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

September 30, 2007|Necee Regis, Globe Correspondent

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Numerous performance venues dot the area. The Rex Theater, originally a movie house that's been a Pittsburgh fixture for more than 90 years, seats more than 400 for live music, film, and other events. Around the corner on Bingham Street, City Theatre produces contemporary plays in one of the oldest Greek Revival churches in Pittsburgh. And art mavens won't want to miss the Silver Eye Center for Photography or the Fireborn pottery studio.

Back at the Cambod-Ican Kitchen, the grill sizzles as McSwiggen flips drumstick and thigh meat that was marinated overnight. People eat and banter while waiting for the late night bus.

"South Side is one of the few places in town where people are walking around late at night," says Bob Bianco, a magician, fire-eater, and frequent visitor from Wheeling, W.Va.

I'm directed to find The Beehive, an apt name for a place that's humming with activity at midnight. There are three long rooms with brightly painted walls and mismatched tables and chairs. A glass case displays sandwiches, wraps, pastries, and a dizzying selection of coffees and teas. The place is packed with people working on computers (using free wireless), making art, chatting, smoking, or playing games. In another corner a group is knitting. I feel like I've landed on some curious yet friendly planet.

After two full days of eating, walking, drinking, shopping, and looking at art, I'm sated. Yet there's so much more to see and do. I'll have to wait till my next trip to my new favorite planet, Pittsburgh's South Side.

Necee Regis, a freelance writer in Boston and Miami Beach, can be reached at neceeregis@yahoo.com.