Lehigh Valley InSite

Whitehall's Spice India is here to stay

Back on Labor Day, instead of cooking, we went to Spice India for a midday meal. What a good choice! I don't know if it was a special buffet for the holiday or if they just decided to step it up a bit, but we were blown away by the variety and the quality of the food they presented.

My husband ordered a mango lassi, a mango/yogurt smoothie that's almost like a dessert, and I had the iced tea.

We both opted for the buffet. They had 12 or 13 offerings of hot food, some vegetarian, some with chicken and one with goat meat. There were salad offerings, too, including the dreaded lime pickle, a kind of lentil/flour dumpling in yogurt, and ordinary salad fare.

I only took a little of each thing so I wouldn't get full before I'd tasted it all. The flavors were wonderful and a few dishes included just the right amount of mild burn. The palak paneer, a spinach dish with squares of fresh curd cheese, and the butter chicken, which has an orange sauce, were especially delicious. I have to admit, I was too timid to try the goat.

For dessert they offered both carrot halwa and kheer, a delicious creamy rice-pudding-type dessert. As with every Indian dessert I've ever tasted, they were yummy.

The only complaint I had was that my iced tea was too sweet, but those who have been to India tell me that makes it authentic.

We've seen Indian restaurants in Lehigh Valley like Far Pavillions in Bethlehem and the Raj Palace in Whitehall come and go. But from the number of people who were eating there, even at that odd hour, it looks like Spice India is here to stay. We certainly plan to be frequent visitors!

 

This post was written by Lehigh Valley InSite guest blogger Nancy Wisser, who also writes the Clonehenge blog and contributes to the Weird Nazareth blog.

Halloween fun in Lehigh Valley

It has been a tough 2 weeks for me to blog about experiences in Lehigh Valley. I have devoted much of my resources and energy into closing down the Spectrum in Philadelphia.

It started with Bruce last week and will conclude with Pearl Jam on Friday and Saturday. Saturday, I might actually be at the biggest Halloween party in the country. There is going to be tens of thousands of people tailgating for Pearl Jam and the Phillies game. There are going to be some great costumes in the parking lot. I think this is the 3rd consecutive week I have mentioned these Spectrum shows. Can you tell I am excited? This is like Christmas for me, not Halloween.

Since the Lehigh Valley experience well is dry. I have put together some Lehigh Valley Halloween activities that don’t involve a bar, a lame DJ, or cover band.

On Saturday, Easton has its 17th Annual Scarecrow Fest. I have never been to the Scarecrow Fest, but for 10 bucks you get all the basics to build a scarecrow. Sounds like a good family thing to me.

Another good family event is going on at the Lehigh Valley Zoo. It is called Boo at the Zoo. You can go trick-or-treating around the zoo Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Finally, Allentown has its Halloween Parade 2 p.m. Sunday.

Happy Halloween!

Allentown's West End has a new diner!

Last Saturday morning I was in no mood to cook breakfast - heck, I barely wanted to get out of bed because it was nasty outside - so I made the decision to go out for a nice cooked meal.

When it comes to breakfast in Lehigh Valley, we usually hit the Parkland Restaurant in South Whitehall Township because it is close to where I live. But on Saturday we decided to try the newest diner in town, West Side Diner, on the corner of 19th and Tilghman Sts. in Allentown's west end.

Actually, the diner used to be Saylor's, which I had frequented a lot over the years. But now that it's West Side Diner, the outside has changed quite a bit. The inside, however, was pretty close to how it used to look.

We were seated right away and had a waitress in no time flat. She was very pleasant and efficient, to say the least. Breakfast came before we knew it and was pretty good - no complaints here! I will definitely check it out for lunch and dinner at some point.

I must say, I do love the west end of Allentown. I know the West End Alliance does its best at keeping the area lively and they are doing a great job! Keep up the good work at revamping that section of town.

While I was in the area, I noticed that the Pines Dinner Theatre will be opening in November next to the Fairgrounds Saloon at the corner of 17th and Liberty. Speaking of new business coming to the west end, does anyone know when TC Salon Spa is opening up at the former Shanty restaurant on 19th Street?

Fine photos on display at Dakota Ridge Gallery

I like to think I have an appreciation for all types of artwork, but my favorite has to be photography. This is one of the reasons I am a fan of Dakota Ridge, a fine art photography gallery located in the northern Lehigh Valley locale of Jim Thorpe.

