CELEBRATING LANCASTER COUNTY'S PEOPLE, SCENERY,

HERITAGE, STYLE & POINT OF VIEW SINCE 1987.

Learning About Native American History

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My daughter was working on a school project that entailed building a shelter inspired by a Native American structure. I suggested we check out the longhouse at the 1719 Hans Herr House & Museum. While I was aware Lancaster was once home to Native American tribes, I was amazed at how much I learned about native culture through taking the tour that is offered.

The 1719 Hans Herr House & Museum in Willow Street is a prime example of Lancaster’s rich history. It’s not only the oldest-standing house in Lancaster County, but it’s also the oldest original Mennonite meeting house in the Western Hemisphere. From April through November – except on Sundays, of course – thousands visit the museum, where they hear tales of the earliest colonists in our area, notably of the nine Mennonite men and their families, who had been granted land near Pequea Creek. The group traveled to the area in 1710, using an ancient native path known as the “Great Conestoga Trail,” which was the earliest-known path from Philadelphia to Conestoga (a center of trade and commerce at that time).

A cornerstone of William Penn’s vision for Pennsylvania was religious freedom, which is what brought many Quakers and Mennonites to the area. Lesser known is that he also maintained Native Americans should be fairly compensated for their land, despite having been granted the land himself by King Charles II for repayment of a debt to his father. For decades, Native Americans, Mennonites and Quakers lived under Penn’s peace treaties as neighbors, traders and fellow Christians.

Long before the arrival of Europeans, tribal people known as the Shenks Ferry, Conoy, Lenape, Susquehannock, Conestogas and many others resided in Lancaster County. They made their homes in longhouses, which, in this area, took the shape of long, narrow structures that featured curved walls and roofs made from bark that was stretched over a framework of saplings. As the tribal people disappeared, so did the longhouses.

However, thanks to the efforts of the 1719 Hans Herr House & Museum, the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, the Circle Legacy Center and local residents who revere their native ancestry, Lancaster is once again home to a longhouse. The Lancaster Longhouse, which was built on the grounds of the 1719 Hans Herr House & Museum in 2013 and is among the few that exist in the United States, provides visitors with an authentic look back at the peaceful times – circa 1570-1770 – that existed between the native groups and the settlers.

Its design replicates a longhouse that was excavated in Washington Boro in 1969. While some synthetic materials were used to protect it against inclement weather, the structure itself was constructed using traditional means of lashing. It is filled with artisan artifacts that were produced to be authentic to the tools and crafts used by local native peoples before and after European contact.

The opening of the longhouse exhibit coincided with a significant historical event that occurred 250 years earlier. On December 14, 1763, a vigilante group of Scots-Irish frontiersmen known as the Paxton Boys raided a village and killed approximately six members of the Conestoga tribe. The remaining 14 tribe members were given protective custody in the Lancaster City jailhouse (located where the Fulton Theatre stands today). Despite the measures that were taken, the Paxton Boys broke into the jail on December 27 and violently murdered the remaining members of the Conestoga tribe.

While only a few natives still resided in the area, the Conestoga Massacre effectively ended native tribal life in Lancaster County and is considered the final blow in dividing relations between natives and colonists.

The 1719 Hans Herr House & Museum is located at 1849 Hans Herr Drive in Willow Street. For details, call 717-464-4438 or visit hansherr.org.

Fire & Smoke

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Watching flames lap against sizzling meats or instantly rising dough and getting lost in the aromas of smoke and wood account for a remarkable sensory adventure.

The allure of cooking over fire is both primal and romantic in nature. If you’ve ever seen footage of Argentine Chef Francis Mallmann cook with fire in Patagonia (check out Chef’s Table via Netflix), you probably understand this notion. While Mallmann, who admits to eating a steak at least once a day, oversees nine restaurants worldwide – including Los Fuegos in Miami Beach – his favorite kitchen is the one Mother Nature provided on a desolate island in Patagonia. His award-winning books, Seven Fires and Mallmann on Fire are stunning from a photography perspective (as is his Instagram page). Am I obsessed? Absolutely! And, I just learned through an article in Esquire magazine that for $44,000 me and three compadres could go to Mallmann’s island for a fire-cooking class. Heck, I’d be willing to go there as an unpaid intern!

