It’s the kind of discussion that can launch reasonable adults into belligerent invective. Somewhere below politics but occasionally on par with sports rivalries, there is pizza. Ask 100 people for their favorite pizza place and you might get 100 different answers. It’s a fiercely territorial topic, bordering on tribal. And while Pittsburgh doesn’t have a defined “style” like New York, Chicago or even Detroit, there’s no paucity of premium pizzas. Here are a few of my favorites.

It was the sociologist and author Ray Oldenburg who first posited the notion of the “third place” and its importance as a not-home, not-work gathering spot where all are welcome. Often a bar or a pub is that place, and whether it’s a shot-and-beer joint or a place for martinis and Manhattans, the tone of the experience is set by the bartender who can wear the hats of jester, therapist, father confessor and friend, all at the same time. Here are some of our favorite barkeeps.