The Best Shopping

Best Clothing Store: American Apparel Located on Forbes Avenue just across the street from… Best Clothing Store: American Apparel Located on Forbes Avenue just across the street from Panera, American Apparel keeps Pitt students clothed and broke. American Apparel is great for basic solid-colored t-shirts and sweatshirts as well as quirkier items like jersey scarves that double as tops and retro thigh-high tube socks. Though the store is not a great place to find jeans or pants, it has all the hot pants, mini skirts and brightly colored leggings that anyone could ever need. Though a little pricy, American Apparel has crazy and unique items that you certainly couldn’t find anywhere else as well as basic and comfortable essentials in a large variety of colors.

Runner up: Forever 21 – Kelsey Shea

Best Video Rental Place: Blockbuster

Blockbuster is primarily the major name in movie rentals all over the country, and here at Pitt as well. They have a wide selection of movies and their DVD’s are in generally good condition with minimal scratching. Unfortunately, the nearest Blockbuster to Pitt isn’t exactly conveniently located, seeing as it can be found in East Liberty. The bus service is available to get there but it’s probably easier to just use Blockbuster’s online service to have movies sent directly to your mailbox.

Runner up: Netflix – Kelsey Shea

Best Piercing Place: Hot Rod Piercing Co. Looking to agonize your parents in the form of piercings and body art? Then Hot Rod will probably be your tattoo and piercing venue of choice. With friendly and reassuring employees that make the needle seem less terrifying, Hot Rod creates a clean and safe environment that will help you be more comfortable for the big moment. They have a wide selection of body jewelry for those already pierced and skilled tattoo artists that will create high-quality body art.

Runner up: Lefty’s – Kelsey Shea

Best Florist: Gidas Flowers Gidas Flowers, conveniently located on Forbes Avenue, has been supplying Pittsburgh with flowers that are perfect for any occasion for over 90 years. As well as floral arrangements, Gidas offers fruit baskets, gift baskets and potted plants. Everything is a bit pricey, with the cheapest arrangements costing a minimum of $30. So if you have some extra cash to burn and need to say “get well,” “congratulations,” “happy birthday” or “I’m sorry,” Gidas’ wide selection of creative and colorful arrangements is a perfect way to show that you care.

Runner up: Alex’s – Kelsey Shea

Best Place to buy CDs: CD Warehouse

For those who still buy music, CD Warehouse is an affordable place to buy CDs, movies and video games. Though almost all of the CDs are used, they are usually in excellent shape with little to no scratches and often times cost half the price of the new copies. CD Warehouse is also a great place to profitably dispose of those gently used CDs that you find in the back of your closet from the ’90s that you’d like to deny ever owning.

Runner up: Best Buy – Kelsey Shea

Best Cell Phone Vendor: Verizon

Are you in? Because Pitt is. Verizon Wireless was voted the best cell phone vendor, and by “best cell phone vendor” we of course mean least of several other evils. But when Pitt students try to choose the company that will rip them off the least, they turn to Verizon, where they can make unlimited calls to anyone in the Verizon network. With plans starting at $40 a month and some of the best cell phone coverage on campus it’s no wonder Verizon was voted No. 1.

Runner up: AT’T (Cingular) – Kelsey Shea

Best Shopping District: Shadyside

Possessing class and variety in a European-styled setting, Shadyside has captured this year’s Best Shopping District. The retailers in the neighborhood include the Apple Store, Gap, Coffee Tree Roasters, Coach, Prantl’s Bakery, Record Village and numerous others. The street is very pedestrian friendly: Car traffic is slow, and crossing the street isn’t as intimidating as Forbes Avenue in Oakland or even Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill. It’s a great neighborhood to do some high-class shopping and then get a coffee, ice cream or cocktail afterwards.

Runner up: Waterfront – Dan Vetanovetz

Best Vintage Clothing Store: Avalon

The eclectic fashion tastes of Avalon have brought Best Vintage Clothing Store success this year. From its weird selection of sunglasses to the racks of mish-mashed clothing and the odd feather boa, Avalon should suit most college student fashion needs. When you get a vintage shirt here, it really is vintage. If you are looking for specific shoes, Avalon might have them if another shopper hasn’t found them first. It’s a scavenger hunt surprise every time you go in, and if you don’t find what you originally went in for, odds are pretty good that you’ve already found something you like more.

Runner up: Goodwill – Dan Vetanovetz

Best Best Hair Salon: Puccini’s

The energetic atmosphere of Puccini’s Salon on Atwood Street has won Best Hair Salon this year. Offering more than haircuts is a Puccini tradition: color, corrective color, waxing and tanning are some of the other services offered. Puccini’s offers both men’s and women’s cuts, and features the walk-in special, which allows newcomers to decide if they “click” with the stylist before they make set appointments with one.

Runners up: Super Cuts, Daniel ‘ Co. – Dan Vetanovetz

Best Grocery Store: Giant Eagle Containing all the ingredients you need for college snacks or a dinner with the chancellor as your guest, Giant Eagle Market District has won this year’s Best Grocery Store. The closest store is on Centre Avenue in Shadyside, right before the intersection with Negley Avenue. Its clean and brightly lit aisles range from ethnic sections to the classic cereal aisle, and all manner of brands are represented. Regular and organic fruit and vegetables are available, and there are the requisite meat and bakery counters.

Runner up: Whole Foods – Dan Vetanovetz

Best Drug Store/Pharmacy: CVS

Sophomores Kirsten Dahlberg and Alie Krueger bypass other drugstores to shop at CVS just past McKee Place, carrying CVS cards and coupons in their hands. “The other drugstores have a lot of food, but here they have a lot of stuff,” Krueger said. “Yeah, stuff.” Some of the stuff at this 24-hour pharmacy and store includes velvety bathrobes, stockings and Santa hats with the new otter-looking Pitt Panthers logo. In addition, there are Halloween costumes for children, including one labeled “Major Flirt” – perfect for parents who want their daughters to look like Pitt students on Halloween. Rite Aid was the runner-up, but students did not specify if they meant the one on Forbes Avenue and Atwood Street or the one next door on Atwood Street and Forbes Avenue.

Runner up: Rite Aid – Holden Slattery

Best Place to Get Film Developed: CVS

Back in the 1840s while Louis Daguerre spent hours developing exposed glass plate negatives – just one step in the photographic process that came to bear his name – he’s said to have complained to a friend, “My God, this takes so freaking long!” Daguerre envisioned a future in which the chemical process of developing photographs might be greatly expedited; a future in which one would be able to derive multiple prints from the same negative; a future in which photographic laboratories might also sell shampoo, milk, condoms and three-dollar sunglasses. Today, Daguerre’s dream has been realized at the corner of Forbes Avenue and McKee Place, thanks to the good folks at CVS. Whether you’re eager to relive your spring break trip or produce the damning portraits to teach that strumpet who cheated on you the lesson she so richly deserves, CVS can have your photos ready in just one hour’s time, and without all the mess or long-term risk of exposure to scalding-hot mercury or gold chloride. – Erin Green