Welcome back my fellow diners! I hope your summers were filled with delicious eats and… Welcome back my fellow diners! I hope your summers were filled with delicious eats and delightful treats – whether they be tropical tastes at exotic vacation eateries, hometown grub at your favorite Mom and Pop diner or good ol’ home cookin’ that makes summers with the family all worthwhile.

Now that we’re all back in the ‘Burgh, I want to take this opportunity to tempt your taste buds out of Oakland – and, more importantly, out of the food courts – and into the many tantalizing dining establishments that this city has to offer. I know that dining out can be daunting. I understand your hesitation to venture away from chicken tenders, hamburgers and the many half-price menus that adorn our beloved college neighborhood. Moreover, how’s one to locate a good and reasonably priced restaurant, let alone navigate this confusing city when attempting to travel there?

Enter Monday Munchies, your weekly guide to tasty destinations around our fine city of Pittsburgh. Not only will I, as your food critic extraordinaire, lead you to delectable food that won’t leave you broke, but I will also tell you exactly how to get there – for free! That’s right, your trusty Pitt ID is good for more than entrance to the dorms and borrowing library books, but it’s also your pass to free bus travel all across Pittsburgh.

Neighborhoods less than a 15-minute bus ride away are chock full of great dining establishments. Consider Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside. All within a few blocks you can find lots of outdoor dining patios, happy hour specials and some of the best burgers this town has to offer.

Venture a little further east and you’ll discover the many ethnic tastes found in Squirrel Hill. Thai, Italian, Mexican, Japanese and Mediterranean are just a sampling of the myriad cuisines found on Forbes and Murray avenues.

Journey south and you may be surprised to find that the South Side offers more than just a great place to spend a drunken Saturday night. Between the numerous eateries lining East Carson Street and the ever-growing South Side Works, the South Side is a dining gold mine.

Recently blooming areas like Lawrenceville and Bloomfield also provide a large variety of restaurants and diners. Just on Penn Avenue alone there are numerous dine-in bars, cafes and classy (yet not too pricey) establishments that would make anyone’s mouth water.

Travel further on down Penn and you reach the Strip District. Aside from nightclubs and wholesale bargains, this historically rich area is full of restaurants ranging from a place to get a quick bite or spend a month’s worth of paychecks to impress that special date.

Keep going down Penn and you’ll eventually end up Downtown. Believe it our not, the heart of our city consists of far more than skyscrapers and treacherous traffic. With some joints still cooking up the same grub that was served to the steelworkers during the first half of the 20th century and others dishing out trendy and new age courses that keep our city on the cutting edge of culinary arts, Downtown Pittsburgh offers a wide array of dining possibilities.

Don’t stifle your taste buds this school year by limiting your dining repertoire to the campus area. Let me be your guide to all the tastes Pittsburgh has to offer. And although it may not be as good as summer vacation, a great dining experience can sometimes serve as a necessary escape from the stress of papers, deadlines and equations. Aren’t you so glad to be back?