Dining out in the Lake Harmony area - the good, the bad and the ugly

So, I've written a lot of individual food reviews but thought it might be helpful to summarize some of the local area take out/dine in restaurants. For all you vacationers out there, here is my list of restaurant tidbits in the Pocono-area. I would say this covers everything off of Route 940 from Lake Harmony to Mount Pocono.

Pizza!: Most visitors up this way (with the exception of NASCAR season) come from the tri-state region - New York and New Jersey where good pizza is abundant. Unfortunately, a decent slice is hard to come by up here.

• The good: (and sometimes bad) - Dominic's Pizza on Route 940 in Pocono Lake. Dominic's is hit or miss. Sometimes the crust is crunchy and thin; adequate for NY-style but not really comparable. What's annoying about Dominic's is not only is it inconsistent but it's cash-only. Though their sign says "FREE ATM" - we all know that while a business may not charge ATM fees, most banks do regardless. Also, the selection of sides/other dishes is quite weak. What kind of pizza place doesn't even offer a ceasar salad?
• Even better: Brother Bruno's pizza in Mount Pocono. I haven't seen that many great reviews for them but to be honest, I found their pizza (on every occasion I've had it) to be VERY good and by any standard. They have these tasty chicken rolls too! As you may or may not have found out by now, beer (aside from cases) is sold at pizza joints up here. The biggest drawback of Brother Bruno's is their lack of selection in beer. Good pizza and a good six pack go hand-in-hand; so they definitely need to upgrade their selection

Sushi: Ugh. There are too many flaws with the sushi around here - the biggest being that there is only one immediate choice in the area. Before I go into details, take my advice and drive out to Wilkes-Barre to Mirakuya (there is a review on here for you).

• The bad and ugly and everything in between: Tokyo Tea House on Route 940 in Pocono Summit. Where to begin? The sushi is average to below average depending on the day. We wrote an earlier review about our dining experience but more recently, we ordered take out from there. What a mistake. We were craving sushi and didn't feel like taking the drive. If this happens to you, spend the gas money and drive to Wilkes-Barre. We ordered three rolls of sushi and a small noodle dish. THIS WAS 50 DOLLARS. What we brought back with us looked like what you would get at a mall food court. One little thing of soy sauce to accompany small rolls. This take-out meal would cost 10 bucks at a mall and instead we spent 50. Things just can't be enjoyed when they are SEVERELY overpaid for.

Wings: Though there are limited options, it is hard to mess wings up so you are pretty safe ordering from Dominic's or the Jubilee.

• The good: Jubilee on Route 940 in Pocono Pines. While they only do wings on Thursdays and Sundays, they have a great selection and sampler options for their various flavors. Try the dill and honey garlic; both are delightful. They are priced well and have a good beer selection to accompany the hot wings.

Groceries: With limited options for grocery stores, be selective when purchasing meats and other perishable items.

• The bad: Ahart's market on Route 940 and 115 in Blakeslee. Ahart's is the only grocery store within a 9 mile stretch covering Pocono Lake, Lake Harmony and Pocono Pines. Ahart's has an adequate selection of foods but be very cautious when purchasing meats, like chicken or ground beef. There have been a number of occasions that meat bought from there has already expired or expires the next day. Don't be fooled by the 5 for 19.99 deal they do, typically all the meat covered by that falls in the above said problem.
• Solution (for meats): One of the best kept secrets in the Poconos, is The Butcher Shoppe on Route 940 in Pocono Lake. Though the butcher there (who has been there for many, many years) won't exactly hold your hand or make you feel warm and fuzzy, he's got the best stuff around. From high quality filet to exotic game; whatever your mood - he has it. The quality of his meats is extremely high and the selection is typically good. Though if you want Filet Mignon, get there early on the weekend, he often sells out of it fairly quickly.
• The good: Weis market on Route 940 in Mt. Pocono. Weis, when compared to Ahart's, is better all around for selection and quality foods. It is a clean, large grocery store with plenty of choices. You can get gourmet cheeses and meats and day-to-day groceries without sacrificing selection or quality. The biggest downfall of Weis is that they never seem to have enough cashiers on-hand to make the check-out process easy. Sometimes the time it takes to check out almost makes it worth it to go to Ahart's.

The low-down on liquor: If you are from PA, you already know the drill but if not - here it is: beer is not sold at liquor stores. If you want to purchase beer at, say, a distributor - you buy it by the case. If you want to buy beer in 6 or 12 packs, visit a local pizza store or restaurant.

• Beer: If you want to buy it by the case, visit Harmony Beverage on Route 940 in Lake Harmony. The selection is great but, buying beer by the case comes at a premium. If you need a 6 pack or 12 pack, you will find the best selection of craft or microbrews at the Jubilee or Dominics.
• Wine/Liquor: My personal favorite liquor store is PA Wine and Spirits on Route 940 and 115 in Blakeslee (right by the Ahart's). You can usually find high quality vodka specials on a weekly basis. They have a great selection of hard liquors and definitely a good variety of wine. They carry my favorite white wines: Kris Pinot Grigio and Kendall Jackson Avant.

Hopefully that helped provide some insight for you PA vacationers on where to pick up your favorite things. If you have suggestions for reviews or posts, feel free to give me a shout!

Tips for restaurants in NEPA

I hate to be the nag here but as a resident of a NEPA area that is sparse with food options, and abundant with visitors from other states, I have to do it.

NASCAR was here last weekend and by here I mean within 10 miles of where I live in PA. Food stores and liquor stores were filled with visitors - a great thing for the economy. But, what about restaurants?

If there is one thing every business should know (restaurant or not), it's that people are lazy and device-driven. As a visitor seeking dining options you probably want to turn your phone on, use a search service to find nearby dining - and end up on a site that is easy to navigate.

I am not going to tell restaurants to go out and spend money to have a website that is phone-friendly (the click to call option is great). But, if you have no website at all and/or no readily available menu - what do you expect?

For instance, this new place Lucky Luciano's on Route 940 in Pocono Lake (where Edelweiss used to be). They were in a rush to be open in time for the Pocono 400 - like most businesses they had a "NASCAR fans welcome" banner outside. But - how the heck are you supposed to get food from there?

My partner and I were in a lazy mood and pined for some italian take out. We thought we would try Lucky Luciano's. Go ahead and try to search for them on the internet.

Not only do they NOT have a website, but they don't even have a phone number listed anywhere. I did find a phone number listed with their "now hiring waitstaff" ad on Craigslist. I had to end up on a non-food driven website to find a number that most likely belonged to a manager.

No one answered. You mean to tell me, you want business? New customers? First, you need to give them an easy way to reach you. Otherwise, you WILL fail. I promise.

We ended up getting groceries and making out own Italian food and, in my mind I am certain that a business that doesn't even have a way to contact them can't possibly make better food than I do. That's what I have come to.

Also, reviews are important. In fact, when trying a new place for the first time, I always try to see what others say.

Inform your waitstaff, hostess, etc - all customers are important. The way you treat them is almost as important as the quality of food. People remember how they felt when they ate at your place. If they felt neglected, the food just doesn't taste as good.

All in all - don't even bother opening a restaurant without an easy way for potential customers to get ahold of you. Your product means nothing if no one can try it.

Once you are up, make it easy for any person on any device to find you and contact you.