July 24, 2025

Liddy and Greg are transplants to Pittsburgh, but they’ve heard the myth of Isaly’s: a legacy ice cream shop, inventor of the Klondike bar, with a deli famed for chip-chopped ham. So, when we saw an Isaly’s location on East Ohio Street in East Allegheny, we knew it would be our destination. But the truth turned out to be … more complicated. The ice cream counter features the “Islay” (sic) name, there was no sign of actual Isaly products, and any branding has been removed from the sign out front. Still, the shop offered scooped Hershey’s ice cream cones, so we met our goal. Liddy had Graham Central Station, Edmund had the colorful Superman, and Pippa had Salty Caramel Truffle. Our walk around the neighborhood led us down the business district of East Ohio Street and past many 19th century row houses with a rich history, as revealed by the East Allegheny Community Council walking tour we read through as we went. We also walked past many brightly colored murals, featuring Mister Rogers and Rosie the Riveter (who both have strong Pittsburgh ties.)

Fun Fact:
East Allegheny is also known as Deutschtown due to the German immigrants who lived there in the mid-1800s. Today the Teutonia Mannerchor, a German club and choir, is still based in East Allegheny.