Lehigh Valley InSite

Mayflower

Mayflower is a small restaurant located on Broad Street in Bethlehem, a few block down from KNBT and several blocks up from Historic Bethlehem. If you blink, you’ll miss it. Actually, you’ve most likely driven past in a zillion times and have had no clue.

When deciding where to go for lunch today Marc asked, “Have you ever been to Mayflower?” Me: “No.” Marc, “Well that’s where we’ll go!” As he took off in a light sprint – this could have been out of excitement or to dodge oncoming traffic. Turns out they don’t take cards there, so that KNBT came in handy because I never have cash. Yep, no cash on this girl, no sense in trying to rob me. Ever.

Potato Pancake

Last week, I was introduced to Carnegie Deli, located at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem. It has the essence of a great New York City deli, except for one thing: I’m pretty sure their meals are designed for giants, easily some of the biggest in Lehigh Valley. As I sat down, I started noticing sandwiches stacked about a mile high being delivered all around me.

I was going to try and conquer one, but I opted for the “Zorba the Greek” salad instead. Before our meals arrived, we enjoyed some potato pancakes that were about the size of my head and extremely tasty. When my salad arrived, I had to take a minute to assess how I was going to tackle this thing. The fresh veggies, feta cheese, and Greek dressing were absolutely delicious and seemed never ending, to the point where I thought someone was refilling it when I wasn’t looking. To say I had plenty of leftovers is an understatement (and I wasn’t complaining)!

That's Amore

It was my first day as a brand new intern at Discover Lehigh Valley, and it was time for Marc to take me on a driving tour of the area. We started in Bethlehem, and as a newbie to all of the fun in the Valley, I was excited to visit what seemed like a million different places to eat, shop, and be entertained. Unfortunately, there are only so many hours in a day. After my tour, we decided to do lunch at a new Italian restaurant, That’s Amore.

Pepper Steak and Onions

Several times over the past year, I have mentioned my purchase of the Dream Come True Restaurant Calendar. This calendar has provided Erin and I with a great offer at 12 of Lehigh Valley’s best restaurants. December’s featured restaurant was Asia Oriental Cuisine in Allentown.

Erin and I have been dining at Asia for the past 5 years. It quickly became our go to restaurant when we are in the mood for a Chinese meal. This was the case in December when we were deciding where to go for dinner on a rainy evening.

FoodspottingLogo

Instagram has taken off. Foursquare has taken off. And people love to eat. So why is it that more people don’t know about Foodspotting? It’s a simple concept really: (1) Go out to eat. (2) Order something tasty. (3) Take a picture of your meal. (4) Share it with the world on Foodspotting. Simple enough.

To me it sure seems a lot easier when eating out at a restaurant to take a picture of your food, than it does to spend minutes trying to figure out the calorie count. That aside, you can earn titles and badges on foodspotting, thus it is more akin to foursquare. If you eat a lot of sandwiches you can become a sandwich expert. If you eat a lot of salads, a salad expert.

Abe Lopez

This whole week has been “Restaurant Week” in Allentown with participating eateries offering 3 course lunches and dinners at a fixed price. A three course lunch may be a bit much, but I was ready to do my part to support the cause.

Yesterday’s dreary weather didn’t make me want to venture out. Luckily we have two very good options right in our building. After checking out the online menus, I decided to patronize Sangria, one of Lehigh Valley’s many great restaurants to open within the past year.

Best of 2011

I’m not sure about you, but if I had my druthers I would probably spend New Year’s Eve at home and would be fast asleep by midnight. This year was different though in Lehigh Valley. There were major events taking place in the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. Events that even made the major papers including the Peep drop at 5:15 p.m., mentioned in the Wall Street Journal. That’s a huge kudos to Lehigh Valley’s cities and attractions.

 This year I chose to attend the largest of the events that were being held, Allentown’s 250th Anniversary “Bells will be Ringing” Inaugural Gala. The event took place at the Holiday Inn in downtown Allentown. There were about 200 people in attendance for a night of food, libations, dancing AND an outdoor celebration that included the dropping of a faux Liberty Bell, ice carvings, fire dancers, horse drawn carriage rides, music performances and more. Allentown will be hosting events throughout the entire year to promote its semiquincentennial. To find a full list you can visit www.Allentown250.com.

Dragon and Phoenix

Contrary to Kyle Broflofski (from South Park), it’s not that hard to be a Jew on Christmas. In my family, we have one simple tradition and over the years I’ve come to find out that it’s may not just be our family tradition, it may be a Jewish tradition. It’s simple enough, whether or not Hanukkah or Channukah falls on Christmas, we’ll be eating dinner at a Chinese restaurant. This year was the same as last year, which was the same as the year before, we ate at Hunan Springs.

We three Jews of Allentown are, eating Chinese on Christmas. (That rhyme not working so much). So the three of us usually get two entrees to split as well as appetizers and soup. This year went according to script. Sweet and Sour soups all around and Egg Rolls for two of us … nothing too fancy.

Christkindlmarkt 2011

I was having a little trouble getting into the holiday spirit this year so I was glad when Don’s sister Joan and her husband George decided to come up for a December weekend in Lehigh Valley. I’ve been talking about doing most of my Christmas shopping at Christkindlmarkt for years, so of course that would be on our agenda.

We planned on a leisurely dinner at home Friday night since it is a two hour drive from their home in New Jersey. Saturday we left our house relaxed and ready for a full day of activities. Christkindlmarkt was packed, but I have to say everyone was in good spirits, politely yielding to parents with strollers heading to have their children’s pictures taken with St. Nick. Joan was really impressed with the quality of the vendor’s crafts and left with quite a few bags of gifts.

Prime Steak House

This past week, the staff here at Discover Lehigh Valley went out for our annual holiday party. The location chosen was Prime Steak House in Bethlehem, a steakhouse with a very inviting atmosphere and some delicious cuts of meat. Since we were dining at Prime, I had to go with the prime rib … medium rare, of course. It broke my heart to see a few of my coworkers ordering their steaks well and medium well, but apparently they prefer to have the flavor cooked out of their steaks!

We were able to enjoy a delicious meal with plenty of laughs and stories to be told. It’s truly special to work somewhere where my coworkers and I can have a great time and enjoy each other’s company, especially out of the office and after hours.