Thanks to Mallmann, I’ve come to understand that cooking with fire is a wholly transformative process, adding flavor as though it’s a stand-alone ingredient. Fire allows textures to change in ways that cannot be achieved with other cooking methods, as sugars caramelize to add sweetness and smoke infuses savory characteristics courtesy of smoldering hot hardwoods.

That premise prompted me to collaborate with my former cooking class instructor, Bruce Gingrich, to prepare a multi-course meal over a fire. Since I had been longing for authentic New Orleans-style chargrilled oysters, a typically foreign dish in northern climes, we devised a largely Southern theme for the cookout.

When planning our menu, we debated at length whether we should use a natural gas grill, lump charcoal or open fire. In the end, we resorted to using variants of all three. And, as is apropos, the student learned something from the teacher. On this night, Bruce introduced me to the tripod grill. This exceptional, yet inexpensive, gadget would serve as our primary cooktop over a fire. They can be purchased for less than $30 and are one of the simplest forms of grilling available.

Flames can be useful, but the raw heat emitted from a bed of glowing hot coals is even and controllable. Temperature can be adjusted by moving food closer or farther from the heat; in this case, that meant adjusting the chain to raise or lower the grate.

Throughout the entire meal, we didn’t look at a timer once. Conversation, each completed course, and the setting sun were our only indicators of the passage of time. Food was ready when it was finished, and recipes served only as inspiration. Cooking outdoors is completely freeing and equally as entertaining. You have total control of temperature, varied more incrementally and at high levels unobtainable on a stovetop.

Cooking doesn’t have to be an exact science to produce a beautiful and delightful meal. Oysters were by far the most and arguably the only complicated element to this meal, in that shucking requires a bit of elbow grease or a friend willing to do the work while you photograph (thanks, Bruce!).

Shrimp skewers with mango, pineapple, onion and peppers would have been an easy replacement while maintaining a Southern/seafood theme. Grilled pound cake topped with local strawberries (or peaches), fresh cream or milk, and sugar could take dessert to yet another level with ease.

Appetizer

An appetizer course started the meal, signaling that Virginia salts were first on deck, which is also where the oysters were shucked. A regional oyster with an ideal size, fresh Virginia salts are available locally and have a sweet flavor.

If you’re not a raw oyster fan, this “treat” will convince you otherwise. So far, I’m batting 1.000 (one thousand) in converting people, and I have no plans of striking out anytime soon. Here’s how: Topped with parmesan cheese, melted butter, garlic, chopped parsley, Crystal hot sauce, Chili powder and bread crumbs (panko will do), we roasted shucked oysters over a bed of cherry wood charcoal.

Once you’ve devoured the oyster, you can dip grilled Italian bread into the shell to soak up a delicious soup of smoky, savory ingredients.

A pilsner, pale ale or Turkey Hill sweet tea pair well with oysters. Add a dash of hot sauce to Corona or Landshark Lager for an added zing on a hot summer day.

Oyster Shucking Tips

For shucking, a dull oyster knife, wood cutting board and towel are essential for prying open the shell, using careful force at the hinge of the oyster, flat side up. Before opening, be sure to scrub oysters thoroughly with a brush, especially around the edges. Once open, gently rinse any broken shell particles if needed.

Inside, oysters have two muscles, one on each side of the shell. Served raw on the half shell, both muscles are typically cut. For chargrilling, we only cut the muscle on the flat side to hold the oyster while over the fire.  If you can’t already tell, this was my favorite part of the entire dinner, dessert included.

Main Course

For the main course, three whole red snappers were bought, cleaned and then washed before olive oil was brushed on them. Lemon slices were grilled and then added for a brighter flavor. Being mindful of bones, cooked meat will separate from the skin and scales with little effort.

Using the tripod over the fire, raising and lowering the grate changed the quantity of heat relative to the coals for an even, yet not overdone, cook and a beautiful char. Smashed potatoes grilled atop a cast-iron casserole or griddle were prepared using copious amounts of butter. Local asparagus was grilled simply using olive oil, salt and pepper.

