The Go-To Guide to Mt. Lebanon

Most residents could measure their lives in Mt. Lebanon by their visits to Washington Road, the main street hub in this South Hills community. While other further-flung ‘burbs require long car hauls for daily errands, Mt. Lebanonites can walk to three business districts or, if driving, take much shorter trips. And Washington Rd. is where they often end up---for dentist visits, happy hour meets, or dining at a half dozen restaurants all known for good food and atmosphere.

Show up on a first Friday when a free concert rocks the small, sloped corner park in the middle of Washington Rd. and you’ll get a good taste for this thriving community. Families are the mainstay; the award-winning schools are the big draw here and quaint annual events like the Halloween Parade are well-attended. But while they come for the schools, they tend to stay long after the kids graduate and there’s a reason for that: the sense of community is strong. The municipality boasts a full-time recreation director along with a public information officer and 77 residents serving on 14 boards, from historic preservation to parks advisory. Its web site is a cut above and the community has drafted a strategic plan to stay competitive. Part of that plan includes funding from the 2005 Transit Revitalization Investment District (TRID) to Mt. Lebanon--as well as neighboring Dormont--to study the best way to create retail and housing around public transit.

As an older community—which started in the 1920s and is pretty much fully developed, it must work even harder to stay ahead of the game. Current projects include a new municipal pool and extensive renovation of the centrally located high school.

Yet with age comes character. In a time when the ‘burbs are increasingly looking more alike, Mt. Lebanon with its hilly bricked streets, older Tudors, bungalows and four-squares, has character in spades.

Could be why this community has perhaps the highest concentration of architects in the city living here—that, according to the director of AIA Pittsburgh, who also lives here. Convenience is certainly a factor: It’s more urban than suburban in parts and, as a first-ring suburb, only six miles to downtown.

While residents pay a higher tax rate than some other communities, they get a host of municipal services that includes everything from top-notch police and fire departments to curbside recycling (plastic and glass) and a free 80-page monthly magazine, mtl, mailed to each household that is 90% supported by advertisers.

Visting? Come Hungry.

If you’ve come to dine, the choices are many: Italian, Middle Eastern, contemporary American?  Il Pizzaiolo is one of the best restaurants in the region, one of only two in all of Pittsburgh for authentic Napoli style pizza. If you need one reason to visit Mt. Lebanon, this could be it. There are other exquisitely done dishes, homemade pasta is a treat, too, paired with a good Chianti. If it’s a nice night insist on a spot in the intimate  terrace in the back, where you’re surrounded by ivy-covered brick walls and trees strung with white lights with a soothing stone fountain. This is a wow spot. In other weather, opt for the lively (and noisier) interior or the quieter wine bar in a separate building in the back.

In fact, forget we mentioned it. The place is already too hard to get into some nights.

Instead, may we suggest Luma? This new spot which opened in winter ’07, is kin to the same named spot in Aspinwall and it’s a good although pricier bet. Under cool blue light and in an elegant atmosphere, dine on seafood dishes such as tiger shrimp with banana peppers over angel hair pasta in tomato cream sauce.  

Along the same lines, the stylish Bistro 19 in the center of Uptown, has been a hit since opening last Fall. With food that is consistently good, any choice is a good one but may we suggest the macadamia encrusted mahi mahi with mango beurre blanc and coconut basmati and napa slaw? Or for Sunday brunch, feast on banana Foster pancakes with carmalized whiskey sauce.
 
A more casual atmosphere holds court at the popular Little Tokyo. Watch the sushi lords work their magic at the sushi bar, order a cold Asahi and feast on hibachi scallops or teriyaki sirloin. Eating should always be this fun—and hygienic. Pass the steamy hot washcloth and dig in.

Further up the street on the second floor is the long-standing Sesame Inn which does everything right and they deliver. If you’re vegetarian, Aladdin’s offers a wealth of healthy and great tasting dishes, from smoothies and juices to salads that are dressed just right with that yummy lemony dressing. The lentil soup, vegetarian chili, rice and bean dishes and other specialties are mood-changing. In a good way.  For healthy eaters, this  place rocks.

