PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

For me, 2024 has been the Year of the Burger.

Over several months, on a quest to find the best burgers in town, I ate my weight in beef patties. Aside from having to buy bigger pants, this wasn’t a difficult assignment. I’ve always loved burgers, including Big Macs.

When 84-year-old Dot Sharp decided to retire from the Gibsonia McDonald’s she’s ruled since 1978, there wasn’t a dry eye in the House of Happy Meals. She served her final drive-thru order to her granddaughter, Dotty Sims, who is also a McDonald’s employee.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

A visit with artist Jeff Bertrand revealed that I am not, in fact, the biggest McDonald’s devotee in Pittsburgh.

They were shedding tears of joy and relief in Lawrenceville when the long-delayed Lawrence Hall finally opened in April. The 6,000-square-foot multi-concept eatery offers soul food, Mexican fare, Italian eats, American-fusion dishes, ice cream and craft cocktails. I’ve been following this project since 2000, when married couple Brett Minarik and Phoebe Fraser and their business partner Adam Harvey bought the place. I’m glad they decided to heed the dying words of Lawrenceville’s namesake Capt. James Lawrence, who during the War of 1812, famously shouted “Don’t give up the ship!”

Speaking of local legends, have you met Gina Merante? Once you do, you’ll be a friend for life! The owner of Bloomfield’s Linea Verde Green Market is such a ray of sunshine, her presence makes plants grow!

The folks at Spectrum Fudge also are making the world brighter by employing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at their Penn Hills chocolate factory. As the mother of an autistic teenager, this gives me great hope for her future.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ZAC’S SWEET SHOP

You can count Beyoncé as one of Zac Coughlin‘s biggest fans. At 13, the Mckeesport native launched a candy company from his kitchen. Less than 15 years later, Zac’s Sweet Shop is catering Oscar parties in Los Angeles. He hopes to open storefronts across the country, including Pittsburgh.

In the Steel City, we’re diehards for dessert, so it’s not surprising that a Baldwin family stepped up when Oakland’s Dave & Andy’s Homemade Ice Cream closed after four decades. Jason and Laura Kasten and their daughter, Sarah, a University of Pittsburgh junior, plan to keep scooping for many years to come.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

If you’re up for a road trip, The Snowman in Portersville will melt your heart in the middle of summer. Brian and Debbie LaChance happily serve shave ice, milkshakes, frappes and sundaes from the belly of a 13-foot, fiberglass Frosty.

I went on an epic quest a little closer to (my) home at Dragon’s Roast Cafe in West View.  Located inside a gaming store, the business combines caffeinated beverages and role-playing adventures.

A woman cannot live on burgers, sweets and caffeine alone, sometimes she has to supplement her unhealthy diet with PileZ. This take-out joint moved into the original Mad Mex spot in Oakland to sell artery-clogging mountains of fries, macaroni salad, onions, Zweigle’s Red Hots and meat sauce. “Garbage plates” are my new guilty pleasure.

PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA

Like a goat, I eat everything! I bonded with a barnful of fellow gluttons when I visited Goat Rodeo Farm & Dairy in Indiana Township. Even when the horned, cloven-hooved residents attempted to chow down on my reporter’s notebook, I was in heaven.

PHOTO BY JAN MCELHINNY

There’s a cornfield outside of Evans City that’s also a little slice of the hereafter, especially if you’re a horror fan. Director George Romero filmed the iconic “Night of the Living Dead” on the property owned by John and Jan McElhinny. The couple grow sweetcorn that’s so tasty, I’d return from the grave for it.