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Restaurant Round-Up: Chocolate Cafe, Raspberries & Carrabba’s

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 4:06PM

I can only go out to eat so much. Same with Dori. In my case, my waistline and my wallet would both be adversely affected if I went out any more than I do now. In Dori’s case, well, she’s got a young 'un.

With that in mind, we’d like to introduce a new weekly feature, the Spotoblog Restaurant Round-Up. The people who keep Spotobe running on all cylinders love to go out as much as Dori and I do, and we figured the more meaningful information we can put out there, the better. Hopefully this will be one more resource to check out before spending your hard-earned coin on a meal.

We’ll be putting each post under the new Restaurant Round-Up category, and we’ll also create a category for each Spotobeing who submits a review. That way, if you find you tend to like the same restaurants as one of us, you can see every place that person has written about. This week, Madeline weighs in on the Chocolate Café, Dave dishes about Raspberries and Katie gives us the scoop on Carrabba’s. Enjoy: Full Article »

0 Comments Posted in Feedback, Restaurant Round-Up, Dave, Katie, Madeline, Restaurants by Justin Kunkel.
Free Food! For Some of You

Monday, August 25, 2008 9:26AM

I know this applies to a limited number of Spotobe users, but it’s a segment that’s near and dear to my heart. For today only, any of you who were born in the great year of 1983 can get free food at Isaac’s Restaurant and Deli. I’m not talking a free bag of chips with the purchase of a sandwich either, if you were born in 1983, you get a soup or salad, a sandwich, dessert and a drink on the house. Isaac’s is celebrating its 25th birthday, and they are graciously hooking up anyone who turns 25 in 2008. Dine in only. You wouldn’t walk into a party, take a 6-pack out of the fridge and leave, would you? (Wait, don’t answer that).

If you haven’t guessed, that applies to me. 1983 was a great year. Just think what the world would be missing without the birth class of ’83. In addition to my sparkling wit, you’d all be deprived of the devastating changeup of Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, the boozy stylings of Amy Winehouse, the carbon dioxide produced by Nicky Hilton, the poetry of Juelz Santana and the, um, short game of Natalie Gulbis

That would be quite the dinner party, no? Full Article »

0 Comments Posted in Events, News, Restaurants by Justin Kunkel.
Bayou: A New Favorite

Monday, August 18, 2008 1:38PM

Going out to eat these days can be kind of scary. I love that the Internet gives customers a chance to provide instant feedback after a particularly good or particularly bad dining experience. At the same time, if you believed what people online say about most of the restaurants in Central Pennsylvania, you’d spend a lot of Saturday nights cooking for yourself.

Google a restaurant in the area that you’d like to try, and you’ll probably find a review from someone who assures you that they lived in New York/San Francisco/Paris so they know good restaurants and (blank) restaurant is deplorable. If said establishment is ethnic, you might also find a review from someone who tells you that they travel to China/India/Thailand/The South/France/Italy/The North Pole all the time, and that even the farm animals in those places wouldn’t eat the crap pushed by the restaurant you were thinking of going to.

Well, Saturday night, I didn’t feel like cooking, so took my girlfriend and a bottle of Chardonnay to Bayou on 2nd Street in Harrisburg. I’d seen mixed reviews of it online, but I love Cajun food and so I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did. My meal was absolutely spectacular. Honestly. It was brilliant. In fact, it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had in Central Pennsylvania. Full Article »

5 Comments Posted in Feedback, Out & About, Restaurants by Justin Kunkel.
The Great Pizza Taste Test

Friday, August 15, 2008 2:12PM

Sometimes I sit and wonder how many pieces of pizza I’ve eaten over the course of my 24 years and change on this earth. Think about it. How many slices have you eaten? Frightening isn’t it?

Ever since I started working in Harrisburg I’ve been auditioning local pizzerias to be my spot of choice. Health nuts aside, everyone has to have a pizza place. In Boiling Springs, my pizza place is Aniles. In State College, it’s Goppers. In Philadelphia, it’s Big Cheese Pizza (terrible name, I know). Anyway, I haven’t found one in Harrisburg, so I asked some of my co-workers to help me decide who made the best takeout slice within walking distance of Spotobe headquarters.
Full Article »

0 Comments Posted in Out & About, Random, Restaurants by Justin Kunkel.
This Weekend: Musical Mishmash

Thursday, August 14, 2008 2:32PM

I think that Napster, which begat Kazaa, which begat Limewire, which eventually somehow got us to iTunes, has done great things for musical variety. My sense is that everyone who doesn’t live in New York City, Milwaukee or Austin occasionally gripes about their local music scene, but to me, this weekend is the perfect example of how far we’ve come in certain respects. This weekend there are a bunch of different bands playing original music all over the area in a bunch of different genres.