Dakota Ridge is run by photographer Dan Hugos, a friendly man who you'll meet when you first set foot in 9 West Broadway Street, located right across the street from the Mauch Chunk Opera House. He'll gladly let you peruse the various gallery rooms in which the works displayed without a word - the whole purpose behind Dakota Ridge is to provide a location where people can appreciate the art of photography which isn't easy to do if you have someone talking you ear off. But after you've looked, if you want to talk about photography or the picturesque town of Jim Thorpe, he'll be glad to chew the fat for a while.

Last time I visited Dakota Ridge, I was particularly drawn to the work of Matt Dallos, whose featured works in the gallery focused on Pennsylvania forest-scapes. I find that nature shots, particularly of water, are incredibly soothing to me - Slipstream quickly became one of my favorite photos in the entire gallery. Then I saw the quiet majesty Matt captured in his photo of Mount Nittany shrouded in fog (and for which my beloved Penn State Nittany Lions were named for). If only I had the wall space ...

Before I left Dakota Ridge for the day, I noticed some very intriguing photos filled with sparks and fire. They were photos taken of the late, great Bethlehem Steel plant while it was still in operation. The Bethlehem-based photographer, Peter Treiber, even put out a book (which Don did have at the gallery) of these iconic images.

Don's Web site for Dakota Ridge is being updated as I write this, but the basic info like hours still holds true.

Do you have a favorite Lehigh Valley art gallery?

Bat Boy - The Musical

One of the cool things about living in Lehigh Valley is the fact that we are home to so many colleges and universities with great theater departments. Friday night, Don and I had the opportunity to catch "Bat Boy - The Musical" at Muhlenberg College.

I knew nothing about this show other than the fact that it was a musical comedy. Sounds good to me, I love musicals where the cast suddenly breaks into spontaneous song and dance. It's so surreal. I sat down expecting "Oklahoma"...I walked out thinking "Rocky Horror."

This campy, cult-like show was very well executed by the cast, many of which deliberately change characters mid-scene, adding to the laughs. The bizarre plot had me wondering at first, but a short time into the story of the Parker family and the bat boy, I was hooked. The next day I found myself surfing the web to learn more.

Turns out, a 1992 story in the Weekly World News about a half-bat, half-boy found in a cave inspired the book. In spite of the absurdity of the premise, some serious topics are brought to light in a tongue-in-cheek, amusing manner.

As I mentioned, the entire cast did a phenomenal job, but I did have some favorites. Jeramie F. Mayes' opening scene as bat boy made me think the combination was possible. And, Gabriel Martinez as Mrs. Taylor/Roy/Rev. Billy Hightower/Institute Man ... what can I say?  He stole the show!

This production only runs until November 1st, so get your tickets soon. I'd love to hear your thoughts on "Bat Boy - The Musical."

Lock Ridge Iron Furnace is Recognized

A couple of weeks ago I went to the unveiling of the official state historical marker commemorating Lock Ridge Iron Furnace in Alburtis. Lock Ridge Furnace was the last furnace in the U.S. to solely use anthracite coal as fuel. 

The remnants of the 1868 Lock Ridge Iron Furnace, which look a bit like the ruins of a castle, are actually located in a beautiful park. At this time of year with the leaves changing, it is a great opportunity to see some history and enjoy fall foliage at the same time. You can also visit some of the merchants in the business district of Alburtis while you are there. 

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission administers the historical marker program throughout the state. The Lock Ridge Iron Furnace/Alburtis marker is the 31st site in Lehigh County; there are 69 sites in Northampton County. That's a total of 100 sites in Lehigh Valley. How many have you seen?

Lehigh Valley: Ground Zero for the 2009 World Series

With the Phillies already in the World Series and the Yankees well on their way, we are sitting at Ground Zero for the World Series. Lehigh Valley is located just over an hour from Philly and about an hour and a half from NYC. (Of course those driving times are without traffic figured in; you could be 3 hours away from either of them depending on driving conditions.)

Lehigh Valley is where oil and vinegar mix because there is a very strong fan base for both teams here. In fact The Lehigh Valley Yankee Fan Club is the largest in the country. I have no allegiance to either of these teams - I'm a Mets fan (please take a few seconds to compose yourself after all the laughing you just did before continuing). I actually have a deep hatred for both the Phillies and the Yankees. But as a baseball fan in Lehigh Valley, you couldn't ask for a better World Series. If you had the time and money to do so, you could probably go to every game. Lehigh Valley also gets Philly and NYC local news coverage. It should be interesting to observe both sides.

