Whether you're new in town, passing through, or have been in Pittsburgh forever, it never hurts to brush up and be in the know about what's the best our city has to offer. And to help us do just that, Pittsburgh Magazine's annual "Best of the Burgh" 2023 issue is out now. The editor of Pittsburgh Magazine, Virginia Linn spoke to 90.5 WESA's Priyanka Tewari.
Tewari: I just love the cover of the "Best of the Burgh" issue. It actually reminds me of the work of Roy Lichtenstein. Very retro. How did you pick that cover?
Linn: A lot of the winners of the reader's poll really drew on nostalgia. And we thought that this would be a perfect pairing of our readers' poll.
Who actually picks the best of the 'Burgh?
Earlier in the year, we send out 110 categories for the readers to come up with suggestions on what their favorites are, from restaurants to personalities to home improvement; the gamut. And we pick the top leaders of each of the categories, and then we send these nominations out for the readers to vote on a second time. Then the top vote getters in each category are the winners of the reader's poll.
Were there any entries this year that really surprised you?
Not really. What I like about this poll is that some of the independent businesses win year after year. For example, Oakmont Bakery, they started with a tiny little shop in Oakmont. It's just grown in popularity. We also have pages on the South Side, which was used to be known as Page's Dairy Mart, and every summer it draws huge lines. A lot of the grandparents went there as children, and they're taking their grandchildren now.
Are there any new categories this year?
Yes. For the first time, we've added activity bars. And if you've heard of the Coop De Ville, which is in the Strip District and won this year, that is the Richard Deshantz activity bar that has Duckpin bowling, fast casual Southern food, high end cocktails and arcade [games]. These have cropped up over the last five years all over, and they're becoming very popular. So we added that category. We also broke out tacos as its own category because there are so many different taco places now with these incredible variations.
You took over the post of editor of Pittsburgh Magazine about two years ago. How do you intend to attract new readers to the magazine?
We have a very robust and growing website, and we're trying to cover the community as best we can on a daily basis. And that also draws more subscribers to our print magazine.
You are a veteran journalist. You were with the Post-Gazette before you joined Pittsburgh Magazine. What's your take on the current media landscape in our city?
Over time, it's evolved into a lot of niche publications. You have Q Burgh, you have onStage Pittsburgh, which is really the main resource today for anybody who wants to know about the performing arts in Pittsburgh. There are so many more resources, and sources of news, beyond any of the other legacy publications.
How does Pittsburgh Magazine compete with those niche publications?
We want to be essential in the community, and we want to sometimes do deeper dives into different issues, but also make people feel good about their community.
Virginia Linn is the editor of Pittsburgh Magazine. Their annual "Best of the Burgh" issue is out now.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
