Murray Ave, Squirrel Hill North

Murray Avenue is one of my favorite streets in Pittsburgh. It, along with Forbes Avenue form the heart of Squirrel Hill’s business district, and out of the two streets, I think it contains a more interesting a quintessentially local collection of shops and restaurants. I used to live on a street just off of Murray and found it possible to get almost everything that I needed without using a car. Murray has a decent movie theatre, a Barnes and Noble and a Giant Eagle grocery store. It also has a number of interesting small ethnic shops and restaurants, although there is a fair amount of turnover among these small businesses. During my seven years living there, I had access to Korean, Kosher, Greek, Turkish, Russian, and Italian grocery stores and a larger variety of restaurants. It is really a complete neighborhood in a single street in a way that I have not experienced in other parts of Pittsburgh and in other cities. It is very safe at all times of the day and night and aside from the fact that it is a rather large hill, it is very walkable. The neighbors are very friendly as well, although many of them are older and are non-English speakers from Eastern Europe as the street progresses toward the Greenfield neighborhood (but that is where the best Eastern European food can be found). The biggest drawbacks are the lack of nightlife options and relatively frequent power outages. Other than that, I think living on or near Murray is one of the best choices for a quiet, yet very urban place to live.

No other street in Pitts burg gives wide dining choices as Murray avenue. French, Chinese, Japanese are some of the cuisines that restaurants on this street specialize in. Eat’n Park is a nice family restaurant serving delicious meals especially salads. ‘Pleasant present’ is a gift shop where you can get some cool gifts and souvenirs at cheap rates. There is also a pet shop, retail outlet, grocery stores etc on Murray avenue.