Best Of 2008… The Best Places

Best Music Venue: Mr. Small’s There’s something about Mr. Small’s that makes it the best… Best Music Venue: Mr. Small’s There’s something about Mr. Small’s that makes it the best concert venue in Pittsburgh. Unlike any stadium, it offers a cozy atmosphere where you can breathe in your friendly neighbor’s second-hand smoke without any effort. Having played host to the likes of Girl Talk, Immortal Technique and the Wu-Tang Clan, it attracts a wide array of the biggest names in music. So whether you’re looking to walk out bathed in Gregg Gillis’ sweat or just a chill show, Mr. Small’s is the place to go. Editors’ Pick: Diesel -Hay Thuppal Best Residence Hall: Litchfield Towers Living in Towers can be a surreal experience. There’s nothing natural about living in a giant tube with thousands of other people in the same tube as you or in one of two other tubes. Your room is shaped like a wedge of pie, and you live or die by random elevator schedules. On the other hand, you are living on top of a gazillion-square-foot dining facility. Need coffee? Hit up Common Grounds. Can’t ignore the stench of fetid laundry? Look no further than the Towers Laundry Room. Feel like being assaulted by 30 different student groups on your way to class? Go to the lobby. Between the ATM’s, Panther Central, Taco Bell and the thousands of people who pass through daily, there’s no need to leave the fortress that is Litchfield Towers. Editors’ Pick: Pennsylvania Hall -Ravi Pandit Best University Building: The Cathedral of Learning Throughout the entire campus and most of Oakland and Shadyside, the Cathedral is the most visible building. But really, it’s the interior that makes it the best University building. Upon walking into the Cathedral, one is immediately beamed to Hogwarts or some other mythical building. Unlike Posvar, David Lawrence or even Hillman, the Cathedral is the only building on campus that actually has a collegiate and historical feel. It is no coincidence that the Cathedral is virtually synonymous with Pitt, because it is without question the best building on Pitt’s campus. Editors’ Pick: Frick Fine Arts Building -Shane Levy Best Place to Study: Hillman Library Note that the category indicates ‘Best Place to Study,’ not ‘Place Most Conducive to Studying.’ When a Pitt student is invited to a study session at Hillman, it should be taken with a grain of salt. While ‘Club Hillman’ is the nation’s 26th largest university library and home to nearly two million volumes, Pitt students also regard it as the ‘social’ library of choice. Pitt junior Jenna Wilkin said, ‘My friends and I have made a tradition out of spending the night at Hillman during finals. And in the morning, somehow we feel less prepared than before.’ Truer words have never been spoken. Editors’ Pick: University Honors College -Ben Korman Best Museum: Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History The Carnegie Museums have had a big year. First, the completed dinosaur hall was unveiled with a dual T-Rex exhibit following shortly after. And by combining the permanent art galleries with this year’s ‘Life on Mars’ international exhibit, the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History have once again towered above the rest of Pittsburgh’s great museums. After all, where else can you find a recreation of a desert nomad trying to fight off an extinct lion with a 10-inch knife? Editors’ Pick: Andy Warhol Museum -Brandon Pfeffer Best Nationality Room: The Austrian Room Tucked away in the corridors of the third floor of the Cathedral is a wonderland of tapestries, porcelain and art. A true Pittsburgh treasure, the Austrian Nationality Room is a vision in red, a beacon of elegance and a sight to be beheld by all. The room, which was designed to replicate the Baroque style common during Austria in the 17th and 18th centuries, offers visitors a stylish yet practical setting: comfortable red upholstered chairs, a stately glass table ‘mdash; perfect for students and dignitaries alike ‘mdash; crystal chandeliers and, perhaps the highlight of the room, a stunning Renaissance-style mural depicting scenes of Roman mythology. For art fans, Austria enthusiasts or those just looking for an interesting place to work, the Austrian Nationality Room is all one could desire. Editors’ Pick: Early American Room -Molly Green Best Place to Smoke: Outside Why confine yourself to simply smoking when a world of wonder and intrigue is available to you? While outside might seem the obvious choice for an inhalation location, there are few places that both permit smoking and offer a pleasing natural environment. Whether you are taking a stroll through Schenley Park, reclining in front of the Cathedral or hustling to class, you are in the prime setting to enjoy the tobacco product of your choosing. So don’t make your next cigarette just a cigarette. Make it an opportunity to become one with nature. Go outside. Editors’ Pick: The Ashtray -Christopher Stokum Best Place to Escape to: Schenley Park Schenley Park. Be it tanning, reading a good book or studying hard for a class, it’s a great place to go. In the sunny Pittsburgh days, people of all ages are able to relax there. It’s a lovely place to go to escape or to hang out with friends. Schenley Park is even a battleground for Pitt’s popular Humans vs. Zombies game. And for Pittsburgh winters Schenley Park is beautiful as well, whether you’re going on a walk with a significant other or having a snowball fight with a group of friends. No matter what the reason, be it human interaction, solitary peace or simply hunting for the undead, Schenley Park is a good choice for any escape. Editors’ Pick: Home -Anna-Paula Murphy Best Place to Take a Walk: Schenley Park With 244 acres of space to explore, and with steep dirt paths, winding streets and lots of shaded pavilions, Schenley Park proves itself an excellent place to go walking. There’s even a running track near the skating rink, as well as a soccer field and a notoriously hilly Frisbee golf course, if you prefer to get some exercise on your excursion. And if you’re just looking for scenery, it’s tough to beat the view off the top of Flagstaff Hill or the spectacle of the trees changing colors in fall ‘- or covered in snow in