Work progresses on Top Pot Hotpot & Korean BBQ, coming soon to the South Side.

A corner lot on the 2800 block of East Carson Street is outwardly unassuming, with brown paper covering the windows and no new signage at the old J & L Grille Company, but work is progressing on what is one of about seven Hotpot and Korean BBQ places looking to open soon in Pittsburgh. Top Pot Hotpot & Korean BBQ is a chain with nine locations currently open---three in Pennsylvania, two in Ohio, and one each in Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, and Utah---and four under development, including this Pittsburgh spot first announced in December 2023.

Top Pot & K BBQ is an AYCE restaurant franchise that offers a unique and satisfying dining experience with a combination of hot pot and Korean BBQ. The menu features a wide range of ingredients, spices, and sauces to cater to different tastes, with options for meat, seafood, vegetables, and more. Customers can enjoy cooking their food at the table with a simmering pot of soup stock or grilling meat on the table with personalized dipping sauces. The restaurant also offers a well-rounded meal with a lot of delicious small side dishes, which provide a diverse array of flavors and textures. These side dishes, along with the option of both hot pot and Korean BBQ, make for a unique and satisfying dining experience.

In addition to the delicious food, Top Pot BBQ is committed to providing quality service at affordable prices. This means that customers can expect to receive not just a great meal, but also attentive service and a welcoming atmosphere. And with the restaurant's focus on using fresh ingredients, customers can be assured that they are eating high-quality food that is both delicious and nourishing.

For those looking for a unique and satisfying dining experience, Top Pot BBQ is the perfect choice. With its combination of hot pot and Korean BBQ, and commitment to quality, service, and affordability, it's sure to leave a lasting impression on all who visit and we have something for everyone regardless of your preferences.

It will open at 2829 East Carson St. (map), and will be one of three new-ish Asian chains, along with Kura Sushi and Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, helping to make Southside Works a dining destination.

Work inches along at Shabu Shabu Hot Pot and Grill in McCandless.

Shabu Shabu Hot Pot and Grill in McCandless was reportedly eying a January 2025 opening, but interior work continues on what aims to be the second all-you-can-eat hot pot and Korean BBQ restaurant in the North Hills. Work has been underway at the spot in McCandless Crossing---across from LaRoche University and in the outparcel shared with Midwest Shooting Center (map)---since July 2023.

Umi Hair Salon opens in Squirrel Hill.

Chinese hair and nail salon Umi Hair Salon has recently opened in Squirrel Hill. Also stylized Youmi, it is located at 2115 Murray Ave. (map) and joins Instyle Hair Studio as the two Chinese salons in the neighborhood. Their profile on fresha has a list of services and prices, and an option to make an appointment online.

Witch Watch: Watch Party in Pittsburgh, March 16, 17, 18.

Witch Watch: Watch Party, featuring the first three episodes of the upcoming anime series, will play in Pittsburgh-area theaters on March 16, 17, and 18. A synopsis from the distributor, GKIDS:

Morihito Otogi, a high school student who comes from a lineage of ogres, enjoys a peaceful, ordinary life until his childhood friend, Nico, moves in with him. Nico is a witch-in-training, and chooses Morihito to be her familiar. While Nico is thrilled to reunite with her old friend and crush, Morihito is tasked with the perilous duty to protect her from a foretold calamity. Between the unpredictable chaos caused by Nico’s magic, and the awkwardness of sharing a home, their lives become a whirlwind of supernatural hijinks and threats.

Puppy love meets magical mischief and danger in WITCH WATCH, the endlessly charming and riotously funny new anime series.

Based on the Weekly Shonen Jump manga by Kenta Shinohara (SKET Dance), get the first sneak peek of the upcoming anime with WITCH WATCH: WATCH PARTY, a special theatrical premiere event featuring the first three episodes and exclusive interviews.

It is scheduled to play locally, so far, at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theater in Robinson, and tickets are available online.

2004 Japanese animated film Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城) at Rangos Giant Cinema, May 9.

The 2004 Hayao Miyazaki film Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城) will play at Rangos Giant Cinema at the Carnegie Science Center on May 9.

In Hayao Miyazaki’s . . . animated masterpiece, journey beyond imagination and enter a “breathtaking fantasy world” (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times) filled with adventure, humor, and heart. Sophie, a quiet girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. The vain and vengeful Witch of the Waste, jealous of their friendship, puts a spell on Sophie. In a life-changing adventure, Sophie climbs aboard Howl’s magnificent flying castle and enters a magical world on a quest to break the spell. Featuring the voice talents of Jean Simmons, Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall, Blythe Danner, and Billy Crystal, Miyazaki’s artistry comes to life on DVD with inventive characters, unique storytelling, and richly detailed animation.

The Rangos Giant Cinema

boasts a 71-by 39-foot Certified Giant Screen, crystal-clear 4K images, brilliant colors, and rich surround sound. It features a premium Dolby Atmos® surround sound system with 49 speakers. (The average giant screen has 14.)

The movie starts at 7:00 and tickets are available online: $10 for members and $12 for non-members. The Carnegie Science Center is located at 1 Allegheny Ave. on the North Shore (map).

The Linda Lindas at Spirit Hall, April 19.

American rock group The Linda Lindas will perform in Pittsburgh at Spirit Hall on April 19.

