noplasticshowers

The lobby flowers are upside down. Monaco Pittsburgh.

Last time we visited, things were just getting started—but boy were they great. If anything, everything is even better at the Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh! Rob Malinger (happy bday, rob) is doing a great job.

818 looks pretty similar to 835. The only major difference is the view (835 has one, 818 does not). The rooms are both beautifully styled in any case.

818 Living Room

As always the welcome was Kimpton warm. Great door guys; friendly front desk staff; great amenity delivery people (that would be Marissa).

818 Bedroom

What a spread. Cheese, fruit, sparkling water and a note. Rock it Kimpton!

The bathroom is gigantic and fits the NPS criteria to a T. Any glass shower with a bench in it catches our attention.

Shower Cubicle

Can’t wait to see how much hot water there is!

The style in the rest of the property is equally impressive. From the living room landing on the first floor…

Living Room Landing Hotel Monaco Pittsburgh

to the upside down flowers in the lobby.

For good espresso, slip across the street to Simpatico (thanks Rachel).

Simpatico coffee

Just to round out PGH, a dinner trip to Altius was very nice indeed. Plenty of interesting dishes. Need some work on their duck, but duck is really hard to get exactly right. The view at night is not to be beat.

Uber cut both ways this trip, and that’s worth a mention. My colleague ordered an uberX to take us up the hill. Not only did the driver take an extra 12 minutes to “spiral in” and pick us up, she was also clearly a smoker who smoked in her vehicle. She got lost and had no clue how PGH is laid out (or, it seems, how to use google maps). The trip to Altius was non-professional and not really worth paying for. By contrast, on the way back the uber driver (uberXL whatever that is) not only knew the city, he was also playing Robert Glasper Trio covering Radiohead’s Reckoner in his spotless car. Uber needs to get its act together.

Then it was back to the Monaco for some nightcaps. The Commoner is uncommonly great as far as a bar program goes. Started by Kenny (now at Forgery in SF) and finished up by Mike Ryan (of sable fame), they have a great thing going here! We were served by the spunky and delightful Patricia Antram who was psyched to play. She mixed up a classic De La Louisiane as follows:
.75 Rye (cask strength)
.75 sweet vermouth (dolin’s would be best)
.75 benedictine
dash peychauds
dash absinthe
stir down. strain into a coup. garnish with spiked cherries.

Patricia also served up one of her own cocktails, Lía Loves Juan (a.k.a., Yellow Swan):
1.75 resposado tequila
.25+ demarara (1:1)
.5 lime juice
BBQ bitters
3 dashes whiskey barrel aged hot sauce
shake. strain into coup. garnish with lime peel.

A quick trip to Pittsburgh is always made difficult by the lack of flights in and out of town, but it’s offset by the very existence of the Monaco. Five showerheads!