A few of you have asked me about Tika's, the new restaurant that replaced Tortilla Flat on the corner of Main and Market streets in downtown Bethlehem. Unfortunately, I don't know what to think.
First, the good: the owners seem to be very nice people -- personable, dedicated, enthusiastic. They invested a lot of time and money into the property. The interior has been redone in a orange/green motif. They shifted the bar to the south wall to make the entire floorspace a bit more open. And they added extra tables outside for al fresco dining.
Now the bad: I can't describe for you what type of food they serve. It's all over the place. There are a couple of everyday Mexican dishes -- burritos, quesadillas. There are sandwiches, including a Cuban sandwich. There are salads, though nothing very notable or creative. And there are expensive entrees like strip steak and surf & turf. I had lunch there four weeks ago. Honestly, I can't remember what I had (some kind of sandwich?), though I know it was not bad. It was decent, but unremarkable.
It's a problem when someone asks you, "What type of food do they have?" and you can't answer. They have a little bit of everything, but without the widespread selection of a diner. I don't know about you, but there are times when I'm fixing for a certain type of cuisine: Thai, Middle Eastern, Italian, Hispanic. Tika's falls short in this measure. They would be better off with a distinct menu theme that is underserved in the Lehigh Valley. Maybe Latin fusion. Maybe jazzed up comfort food. Maybe Spanish. Or authentic Greek.
That said, I wish them well. As noted, the owners, Bill and Tika, seem like genuinely good folk. They have an important corner on Main Street in Bethlehem, which needs to keep its momentum. Any thoughts from anyone else who's been?
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13 comments:
The food I had at this place was beyond unremarkable---it was plain awful. I am just amazed by the amount of people I see at this place on any given day. If a sub par restaurant can do that well with that menu, imagine what a Sette Luna or Valenca could do there.
Hello! I wanted to send you an email directly but couldn't figure out how to do it. Thank you for this blog - my husband and I love it.
We live in Emmaus, and did you know that Phenom, the Thai restaurant in Easton, is going to open a restaurant on Main Street in Emmaus? Look on the left side at: http://www.phenomthai.com/. There is a banner hanging on the building - they are taking over the old India Spice at the corner of Main and 2nd Street. My husband heard that they are trying to open within the month.
Best regards, Amy
Welcome back! I was wondering what happened to this blog. There has been lots of Bethlehem restaurant activity and I was looking for updates. I completely agree with your review of Tika’s. I was so disappointed. I had high hopes as I love dinning on both the North and South sides of Bethlehem and they have a great location. I got over there one of the first weekends and was excited about dinning alfresco. The menu was just strange. The choices were all over the place. I can't exactly remember what I ordered, but I think it was called “Key West” salad. What I got was a plate of greens with tomatoes, onions and grilled chicken (a basic house salad with some chicken thrown on top). I did have a good pomegranate margarita. I will probably not go back to eat, but might go back for drinks.
I would have to agree. We were also very excited by the opening of Tika, and were just not impressed at all when we finally got to eat there. They need to pick a cuisine and try to do it well instead of making a mediocre attempt at everything under the sun. I had some sort of chicken wrap - it was very blah, and thinking back, slightly undercooked (not good for chicken). My boyfriend had pulled pork - it was okay. We ordered nachos for an appetizer - made with Cheeze-wiz... I didn't realize you could actually mess up nachos, but somehow they figured out how to. I will not be returning for dinner.
I hope the people from Tika's are reading this. Everyone has been understandably excited about the potential for another good Bethlehem restaurant at at key intersection. Yet without good food and distinctive cuisine, it's going to fall flat. There are too many options in the Lehigh Valley today. Maybe 15 years ago. But not in 2009.
I hope the people from Tika's are reading this. Everyone has been understandably excited about the potential for another good Bethlehem restaurant at at key intersection. Yet without good food and distinctive cuisine, it's going to fall flat. There are too many options in the Lehigh Valley today. Maybe 15 years ago. But not in 2009.
I went to Tika's for lunch yesterday around noon. It was empty when I arrived but within 1/2 an hour a few other tables filled up. I ordered a cheese steak which was ok. It had plenty of meat and cheese and was served nice and hot. It featured their own special steak sauce instead of tomato sauce which is the way we Lehigh Valley folks eat our cheese steaks around here. I would have preferred the tomato sauce.
The waitress was very friendly and helpful and the place had a nice ambiance and appeared to be clean. I think I will go back again.
I agree with the previous observation that they don't really know what their cuisine or theme is based on the menu.
I ate at Tika's during Musikfest and loved it. I just had a taco, but it was one of the best tacos I've had. The shell was fresh and the ingredients were all very fresh, not like some that Mexican restaurants serve. My husband had the chicken burrito and that was excellent also. This from people that used to eat Mexican in LA, CA all the time. Very pleased and will go back soon!
Let's remember that this place was going to be a diner, as reported on here. I am thrilled they made the change, but it sounds like they kept the diner themed menu. I am saddended to hear they offer Cheesesteaks, it really lacks any authenticity. With Thai Thai across the street, and Mama's up the street, you have Thai and Italian covered (not to mention the new Italian place going in the old Bonte shop). Apollo & Edge are more high end, and Brewworks is sort of your pub/chain type place. Starfish has seafood covered.
What is missing?
I'd go for a Cali/Mex type menu. Do things like fresh fish tacos. They need a staple item like this that they could be reknown for.
Thoughts? Let's just re-write a menu on here, since we all want it to succeed.
You're right, KJ. It's just what the owner told me it would be -- nondescript. If you want diner food, you can go to Billy's. I'd opt for upscale diner. Take classic dishes and give them a new twist. The best example I've seen of this is Hash House a go go in San Diego. Check out the menu: http://hashhouseagogo.com/. The pancakes are as big as a plate. The hash is to die for. But the food is accessible and not overly complicated.
Don't get me wrong. I think Billy's is a unqiue twist on dinner food and is one of my favs....
Did you know about the new place going in where Bonte was? They had a stand set up for M-fest. I believe it is called Olio.
Yeah, but if you're going to be a diner, be a diner like Billy's. Don't have diner food and try to add Lobster Thermador and a $30 rib eye and a chicken burrito.
Re Olio -- saw the signs up myself in the former Bonte. They have windows covered so one can't see what's going on. The Express-Times wrote a story here: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2009/08/new_italian_restaurant_coming.html.
(I guess I can't have the scoop on everything.)
I was so excited when this place opened because I missed Tortilla Flat. Unfortunately, it was a big disappointment. While the owners ans staff may be great, the food reminded me of something from a diner (not terrible, but just not the great food you expect to get in downtown Bethlehem). I found out the owners were the former owners of the Lantern (now the Cuban place on Pembroke in Bethlehem). Ate at the Lantern a few times with my kids. Always considered it a decent diner-type place you good bring the kids, with a variety of food for a decent price and you could have a cocktail or beer too. So, now they have Tika's on main where they serve diner-type food more expensively. I just expect more from downtown. What a shame.
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