Brew Works, Bethlehem PA

My first post for 2012 is actually made up of photographs taken on December 30. It was the last day at D&B for my best friend and coworker, so hubby and I took her out for lunch at the Bethlehem Brew Works.

Long time residents of Bethlehem will remember the building on the corner of Main and Broad Streets as being the home of Orrs, a department store that closed in 1993. The building is now divided up into many different stores, with Brew Works as its flagship restaurant. The restaurant style is industrial, paying homage to Bethlehem's steel industry past.

Pictured: mural in one of the dining rooms

Pictured: dining area decorated with Bethlehem Steel theme

Pictured: beer tanks

Pictured: dining room Christmas tree

Pictured: Bavarian pretzels with beer cheese soup (for dipping)

Pictured: lasagna soup with crackers
I was impressed with the menu at Brew Works. It's changed a bit since the last time I was there a few years ago. There are more Pennsylvania Dutch offerings on the menu, something the Lehigh Valley has been lacking since the closing of Walps restaurant in Allentown. I loved the Bavarian pretzel appetizer. Next time, I'm going to try pierogie casserole.

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Molto Pazzo: Very Crazy (and Very Yummy)

Today was one of the last days to visit Christmas City Village in downtown Bethlehem, so Jay and I decided to have lunch downtown before taking a walk behind the Sun Inn to see the crafters. We passed several restaurants on Main Street before deciding to try one we hadn't been to already: Molto Pazzo.

Molto Pazzo (Italian for 'very crazy') is a relatively new restaurant. It opened in November, replacing Olio Trattoria, an Italian restaurant that we unfortunately didn't get to try. The inside is beautiful. The decor is what you'd expect in an Italian restaurant, with brown, yellow and orange color everywhere, creating a warm rustic feeling.

Pictured: outside of restaurant

Pictured: view of the doorway from inside
I was a little afraid that sitting near the doorway might be a bad idea on a cold December day, so I asked if we could sit as far from the door as possible. Even though other customers came in after us, I never felt any cold air. It's possible that the curtain inside the doorway kept most of the cold from reaching us.

Pictured: wine bottles on the wall

Pictured: prettiest part of the restaurant

Pictured: Jay, with the kitchen behind him on the left

Pictured: frittata panini and pasta salad
Jay ordered lasagna, while I had a frittata panini, a traditional omelet with potatoes, onions, peppers and cheese on the most delicious toasted bread. Instead of fries, I chose pasta salad. I was only able to finish half of my meal. I brought the rest home to have as either supper tonight or breakfast tomorrow.

I'm already looking forward to going back for a different meal. The one Italian food they don't have on their menu is pizza, but given all the other choices, it won't be missed.

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Spending More Time with Emeril

Jay and I needed to go to The Sands last week to do a little holiday shopping, so we decided to have lunch at Emeril's Italian Table. We'd been there for supper already, so we had a good idea of what the food options would be. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they added a new menu for lunch that included additional choices and smaller portions.

Like we did the first time we dined at Emeril's, we asked to be seated as far toward the back of the restaurant as possible. That way we knew we wouldn't have to smell smoke from the casino. This time we sat all the way in the very back, so we got to see different decor than during our first visit.

Pictured: Jay, sitting at our table

Pictured: closeup of the mirrored wall

Pictured: rosemary bread with lemon, parmesan and herb butter
That bread was so yummy! I could have just eaten the whole loaf with the butter for a meal. I'm such a carbohydrate addict.

Pictured: roasted red pepper soup, sandwich with pork and provolone
I should have written down the name of the sandwich that I had for lunch. Unfortunately, the new lunch menu isn't available online, so I can't check for the name there. It had pork, provolone, pickles and lettuce. At least I can vouch for it being delicious. I'd get it again in a future visit, but there are too many other items I'd like to try.

One of these days, I'd like to go to Emeril's for coffee and dessert.

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Melt, Center Valley PA

I recently had the pleasure of having lunch at Melt, one of the restaurants at Center Valley's Promenade Shops. The restaurant is a little on the expensive side, but it was a celebration of a co-worker's service anniversary, so lunch was paid for by the company.

Melt is a more contemporary type of Italian restaurant than the Italian places I usually visit. While I appreciate the rustic atmosphere at Italian eateries, there's a lot to be said about how beautiful the modern design of Melt looks. It's especially attractive sitting near the candle display in the main dining room, which replaces the traditional fireplace.

Pictured: Traci, waiting for the rest of our group

Pictured: candle display

Pictured: light fixture

Pictured: grilled sausage panini with roasted red peppers and onions
I decided to have a panini for lunch. My favorite meal, petto di pollo (chicken breast marinated in garlic and lemon with herbs), is only on the dinner menu. I probably could have ordered it, but I decided not to make a fuss. The panini was delicious and very filling.