Salad

Grilled salad followed the main course, in part for European tradition and due to the fact that we prioritized evening light for photographing the beautiful red snapper.
Romaine lettuce hearts were sliced in half, coated in olive oil and grilled on a searing hot cast-iron grate on a natural gas grill. Bacon was grilled directly on the grates, and a dressing was made with fermented apple cider, vegetable oil, mustard, ground cinnamon and apple cider vinegar. Creamy blue cheese slices balanced the acidity of the dressing perfectly.

Cheese Course

Following the salad, a cheese course was prepared over the fire with hickory and oak lump charcoal. A whole wheel of brie cheese drizzled with maple syrup, a dash of cayenne pepper and cinnamon was set directly on the grate. Sliced open for serving, gooey brie oozed onto the plate with a smoky-sweet flavor perfect for dipping crackers. Wine was the beverage of choice for this course.

Dessert

For dessert, s’mores got an upgrade. Chocolate-chip cookies replaced graham crackers, and dark chocolate, jumbo-sized marshmallows and peanut butter were added. Peanut butter cups make for another excellent alternative to milk-chocolate bars, eliminating the need for a peanut-butter jar.

Amorette – Lancaster’s Hottest Spot for Your Next Private Dinner Party

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Downtown Lancaster has a new destination that raises the bar on local fine dining, as it provides some spectacular options for private events. And, it could be the most sensual dinner party you’ve ever hosted or experienced.

Did you feel it? Lancaster experienced a collective shiver of goosebumps in May when Amorette opened its doors and a new level of luxury and haute cuisine made its home at the corner of Lemon and Prince streets. Those anticipatory goosebumps were just the beginning of what owner Tom Ponessa hopes will be a seductive relationship between Central Pennsylvania’s adventurous food-lovers and his gorgeous restaurant.

Bedecked in deep purple velvet banquettes, gold leather barstools, Bernardaud china and intriguing artwork, the Amorette experience is a sensory one from its yearning start to sated end. Whether you indulge in four-course or seven-course prix-fixe dining or a grazing experience in the lounge, the emphasis is on extraordinary food, artfully presented and meant to be savored by all senses.

Wine also takes center stage with Michelin-trained and Parisian Level 3 Sommelier Thierry Lesparre on staff to create an experience that will educate diners and open their palates to new and rare vintages. The wine list, which accounts for 500 different labels, represents 10 nations, notably France and the United States.

Perhaps the most pleasurable of all dining options at Amorette entails privacy. Two secluded dining rooms for up to eight can be combined for opulent celebrations or elegant business lunches or dinners.

Ah, but there is yet another option that ups the ante even farther: The Chef’s Table provides a front-row seat to the action in the kitchen – a very posh front-row seat. The horseshoe-shaped granite table, which accommodates six to eight guests, provides a view of the culinary team at work, separated only by a glass window to slightly soften the ambient noise that is associated with a restaurant kitchen, yet allows one to enjoy the professional banter among the chefs. The Michelin-star-studded team of chefs, under the direction of Executive Chef Daniel LeBoon, works in a unique in-the-round format, aided by a state-of-the-art cooking suite.

It’s an evening of entertainment, as well as culinary delights for guests at the Chef’s Table, who settle in for a 12-course menu, chosen by the chef and his team. Throughout the feast, surprises arise – some as appetite-stimulating or palate-clearing amuse-bouche, some not edible but designed to enhance guests’ enjoyment of the flavors. Each chef from the culinary team creates and personally presents his course to create an eclectic menu of delicacies sourced from around the world: abalone from Japan, red shrimp from Argentina, truffles, caviar, and an exquisite grade of Kobe beef.

Guests at the Chef’s Table may choose to view what transpires in the adjacent public dining room or, with the flick of a switch, frost the glass partition for ultimate privacy. At the end of the memorable night, a take-home booklet is presented to allow guests to relive the menu, course by sumptuous course.

“My wife, Donna, and I are foodies,” says Tom, and during their extensive travels, the couple have enjoyed some truly spectacular dining experiences. “At many of those dinners, I’ve said, ‘Why can’t we have this in Lancaster?’” He was driven to “bring something cool, unique and sexy” to Lancaster. Mission accomplished.

Amorette is located at 401 N. Prince Street (first floor of the Lancaster Press Building). It is open for lunch, Tuesday through Friday, and for dinner, Tuesday through Saturday. For details/reservations, call 717-947-7710 or visit amorette.com.

