Celebrate Allentown
September 13, noon-8 p.m.
800 and 900 blocks of Hamilton
I've always said (to anyone willing to listen) that what the Lehigh Valley needs is a real food festival -- our unique version of Taste of Chicago. After all, the people in this area love to eat. And in the 15 years their tastes have moved, well, beyond scrapple.
Finally, it appears that someone has taken the lead. The City of Allentown will host Celebrate Allentown on September 13. The event will feature ethnic food, lively music, interactive fun, performances, cooking demos and more along a two-block area downtown. This is a good start. Ultimately, I could envision a Mayfair-sized ethnic food festival in Cedar Beach. Think of all the ethnic cuisines in the city that could be represented: Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican, Latin, Chinese, Turkish, Greek, Middle Eastern, Italian, Japanese -- heck, even some Pennsylvania Dutch.
What a wonderful way to celebrate the diversity of Allentown. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend. If anyone is able to go, I'd welcome a guest blogger here to share the experience with others.
(Thanks to Vanessa at The After Work Chronicles for passing this along.)
Monday, September 01, 2008
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13 comments:
Just the other day I was thinking about the great variety of ethnic eats we have here. We're really lucky. I hope to get to that festival.
Just an FYI-I have been looking for decent Chinese food in the Valley for some time. Recently i came across a restaurant called Asia located on Susquehanna Street in Salisbury. From the outside it looks like an old dive bar, but inside it appears to be an upscale Asian eatery. The food wasn't quite on par with something you could get in any Chinatown USA, but it was head and tails above the competition here in the valley.
http://www.dineindie.com/Asia
I've seen that place. It used to be a dive bar that served bar food. Thanks for sharing the find. Anyone been there? Regarding other Chinese places, you may want to try Tsang's Bistro on Walbert Avenue near Allentown -- where Akita used to be. I had a ginger bok choy dish that was outstanding. Pleasant decor, too. I'm hoping to make it back there soon for a report.
Just went to Asia the other day and had the Pine nuts shrimp and scallops and my mother had the Thai peanut chicken. Both dishes were overun with intolerablysweet sauces which ruined what would have been otherwise nice flavor combinations. After the meal, the hostess (who was not our waitress) informed us that we could have had the dishes with other sauces -- which would have been nice to know before we ordered. Perhaps they should put that on the menu and/or inform the wait staff to tell customers.
Just went to Asia the other day and had the Pine nuts shrimp and scallops and my mother had the Thai peanut chicken. Both dishes were overun with intolerably sweet sauces that ruined what would have otherwise been nice flavor combinations. After the meal, the hostess (who was not our waitress) informed us that we could have had our dishes made with other sauces -- which would have been nice to know before we ordered. Perhaps they should put that on the menu and/or inform the wait staff to tell customers of this.
P.S. Best Chinese in the Valley must be either Eastern Palace (on Linden St. in Bethlehem) or Hunan Springs.
Has anyone eaten at Bay Leaf in Allentown?
The Bayleaf is fabulous, but not Chinese. It's more Thai/fusion. Definitely upscale. Worth the trip to downtown Allentown.
Eastern Palace changed ownership--the old owners are now at JJ Wongs in the new Lowes complex on Freemansburg Ave
I hear that tonight is Malasian Night at House of Chen in downtown Allentown, on Hamilton Street between 7th and 8th (South Side of the street).
When did Eastern Palace change ownership? Is it still as good as it was a few years ago?
Re Bay Leaf - I go there once every two or three years and it is consistently excellent. I've always characterized the food as Thai-influenced continental cuisine. In fact, The Bay Leaf has probably been one of the most consistent restaurants in the Lehigh Valley during the past 15 years.
Re Eastern -- I've only eaten there once since the change in ownership. The decor and menu appeared to be the same. The food was the same as I remember it.
I just had dim sum at Eastern Palace with 2 friends this past Sunday. We had 8 different dishes and all were good. I have had better dim sum, but this was still very good and I think this is the only place in the valley. Plus, it is well worth the very low price per dish.
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