the winter. Why would you ever walk anywhere else? Editors’ Pick: Schenley Farms -Richard Brown ‘ Place to get arrested: Towers Lobby ‘ ‘ ‘ Though the gyms might equal the hustle, few places equal the bustle of the Towers lobby. From those who pass through it on their way to eat to those who sit around wearing seemingly inexplicable bandanas, the lobby is a place where anything and everything happens over the course of the day. Though it might be embarrassing to be ‘nabbed’ in the presence of many people, the lobby provides a ready explanation. The arrest can be viewed as performance art in a public space, in the service of a pet cause: raising awareness of the rule of law. ‘ ‘ ‘ -Mark Kozlowski ‘ ‘ ‘ Editors’ Pick: Nowhere! ‘ Place to break up: Towers Lobby Ending a relationship is not an easy thing to do. But breaking up in the comforting familiarity of Litchfield Towers could ease the blow. Say it’s over in any of the busy Towers buildings, and chances are your break-up victim will not want to cry or to slap you across the face in front of so many people. Unless, of course, they do. But it’s worth the risk. After all, when will you ever get the chance to say goodbye in a perfectly cylindrical tower? -Elham Khatami Editors’ Pick: Facebook ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Computer Lab: Posvar ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Tucked back in a snug little nook, the Posvar Computer Lab is a haven from the rush. It’s the least crowded lab on campus. A casual, come-as-you-are atmosphere prevails. In fact, the Posvar computer lab is exactly like your favorite neighborhood bar in every way, except with free beer, and except the beer is printing. In fact, I always thought it would be funny to put a sign up there that said, ‘Free Printing … Tomorrow,’ like those signs they have in bars. The big difference would be that tomorrow you could actually get the free printing. ‘ ‘ ‘ -Lewis Lehe ‘ ‘ ‘ Editors’ Pick: David Lawrence ‘ Place to do laundry: Towers Is your laundry piling up into a smelly, festering mess? Gather up all your dirty clothes, and head over to the Litchfield Towers laundry room. It’s the most convenient location to wash your clothes, especially if you actually live there. And there’s no need to worry about finding out that all the washing machines are taken. Not only are there plenty of washing machines to meet all your filthy clothes needs, but you can also check out the LaundryView Monitoring System online to make sure there are machines available. Happy washing, and keep track of your socks! -Elham Khatami Editors’ Pick: Relax ‘n Wash ‘ Place to play pool: Nordy’s Forget the bars. If you have the sudden urge to go shoot some pool, head over to Nordy’s Place ‘mdash; the only place that will let you in even if you’re underage. The only identification you need is your Panther card. Located in the Lower Level of the William Pitt Union and named in honor of Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, Nordy’s Place is the heart of student activity, complete with televisions, food and chock-full of student excitement. -Elham Khatami Editors’ Pick: Shootz Cafe Place to nap: Bed Apparently, beds are still the favorite place for students to nap. These results show that despite media sensationalism and the success of most bands from Brooklyn, it is still not overwhelmingly popular to wake up on couches, floors or the street. Some might say that this category is an underhanded pitch to the bed ‘mdash; much like The Pitt News’ wildly unsuccessful Best Of category ‘Best Place to Fry Bacon’ always going to a frying pan ‘mdash; but the bed’s staying power is admirable. Look for this category to be hotly contested in future Best Of’s as we all start waking up on animals skins and cold hard steel in the Mad Max future for which we are surely headed. -Erik Hinton Editors’ Pick: Schenley Plaza Best Place to Hook Up: Towers/Cathedral For all those sweaty fumblings with near-strangers, there’iacute;s no place better than Litchfield Towers or the Cathedral. Statistically speaking, you live in one of the Towers, and there’iacute;s really no place better than your own bed (or maybe your roommate’iacute;s). But if you’iacute;re feeling a little bit more adventurous, it’iacute;s tough to beat the many shadowy nooks and empty classrooms of the Cathedral of Learning after dark. Really, it’iacute;s almost impossible to decide between the two, which is probably why you voted them a tie. Editors’iacute; Pick: Flagstaff Hill -Richard Brown Best Hotel for Parents: Holiday Inn Select, University Center When your parents come into town, they might as well stay on campus ‘mdash; not in your dorm, though, but in the Holiday Inn, which is closer to the Cathedral than most residence halls. And having your parents within easy walking distance means it’s easier for them to take you out to dinner, take you shopping or just give you cash. The accommodations are comfortable and familiar, there are plenty of smoke-free rooms, a pool, a sauna and wireless Internet, and they’ll be close to everything you’re already close to. Editors’ Pick: The Omni William Penn -Richard Brown Best Place to Study Abroad: Germany Break out your lederhosen and eat a couple of bratwursts alongside a Heineken or two in celebration of Germany, the best place to study abroad. From the chilly northern plains to the rolling hills of Bavaria, Germany is a nation full of history and culture. If you’re considering spending time abroad, there’s no better choice than the excellence of Deutschland. Good beer, good food, good cars and a nearly fetishistic worship of David Hasselhoff make Germany the place to go if you want to be away from here. Editors’ Pick: Anywhere -Richard Brown Street to live (off-campus): Atwood Restaurants, a pharmacy, apartments and some of the best parties in Oakland: You’ll find all of these on the wonderfully inclusive Atwood Street. Those who live on Atwood can easily walk to their favorite pizza place, to Rite Aid, to Dave and Andy’s ice cream shop or to India Garden. Located in the heart of South Oakland, Atwood is also a short walk from most campus buildings. It’s no surprise students have voted it the best off-campus street to live on. -Elham Khatami Editors’ Pick: Meyran Street