Full-service chains open
Mexican and seafood restaurants join Lehigh Valley’s lineup as foodies look for diversity in post-quarantine days
Lehigh Valley foodies craving new eats (post-quarantine) received some delicious news in recent weeks.
A smorgasbord of new restaurants joined the region’s diverse dining scene, including fast-casual finds Braza & Candela, specializing in charcoalbroiled chicken and Latin American cuisine, at 1756 S. Fourth St. in Allentown; Milan Bistro, offering Mediterranean dishes such as falafel, hummus and kofta kabobs, at 554 N. New St. in Bethlehem; and a second location of the Bangor-based Dinky’s Ice Cream Parlor & Grill, serving ice cream, burgers, pierogies and more, at 312 E. Third St. in Bethlehem.
Now, two full-service restaurants — Plaza Azteca and Flaming
Crab Cajun
Seafood — have also entered the lineup.
Plaza
Azteca, a
Mexican chain offering
“traditional flavors combined with a
Tex-Mex flair,” opened June 26 at the former Tilted Kilt building at 2835 Lehigh St. in Allentown.
The 280-seat restaurant, one of more than 40 in seven states, is the first Lehigh Valley location of the chain, which was founded in Virginia Beach in the 1990s by two men from Jalisco, Mexico.
The menu includes a wide array of Mexican staples, including chimichangas, nachos, quesadillas, sizzling fajitas and corn and flour tacos.
Two dozen burritos and enchiladas include selections such as the Burrito San Jose (grilled chicken, chorizo, rice and beans, topped with cheese sauce, pico de gallo and sour cream) and Enchiladas de Nortenas (three enchiladas, one with potato and chorizo, another with chicken and another with pork carnitas, topped with three sauces).
Customers also can choose from more than two dozen steak and seafood entrees, including Camarones Momia (bacon-wrapped shrimp drizzled with chipotle sauce), Plaza del Mar (white fish fillet and shrimp topped with lobster bisque) and Pina Loka (grilled pineapple stuffed with steak, chicken, peppers and onions with cheese sauce).
Other menu highlights include appetizers such as empanadas and tableside
ceviche and guacamole; and vegan and vegetarian selections including spinach enchiladas and vegan chorizo (soy meat) tacos.
Owner Erick Quintero, of Reading, overhauled the space to include new kitchen equipment, furniture, tiled walls and more.
The restaurant, with a covered outdoor patio, features an updated rectangular bar serving beer, wine and cocktails such as daiquiris, margaritas and mojitos. Info: 484-656-7277; PlazaAzteca.com.
Second, Flaming Crab Cajun Seafood, an emerging franchise of seafood restaurants in Pennsylvania, opened June 28 at 3756 Easton Nazareth Highway in Lower Nazareth Township.
The 180-seat restaurant, occupying part of the former Northampton Hibachi Buffet & Grill space in the Northampton Crossings, will be joined by a second location that’s expected to open by the end of September at 3926 Linden St. (former Eastern Palace Restaurant space) in Bethlehem Township, franchisee Eddie Zhang said.
Both restaurants are part of the off-shoot brand of Red Crab Juicy Seafood, a 6-year-old restaurant chain that opened its first Pennsylvania location in October at 2180 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township, Zhang added.
Flaming Crab’s menu is nearly identical to the one offered by Red Crab, which has more than 40 locations open or coming soon in 16 states.
Highlights include appetizers such as steamed oysters and hush puppies; fried baskets such as catfish and tilapia; and sides such as sweet potato fries and corn-on-the-cob.
“Get Your Hands Dirty” seafood selections, which are served with corn and potato, include blue crab, clams, crawfish, lobster tail, king crab legs, shrimp, green and black mussels and more. You can choose your spice level and sauce — Cajun, lemon pepper, garlic butter or “juicy special” (all of the above).
Popular daily specials include a “one lobster tail, half pound of shrimp and half pound of snow crabs” deal for $34.99, Friday through Sunday.
The restaurant, open noon to 10 or 11 p.m. daily, features new flooring, banquettes, kitchen equipment, a full bar (opening soon) and maritime decor such as anchors, fishing nets and artificial marine life hanging from the ceiling. Info: 610-4385508; flamingcrab.com.