Mt Lebanon is fortunate to be home to five top-notch independent coffee shops. Good luck deciding. Although Aldo's was voted as top baristas in Pittsburgh, some swear by Blue Horse Coffee (just voted best coffee in Pittsburgh by Pittsburgh Magazine) across from the Galleria while others are staunchly loyal to Coffee Tree Roasters on Beverly Road. Mojoe just bolted from their charming corner location in Sunset Hills to the strip center called Mt. Lebanon Shops. Uptown Coffee was one of the first to arrive, with its warm lamplight and sofas, located on the south end of Washington Road. All, proud to say, have free Wi-Fi. Whatever you do, steer clear of the bar-height window table on the north side of Aldo’s. That’s where the virtual Pop City staff meets every other Wednesday. Ahem. It’s also where the editor often works when her home office is closing in on her. Warning: the closer it is to deadline, the testier she gets.

For nightlife, Molly Brannigan’s is the newest offering with its beautiful wood bar imported from Ireland; the Saloon with its long rectangular central bar is an institution which has been around for decades and still packs them in.

If you’re up for a movie, head to the Galleria for first run films in a cut-above mall that was beautifully redesigned by Strada Architects several years ago.  

All Play and No Work

If you are a tennis player, you’ll love the clay courts near the rec center. Come for the tournaments in the summer or book weekly time in the bubbles over the winter. There’s paddle tennis, too, bocce ball and even horseshoes.  Although it may seem a contradiction in terms, they work hard on recreation here. There’s something for everyone. Check out the slate of classes at the rec center—from kickboxing to pilates to organizing. Got kids in tow? Spend time at the centrally located pool and then the cool playground next to the rec center with fun stuff you’ve never seen before that will have you spinning and twisting -- and grinning.

The  Shopping Scene

In the mood to shop? If you’re looking for artsy goods, Washington  Road is once again a  good place to begin. From Create a Frame/Handworks for handcrafted goods to Planet Art Gallery for art, to the new Art Loft with its artists’ shows. Kool Kat has a large selection of earrings and hand-crafted purses. Make it easy and show up on the first Friday of the month and they’re all open late.

For clothes try Ona, a hip boutique for cool, one of a kind items. For jeans and T’s, Zipper Blues is the place for the young hipster and young at heart. The Galleria features Footloose for scads of stylish purses, shoes, coats, Juicy Couture wear, you name it. You’ll pay more but you won’t see everyone else wearing it. (Tip: watch for the sales for impressive markdowns.)  At the Galleria, Anthropologie, with its hip and funky offerings, is the only Pittsburgh location.

If you’re in the mood for pampering—and when, we ask, are you not?—drop in at La Pompennee for salon treatments. Massage, facials, mani/pedis, makeovers, hair. This palace has been going strong ever since it opened and it now sports a room dedicated to checking out and filled with cosmetics and beauty supplies. Smart. Hard to walk out empty handed.

If You Lived Here

If you love what you see and you’re thinking why don’t I live here?, you’ll be glad to know the choices are plentiful. Single family homes range from four-squares with front porches or center hall colonials to stone Tudors, and Mt. Lebanon has a surprising stock of apartments—check out Central Square in the Uptown area--and some condos, too.

Coming soon to Washington Road: the $44 million, mixed-use Washington Park, with plans for 72 new luxury condos starting  at $387,000 and 13,000 square feet of retail.  Part of Mt. Lebanon’s strategic plan, this two-building project on the corner of Washington and Bower Hill Roads, is based on the principles of sustainable development with its location near the “T” line, shops and restaurants and bus stops.  Features include great views from the balconies, green space with a fountain and bike racks, nine-foot ceilings, exercise facilities and wine storage.

Behind the shops past the trolley tracks is Mainline, a townhouse and carriage house development which attracts young people just arriving in Mt. Lebanon and mature folks looking to downsize.    

Real estate in this community ranges from below $100k for a house or duplex to well over a million. Brick, stone, low, high, it’s quite a range. You can live close to shops with three business districts in the community and you’ll have an elementary school nearby since seven are scattered strategically throughout. No school buses here so yes, many walkers and many carpoolers too. It's not all perfect here in Mt. Lebanon. But for many it's close enough.

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Tracy Certo, publisher and editor of Pop City, lives in Mt. Lebanon.

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Captions:

Uncle Sam at Galleria

Apartments on Castle Shannon Boulevard

Molly Branigan's

Paddle tennis

Glass at Handworks

Main Line

All photographs copyright Brian Cohen