The easy availability of music has allowed people to explore different kinds of stuff that they would never have bothered with before. Today, we have tools like Pandora and iTunes that introduce us to new music all of the time, and as a result, we are more open to trying new things. With that in mind, this weekend is a great opportunity to try new things, because off the top of my head, I know you have the opportunity to listen to Roots Blues, Jam, Parisian String Jazz, Classical Bluegrass and Retro Brit-Pop live in Central Pennsylvania within the next few days. Full Article »

1 Comment Posted in Events, Restaurants, Weekend To-Do's by Justin Kunkel.
Gene Stilp’s Ginger Spice Protest

Tuesday, August 5, 2008 1:19PM

Spice-gate continues. For those of you who aren’t aware, Monday a server and a bartender at Spice were fired after being quoted in a story by reporter Daniel Victor that appeared in the Sunday edition of the Patriot-News. Molly Turner and John Burkholder were asked whether the downturn in the economy had affected the size of their tips, and both answered candidly. When they went to work on Monday, both were informed that their services were no longer required. Early Tuesday morning (12:01am actually, burning the midnight oil eh, Nancy?) the Patriot posted a follow-up story on pennlive.com quoting both about their ouster. Full Article »

0 Comments Posted in We've got photos, News, Restaurants by Justin Kunkel.
Arrivederci (Goodbye) Carmella’s

Monday, July 28, 2008 10:43AM

Less than a year after opening, Carmella’s Trattoria has served its last plate of spaghetti Bolognese. A new restaurant called Sambuca’s will now inhabit its piece of prime downtown real estate.

Carmella’s employee Kevin said that he isn’t completely “in the loop” on the situation, but gave me the vital details including the name change. The restaurant closed for business on Saturday night, and renovations began immediately. Inside, all of the Italian-themed art that covered the walls is sitting on the floor near the front entrance. Red curtains cover the windows and trash cans block the doors. Huge, sparkly stars hang from the ceiling. Full Article »

8 Comments Posted in News, Restaurants by Justin Kunkel.
Simply Turkey on Sabbatical

Monday, July 7, 2008 4:30PM

The Spotobe office is downtown, so we are fortunate to have a wide variety of lunch spots within a short jaunt. When we get a group together, we often go to Strawberry Square, where there is something to accommodate everyone, even my "I feel like a milkshake and Auntie Anne's pretzel bites" days. Many people here are fond of Taco Factory, plus you have the fast food options. Our other favorite has been Simply Turkey & More (bad name, but yummy soups, salads & sandwiches), which is on the lower level near the Market Street entrance. Full Article »

2 Comments Posted in Dori, Restaurants, Harrisburg by Dori Pitzner.
Q&A: Café Fresco Owner Nick Laus

Wednesday, June 25, 2008 1:00PM

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that Café Fresco is probably my favorite restaurant in Harrisburg. I haven’t managed to hit every place in the area since I moved back (I’m working on it, I’m working on it), but of those I have, Fresco stands out. I’m always impressed by the attention to detail shown in both its food and atmosphere. Not surprisingly, when I heard owner Nick Laus was opening Level 2, a new nightspot above Fresco’s downtown location, I was anxious to check it out.

I still haven’t been able to go at night when the place is in full swing, but Nick graciously allowed me to poke around inside one recent afternoon. The interior of the place is absolutely gorgeous, and the attention to detail I always appreciated at Fresco stands out in even greater relief inside Level 2. I sat down with Nick at Fresco during happy hour that evening to ask him about his new business and about his thoughts on the restaurant and nightlife biz downtown: Full Article »

1 Comment Posted in Restaurants, Harrisburg, Q&A's by Justin Kunkel.
From Thailand to Japan in 22.5 Miles and $16 (I Feel Like Rachel Ray)

Thursday, June 19, 2008 10:09AM

As I’m sure you all know, getting anyone in a group of hungry people to actually come right out and pick a restaurant is nigh impossible. After the inevitable hemming and hawing at around 11:30 yesterday, we decided to skip the usual suspects (Keyser Soze!) and head to Bangkok 56 on Paxton Street. I’d never been there before, and I’m glad we went.

From the outside, the place looks underwhelming, but the super-tiny dining room is very pleasant. The tank of cichlids, which went far above and beyond your cliché Asian-restaurant fish tank, was a nice touch.

I wasn’t feeling all that adventurous. I have a decidedly sketchy stomach and I wasn’t even half way through the workday, so even though I love spicy food and was tempted by the curries, I went with a simple Kow Pad — fried rice with pork, chicken, tomatoes, onions and scallions. Nothing fancy, but it was really, really good and even with two meats it only coast $8.99. My co-workers/co-diners had a variety of dishes ranging from green curry to pineapple fried rice, and each was similarly impressed. Full Article »

2 Comments Posted in Feedback, Out & About, Restaurants, Harrisburg by Justin Kunkel.
Hit and Miss at Carmella’s

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 4:29PM

Big boss Dori checks in again after lunch at Carmella’s Trattoria. She also gives her second bathroom review in as many posts. I’m beginning to feel as though becoming a parent makes you view restaurants as changing tables that happen to serve food. Frightening. Anyway, here’s what she had to say: Full Article »

4 Comments Posted in Dori, Feedback, Restaurants, Harrisburg by Justin Kunkel.
Did We Mention The Restroom…

Wednesday, June 4, 2008 9:41AM

Spotobe big boss (well, bigger than me boss) Dori P. hit El Sol recently and filed this rather interesting report with the Spotoblog (if my title is “editor” I’m going to talk like one damn it).

I can assure you, this is not a subject with which I have any experience. In fact, just thinking about changing diapers period makes me break out into cold sweats, let alone thinking about doing it in public. Nevertheless, without further ado: Full Article »

2 Comments Posted in Feedback, Restaurants, Harrisburg by Justin Kunkel.