Old Market Day

Short but sweet

Chambersburg's Old Market Day last July 21 started out nicely ended--well let me tell you.

Chambersburg Icefest 2018

Chambersburg Icefest 2018 couldn't ask for a more gorgeous Saturday, with a near flawless sky (maybe a wisp or two of cloud here there).

Square 1

The prettiest seat in town

The little town of Chambersburg, PA is slowly but surely taking on a more multicultural nature, from the Korean stone-pot bibimbap dishes in Bulgogi House to the juicy drool-inducing roast chicken in Inka Kitchen (the same kind of roast chicken that causes traffic jams in Washington DC's suburbs).

Inka incidentally has been so successful it's spun off a second location, focused not on Peruvian but a kind of Pan-Latino cuisine. Square 1 located smack dab on the center of Chambersburg's downtown features what's arguably the most sophisticated take yet on Mexican/Puerto Rican/Dominican Republic cooking. It also (see pic above) has what's easily the loveliest table in town, with an unobstructed view of the town fountain, and the surrounding trees draped with Christmas lights.

Chambersburg Applefest 2016

Sample fest

Chambersburg Apple Fest has maybe two problems--it's only on for one day, and only from nine in the morning to a head-scratchingly early four in the afternoon. 

That said, couldn't happen on a more beautiful day this year: a warm 68 degrees Fahrenheit, brilliant sun, near-cloudless sky.

Rendezvous Caribbean Restaurant

The No-Plate Special

Said it before gonna say it again: this blog's all about find dining--the kind of eats where you're driving down a street, you pause before a sign, you park and walk right in (or likewise you're walking down said street, pause before a sign). Last week we discovered Grill Kebab on Route 30 East this way; this week we found Rendezvous Caribbean Restaurant a tiny place tucked away in the corner of West Washington and Black Street, on the south end of Chambersburg's downtown. This place had at various points been a Mexican bakery and a pizza joint; if anyone were to ask "What would you put up here instead?" an eatery serving Caribbean food wouldn't have been the first idea to come to mind--but why not? It's different; and we're (along with discovery and good food) all about la difference. 

Grill Kabab on Route 30

Happy accidents

You know how it goes: you're driving past and a sign catches your eye--this time it was 'GRILL KABAB' (1495 Lincoln Way East, Suite 109B, on that little strip mall East of I-81 and West of Walmart with the Dunkin Donuts). You're thinking: "we haven't seen a place serve honest-to-goodness Mediterranean style skewered meat since Bombay Diner on Wayne Ave closed during the summer." 

Momma B's: Bigger'n Better'n Ever

Bigger'n Better'n Ever

Sad news was Momma B's closed back in November in its old location, on Lincoln Highway East; good news is it's open again, at 875 Lincoln Way West--same strip mall as Food Lion. And where the first struggled to seat twenty people you could fit a hundred folks in this big mother, easy.

Fusion Latin American Restaurant

Fusion Latin American Restaurant sits on an obscure spot on west King Street--but it's a beautiful little obscure spot, worth hunting out. I mean--check the above photo out: you feel as if you're walking down a little European sidewalk and have stumbled across a tiny cafe.

Chambersburg AppleFest (October 17, 2015)

October 17 last weekend was the Chambersburg AppleFest, the sort of tiny town festival most folks take for granted but really shouldn't--aside from the crafts, preserves, carvings, potpourri, good-luck plantings and crystals on display and available for sale there's also (and you know what my focus is and almost always will be) some excellent street food to be had, hot and plentiful and at reasonable prices.

Route 30 Family Restaurant

Route 30 Family Restaurant on 30 just east of I-81 used to be Chris' Country Kitchen, closed down, got bought up by new management and seems brighter and cheerier than before:



Dropped by mainly for breakfast, so that's what I'm focusing on. A little more expensive than the previous  kitchen, but their menu's more ambitious, and the portions as big if not bigger.

Korean Bulgogi House

Back in 2007 I'd visited Jeonju for their Film Festival  and managed to sample a dish called bibimbap. No not a boxing videogame sound effect--a bowl of rice with vegetables meat and sweet chili sauce topped with a fried egg, the national dish of Korea they say but also Jeonju's particular point of pride.

So imagine my surprise four years later when this place opened in my town: Korean Bulgogi House, on 408 West Loudon St., Chambersburg Pa (717 263 0419), opposite the Sheetz gas station. The spot was originally a Salvadorian restaurant (not bad); then a Tex Mex joint (not as distinctive); then decided to abandon the Latin vibe and go Asian--and this was the result. 

INKA Kitchen

INKAntado

Anthony Bourdain in his old TV show No Reservations made an impulse visit to a legendary hole-in-the-wall in Washington DC called El Pollo Rico, which served something called Peruvian roast chicken (the segment starts 18 minutes into the show). The place was packed, and not just with regulars; out-of-state visitors and even foreign tourists have lined up to order, including myself. 


Now our little burg has acquired our very own Peruvian chicken joint, and I don't have to drive ninety minutes to order; just take Route 30 east of I-81, right next to KFC to try some of the best chicken in town. 

You heard me. I say this standing next to the Chambersburg Branch of Korporate Franchised Chicken, with a straight solemn face. 

"Best chicken in town."

Trickling Spring Creamery's grass-fed beef

How spoiled can we be when we have our own creamery (actually there are others--we'll get to them)? Our own buttery milk, our own buttery chocolate milk, our own organic ice cream, our own cheddar?

Andrews Farm Market

Andrews Farm Market west of St. Thomas, PA doesn't really look like a fruit store, more a warehouse or barn...but between you and me and the walnut tree they put out some of the sweetest juiciest local fruits I've ever eaten, and believe me I've had a few.

Momma B's in Chambersburg

Momma B's 

I promised to write about local eats, and you can't get any more local than this: located on 565 Lincoln Highway East past the hospital and nestled under the neighborhood Travelodge, Momma B's owner promises always fresh never frozen meats and fishes, locally sourced, reasonably priced, simple diner fare, cooked in what may be the cleanest kitchen in town (the owner/chef/manager is willing to have you step in and take a look yourself if you like--he's that proud of his establishment).