I did order dessert, not because I was still hungry, but because Melt makes a fantastic dessert called meringa. It's a baked meringue surrounded by fresh berries and balsamic syrup. I've never had it anywhere else, so I always make sure to save room for it at Melt.

Unfortunately, as is often the case, I thought about taking a photograph of the meringa after I'd eaten most of it. At least it gives me a good reason to go back again.

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CJT Asian Cuisine, Easton PA

CJT Asian Cuisine is the newest restaurant in the Southmont shopping center in Easton. It replaces JJ Wong's, a restaurant that Jay and I visited several times.

The initials in the name stand for Chinese, Japanese and Thai, all of which are now represented on the menu. Naturally, I had none of those. I had my Asian favorite, Mongolian beef. My favorite version of Mongolian beef is the dish prepared at P F Chang's, but I'm always looking for something similar that I can get closer to home.

Pictured: restaurant interior, with sushi bar in the background

Pictured: Mongolian beef
It wasn't P F Chang's style, but it was still very good. Instead of being on the sweet side, the beef was very spicy. The scallions threatened to overwhelm it a bit because there were so many of them. I only ate about 1/3 of the meal (with a little white rice). The rest I brought home and had for supper on a different night. It was just as good reheated.

Pictured: chirashi
Jay wasn't as happy with his chirashi (chirashizushi). According to him, it was actually sashimi. The sushi wasn't served over rice the way chirashi usually is. He enjoyed it, but not as much as he does at other restaurants.

I'm hoping CJT survives at Southmont. There are three Chinese-Japanese buffets close by, so I can imagine how hard it is for a non-buffet restaurant to compete. I like the variety that I can get at a buffet (especially if I'm trying new foods), but I prefer the portion control of a regular restaurant. Maybe one of these days I'll even get adventurous enough to try some Thai dishes.

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Mama Nina's Foccacheria, Bethlehem PA

It's always sad when a restaurant you love closes. That happened to me with Pane e Vino in Bethlehem. They closed in 2004, and I thought that was the end for my favorite Italian restaurant. I was delighted to be proven wrong. The family that once owned Pane e Vino now owns a restaurant on historic Bethlehem's Main Street, called Moma Nina's Foccacheria.

Jay and I had lunch there yesterday. The restaurant is small and cozy, with pasta being prepared in the back kitchen and pizza being made in the area in front of the kitchen. The charming decor does a good job of creating an authentic Italian atmosphere, with the help of the smells of the delicious foods being prepared. Italian food equals comfort food for me!

Pictured: exterior of Mama Nina's Foccacheria

Pictured: interior of Mama Nina's Foccacheria

Pictured: Jay, with the pizza preparation area in the background

Pictured: leftovers

Pictured: closeup of Jay's Deluxe (bacon, sausage, pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms, green peppers, onions) pizza

Pictured: closeup of Sharon's Pesto pizza

Pictured: closeup of the best garlic bread in the Lehigh Valley
My absolute favorite item is the garlic bread. I love the huge pieces of garlic mixed in with the oil on the freshly baked bread. We both enjoyed out individual pizzas, too. We brought half of our meals home with us, so it was worth the money we spent to each get two meals out of it. I've missed their pesto pizza. I've never had any other pesto pizza that tastes so good.

It's no surprise that the first thing I did when I got home was email my best friend to tell her that we have to go to Mama Nina's together.

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Robata of Tokyo, Allentown PA

I'm not a fan of sushi, but my husband is. Last Christmas, his sister and family gave us a gift certificate for Robata of Tokyo, a Japanese restaurant in Allentown that has a good online reputation for their sushi. We realized the certificate was going to expire today, so we went there for supper with a friend.

I'm not sure what was in that bowl, but the sushi chef sent one to each of us at our table. Jay and our friend both ate theirs and mine. Apparently, it was very good.

I didn't want a super big meal, since I was eating later than usual, so I ordered two appetizers. The first was pork gyoza. I've had pork dumplings before, but these were easily the best I've ever tasted. They were very crispy, which adds more calories, but also more taste compared to the gyoza I usually find at buffets.

My second appetizer was chicken and vegetable tempura. This was another good tasting dish, but it was on par with tempura I've had elsewhere. I try not to eat fried foods often, but tempura batter is so light that I don't feel weighed down when I eat it.

According to my husband, the sushi was excellent. It was a much better grade of fish than what he usually gets at our favorite Japanese buffet. The meal was expensive, but he felt it was worth it. I don't want to think about the number of calories I ate. I just know that I wouldn't mind going back again sometime.

