Hey there -- We're always looking for good food around the area -- a challenging adventure, not without its penalties and rewards. At the top of the list right now is a breakfast 'joint' in Bethlehem on Broad Street called Hacks. They open at 6:30 am weekdays and 7:30 weekends. The owner/cook provides the best in traditional American breakfasts, in line with the coffee shops cabbies flock to in NY -- eggs and bacon to perfection; tender pancakes; outmeal with fresh fruit and real maple syrup. If you arrive late, you'll have to wait for the tables to turn over or sit at the counter. The place holds about 6 at the counter and has maybe seven tables that seat a max of 3 persons each. Good music too. If you care for vegetarian bordering on macrobiotic, try the Green Cafe, a food co-op on 4th St in south Bethlehem. Not to everyone's taste, but very good food of this type and it's like stepping back into the 60s. Another idea is to drop in at the Farmer's Market in Allentown on the fairgrounds. Good barbeque stand on site, and Mountain View Poultry has organic chicken and pork (the bacon is heavenly) to cook at home. There's also a new place on the main Street in Hellertown. If you're coming down 412, it would be on your right in the center of town. If memory serves, it's called Zabower's, but you'll know the building because the sign above the window says "greatestfoods.com". They often look closed but inside there's alot of consumption of things like beets stacked with goat cheese going on. Bring your own wine and be prepared for a meeting of careful German food with nouvelle cuisine. Good atmosphere -- amazing what they've done with minimal natural resources in the architecture -- decorated with their collection of vintage mixers. The guys who own it are terrifically nice, and they have a real 'pioneer' attitude making a go of it in Hellertown. (If you can't find wine where you are in PA, take a trip to Milford or Stockton NJ along the Delaware. The Milford market, more northern of the two, has a very respectable selection. Phillips in Stockton has everything you could want.) We're still prowling around Bethlehem, Allentown and Easton (though we live in Upper Bucks). Do you know the Boyd movie theater in Bethlehem on Broad Street? There's a sprinkling of restaurants along Broad west of Main. We lean toward casual, spicy or eccentric so we haven't tried them yet, but they could be just fine. If you want to take a ride south, there's always Cucina del Sol (reasonably priced and yummy Mexican) and the hotel near the river (more upscale) in Frenchtown. Happy adventures in eating! Please post any great 'finds'!
