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.

Best Lehigh Valley Bathrooms

Bathrooms are a necessity of any restaurant, sports venue or entertainment location. And, while they can be an easy afterthought when it comes to decor choice or even design, there are a few restrooms in Lehigh Valley that raise the bar when it comes to, well, bathroom business. Our list of the Top 5 Bathrooms in Lehigh Valley takes into account a variety of factors including, but not limited to, cleanliness, creativity and decor.

Lehigh Valley Pet Peeves

All too often I hear way more negative things about Lehigh Valley then I’d like, especially for a guy who has a career in tourism. Sure, we have our fair share of issues, not unlike many regions and cities our size, but we have a lot of great attractions, restaurants, arts, and cultural events that make our geographic location, in my opinion, second to none.

So here are my top five pet peeves and my discouragement of them.

Yummy mac and cheese!

When I was little, there were few things that excited me more that seeing the blue box of Kraft macaroni and cheese out on the counter, maybe even Stouffer’s if we were feeling fancy that night. From there, we progressed to after-school Easy Mac (I even had my parents mail me a box of Easy Mac when I was studying abroad in London… my English roommates didn’t really understand the appeal).

Copper Lager at PJ Whelihan's

In celebration of Lehigh Valley Beer Week I have created a list of my 5 favorite places to grab a beer in Lehigh Valley.  Each of the bars features a great beer selection on draft and in bottles.

1. The Mint – This former bank has become one of my favorite places to stop for an evening beer.  Their massive beer list includes Rye Beers, Belgian Style Ales, Lagers and so much more.  Some of my favorites include Victory Whirlwind Wit and Troegs Dream Weaver Wheat.
2. Strange Brew Tavern – Looking for a place to relax after a long day, the Strange Brew Tavern is the perfect spot.  This Allentown bar features more than 20 beers on tap and an even larger bottle menu.   The Clown Shoes Clementine and Free Will Citra Pale Ale are highly recommended.
3. PJ Whelihan’s Bethlehem – Whether you are watching the game or getting dinner, Whelihan’s is a great place to grab a beer.  They have great specials including $3.50 Pints of Hoegaarden on Monday and $3.50 Guinness drafts on Tuesday.  I highly recommend the P.J.W. Copper Lager, which is always $4 for a 22 ounce draft.
4. Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery – You can’t go wrong with over 30 beers on tap.  The selection at the Tilted Kilt includes a great mix of local and national options.  The Weyerbacher Last Chance IPA and Victory HopDevil are always great choices.
5. Bethlehem Brew Works – You can’t make a list of bars in Lehigh Valley without mentioning Bethlehem Brew Works.  Their diverse offerings include the Steelworkers’ Oatmeal Stout, Fegley’s ESB and the Valley Golden Ale.  With that being said, my favorites are the Steelgaarden Wit and the Knuckleball.

For those nights that you don’t feel like going out there is always Abe’s Cold Beer in Bethlehem for an awesome selection of 6-packs.   What do you think, who has the best beer selection in Lehigh Valley?

We Love Lehigh Valley

Dear Lehigh Valley,

Happy Valentine’s Day! We love living here and we wanted to share some of our most favorite things about you on this day of romance. So, sit back, relax and we hope you enjoy!

Jonathan Frakes

Sure, Amanda Seyfried and The Rock are big-time movie stars, but, what about some of the lesser known actors and actresses who started out in Lehigh Valley?

It’s not hard to find many talented people who called Lehigh Valley home for a period of time. So, for the sake of brevity and intrigue (since you can tell us who we SHOULD have included) we narrowed our list to five interesting actors or actresses from the area.

The Avett Brothers and Their Beloved Martin Guitars

The history of Nazareth-based C. F. Martin & Co.’s famous players is long and illustrious and… well, a who’s who of musical royalty. From Elvis to Willie Nelson and from Thom York of Radiohead to Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Martin guitars have transcended genre to be beloved by nearly all who play them.

One day, when we’re feeling particularly controversial, we should probably round up the Top 10 Musicians who Play Martin Guitar of All Time. That’s a tall order seeing that Gene Autry and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam are also Martin fans.

I can't wait to do these again

Everything old is new again and the “same old, same old” is not humdrum. Sometimes attractions and events that happen each year are the most fun Lehigh Valley things that I want to do again this coming year.

April 4th, 2013 is Opening Day for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Last season, our ‘Pigs fell short of replicating their playoff run of 2011, but they were in the hunt until the very end. Meaningful baseball down the stretch starts with a good April and I’ll be there again to cheer them on.

Top 5 LV Zoo Animals

The Lehigh Valley Zoo is open year round. In fact, some of the animals there are more active in the winter. See, some animals get pretty lazy in the summer months, what with the copious amounts of warm sunlight going around. According to the Zoo, the animals are generally more active in the winter months and exhibit behaviors that are rarely seen during the spring and summer.

Besides, have you driven up to Lehigh Valley Zoo and the Trexler Game Preserve lately? The drive itself, through some of the more beautiful Lehigh Valley landscapes, is enough to warrant getting out and about during the winter.