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Hungarian Nights at Starters Riverport

Starters Riverport, one of our restaurants in South Bethlehem, recently featured a specialty menu on Wednesday nights in October. Having some Slovak ancestry on mother's side, I felt compelled to sample some of the foods that were on the menu, since they were a little familiar to me. Here are a few pictures from when Jay and I attended 'Hungarian Night' at Starters.

That's the specialty menu. There were four entrees and an assortment of desserts.

Pictured: chicken paprikash

Pictured: stuffed peppers
I had chicken paprikash and Jay had stuffed peppers. I was tempted by the beef goulash, but figured the chicken might be slightly less fattening. I did sample Jay's meal, and it was good, but mine wasn't something I'd typically make at home.

The best part of the meal was knowing that some of the proceeds helped the South Bethlehem Historical Society. I hope Starters continues to do these specialty nights. I'd love to sample some other ethnic cuisines.

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Dunderbak's German Restaurant, Whitehall PA

Variety is always nice, especially when it comes to food. That's why I recently asked my husband to take me to Dunderbak's for lunch at the Lehigh Valley Mall. I was craving German-style food, and we hadn't been to the restaurant at all so far this year.

I took a photo of the inside of the restaurant from where I was sitting, but there are much better views and a virtual tour of the inside at the official restaurant website. Everything is very bright and colorful, with paintings, flags and hanging baskets that give the restaurant an old world feel.

I had 'The Dunderbrat,' a grilled bratworst topped with sauerkraut and swiss cheese. I also had potato pancakes with sour cream, applesauce and a pickle. Although there are non-German inspired offerings on the menu, it would have been a shame not to enjoy some kind of worst. I was impressed with their sauerkraut. I'm used to the very acidic taste of the stuff that comes out of a can. It was nice to enjoy some sauerkraut that was much milder.

Maybe in 2012 I'll try to sample a different kind of cuisine every month.

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Paolo's Italian Restaurant, Northampton PA

Jay and I met up with Althea and Lorraine, two friends we made on our bus trip to Canada, for dinner at Paolo's Italian Restaurant in Northampton PA. Althea chose the restaurant, which was located in a former burger restaurant in a small strip mall. It didn't look impressive from the outside, but the inside was very charming and intimate.

Pictured: Jay arriving at our booth, with the kitchen in the background
Instead of hiding the kitchen, it was on full display for customers to watch their food being prepared. It added to the warm and cozy feeling of Paolo's.

Pictured: fresh bread and garlic in oil

Pictured: corn chowder

Pictured: sausage filled ravioli with caramelized onions, peppers and potatoes in a red sauce
I had ravioli that was stuffed with a slightly spicy sausage. I like Italian food in general, so I was very pleased. The portion was so big that I'll probably be eating it for four more meals. It's a good thing that Italian food seems to get better as it ages.

I'll be happy to go back to Paolo's again to sample more dishes. The menu had many interesting options, so I'm sure we'll be able to go back often and not have the same dish twice.

The best part of the evening was spending time with our new friends. Next time, Jay and I get to choose the place where we'll dine. I'm already looking forward to that.

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Kickin' It Up a Notch

Tonight my husband and I dined at Emeril's Italian Table in the Sands Casino, Bethlehem. We loved both the food and the way the restaurant combined beautiful old world Italian atmosphere with the modern Bethlehem Steel theme of the casino.

These are pictures of the inside of the restaurant, taken by my husband from our table. In the second picture, the casino is visible on the right. Below that are pictures of my meal and my husband's.

Pictured: Eberly Farms chicken (roasted under a brick), parmesan risotto and pancetta braised brussels sprouts with carmalized onions

Pictured: lasagna bolognese (housemade fresh pasta layered with ground veal sauce and bechamel)
We both enjoyed our meals, but we only were able to eat a small portion. By the time we were finished, this is what we had left. This was easily one of my favorite meals, ever!!

After supper, we walked down to the farmers market at SteelStacks. The walk there and back was about 1.5 miles, so hopefully we burned up a few (hundred) calories.

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Bangers and Mash

Pictured: bangers and mash (with peas) from Braveheart Highland Pub, Hellertown PA
Half of that meal was my lunch yesterday. The other half will be eaten for a different meal. One thing I've learned from counting calories is that I don't have to eat everything that's on my plate. Restaurant meals tend to be twice the amount of food a person should eat for a single meal. When I have a high calorie meal like this, I always take half home.

I counted half of this meal as 500 calories, based on various calorie counts I found online. It may actually be a high guestimate, but I'd rather guess too high than too low.

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