Half Asian and half Latinx. Two sisters, a cousin, and their close friend. The Linda Lindas channel the spirit of original punk, power pop, and new wave through today's ears, eyes, and minds.

The all-ages show with Pinkshift starts at 8:00 pm and tickets are available online. Spirit is located at 242 51st St. in Lawrenceville (map).

Concert film SEVENTEEN [RIGHT HERE] WORLD TOUR IN CINEMAS in Pittsburgh, April 2 and 5.

The upcoming concert film SEVENTEEN [RIGHT HERE] WORLD TOUR IN CINEMAS will play in Pittsburgh on April 2 and 5.

SEVENTEEN RIGHT HERE! Experience the unforgettable moments of SEVENTEEN [RIGHT HERE] WORLD TOUR on the big screen, starting with the electrifying kickoff concert in Goyang! From the special concert version of "Fear" to exclusive live performances of "LOVE, MONEY, FAME (feat. DJ Khaled)" and "Ash", the full setlist—available only at the concert—will be screened in its entirety! Get ready to be immersed in the dynamic charm of SEVENTEEN’s three iconic units—Hip-hop Unit, Performance Unit, and Vocal Unit—as well as a thrilling relay of their biggest title tracks, showcasing SEVENTEEN’s A to Z! A legendary moment, created by SEVENTEEN, for SEVENTEEN, and with SEVENTEEN, comes to life once again!

It is scheduled to play locally, so far, at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark in Robinson, and tickets are available online.

Keiko Fukazawa Retrospective: The Space in Between free guided tour, March 15 at Contemporary Craft.

Contemporary Craft will host a free guided tour for the Keiko Fukazawa Retrospective: The Space in Between exhibition on March 15. The tour runs from 1:30 to 2:30 pm and registration is required. The exhibition runs through May 16, two weeks longer than originally announced.

Keiko Fukazawa Retrospective: The Space in Between features a comprehensive survey of California-based artist, Keiko Fukazawa’s more than forty-year career, featuring new works alongside selected archival materials. Fukazawa is deeply influenced by her Japanese heritage and American environment, addressing themes of Asian pop culture and social issues through conceptual exploration. Her functional yet impractical interpretations of traditional forms serve as personal expressions that bridge cultural boundaries.

This exhibition is organized into three themes: “Culture Clash,” “ARTivism,” and “In Betweenness,” each one representing different stages of Fukazawa’s creative evolution. As an immigrant artist, Fukazawa draws on her experiences of navigating the space between cultures and identities, infusing her work with depth and resonance. Through her use of porcelain, Fukazawa highlights ceramic artistry, process, and history advocating for the medium’s importance in the contemporary world. Keiko Fukazawa Retrospective offers a compelling narrative of artistic journey and cultural dialogue, showcasing Fukazawa’s enduring commitment to pushing boundaries and redefining the intersection of tradition, innovation and materiality with her practice.

Contemporary Craft is located at 5645 Butler St. in Lawrenceville (map).

The Annual Terry Smith Lecture in Contemporary Art: Marci Kwon, March 20 at Carnegie Museum of Art.

The Carnegie Museum of Art will host Marci Kwon on March 20 for its Annual Terry Smith Lecture in Contemporary Art.

The Annual Terry Smith Lecture in Contemporary Art honors the namesake emeritus professor in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Museum of Art advisory board member, and advances the critical mission of art history to generate a healthy discourse in the contemporary moment.

This year’s lecturer, Marci Kwon, is an award-winning art historian, writer, and teacher. Her work explores alterity, minorness, value, and the ethics of relation in art and material culture, with a special focus on the history of Asian American/diasporic artists and makers. She is Assistant Professor of Art History at Stanford University, and co-director of the university’s Asian American Art Initiative.

The talk will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 pm in the Art Theater and is free with registration. The Carnegie Museum of Art is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. in Oakland (map), accessible by a number of city buses.

2025 Japan Lecture Series – What We (Don’t) Talk About When We Talk about Literature: The Visual Representation of Language and Why it Matters in Japanese, March 20.

The Japan America Society of Pennsylvania (JASP) will present Dr. Chris Lowy and his talk "What We (Don’t) Talk About When We Talk about Literature: The Visual Representation of Language and Why it Matters in Japanese" on March 20, part of the JASP's 2025 Japan Lecture Series.

The three character sets used in Japanese - hiragana, katakana, and kanji - allow authors to create a dynamic visual representation of language, adding a unique layer to the reading experience. Poetry, advertising, and representations of dialect or internal dialog are just some of the areas where this creativity is expressed. Dr. Lowy will illuminate this aspect of Japanese literature that may be underappreciated by readers.

Join the JASP on March 20, 2025 for a lecture about how Japanese authors sculpt the architecture of language for their creative and aesthetic purposes. Light hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be provided.

Chris Lowy is the William S. Dietrich II Assistant Professor of Japanese Studies at Carnegie Mellon University. He received his PhD in modern Japanese literature from the University of Washington in 2021. He teaches courses on contemporary Japanese literature, queer literature, contemporary thought, and literary representations of illness and disease. His research focuses on two main topics: the role of written language in Japanese literature and depictions of HIV/AIDS in Japanese literature from the 1980s and 1990s. A co-authored book about the role of written language in Japanese literature will be published later this year by Hituzi Syobo.

The Japan Lecture Series is sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. The talk runs from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in Hamerschlag Hall at Carnegie Mellon University (map): it's free, but registration is required.