Hitting the road? Ask questions about dining out anywhere, and post your trip reports here!
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MarieP

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Good and bad dining experiences in southwestern PA

by MarieP » Fri Jun 21, 2013 10:03 pm

We one bad food-related scenario happen on our road trip to southwestern PA, which I'm happy to say was somewhat of a fluke in an otherwise very enjoyable vacation! The town we stayed in was very small- Confluence, PA, wit a population of 834. My dad was in a chainsaw carving festival in the neighboring town of Addison (pop. 214). If you're in that area, I'd recommend Sister's Cafe for lunch (or an early dinner- restaurants close around 7 there!) They had a very good open-face meatloaf sandwich with gravy- ask for the homemade bread! My slice of oatmeal walnut pie was also delicious. After lunch, walk over to the bike rental shop and head on the bike route toward Ohiopyle (love saying that, lol!) Very serene!!!

After that very positive report, on with the negative... We stayed down the street from a restaurant called The Lucky Dog Cafe. It was open "late," and we'd just missed the 6:30 closing of a barbecue place. We wanted to get something to-go, and Lucky Dog's Facebook page said that was available. So, my mom, aunt, and I walked down to the restaurant. The place was about half full, with the majority of diners out on the patio- many of whom just had drinks. My mom asked for a to-go menu, and she was told they don't fill to-go orders when they're "busy." My mom protested that they were only half full, and she was told that they could fill an order but "we can't tell you how long it will take." To which my mom replied, "So you're saying you won't serve us unless we sit there and order drinks.' She was met with a blank stare.

We left- too bad because the food actually looked pretty good- the Greekster had appealed to me, a hamburger with tomato, cucumber, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese. My mom makes some really good Greek turkey burgers, and hers are probably better ;-) We got the car and drove to Sisters, but they were closed. We skipped checking Riverside Cafe and Bed & Breakfast, which, from their website, was in the $20-30 range, and, when I called, I got a message that said if I wanted to make reservations at the restaurant to leave a message! No other restaurant was open! So we returned and told our story and ate ham and cheese sandwiches. On principle :-)

Didn't know if anyone else has experienced something similar!
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Robin Garr

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Re: Good and bad dining experiences in southwestern PA

by Robin Garr » Fri Jun 21, 2013 10:06 pm

Marie, thanks for both your posts from your recent trip! You obviously spent time and effort on crafting your reports, and it shows.
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Richard S.

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Re: Good and bad dining experiences in southwestern PA

by Richard S. » Tue Sep 03, 2013 2:08 pm

Sorry to be late to the party, but I just saw this. I drove to NYC a few weeks back through Pennsylvania. I grew up in New Jersey and really wanted to eat the Dutch food I remember as a kid, but unfortunately the interstate system is designed to trap you and direct you to the food-court style travel plazas. I don't know if they're all gone or we just made a poor choice in routes but we didn't see anything at all in terms of Dutch food.
For those who complain about impending tolls to get across the river, it cost $28.50 to drive the length of Pennsylvania, another $5 to cross New jersey and $13 to cross the George Washington Bridge into New York.

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