Melt for Melt

Melt Grill

2805 Center Valley Parkway

Center Valley, PA 18034

610-798-9000

Menu: Italian food with a modern twist

Atmosphere: Upscale, laid back, club on third floor of restaurant

Kid Friendly: Get a Sitter

Prices: Not too bad for an upscale place, dinner for 4 was $130 without alcohol

While Lou and I were home in NJ we met up with our good friends Dana and Brian to have dinner near their home in Emmaus, PA. When I say, good friend, Dana and I grew up across the street from one another since we were 12 years old.

There is a new Sands casino in Bethlehem, PA which was built in the old Bethlehem Steel building. Originally we were going to eat at Emeril's Grill at the casino, but it was booked so we opted for a favorite, Melt.

Melt is located in an outdoor shopping mall, The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley. They describe their own menu as a modern twist on traditional Italian cuisine, but I wouldn't classify this as an Italian restaurant. I see it more as an upscale grill with an Italian influence.

The decor in Melt is beautiful. The pictures are a nice representation of the main dining room, but whoever designed melt made the mistake of making the middle of the main floor the focal point complete with a large floor to ceiling fireplace. I imagine most people, who have been to Melt before, ask to be sat on the main floor, but there are only about 40 seats in that area.
Another strange design choice is the bathrooms. They are on the second floor. A lot of restaurants have their restrooms on the second floor, this is true, but the second floor of Melt is up a staircase which reaches a span of 2-3 regular stories. The ceilings are very high. There is an elevator that can be used to reach the restrooms as well, but in general, unless you are sitting on the second floor, it is a bit inconvenient.

Each time we have been to Melt, I been happy with my meal. This time I went for the Penne Pasta Bosciala and a Caesar Salad. Something about me which may become apparent as I continue with this blog, is there are certain items I like to try at different places. One of those items is the Caesar Salad. I love it when it is made correctly. This one was perfect. The parmesan was shaved in large pieces across the top. The dressing was not too heavy, and it had the signature anchovies on top. A slight twist to Melt's version were 3 small, soft breadsticks on the side instead of croutons.

I was also very happy with the Penne Bosciala. It was diced chicken with wild mushrooms, zucchini and sage in a light cream sauce. The combination was outstanding. The cream sauce was light so the dish was not uncomfortably filling like a lot of cream sauce pastas.

This dinner I actually got some wine! Dana and I tried the Sketchbook Pinot Noir. It was a good wine suggested by the server, but I got the impression the server didn't know much about the wine list except a few choice bottles. I don't think this is entirely out of character for a place like Melt. It is probably one of the nicest restaurants in the area, but it is in a Mall, and I don't imagine it draws a professional wait staff with extensive wine knowledge.

For dessert, Brian and I shared the Pistachio Cake with white chocolate icecream. It was two generous pieces of cake. The taste was similar to pound cake with a pistachio flavor and nuts throughout. It was very good.

On a whole our experience at Melt was excellent. Everyone enjoyed their meal choices. Our server was fun. We harassed him consistently through the meal, but he took it in stride. There was one late arrival of a Caprese Salad which Brian ordered, but it was corrected quickly. If traveling through the Allentown area, Melt is worth a trip.

Peddler's Village Annual Gingerbread Competition

If you read my blog regularly, or know me, you know I am originally from NJ. My parents still live in the town I grew up in, Sergeantsville, so I visit often, especially during the holidays. One of our traditions at Thanksgiving or Christmas, is to visit Peddler's Village to view the winners of the Annual Gingerbread Competition! Peddler's Village is located in Lahaska, PA in the heart of Bucks County. It is a grouping of over 70 specialty shops, 6 restaurants and the Giggleberry entertainment center. When you enter the village you feel like you have stepped back in time into a small village. The buildings are brick and form a circle around a landscaped area of trees, ponds and bridges. There is usually a man selling hot cider from a cauldron suspended from a tripod over a wood fire. The entire village is always lit up for Christmas. Every building is outlined in white lights, and the trees are lit colorfully.


Each year during the holidays, my family makes the trek to Peddler's Village to view the winners of the Gingerbread Competition. There is an enclose gazebo in the middle of the village which always houses the winners. This year someone actually reproduced it in gingerbread! (Talk about sucking up) I never knew much about the competition, other than it happens every year and I like to view the winners, but since I decided to write about it, I thought I would look up some information on it.


The competition happens in early November. This year, the deadline for registration was Nov. 13th and the entry drop off date was Nov. 15th. In other words, you better start baking around Halloween or earlier depending on the difficulty of your gingerbread! Once your gingerbread is entered, it stays on display between Thanksgiving through New Years. The winners are always announced before Thanksgiving.


The competition has various categories to allow for all ages to sign up and to allow the creativity of individuals stand out.


1. Traditional Gingerbread
2. Authentic Reproduction of a Significant Building
3. Student Gingerbread for ages 13-18
4. Kids only 12 and under (Every year you can tell some parents helped. Shame on you!)
5. Incredibly Unusual 3-D
6. And the newest category Go Green!


Gingerbread is judged on the following criteria:


1. Overall Appearance/Composition of Design
2. Originality/Imagination/Use of Materials
3. Fit into Category
4. Difficulty of Design/Design of Execution
5. Holiday Spirit


There aren't a whole lot of rules but here the main ones:


Creations must be constructed of mainly gingerbread (50% or more)
Non-Visible Interior Supports: Non-edible materials may be used for non-visible support
Everything Visible on your entry MUST be edible.

For the complete list of rules go here:
http:httppeddlersvillage.com/special_events/pdfs/2009gingerbread.pdf

and now for some of my favorites... Enjoy the tradition!

This was beautiful the picture doesn't do it justice.

This was entered into the kid's category and won. I suspect a parent was involved. I am just saying...
Santa in the summer



This is the gingerbread factory. It thought this was very original
This is the reproduction of the gazebo which holds the gingerbread!

Tavern on the Green
One of the entries in the new "Go Green" category

Jimmy Stewart would be thrilled!