Donny's Place   

1226 Herron Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
412-682-9869

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Donny's Place is nested at the bottom of Herron Avenue in Polish Hill, a neighborhood built in Pittsburghs hardened, steel-worker tradition - row houses crowded on a hillside, narrow streets and tough people. It's housed in a rough-looking, old, brick building with a gravel parking lot that sits right behind the Iron City Brewery, another representative of this city's strong industrial heritage. A built-in porch welcomes you. From the outside, you'd expect a small, earthy place with lots of retired steelworkers looking straight over the tops of Iron City drafts. But that's not what you find at all. Donny's Place has three bars, a dance floor and two impressive outdoor patios, one of which is being winterized. They're tastefully done, and the open-air version sports a rock water fountain and a sculpture of a peacock. The upstairs bar and adjoining dance floor is open Friday and Saturday nights. Parking is no problem either, with room for 200 cars. According to Donny, the centerpiece of the place is Leather Central, the downstairs bar. This dark basement venue is adorned with safe-sex posters from Germany and sectioned off into sitting areas with double-stacked, painted-black 55-gallon drums that function as walls. According to Donny, Leather Central has one of the most popular leather competitions in Pennsylvania. It also hosts different theme nights. The kitchen is open 6pm to 12am, and noteworthy is the Sunday brunch. Five dollars gets you two drinks and an all-you-can-eat buffet of homemade food that has included tuna salad, macaroni salad, hamburgers, hot dogs, pierogies and a wealth of desserts. If it seems as though Donny goes out of his way to be accommodating and friendly, he does. In addition to running this very active place for 28 years, hes also had his bar sponsor the AIDS walk, the MS walk and a number of softball teams. -- Jonathan Decker