$5 Pizza in Shadyside? Go to Oakland for that, Jay...

"It's the kind of place that has a reputation for being above Oakland, you could say. It's a neighborhood where a lot of upperclassmen and graduate students live. It's great. It's quieter than Oakland and has a lot of nice restaurants, shops and houses," says Pitt senior, Jay Huerbin. You just defeated your argument. Shadyside doesn't have the drunk-pizza niche of Oakland. Oakland has far more foot traffic than Shadyside, so by virtue of the five-dollar-pizza, an inherently spur decision, it just wouldn't work.

Village Pizza is Shadyside's designated "cheap" pizza, which just opened a new location only a few blocks down Walnut, moving from Ivy St. to South Aiken, unveiling a redesigned and upgraded bar. The pizza is a bit more expensive than Antoon's and Sorrento's, but the quality is increased at a rate that outpaces the increase in price.

Let's not ruin Shadyside's reputation that is "above Oakland."

But let's forget these harsh feelings, for our argument illustrates why the East End is spectacular - you can go to Oakland and get a cheap $5 'za, or you can catch a ten-minute bus to Shadyside for some higher quality 'za. The same situation is present if you're looking to crawl among the bars. Oakland has Bootleggers and Shadyside has the Shady Grove. Each neighborhood holds its own slice of the East End pizza pie; one with simple pepperonis, the other with roasted red peppers marinated in a balsamic vinaigrette (simply an analogy, not an actual representation of pizza toppings).