Andy Perugino's - Tilapia in a Beurre Blanc Sauce

Andy Perugino's

258 Charles St., Luzerne

570.288.5337

The NEPA Taster has arrived in the Wilkes-Barre area (Kingston to be exact)!  The last few months have been super busy studying for a big test, taking said test, and then moving out of my house in Scranton and setting up shop down here in Kingston.  Did ya miss me?  Hopefully, I will now be able to return to about a post-a-week schedule.  I'll certainly miss my green ridge pizza meatball subs, the burrito's at Chicano's, and the coffee and chicken salad pita from Zummo's.  More importantly I'll miss the friends that I shared those meals with who are staying in Scranton or moving elsewhere throughout NEPA.  But the move offers a chance to try new subs, new burrito's, and new coffee places.  Additionally, there are some old friends who I'll certainly get a chance to know better.  While moving is certainly a pain at times, I really enjoy the excitement of a new place and the change in routine that goes along with it.  Anyway, this isn't a dear diary blog so on to the food...   

Monday night after an exhausting day of driving back and forth from Scranton, unpacking, and tracking down a desk on Craigslist (which turned out to be a steal IMHO) one of my new roommates and I decided we badly needed some food.  With both of our stomachs rumbling and glycogen stores running on low we had neither the will nor the mental capacity to think clearly about where we wanted to eat.  So we loaded up Yelp, entered our address and headed to the first place open on a Monday night.  This led us a few blocks away to Andy Perugino's.  

The restaurant had a classic feel with dim-lit lighting, an older crowd, a handwritten specials chalk board, and flowers and a candle at every table.  Very romantic for two sweaty dudes looking for some chow.  The seating area was pretty ginormous with just few tables occupied

Amber - Indian Deliciousness

3505 Birney Avenue, Mossic PA 18507

570.344.7100

“Birthdays was the worst days …Now we sip champagne when we thirst-ay”

As a full time student and only a part time food critic, unfortunately, I cannot drink champagne whenever I am thirst-ay.  However, birthdays are still birthdays and an appropriate break from studying and discussion of future exams should be taken when they do come around.  And we still gotta eat right???  The birthday boy requested Amber so we loaded up the cars, vowed not to discuss Asperigillus fumigatus or hypoparathyroidism and drove south.  

We got there while the sun was still high in the sky for the seniors dinner hour

They started us off with some crackers "papad" served with two types of chutney.  A green chutney "hari chutney" and a red chutney "imli chutney".  I preferred the green chutney which had a strong but not overwhelming minty flavor.  An amateur Indian food eater like myself did have to take extra precaution because the crackers are not very absorbent and the chutney is not very viscous.  The combination is dangerous and

Cosmo's - Cheese Steak

532 Moosic Street, Scranton, PA 

570.341.5100

For some reason Cosmo's identity as a cheese steak shop seemed to elude me for an embarrassingly long time.  Quickly glancing at the large brick building with massive signs on the second floor and lots of neon lighting, I was under the impression that Cosmo's was either a sports bar or some sort of adult arcade (a la a poor man's Dave and Busters).  

A friend, also from the Philly area, let me know that Cosmo's in fact serves a half decent cheese steak.  He was dead on and since discovering Cosmo's, we have had steaks at least once a month.  On my last trip I went with my usual whiz-with + mushrooms ($7.25).  I like to add a lil ketchup and splash of hot sauce.  

 

The bread is soft, the peppers on the side very spicy, and just the right amount of whiz.  While its not Jim's or John's Roast Pork, its still a very nice sandwich and I recommend if you are looking for a cheese steak in Scranton. 

As always love to hear others thoughts or recommendations for a new place.  Stay hungry NEPA...

Thai Thai - Yummy Lamb

309 N. Washington Ave, Scranton 

(570) 963-7745

There's a new player in the world of Thai food in downtown Scranton.  A niche, once comfortably occupied by only Thai Rak Thai, has just doubled its occupancy.  During the last week in March, Thai Thai opened  a mere block and a half away.  The ownership of Thai Thai seems to be doing something right with other locations in Stroudsburg, Wilkes-Barre, Bethlehem and Emmaus.  They now add legitimate competition to TrT in the BYO market here in Scranton.  

In comparison to TrT, it is immediately evident that TT has a more formal vibe.  The lights are a little bit dimmer, the servers are more attentive and serious, and sure enough the prices a little higher.  A quick comparison shows about a dollar higher prices in the pad thai $12 , the drunken noodle $12, the curry dishes $14, and the lunch specials $8. 

I decided to be a little adventurous and diverge a little from my usual Thai orders (thai spring rolls and either a green curry or beef drunken needle).  I quickly found a partner to split an appy and went for the Hoy Jor (crab rolls) $8 and then after a good 10 minutes of indecision I flipped a mental coin and went with the Yummy Lamb $24. 

