The Sharp Edge

From StuffNearCMU

The Sharp Edge
Drinks: Beer, Mixed Food: Pizza, Sandwiches, Burgers, etc. Location: 302 South St. Clair Street Hours: 10am-12am, M-Sa, 12pm-10am, Sun Phone: 412-661-3537 Price Range: Medium URL: {{{url}}}

Also known as 'The Edge', but more formally as 'The Sharp Edge Beer Emporium'.

The Edge has good food, but it's mostly known for the extensive Belgian beer selection, which is the best in the city and one of the best in the country. They have 50 taps, and at any given time about half of them are devoted to an assortment of Belgian beers that you won't find anywhere else. If you're not sure what any of the odder beers are, the bartenders will be happy to explain them to you and offer you a sample. Or, you can order a taster rack of four small glasses of any beer you'd like. If you really can't decide, try the Mystery Beer, which is a set $3 per pint and varies in quality pretty wildly.

Food-wise, they were known for greasy and nearly inedible standard bar fare for a long time, but several years ago redid their menu and now feature a decent selection of mostly-American food. The specials menu changes monthly and is usually seasonally themed.

Happy hour is every weekday from 4:30 to 6:30, and features $1 off drafts and bottles, as well as $0.35 wings and dollar-a-slice pizza. Wednesday is Import & Micro Night, and features $1 off imported and micro-brew drafts and bottles all night.

The front room allows smoking, though it's well ventilated for a bar. There's also a non-smoking back room that's surprisingly family-friendly for a bar. One downside to the back room is that it doesn't have nearly as much ambience as the front room -- there are Belgian beer-themed posters, but apart from that it's pretty quiet and plain compared to the lively front room.

While The Edge isn't primarily a sports bar, they do have several TVs scattered around the smoking section, including a large HD projector screen, and the bar staff is generally very willing to show any local sports games that they aren't already showing. The TVs are only visible from the front room, so if you'd like to watch a game you will need to be willing to sit in the smoking section.

The front room also has a jukebox and a dart board, which will often be occupied by people playing in league games.

The Edge is generally fairly clean for a local bar, but the bathrooms are almost disturbingly spotless and bleached. If you need to pass out in the bathroom of a local place, this is where you should do it.

Cigar smoking is allowed and fairly common here, and the staff will usually bring over a cigar ashtray if they see you smoking cigars. The bar sells a small variety of overpriced cigars, so bring your own.