out the door, that’s where I go.”

Enjoy an old-school diner vibe

“Dad’s Dog and Burger, it’s a block down from the restaurant. It used to be called GM Dog N’ Burger Shoppe and you could get hot dogs with or without chili, hamburgers, and fried fish sandwiches—they hadn’t raised their prices in probably 40 years. But this woman Katelyn [Bako], who’s really sweet, bought the business and reopened it. She cleaned it up a little bit but definitely kept the spirit of the place.”

Eat exceptionally good (and exceptionally hot) Chinese food

“There’s a restaurant in Squirrel Hill called Chengdu Gourmet. The chef there [Wei Zhu] has been a Mid-Atlantic [James Beard Foundation] semi-finalist several times. There’s also this place in Oakland called Hunan Bar. They have a really nice vegetable section, with wild veggies sauteed with tons of garlic and chili oil. It’s just super good. They also have a really spicy fried pig tongue dish with tripe and chili oil. It’s an awesome place to go with four people and just order a ton of food.”

Pop into the Duolingo cafe (yes, the Duolingo cafe)

“Duolingo actually opened a restaurant next to their offices and they hired my friend Marcella [ Ogrodnik] as the chef. She does really, really excellent higher-end Mexican food. It’s called Duo’s Taqueria. It’s kind of goofy because the Duo bird is on the menu. But the food is so fucking good, I don’t care. It’s so good every time. Super seasonal. I was embarrassed to say it for a while, but I’m like, I don’t care. It’s so good. It’s worth the light cringe, I think. But they know what they’re doing. They have money, they’re doing a good job and the chef is super talented.”

Have a red-sauce-joint date night

“Dish Osteria, which is in the southside, is kind of off my beaten path, but it’s just an excellent family-run Sicilian restaurant that’s been around for 25 years. It’s my special occasion place for a good date, and they’ve always been super solid and consistent. The best service in town.

Rattle around in the Squirrel Cage

“My favorite place is the Squirrel Hill Cafe, but we just call it the ‘Cage’ or the ‘Squirrel Cage.’ It’s a dive that’s been around forever and has always had solid food. It’s probably my favorite burger in town. It’s eight bucks up from six three years ago or something like that. They have a great beer selection. They do subpar Negronis, but I still love even a bad Negroni.