arsenal lanes, lawrenceville

a favorite of young and old alike, arsenal lanes has become to the place to bowl. in fact, i would venture to say that it has spurred a resurgence of bowling. it’s got a fun theme each night of the week, is really affordable and has new surfaces on its lanes.

here’s the low-down:
sunday…dj night
monday…live bands [a.k.a. rock’n’bowl]
tuesday…college night [0.50 bowling and drafts]
wednesday…ladies night [women bowl free]
thursday…80s night
friday…karaoke
saturday…super saturday [noon-three]

except where noted otherwise, all events are $7 all-you-can-bowl and/or run 9pm-12am.

arsenal lanes is located at 44th and butler streets [enter on 44th]. contact: 412.683.5992.

a source close to me says that the best thing about arsenal is the atmosphere…”it’s not too serious. it’s not full of people going crazy about bowling. it’s a good atmosphere for fun, nerd fun.”

coca cafe, lawrenceville

ok, so i listed it as a fav under the 16:62 design zone this morning, but then i actually went there for lunch. once again, i was blown away by the food. i had a three mushroom omlette with oyster mushrooms, jarlsburg cheese and herbs. my fellow luncher had an egg white omlette with spinach, tomatoes, basil and goat cheese. i’ll venture to say they were both excellent, and reasonably priced. my chai latte was pretty good too. it took a good bit for the food to appear, but was worth the wait. as i implied in my earlier reference, their sunday morning brunch [with weekly specials] is amazing. you can find coca cafe at 3811 butler street. their hours: Tue.-Fri. 7AM-3PM, Sat. 8AM-4PM & Sun. 10AM-3PM. contact: 412.621.3171.

shop local: the strip

the strip, originally an industrial area, is best known for its wholesale business. however, it also provides lots of opportunities for the individual shopper. business hours are often limited, but they’ve got stuff that you can’t get anywhere else…at least not for those prices.

as a neighborhood, the strip has seen growth in business and residential population over the last few years and plans to build on that. look for an overhaul of the produce terminal building on smallman in the next few years.

for a directory of businesses in the strip, click here.

shop local: the southside

as one of our many riverfront neighborhoods devastated by the end of steel, the south side has come leaps and bounds in the last twenty years. perhaps the poster child for business district revitalization, the south side boasts a huge diversity of independently owned businesses and is known for its “both types of blue hairs” culture.

for a directory of businesses and activities, click here.

some personal favs:
thai me up – best cheap thai food in the city.
apartment – awesome original art and clothing, by brian and nami [who are awesome too].

shop local: the 16:62 design zone

lawrenceville is a neighborhood fighting hard for established vibrancy, and the business district has been its largest point of success to date. keep your eye out for the lawrenceville community plan to be released early next year. they are on a role.

the 16:62 design zone, starting at 16th street in the strip district and ending at the 62nd street bridge in lawrenceville, is host to a large number of creative businesses. products range from custom carpentry and stained glass to furniture and pottery. to the best of my knowledge, all member businesses are locally owned and operated.

for a directory of businesses, click here.

some personal favs:
who new retro mod – awesome mid-century modern furniture and accessories. jeff and roger are awesome.
ray’s marlin beach grill – good quality food and beer. cool ownership and decor.
coca cafe – amazing food! go for sunday brunch…if you can get a seat.