Lehigh Valley InSite

Sands welcome

For the past couple years we’ve all been hearing about the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem opening in Lehigh Valley. Well, on Monday I was among those invited to attend their first of two test-run openings. I felt like I scored a golden ticket to see Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!

I’m not one to frequent Atlantic City’s casinos and only went to Vegas once. Until the other day, playing slot machines brought to mind crowded aisles, rolls of quarters, dizzying carpet patterns and dirty hands from handling coins. Not any more - ”My Sands” is different!

Helen thomas courtesy of wfmz dot com

In 2004, Kurt Vonnegut gave the commencement address at Lehigh University. Even though I'm a fan of his work, especially his essays, I didn't go hear him speak. But I should have. Three years later, Vonnegut passed away.

In early April, The Morning Call reported that Helen Thomas was due to give the commencement address at Penn State Lehigh Valley. Knowing that she's in her late 80s, I immediately emailed the folks at PSLV to see if the event was open to the public - I wasn't about to miss another potentially great speaker.

Nonpareils

My mom was recently diagnosed with diabetes. She has been trying to manage it with diet, but she also has to take some pills each day to control it. This is a hard task for my mom because she LOVES sweets! Give her a piece of chocolate and she will be your best friend for life.

So, for Mother's Day this year I decided to head to Josh Early Candies in Allentown for some of their sugar-free chocolate as a treat for mom.

Celtic Classic - Parade of the Tartans

Celtic Classic in Bethlehem each September is one of my favorite Lehigh Valley festivals. While I’m not Irish, I love the music and food from the Emerald Isle (okay, maybe not haggis), and I attend almost every year. My favorite part is the Showing of the Tartans parade down Main Street.

When I recently found out that the non-profit organization that puts on the event, Celtic Cultural Alliance, had taken one on the chin due to severe rain and flooding at the 2008 festival, I was concerned that there might not be a 2009 event.

Five-guys

On Saturday evening, Casey and I were watching "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives" on the Food Network. The episode was all about burgers, so I instantly got hungry for the world-famous In-N-Out Burger. But since I wasn’t hanging out in the O.C. over the weekend, I had to improvise. I came up with a Five Guys/Friendly’s combo.

Five Guys has great burgers and fries, but they are missing a very important piece to the puzzle. The all mighty chocolate shake goes a long way in the world of burgers and fries. It separates mediocre burger joints from greatness. Luckily I had a better than mediocre idea.

Holy Basi Duck

I did not grow up in Lehigh Valley PA. Where I lived, pizza was considered ethnic food. With Dad being a “meat & potatoes” kinda guy and Mom not about to cook two meals every night, I didn’t even try shrimp until I was 11 and clams at 16. My first Chinese restaurant experience was at a place that doesn’t even exist anymore!

Now, of course, I’m making up for lost time and welcome the chance to try any new food. So when I heard a new Thai restaurant, Thai Thai II, had moved into the old Chamber of Commerce office in Bethlehem, I couldn’t wait to try it!

HopsLogo

Five or six years ago, I bartended at the Fogelsville Hotel, home of the biggest and best quesadillas on the planet! Since that time, new owners took over and some serious changes have occurred, making it one of my favorite Lehigh Valley restaurants.

First change:the name. It’s now called Hops Fogelsville Hotel.

Penn's Peak Interior

Saturday night turned out to be a blast. I went to Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe, just north of Lehigh Valley, to see the awesome Led Zeppelin tribute band Get the Led Out (GTLO). I've seen a few shows at Penn's Peak, including Asia, Dave Mason, the Little River Band and now GTLO twice. Because of the venue alone, I'd definitely go see them again!

Some of my favorite things about seeing a concert at Penn's Peak include:

Easton farmers market

Lehigh Valley is fortunate to be home to several great seasonal farmer’s markets. And much to my delight the Easton Farmers’ Market opened for the season last Saturday. If you’ve never been, you really should check it out.

I like the fact that this farmers’ market is a growers market, so when I shop there I know I’m buying from local people who make and/or grow what they sell.

Liberty

Remember my post from a couple of weeks ago when I talked about the unfortunate fire at Liberty Street Tavern? Well, fortunately they opened back up last Friday.

My fiancée Casey finally got to experience taco night on Tuesday, even though she had a cold and was congested. I even suggested loading up a taco with hot sauce, hoping that it would clear her up a little, but that didn’t work. She only had a taste, but I took full advantage of their “2 for $5″ taco deal, so it wasn’t a complete loss. She can’t wait to go back next Tuesday solely based on how good they looked.