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Boston to Pittsburgh: My Holiday Sweet And Savory To-Do List

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Olivia Rajakovic Student Contributor, Boston University
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When the dining hall just isn’t cutting it, a flight home to Pittsburgh, PA, will always satisfy my sweet tooth. Here’s a list of my top five favorite restaurants, coffee shops, and bakeries!

The Roaming Bean

Ready, set, drive! 

The Roaming Bean is a traveling coffee truck with the yummiest coffees, chai, and bakery treats. The workers always match your vibe and are as excited as you are to mix up one of their drinks. With a menu that changes with the seasons, the thrill is in the chase.

They’re often found outside of various stores, farms, hospitals, schools, and neighborhoods. They post weekly schedules on their Instagram, making it ever so exciting to see when they’ll be close to home. 

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Alex Frank / Spoon
La Gourmandine

A Parisian bakery in America. 

With five locations throughout the city, this French-owned bakery offers authentic, affordable, and delicious treats. The locations’ homelike, familiar atmosphere and their dollar baguettes were the only things that filled the hole in my heart after returning from my high school’s trip to France. 

Burgatory

Extra-thick milkshakes and design-your-own burgers, need I say more? 

A custom Burgatory burger, plus the chips that come with it, equals my death row meal. Burgatory fits the bill for every situation: A quick bite to eat before heading to the movies? A big friend group reunion? A picky eater who groans at every option? Someone who wants peanut butter as a spread option? Burgtory’s got something for everyone. 

Mad Mex

My first meal home from every trip. 

It’s Cal-Mex with the best guacamole you have ever tasted. Mad Mex has been a favorite of my family and me since I was an infant. It’s a mix between a bar vibe and 100% family-friendly: the music is loud, the food is good, and the vibes are better. Show up in your PJs or your going-out outfit, no one is judging you.

Smoothie King

The King of Smoothies.

Although there are 1,400 locations worldwide, there isn’t one near Boston University. So I’m still counting down the days until I’m back in its vicinity. Thick, creamy, and massive sizes, my go-to order is a Strawberry Pineapple Metabolism Boost. Although I have no idea what a “Metabolism Boost” is, I do know it’s delicious. 

If your travels bring you to Pittsburgh this holiday season, make sure you don’t miss a single sweet (or savory) treat on my Nice List.

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Olivia Rajaković (she/her) is a writer on the Editorial team at Her Campus Boston University. She enjoys writing on topics such as political commentary, relationships, personal narratives, and BU lifestyle.

Rajaković is a Freshman at BU from the "City of Bridges" (Pittsburgh, PA). She's pursuing a major in journalism, on the track to dual degree with political science.

Outside of HCBU, she is an anchor/camerawoman for BUTV's The Wire, a member of the Daily Free Press, and a proud mother to her dog, Maximum (Max) Cuteness Rajaković, and cat, Stephen (Steve) King Rajaković.