Heat up your cooking skills
Learn how to spice up your homemade meals at The Stone Soup
Whether you are clueless in the kitchen or on par with Emeril Lagasse and Ina Garten, a new facility in Forks Township wants to help you cook up good times.
The Stone Soup, a 3-year-old catering company offering private culinary classes for home, business and entertaining, on March 29 held a grand opening of its first brickand-mortar location in the Park Plaza shopping center.
The business at 1800 Sullivan Trail, in the former American Heroes Smokehouse spot, offers space for chef and owner Chris Bavlinka to prepare catering orders as well as teach culinary classes, including Basics of Saute, Tastes of Italy and Fondue Date Night.
Over the past few years, the business’ most popular class has been The Art of Sushi, with Bavlinka hosting classes on the Japanese dish at area businesses such as Allentown’s Sleepy Cat Urban Winery and Bethlehem’s McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub & Whiskey Bar.
Bavlinka also teaches classes at Northampton Community College and Lehigh Carbon Community College.
“I love it,” Bavlinka said of the classes, which typically accommodate about 12 people. “In one class, Cooking on a Budget, I partnered with Nazareth Area Food Bank to teach people how to cook with the donations that they normally get. I’m also in the process of working with St. Luke’s Hospice on a program called My Food Memories. The objective is for people to share their favorite food stories and recipes and then I’ll help them re-create them.”
Bavlinka, who also works as a corrections officer at Lehigh County Jail, previously held several roles, including general manager, executive chef and catering director, during his
15-year tenure with Wood Dining Services and Sodexo at Lehigh Valley colleges.
In Forks, he also plans to host themed nights such as a Middle Eastern cooking event with a belly dancing troupe, as well as “Test Kitchens,” where people can pay $15 or $20 — instead of $50 for a regular class — to evaluate Bavlinka’s new dishes.
“You basically get a three- or fourcourse meal while checking out what I’ll be doing in the future,” Bavlinka said.
Reservations are required for all Stone Soup events. Info: 484268-3846; stonesoupallentown.com.
You also can make your own seafood combo by choosing a half pound of at least two items, including clams, sausage and snow crab legs, with corn and potato. Info: jccrab.com.
Another upcoming eatery that will make your mouth water is Naz-O-Nut Dooolicious, a 1950s-themed doughnut and coffee shop, set to open in mid-May at 66 E. Lawn Road in Upper Nazareth Township. The space previously housed Papa John’s.
“We’re going to be doing old-fashioned doughnuts,” coowner Ciro Della Ragione said.
“They’re going to be freshly made every day.”
Ragione, who operates the 25-year-old Sicily Restaurant a few doors down, will run the doughnut and coffee shop with his partner and the business’ baker, Helena Lazzarini.
The 25-seat shop will feature traditional doughnut varieties such as glazed, jelly, Bavarian and French cream as well as unique selections such as those with Nutella and cannoli cream fillings. Info: facebook.com/NazONut.
Also in Upper Nazareth, Mivajo’s Restaurant & Pizzeria at 394 N. Broad St. Ext. will transition to Stonewood Tavern, a restaurant offering Italian and new American cuisines, co-owner Brian Kelly said.
“In this day and age, with people’s food tastes being so varied, we didn’t want to pigeonhole ourselves into just Italian cuisine,” said Kelly, who’s operating the restaurant with his father, Ray.
The Kellys, who purchased the 20-year-old Mivajo’s a year and a half ago, overhauled the dining room with modern decor, including new flooring, furniture, light fixtures and gray wall paint.
After April 15, the restaurant will feature three distinct venues: the “Pizzeria” at Stonewood, where customers can
order cheesesteaks, pizza and other Italian cuisine at a counter; the “Tavern” at Stonewood, where customers can enjoy new American cuisine such as crab cakes, steaks and quesadillas in a full-service dining room; and the “Crescent Room” at Stonewood, where customers can host private events for up to 75 people in a lower-level banquet facility.
“We’ve got a 130-seat restaurant that we’ve been calling a pizzeria,” Ray said. “To me, a pizzeria has a counter and three or four tables.”
Stonewood Tavern will continue to serve Italian favorites, including lasagna and seafood fra diablo, along with new menu items such as sliders, mac-andcheese bowls and build-yourown burgers (vegan option available).
The bar will feature a new 12-tap draft system and cocktail menu. Info: 610-759-0760.
Closing notes
Unfortunately, as three new restaurants ready to open, three more have closed:
First, as I reported Monday, Revolutions at Saucon Valley ,a 6-year-old, 40,000-square-foot facility featuring a bowling alley, restaurant and arcade, on March 30 held its last day of business at 3717 Route 378 in the Saucon Valley Square shopping center in Lower Saucon Township.
“Thank you for all of your patronage,” read signs posted on the doors.
A Revolutions in Philadelphia closed last summer and a location in Rock Hill, S.C., also closed March 30, according to the business’ Facebook page.
According to public records, the Lower Saucon and West Palm Beach locations filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December.
Second, Grazie Brewhouse & Restaurant, formerly known as Taste of Italy for 17 years, closed a couple weeks ago in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.
The restaurant at 1860 Catasauqua Road in the Valley Plaza shopping center, had undergone a host of changes, beginning in winter 2018 when it transitioned from Taste of Italy to Grazie Italian Grill following Franco Grisafi’s purchase of the restaurant from his father, Nicolo.
“As we look back on the history of the location, we feel the large bar addition and removing the pizza counter is where the restaurant lost its identity,” Franco said.
Lastly, Morici’s Ristorante, known for its Sicilian pizza, closed last weekend after 45 years at 218 Cattell St. on Easton’s College Hill.
“We grew up on Cattell Street and will always hold a special place in our hearts for the family time that we created there,” the Morici family wrote on the business’ Facebook page. “We are looking forward to making new memories with our young, growing families.”