Dough & Co., Serving Edible Cookie Dough

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Meet our summer intern, Abigail Sokolsky, who hails from Massachusetts and is a senior at Franklin & Marshall College. Gail, who relies on foot-power to discover all that Lancaster has to offer, will be sharing her finds on our webpage throughout the summer.

 

Dough & Co., Serving Edible Cookie Dough

When the weather gets warmer, the students of F&M begin to look to downtown Lancaster for end-of-week activities. Most students know of the ideal ice cream spots in Lancaster City – Rolled Cold Creamery, Splits & Giggles, Penny’s Ice Cream, and Lancaster Sweet Shop, just to name a few. Then, of course, there’s Lancaster Central Market located on Market Street, open Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Though you can’t find ice cream there, you can go cool off with a smoothie from Central Market Juice Company or a Rijuice from a stand near the King Street entrance.

New to Lancaster is a warm-weather option and alternative to the more conventional ice cream, milkshakes, or smoothies typical of the spring and summer seasons. This innovative new option is edible cookie dough, which is being offered at Dough & Co. located at 46 N. Prince Street. Dough & Co. carries a number of different cookie-dough flavors such as chocolate chip, S’mores and Lancaster Batch (containing sea salt, caramel, pretzels and Nutella). Though this is not an ice cream shop, the cookie dough will very much resemble this classic treat, served in cones or bowls and even available as milkshakes. There will additionally be ice cream from Carmen & David’s Creamery available to accompany the cookie dough as well as a milk bar, a twist on a classic bar with different flavors of milk. In the future, Dough & Co. may also offer iced-coffee as well.

Dough & Co. is part of a niche dessert trend. In 2013, Edoughble hit the markets as the first national edible cookie dough company in the United States, gaining the notice of celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg and Jimmy Fallon. In January 2014, the cookie dough craze continued with the appearance of Joan Pacetti and Julia Schmid on the popular television show Shark Tank. These two entrepreneurial women left with investments from Lori Greiner and Steve Tisch to develop their company, The Cookie Dough Café, franchising gourmet edible cookie dough throughout the United States. Edible cookie dough continued to rise in popularity, and soon the massively popular DŌ opened in New York’s Greenwich Village. This particular location of edible cookie dough quickly trended online, no doubt because of its bright presentation as well as its incredible flavor.

The opening of Dough & Co. stands to bring a similar air of fun and novelty to Lancaster City’s existing food scene and will no doubt become a popular spot for the students of nearby Franklin & Marshall College as well as Millersville University and Pennsylvania College of Art & Design.

 

For more information, visit Dough & Co.’s Facebook page.

Hendricks’ Flower Shop … Blossoming in Lititz Since 1937

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A hidden treasure blooms in Lititz that is bursting with color, fragrance and smiling faces.

I didn’t know what to expect as I walked down the sidewalk to Hendricks’ Flower Shop a few days ago. I had assumed it would be like most of my other interviews: introduce myself, have a seat in a quiet office and begin with my list of questions. But, Bernie and Sue Ellen Hendricks had other plans for me.

“Let’s start with a tour of the greenhouses,” Sue Ellen suggests. I was just five weeks late for their “awesome” greenhouse tour, she says, when most of everything is in full bloom before being picked.

I still thought the tour was pretty amazing though, even with the hot humid air pressing down. When the door opened, I was engulfed into a sea of green. Peeking through the leaves, I could see white calla lilies standing tall.

Next was the sweet-smelling freesia – known for their scent, these flowers start blooming around Christmas, Sue Ellen says. I was then introduced to some unique ornamental kale and a wall of sweet peas.

“There are two women in Baltimore City, one has an events shop and the other has a traditional flower shop, and they both use only local product. They call local within 100 miles of their shops,” Sue Ellen explains. “They’ll start in late fall and come up once a week and buy flowers here for their businesses because there are few growers within 100 miles of them in the winter that they can get the product from. … This is an ornamental kale that I grow for them. I also grow eucalyptus for them.”

We came to the carnation bed, and Sue Ellen handed me one that smelled just like cloves, a lavender lace carnation, an heirloom variety.

