Village Squire Restaurant

The Village Squire Restaurant
Blakeslee, PA


☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 4/5 stars

When entering the Village Squire, don't be fooled by the dingy, dated atmosphere - the food is quite good.

While the menu hosts many traditional meals, the specials prove that the chefs' expertise is a bit more refined than one might think. As a meat-and-potatoes person, I typically go for a steak however, one mark against the Squire is their filet. If you go petit, you might as well order two, as you DO NOT get your money's worth. Instead, try a sirloin - their meat is tender and well seasoned.

While I dine here frequently as it is local and inexpensive (I eat here over the Blakeslee Inn when craving a hearty meal) - the success, or lack there of, of the Squire in drawing a bigger crowd is their limitation to push the envelope a bit more as a pub. I could imagine doing my Sunday football outings here due to it's woodsy, boy's club feel HOWEVER, they need to put some large flatscreen TVs in there - the one small TV limits their appeal to pub-goers.

My other issue with the Squire is the limited wine selections. You can basically choose red or white - don't bother asking for a brand, they don't have choices. As a wine enthusiast, I tend to enjoy a nice glass of chardonnay or pinot grigio with my dinner unfortunately, if I order a glass of white wine, I end up with a low-grade, unnamed brand. The beer selection is adequate but, they do have some good label vodka.

All in all, I gave this place 4 stars because of the value and quality of the entrees.

Finally, good sushi nearby!

Mirakuya Japanese Restaurant
695 Kidder Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 4 stars/5

Having lived in basically every state in the Mid-Atlantic prior to moving to the Poconos, I took for granted the availability of good sushi and great pizza. Since I moved here, I have been on the hunt for both and finally I have found some tasty sushi (and hibachi) at Mirakuya Japanese Restaurant.

From the highway, it doesn't look like much - being nestled in a shopping plaza usually isn't a great sign. But, the inside was clean, the wait to sit non-existant (on a busy Friday evening) and the service was prompt. I sat in a booth (rather than hibachi) though the relentless "Ole, Ole, Ole" of the Hibachi chef was probably the one annoyance of the evening...Either he was a huge Montreal Canadiens fan or he didn't know any other phrases in English.

Either way, the food was surprisingly good. I had the pepper tuna appetizer which was a nice-sized portion and the quality of the tuna was Good (not great, but good) and the spicy sauce was right on point.

I am an adventurous orderer when getting sushi so I had a "special" roll - the Volcano roll which was a mixture of shrimp tempure and spicy tuna. I also ordered my favorite roll, a Dragon roll - not for the amateur sushi eater as it is an eel-based roll.

The Volcano roll was EXTREMELY good - the size, quality and texture were all what you would expect from a good sushi joint in more populous areas but the Dragon roll wasn't as successful, the texture was a bit off and the roll itself was kind of flimsy.

All in all, if you are vacationing here and have a hankering for sushi, take the 30+ minute venture out to Wilkes-Barre to Mirakuya.

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