Genoa Pizza - Downtown

That's a lot of free appies!

Genoa Pizza is an entirely unsuspecting little bar tucked away on the outskirts of the golden triangle. Located on Market Street on the other side of the Boulevard of the Allies, I never even knew this place was a bar until I stumbled out of the River City Inn one drunken night and found myself in heaven. I've basically been going back to Genoa ever since as a secret late night go-to watering hole. The run-down wood paneling  interior provides the comfort and ambiance of a dive bar without the need to traipse all the way back to whatever neighborhood you live in that is undoubtedly filled with dive bars.

My favorites include the taco pizza and the sicilian style square cut pizza. The sicilian does not have a super dense crust like Ambridge Police Station Pizza or Beto's, but it is a nice change of pace from the thin crust pizza that is so prevalent in Pittsburgh. Genoa absolutely kills it with the taco pizza: spicy seasoned ground beef, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, provolone cheese, cold lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, black olives and sour cream on the side. Boom! That's what I call a good way to end the evening.

Where appetizers go to die, my face.

Now, if you happen to make it to Genoa before 7:00 p.m on a weeknight. you are in for a real treat. For every five dollars you spend you are entitled to a free appetizer. I managed to spend thirty dollars by the close of happy hour. (No easy feat considering drinks are very reasonably priced.) This allowed me to order six free appetizers of my choosing! I went with double mozzarella sticks, the shrimp, the breaded zucchini, jalapeno poppers and the breaded mushrooms. It is a miracle of science that I lived to write this post.

Considering my thirty dollars also purchased about eight drinks, this was a fantastic bargain. In terms of the most bang for your buck, go with the shrimp and the breaded zucchini. Be sure to say hello to the very pleasant bartender, her name is Amanda and she's a real doll! Avoid conversation with the locals, they tend to be surly and uninterested in speaking with outsiders.