“If we were still wholesaling carnations, we would only get 18 to 22 cents a flower, which might explain why there’s no more carnations in the United States. It’s a lot of work and no money,” Sue Ellen says, referring to the 1970s when researchers discovered that year-round growing conditions were better in South America. Carnation growers in South American countries would pay their workers less and weren’t held to high government standards, such as in the U.S.

Bernie chimes in saying, “My husband’s [Bob] family came here July 1, 1937. The first four greenhouses were built in 1914 [by the previous owners before the Hendricks purchased the property]. Bob’s mother, Dorothy, and father, Clyde, both of their fathers had greenhouses in Bucks County, all cut flowers. During the 40s, 50s and 60s, there were 65 to 75 growers of cut flowers in Lancaster County. They all disappeared.”

“It would hurt my heart to see this disappear,” Sue Ellen says of their carnation crop.

I was then introduced to their delphiniums (King Arthur series and a baby blue delphinium variety that looked like dragonfly tails), dusty miller, sweet Williams, lisianthus, ranunculus, asters, snap dragons, poppies and beautiful gerbera daisies (Sue Ellen’s favorite).

 

 

And, even though there were plenty of flowers in the greenhouses left to be picked, Sue Ellen informed me that I had just missed their peak season.

“We were at peak closer to January, February, March and April. We are now in the transition period. We will treat the soil and plant a fresh crop for next year,” Sue Ellen explains. “In the summer, that’s when we start to wind down and take care of our soil.”

At that time, I noticed one long bed was covered in a dusty black tarp with a long black hose running the length of it.

“Our crops come out, and we have a steam sterilizer. We steam sterilize our soil, and that’ll kill weed seeds, viruses and bacteria to help keep our crops clean and keep the weeds down so that way we don’t have to use as many chemicals.” Steaming can take from one to two hours per bed. It can take an entire day or more to steam one greenhouse, and the Hendricks have six altogether (the last one having been built in 1958).

Besides being a fourth generation cut flower shop and the largest grower of carnations in the East, Hendricks’ Flowers is unique. They do not offer a menu system, meaning no two arrangements are just alike. Each one is different and cannot be recreated. They do not advertise their business. They believe in tradition, such as being devoted to donating flowers for the Lititz Queen of Candles event for the past 64 years, and in family.

And, even though the shop is owned by the Hendricks, which also includes Sue Ellen’s brother, John, they consider each employee (their designers and delivery personnel) a part of their family.

Bernie says, “There’s a long history in Lititz with us. People hear about us; they count on us. To me, it’s more important to help someone rather than just gather the money. You’re there to help people when they need it.”

Hendricks’ Flower Shop, 322 South Spruce Street, Lititz. 717-626-2009, hendricksflowershop.com or Facebook.

      

 

Chef on the Rise

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When my editor suggested a Father’s Day story written by a dad about his son, I was sold immediately. I’ll be glad to brag, but my son Tyler’s accomplishments as a chef speak for themselves. Of course, I’m a bit biased and overly impressed with my son’s young resumé of work, but so are some of the top culinary names in the industry.

Chef Tyler Upton’s hands are heavily tattooed – something that has become a bit of an industry standard – and grip his knife with precision, function and form. Typeface spread across his fingers reads “until the very end,” his homage to Harry Potter. I don’t have any tattoos myself, but I’m OK with his – there’s a fox on the top of his left hand, and I still don’t know what that is all about. His right hand balances his blade while he skillfully slices through a root vegetable as we prep a meal in my kitchen.

“You hold it like that,” Tyler says, noticing my rigid grip on the handle of my knife, “and you’re gonna wind up with carpal tunnel.”

The apprentice has become the master.

“Tyler has the drive to get after it, rather than letting it come to him,” says Chef Michael Lee Rafidi, Executive Chef at Arroz at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. “He will prove himself and earn it, [because he] shows respect for the craft. I hired Tyler based on his attitude, offered him a cook position with intention to be a sous chef. I knew he was ready for a sous chef position, but we didn’t have it available.”

