Lehigh Valley InSite

Mother's Day Brunch

The day is nearing quickly. You know, that ONE special day that every mom gets, Mother’s Day. This year it’s on Sunday, May 12 and I’ve got the job of making restaurant reservations for our gang in Lehigh Valley. I’ve found ten great places to take your mom, and I’ve listed them in no particular order. Some are offering special brunches and others are opening up special for the day.

Glasbern Inn

Special occasions call for special places to celebrate. Last month was one of those times and I was charged with finding the location. The special occasion was my installation as the President of SKAL of Northeast Pennsylvania.

The Peep Mobile!

It’s that time of year again. You know, Easter. That means the crazy peeps will be out and about and all over YouTube having a wild and crazy time with their childhood besties, the marshmallow Peep!

It’s pretty cool that these famous treats are made right here in Lehigh Valley. And, it is even cooler that this is their 60th Anniversary Year. Way to go Just Born!

jim thorpe clock tower

Located just north of Lehigh Valley lies the lovely, little town of Jim Thorpe. I recently spent a Friday night in town and had a great time. We started at Trattoria on Route 903. This Italian restaurant just opened its second location and it’s much larger than the original, and offers the same great food.

Tasty Talk in the Official Visitors Guide

Well look no further than Discover Lehigh Valley’s Official Visitors Guide!

It doesn’t matter if you are living locally or coming to Lehigh Valley to visit, this guide is a must have resource and we’ve got 250,000 copies to move out of here. I have had the pleasure (and pains) of putting together this 56-page magazine annually for the last 12 years. It is chockfull of information about Lehigh Valley. All-in-all there are 130 attractions, 54 shops, 92 restaurants, 44 coupons, 70 places to spend the night and over 50 events listed to choose from.

Also included are …

cupcake bowl1

Sometimes things just roll the right way and you get lucky in life. That happened to me just last week as I was chosen to be one of the four official judges (there was also the “People’s Choice Awards”) to cast my vote on the “Best Frosting,” “Best Cake,” “Best Decoration,” and “Best Overall Combo” at the Inaugural ArtsQuest™ Cupcake Bowl. I do have a background in judging food competitions and competing in cake decorating contests, and I have a degree from the Culinary Institute of America which kind of gives me the chops to judge this event, but I have never done cupcakes before. I’m also a super huge fan of Cupcake Wars, well anything on the Food Network or Cooking Channel for that matter.

So, the morning of December 29, I prepped my stomach with a banana and water and headed to ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks along with 425 others, to this sold-out event. There were 15 Lehigh Valley bakeries that participated with some entering three selections. All-in-all there were 39 cupcakes to try! Ahhhh … bliss AND sugar high AND then crash AND burn.

Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me A fine piece of jewelry from Cleo’s Gallery.

Ok, you get the idea. I’m not going to make you read the whole song, so here is my Twelve Days of Lehigh Valley gifts I’d like to receive boiled down for your reading pleasure …

Bethlehem Main Street lights

Wow! I just realized that in 15 days Thanksgiving will be here. Even crazier is that in just 16 days one of our local radio stations usually turns to all Christmas music until the holiday has passed. I happen to absolutely love holiday music. It makes me happy.

When I think about it and all the wonderful things Lehigh Valley has going on during this time, I am truly blessed to live and work in a region that has a town known as Christmas City, a.k.a. Bethlehem.

Golf Continues in Lehigh Valley through fall

This is one of my favorite times of the year.

The fall spells so many things for Lehigh Valley. There’s The Haunt at Dorney Park, Celtic Classic, plenty of apple picking, and of course, the best fall golf around.

The Dukes of September

Give her some funked up music, she treats you nice. Feed her some hungry reggae, she’ll love you twice. The girls don’t seem to care tonight, as long as the mood is right, and it sure was Wednesday night at Musikfest in Bethlehem. The Dukes of September, a.k.a. Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald (originals from Steely Dan) and Boz Scaggs (origingal from the Steve Miller Band), and nine others, took the main stage for a great performance.

The crowd was a little light with a little over 4,000 people, for these legends that played 25 hits including songs from James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Doobie Brothers and Sly and the Family Stone, amongst originals from Steely Dan. Check out this short video clip I took for a sample of their harmonies.