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.