Carmella's Pastries - Carmella's Pepper Shooter

106 N. Main Avenue, Scranton, PA 18504
570.969.2112

After receiving a glowing recommendation of Carmella's on Main street from my landlord, I decided to check it out and pick up some take out for a nice afternoon treat.  As I approached the store, I took out my iPhone and quickly snapped a photo. Here is the result: 

Cara Mia's - Portabella Sandwhich

570.344.6608

210-212 East Drinker Street, Dunmore

Just as Aristotle had Plato, Young had Montana, Harry had Dumbledore and Luke had Obi-Wan, I too have someone who has enlightened me about the secrets of my craft.  He has been an inspiration and a major influence in my passion for blogging about food. 

Magnificently done.  The Food Reviewer is clear and to the point, without missing any of the key aspects of his review.  With his facial expressions alone I can almost taste that gusher exploding in my mouth.  Anyway, on to the review...

This morning I went to one of my favorite Saturday sandwich shops; Cara Mia's in Dunmmore.  The hours are a little strange at Cara Mia's so be sure to check if it's open.  (I am now learning that the hours are in fact:  Tue + Wed:11-3, Thur and Fri 11-7, Sat: 10-4, and Sun/M: Closed).

Chicano's Restaurant - Burritos and Tacos

427 Cedar Ave, Scranton, PA 18505
570.955.5219

After just a few posts I have already received some pretty harsh criticism. Here are a few of the more kind examples. "Stop going to just pizza places." "Put more pictures up." "Spend more than $6.50 on dinner, cheapskate." And my favorite "Get an editor, you write like a 4th grader." I'll do my best to address a few of these, but as far as spending more money and learning to write good, don't hold your breath.


Anyways, after a long day yesterday it just felt like a burrito day. Wanting to go somewhere authentic and trying to avoid chains, we decided on Chicano's. After heading south and crossing the train tracks, we arrived at the restaurant. This is a new location for Chicano's which used to be located in a residential neighborhood. It now has more of a diner feel and less of a sitting in someone's kitchen feel (which I enjoyed). But what it loses in charm, it makes up for in easier parking and more tables.

Gabriele's Pizza - Chicken BBQ and Cheesesteak Pizza

570.558.1010
801 N Washington Ave, Scranton PA 18509

Mom, I swear I don't only eat at pizza places.....

With its North Washington Ave location, I must have driven passed this place over a hundred times.  For whatever reason I never gave it much of a thought, but tonight while we considered where to grab dinner this place seemed perfect.  While I do love Electric City Pizza for a slice it was nice to try someplace new.  Gabriele's is located across from Cooper's and has an attached coffee shop, Cafe Beignet.  We were the only people in the restaurant at 7pm on a Sunday, but a few people did come in to pick up.  The congealed premade pizza-by-the slice did not seem so enticing and because there were three of us we decided to order a pie.  We decided on half chicken BBQ and half cheese steak ($14.99).  As we waited for the pie, we checked out the decor.  They had a few seats downstairs but also a wooden staircase leading up to a second floor overlooking the pizza ovens and downstairs seating.

Green Ridge Pizza - Meatball Parm

570-344-7873

2103 Boulevard Ave Scranton, PA 18509

 
This establishment is located just a few blocks from my house and I was sure to try it out within a few weeks of moving in.  As you drive by this place it looks like a brick box built in the middle of an abandoned parking lot.  It looks more like a place used to store old lawn mowers and fertilizer and less like a pizza shop.  Not that this is a bad thing, just saying..Anyway, I started with the pizza and was very underwhelmed.  This was over a year ago, and I haven't ordered pizza from there since, but I remember it being square and bland. Tasted more like frozen pizza from the supermarket.  But as I said that was a long time ago and I only tried it once so take the rec'd for what its worth.  On to the main event.

The First Post

What qualifications do I have to write a blog about the local eateries in NEPA (Northeastern Pennsylvania) you ask?

Here's the qualifications I certainly don't have. I have never been to culinary school.  I am not a great chef.  I only took one writing class in college (and got duped into the class because it was called Literature and Film, turns out it was 95% literature and 5% film but that's a story for another day). To be honest, I really only have one legitimate answer, I love to eat. "Finish your plate before you go play" was never a phrase my mother had to tell me.  I simply love to eat and I really enjoy most meals.  A few of my favorites are my mother's lasagna and desserts, my dad's chinese cookin, outdoor bbqs, Dim Sum restaurants, sushi, Thai, authentic Mexican, bar food, cheese steaks (I'm a philly kid) etc...

Anyway, I moved to Scranton, PA in August of 2009 and in my time have tried a fair amount of the local restaurants, pubs, corner shops and cafeterias.  Even though Scranton is a relativity small town there are lots of places to eat and I try to eat at lots of different places.  Hopefully, this blog will help me to explore even more places and to stop going to the same places over and over again. I'll try and update a few times a week.  Please leave comments if you disagree with anything I said or would like to suggest a new place to try.  I'll be moving to Wilkes-Barre in June, thus, the NEPA title of this blog. If I keep up with the blog, most of the restaurants I review will likely move along with me.