I am planning on going out to a local sports bar (Rookies, Starters, PigPen's) during this series just to see how the fans behave. I've seen Eagles and Giants fans together and that isn’t a pretty sight. I'm thinking the interaction between the Phillies and Yankees fans could be better than the games themselves. 

My perfect Sunday in Lehigh Valley

Thinking back on my past Sunday, I can't believe Don and I did so much in one day. For starters, I slept late (yay!). Then we decided to hit a few of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail vineyards; it was Chambourcin Weekend celebrating the grape that grows best in Lehigh Valley.

On the way to our first winery, Vynecrest, we stopped at an open house at the beautiful stone home for sale next to Lucky Strokes on Airport Road. I decided that if I win the lottery, I'll buy it!

Once we got to Vynecrest I found out that owners John and Jan Landis were on a well-deserved vacation. But Sam Landis, in spite of being busy, took time to chat with us. We are definitely serving Vynecrest's Spiced Winter Red with dessert for our annual Christmas Eve dinner.

Next we visited Clover Hill. Kari is the perfect hostess and another fine example of the second generation of winemakers building on their parent's hard work. While we were there, we actually started our Christmas shopping.

We concluded our mini wine trail by visiting Amore. The owner, Gregg, is living proof that if there's a will, there's a way; despite having a fire in their tasting room a few days before, they were up and running with temporary walls set up until the repairs are completed. I was happy to take a few bottles out of their way!

We headed home and took the bikes out for a ride. Afterward, we went to Cafe del Mar for dinner; the food is always excellent there and Kurt, tending bar, keeps everyone entertained.

By 8pm we were back home in time to watch the Phillies beat the Dodgers. A perfect end to a perfect day.

Did you have that much fun on Sunday?

Only in Lehigh Valley: the Martin Guitar Factory Tour

My boss is a huge fan of Martin Guitars. He owns at least five of them and he's been on the free factory tour numerous times (he says it never gets old). So on Friday, he took me to the Martin Guitar factory over in Nazareth to help me fulfill one of my last remaining New Year's resolutions for 2009: Take a factory tour of Martin Guitar.

Our tour guide handed out individual headphones and battery packs for all of us in the group to wear, that way no matter where we were in the tour we could hear what he was telling us, and we were off.

To start, we got to see samples of all the beautiful woods used to create the guitars. Our guide proceeded to explain each step of the guitar-making process to us as we came across that area of the factory. From the bending of the side woods to the different bracing patterns used to enhance the sound to the intricate mother-of-pearl inlay carving. After seeing first-hand the time and attention to detail the Martin employees put into each guitar, it's no wonder they're called artisans.

The tour took about an hour, although I would've liked it to have been a bit longer. Our group was a bit large, so I couldn't always see what the guide was talking about until we were on our way to the next stop on the tour but I didn't want to miss that part either.

Afterward, I received my special factory tour "gift" and headed toward the Martin Guitar museum. Even though I'm not a guitar player, I still appreciated Martin's rich history and beautiful craftsmanship, both perfectly illustrated by looking at the 1,000,000th Martin ever made, which happens to be on display.

Guided tours of the Martin Guitar factory are held Monday through Friday between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., which is why it took me almost an entire year to fit it into my work schedule. But if you are visiting the area, have the day off or can take a long lunch, the tour is certainly worth it. Just ask my boss!

Lehigh Valley ... a music mecca?

No matter how long you live in an area like Lehigh Valley, you can never know everything about it. For example, I was recently doing a little web surfing and came across this Web site. I had no idea there are over 195 clubs and venues that feature live music in Lehigh Valley. I knew there were some - like Mezza Luna and Penn's Peak - but not that many! 

Also during my surf session, I found another Web site that touted Lehigh Valley musicians. They even have a two-disc CD compilation of some of the local bands for sale. And every year those bands vie for one or more of the Lehigh Valley Music Awards (voting for the LVMAs is going on now until October 25; the ceremony will be December 1 at Allentown Symphony Hall).

It would be neat if someone put together a list of all of the famous bands that have played in Lehigh Valley over the years. I know I have seen a few. I am sure the list would be enormous with such great venues from The Great Allentown Fair, State Theatre and Godfrey Daniels to some of the old venues that don't exist anymore like Bill Daniel's Rock Palace and Castle Gardens.

I would have to say that next time you don't think there is anything going on in Lehigh Valley, think again! No matter what type of music you like - folk, rock, country, metal, jazz, blues, hip-hop or punk - I am sure you will find it right here in Lehigh Valley.

Which bands have you seen play in the area? And, what is your favorite venue to see someone play?