It took only a few months for him to reach the sous chef position at Arroz, one of the newest bright spots in the capitol area’s burgeoning food scene. Washington D.C. is the most recent U.S. city to achieve Michelin Star rating, following Chicago, New York and San Francisco. Arroz was nominated for a New Restaurant of the Year RAMMY Award (Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington), often called the “Oscars of food,” and Chef Rafidi was nominated for the RAMMY Rising Star Chef of the Year. The restaurant focuses on contemporary flavors of southern Spain and Morocco.

The gig is kind of a big deal – but one just taken in stride – for Tyler, a 2009 Garden Spot High School graduate who grew up loving cooking shows, Pokemon and movies.

“I think Food Network inspired me to take an interest in food,” says Tyler, who watched Iron Chef America and Molto Mario religiously. “My interest in food began as I became introduced to what food could be. I grew up in a time of convenience foods. It was heat, add, eat. As I grew older and met more of my family, I was introduced to what food could be. From that moment, I knew I wanted to cook.”

Setting his sights on that goal, Tyler enlisted in the U.S. Navy (following in his father’s footsteps) as a Gunner’s Mate to earn money for college. After four years of active, honorable service, he headed to Hyde Park, New York, where he was accepted into the prestigious The Culinary Institute of America. After graduating in 2016, Tyler moved to the Big Apple, where he could gather experience with notable chefs and at legendary eateries.

“I worked with Mario Batali a little bit in New York City. I helped open up La Sirena before I decided to move on to other projects,” says Tyler. Located in the Chelsea Maritime Hotel, La Sirena is a joint venture between celebrity chef Batali and restaurateur Joe Bastianich (MasterChef). Tyler, like many budding chefs, has rendered his services to several different restaurants in a short period of time. He went on to work at the hip Maison Premiere in Brooklyn, and while in New York staged – a sort of culinary apprenticeship/display of skills – at Le Bernardin, The Dining Room at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Atera.

Closer to home, Tyler staged at Fork in Philadelphia before moving back to Lancaster County. During his short return, Tyler could be found experimenting with the menu at St. Boniface Craft Brewing Company in Ephrata and creating plates at The Inn at Leola Village, which is home to TE, the only Forbes 5 Star restaurant in the county. Before accepting his current position at Arroz, Tyler staged at two D.C. restaurants owned by José Andrés, Pineapple and Pearls and Oyamel.

“In the hospitality industry, D.C. is one of the fastest growing areas. It seemed like a great place to further my career. D.C. is going through a gastronomic renaissance,” says Tyler, something Lancaster City can relate to.

“I like to find projects that can be any cuisine or ethnicity and attack it and perfect it. I don’t have a specific cuisine I am focused on currently. If a dish seems interesting to me, I investigate it.” – Tyler Upton Sous Chef, Arroz, Washington D.C.
In a way, he is just following his roots. He sees big city restaurants and chefs using a lot of products from Lancaster County. Eggs, chicken and vegetables top the list of Amish country items in demand in major metropolitan areas. It’s a trend he first noticed in New York City, noting that vegetables are the one thing he would like to use more often.

“The consumer is becoming more conscious of where their food comes from, as well as how it’s treated,” says Tyler, who is not a vegetarian but sees veggie-centric food as an upcoming and welcome trend. “We should expect our proteins to become a backdrop to a more vegetable-centered meal. We need to focus more on vegetables as a country, as a world.”

The kid – I call him a kid … he’s 27 – loves beets. In his words, they are “versatile, earthy and the perfect representation of something delicious that can come from out of the ground.” He loves beets so much that his newest tattoo is a life-like portrait of the taproot and leaves running the length of his arm. I’m definitely OK with this.

“I like to find projects that can be any cuisine or ethnicity and attack it and perfect it. I don’t have a specific cuisine I am focused on currently. If a dish seems interesting to me, I investigate it.” – Tyler Upton, Sous Chef, Arroz, Washington D.C.

Arroz is located at 901 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit arrozbymic.com.

Weekend Getaway … Jim Thorpe

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There’s nothing more re-energizing than a change of scenery. Fortunately, we don’t have far to travel in order to take advantage of beach towns, big cities or mountain escapes. One of my favorite getaways is Jim Thorpe, which continues to experience a post-coal revitalization through tourism. I appreciate the fact that many of its most endearing features and attractions are built on the footprint of its rich history.

