PA Rt. 30 commuters may be familiar with this Rivertowne location, just inside the Westmoreland County line. The Pub & Grille, one of three Rivertowne locations, has a lot to offer with a wide selection of appetizers and a nice variety of beer on tap and bottled. Some of the best spinach & artichoke dip you will find in the Pittsburgh area can be had here.

 Penn Alps Restaurant offers history and a hearty homestyle meal. Located on the National Pike (Route 40) it’s a great destination for a day trip or a pleasant stopping point for a meal when traveling. My parents have made this a regular stop on many trips to and from northern Virginia. We finally managed to join them for a meal there on a recent trip up from Virginia ourselves.
The restaurant and craft shop are in the last log hospitality house still providing meals for travelers on the National Pike. It …

Travelling a lot for work can sometimes do some serious damage to your waistline if you’re not careful. When I travel, I prefer to find restaurants that are local and non-chain establishments. Otto’s Pub in State College fits the bill. As an added bonus, they strive to use as much locally grown product as possible.
Otto’s has a bar area with several TVs, outside seating and two main dining areas. They also brew their own beer, with selections changing seasonally. Parking can be a problem on weekends and Tuesday trivia nights, …

The Jukebox Cafe is a local favorite in Boyertown, PA.

Let’s say that you just won a nice little jackpot at the new Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA.  What to do with the winnings?  Here’s an idea – have a delicious, decadent dinner at Emeril’s Chop House restaurant, located right off of the casino floor.
I’ve never been to any of Emeril Lagasse’s other restaurants before, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when my significant other’s parents said that we had a reservation there this past weekend.  The décor is very fitting with the rest of the casino, which …

I regularly visit Max & Erma’s for lunch on the days that I find myself working from home. While being a national chain, each restaurant has it’s own “hometown feel” and offers specials and promotions that aren’t available nationwide.
Both their lunch and dinner menus offer a wide variety of salads, appetizers, sandwiches and entrees. The restaurant is well known for their burgers and warm chocolate chip cookies. They even have a customer loyalty card, called “Good Neighbors Rewards”. It allows you to save money on every visit, as well as …

For something different, I decided to stop for dinner at The Hop House located on Babcock Boulevard in the North Hills (they also have a Greentree location on Noblestown Road).  Many Pittsburghers may know of the North Hills location by its former name, the Barking Shark.

I’ve passed Oishii Bento (the yummy lunchbox) hundreds of times and not gone in but I finally managed to find them not crammed full of students and popped in the other day for bento  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bento .
Actually something had my mind on bento all day so I had already printed out their menu at http://www.oishiibento.com  so I could get in and out with my Spicy Pork Bulgogi Bento. Additionally, the website is as clean and friendly as the restaurant- something you don’t always experience.
I was delighted to find the restaurant clean …

A little secret – if you go to Seviche, sort of a Latino sushi bar nestled in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, they’ll roll out the red carpet if you tell them it’s your first visit. Even if it’s not. They won’t care. Any excuse for more fun.
Located at 930 Penn Ave., Seviche offers a taste of Cuba and Miami in a Pittsburgh-friendly sort of way. Plenty of beautiful people, sure, but also several regular folks like us. One night we were there, the manager’s parents were there from the …

I’m a great fan of indian cuisine and while my own home cuisine certainly isn’t restaurant-quality, every time I find a good indian restaurant I find myself getting creative in the kitchen. Coincidentally my workplace just moved to Lawrenceville and luckily A Taste of India http://www.lawrencevillecorp.com/directory/businessPage.php?business_id=206  is nearby.
  You might not think anyone is home behind all the window signs in this little restaurant tucked right in on Penn Avenue but as I found out the other day in the midst of a gray rainstorm, A Taste of India is …