More foodie finds
More good news for foodies: Manuel Castaneda and Lisa Haynos, who operated Catasauqua’s Bridge Street Family Restaurant from April 2017 to March of this year, on Tuesday opened Northampton Diner and Family Restaurant at 1205 Main St. in Northampton.
The renovated building previously housed Miller’s Diner, which closed in 2018 after more than 60 years of business.
The partners decided to make the move a few miles north for increased dining space, offstreet parking and easier accessibility with a ramp entrance, Haynos said.
The 130-seat diner, open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, offers starters such as corn nuggets and crab cake bites, wraps such as chicken cordon bleu and reuben; hot sandwiches such as beef and chicken gyros and tuna and turkey melts; baskets such as fried chicken and fish and chips; and entrees such as broiled stuffed haddock and veal parmigiana.
Other menu highlights include salads, wraps, club and open-faced sandwiches, paninis, burgers and breakfast dishes, available all day. Info: 610-2622100.
A final tasty tidbit: Wendy’s, the fast-food chain known for its made-to-order square hamburgers, on Wednesday opened its newest Lehigh Valley location at 200 Trolley Line Drive in Palmer Township.
The newly constructed Palmer restaurant, just west of Tatamy in the southeast quadrant of the Route 33 interchange in the Chrin Commerce Centre, is serving customers via its drive-thru only until further due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Kevin Jones, vice president of the restaurant’s franchise group, which also operates the Wind Gap Wendy’s and five other regional locations.
The new 65-seat restaurant, with four outdoor tables, will be joined by an adjacent hotel and Sheetz gas station, both under construction.
Closing notes
A greenhouse that has been “growing strong” for more than a century will close later this year in North Catasauqua.
Hickory Grove Greenhouses, established by John Witt in 1917, will end operations once it is “out of stuff to sell” at 1096 Milton St., owner Jann Eline said.
Eline has operated the borough mainstay with her late husband, James Eline, for more than 40 years. After James died in early November, the workload became too much for Jann to undertake on her own.
“We always said, ‘If we’re still in business and one of us goes, the other one’s going to be out of luck,’” said Jan, who began working at Hickory Grove in 1972 under her then future father-in-law.
Jann, who is looking to sell the property, on June 5 reopened Hickory Grove after temporarily closing it three months earlier due to the pandemic.
Customers can still shop a small selection of discounted houseplants, perennials, hard goods and more, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Info: hickorygrovegreenhouses.com.
Another business bidding farewell: The Proper Little Pub, which opened in June 2019 on the Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market’s lower level, will not reopen following a mid-March suspension of onsite service related to the pandemic.
“The current conditions make it impossible for us to consider opening back up,” owners Jay Coleman and John O’Reilly wrote in a Monday post on the business’ Facebook page.
Coleman, who previously worked as a manager at McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub and
Whiskey Bar in Bethlehem, and O’Reilly, a Northern Ireland native, joined forces to establish the business that sold brewedon-site beer, freshly prepared Celtic dishes and British and Irish groceries.
O’Reilly, of Schnecksville, continues to operate a Catasauqua online business, British Food Depot, selling British-imported goods such as biscuits, candy, jams and teas.
He connected with Coleman a few years ago to help him develop a signature line of meat products, including black pudding, sausage and bacon, which also is available for purchase on the website, britishfooddepot.com.
A few more closing notes: First, as my colleague Jon Harris reported, GNC Holdings Inc., the struggling Pittsburgh vitamin and dietary supplement chain, has filed for bankruptcy and is planning to close up to 1,200 of its approximately 7,300 stores.
So far, the chain has posted a list of 248 planned store closures across the United States and Canada, including locations at the Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall Township and South Mall in Salisbury Township.
Lastly, as my colleague Anthony Salamone reported, the Retro Fitness gym in the 25th Street Shopping Center in Palmer Township has closed, according to a sign posted at the front entrance. Members can transfer their membership to another Retro Fitness — the nearest one is in Bethlehem — or contact “ABC Member Transfer Dept.” at customercare@abcfinancial.com.
Retail Watch, appearing every weekend, keeps track of retail and restaurant news in the Lehigh Valley. Contact Ryan Kneller at 610-820-6597 or retailwatch@mcall.com.