Thursday night at 11:30 a line is forming at the corner of East Carson and 17th streets for grilled chicken wrapped in pita bread that locals fondly refer to as "cat on a stick." Grill meister Dan McSwiggen explains that he usually cooks outside only on weekends, but a lightning strike knocked out power at Cambod-Ican Kitchen, an American-Asian fusion restaurant he runs with his Cambodian-born wife, Moeun. Ten years before opening here, the couple operated their business from a truck. "I remember times when people would line up late at night, and it would start snowing. There'd be a guy standing with an inch of snow on his head wanting cat on a stick and a wonton," says McSwiggen. His good-natured ability to adapt to challenging circumstances and his customers' tenacity mirror the spirit of Pittsburgh as it emerges from its industrial past into a 21st-century city. One neighborhood that particularly embodies this transformation is South Side, or, as the natives pronounce it, "Sou'side." When vir tually all of the steel mills closed in the mid-1970s and early 1980s, this area, spanning three miles along the Monongahela River's south bank, was struggling. The business district, along Carson Street, was particularly hard hit.
A gloriously gritty groove
Moving beyond its industrial past, the South Side pulses with a funky vibe yet stays true to its working-class roots
But South Side persevered. Home to 15 blocks of Victorian architecture, the neighborhood used its designation as a historic district to spur development. Today, more than 70 restaurants thrive in these restored 19th-century structures, along with galleries, theaters, live music venues, antique stores, vintage clothing boutiques, and - so that the district doesn't stray too far from its working-class roots - tattoo parlors, beer joints, and a magic shop.
At the far east end of Carson Street, the former Jones & Laughlin steel mill was razed to make way for SouthSide Works, a 34-acre "lifestyle center" with nationally known shops and restaurants, lofts and apartments, and a cinema. At the other end, Station Square is another spiffed-up entertainment complex covering 52 acres along the riverfront.
In between is Historic South Side. Visitors looking for the dynamic, quirky, and unpredictable mélange that's the heart of this area don't need to stray far from Carson Street between 10th and 24th streets.
"When I was in college [in the late '70s] this was all steel mills and 'shot and beer' places. You didn't even want to drive through. One place at a time, it started changing," says Rebecca Reynolds, a Pittsburgh resident.
