I sort of felt like Pittsburgh had become the launching zone for elite NYC, Boston, Philly chefs, and at a funeral for a great aunt, a distant cousin, who I hadn't seen in 20 years, but works as a salesperson for wineries, trying to get into high end restaurants said the same. She said, if you pay attention, James Beard chefs who want to get into those towns have made Pittsburgh their hub. Problem is the good ones get poached, and the bad ones are expensive and stick around. But I have noticed in the past 5-10 years the number of out of place high end restaurants that have come and gone, when Pittsburgh previously had the same old Italian and Polish joints.
She said Pittsburgh is every bit the launching pad as Indianapolis or Louisville, but cheaper because of its reputation, so you get more of the C+ versions of the NYC types, so it's a better gauge. I'm not sure how to take that, but I do know the restaurant scene has changed dramatically during the 20 years I've lived here. Mainly because nothing changed in the first 10 years, and in the past 10 years, if something is good, you better jump on it, or the chef is gone