Jim Thorpe has earned its fair share of accolades. Expedia calls the area “the Switzerland of America.” USA Today regards it as a “Top 50 Place to Live and Play.” Numerous media outlets call it “one of the most beautiful towns in America” due to its natural scenery and stunning architecture. Several tout it as being one of the country’s “most romantic” towns.

It’s also regarded as “the gateway to the Poconos,” and its fall foliage show is one of the best in the state. Its holiday events make it a top destination in December. It’s also earned the designation of being among the “Top 100 Adventure Towns” from National Geographic. It’s home to an independent film festival and an annual celebration of its Olympian namesake.

Jim Thorpe offers something for everyone, including thrill-seekers (ghostwalks and whitewater rafting), foodies (one pub is located in an old firehouse), wine lovers (the award-winning Galen Glen is just one winery in the area), romantics (there are lots of quaint B&Bs), nature lovers (Bear Mountain Butterfly Sanctuary is a hit with kids), history buffs (numerous coal-related museums) and shoppers (small shops and galleries galore). As you might guess, there’s a lot to see and do here.

A Little History

The modern-day town of Jim Thorpe straddles both sides of the Lehigh River midway between Allentown and Wilkes-Barre. Throughout much of the 18th century, the area beyond Blue Mountain was controlled by native tribes including the Delaware/Lenapes, Mohicans, Iroquois and Susquehannocks. The first non-native settlement was established slightly south of Jim Thorpe by a group of Moravians from Bethlehem, who sought to create an outpost in which they could live peacefully among the warring tribes.

In 1790, Necho Allen “discovered” coal deposits near Pottsville. Legend has it that Allen had fallen asleep while he was out hunting and awoke to find that his campfire had spread to a surface-level deposit of coal. Thus, began the anthracite coal industry in the United States. Twenty years later, the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company was born, as was the company town of Mauch Chunk. A 20-year construction project also began on the Lehigh Canal. The LC&NC mined the deposits in nearby Summit Hill. The coal was then transported by gravity rail to Mauch Chunk, where it was transferred to rafts for the trip down the turbulent Lehigh River.

The Architecture

Nestled into the hillside behind the Carbon County Courthouse, you’ll find two beautiful Italianate-style mansions. These estates are home to the Asa Packer Mansion Museum and the Harry Packer Mansion Inn.

Asa Packer was a visionary businessman who reinvented the Lehigh Valley Railroad with his push for a rail line to deliver coal from Mauch Chunk to Easton. This created a reliable method of transporting large amounts of coal to various metropolitan areas, which in turn ended up fueling the Industrial Revolution. Asa was also a judge, politician and the founder of Lehigh University. His former home stands as a monument of his many accomplishments and is considered one of the best preserved Italianate villas in the United States.

The Harry Packer Mansion Inn, a wedding gift from Asa to his son, is not only an interesting place to rest your head, it also offers highly acclaimed Murder Mystery Weekends. Test your mettle and see if you can solve this fact-based mystery surrounding the infamous Packer family fortune.

You will also find that the inn’s Libations Lounge beautifully utilizes the atmosphere of the mansion. During the warmer months, you can sit on the veranda and enjoy a delightful view over the grounds as well as the rooftops of the historic district that sit at the base of the mountain.

What’s in a Name?

In the early 1950s, anthracite coal was on the decline, and a plan was devised to merge Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk. The town’s residents voted overwhelmingly to rename the town Jim Thorpe in honor of the Native American Olympic and professional athlete, who was considered to be one of the greatest athletes of all time. Despite having never laid eyes on the town, Thorpe’s body rests in a commemorative mausoleum along Route 903 at the northwestern edge of town.

Today, the Old Mauch Chunk Historic District is a National Historic District comprised of 28 contributing buildings that exhibit architectural influences such as Victorian, Italianate and Romanesque.

Some of the most noteworthy buildings include the Lehigh Coal & Navigation building, whose outer facade received a facelift last year. Just around the corner, you’ll spot the beautiful wrought iron-lined balconies of The Inn at Jim Thorpe, which dates to 1849. You can book a stay in one of their modernized rooms, or stop by for a bite and a few drinks at the Broadway Grille & Pub. Be sure to grab a seat on the veranda if you can. The Inn’s spa facilities are also waiting for those looking to be pampered.

Further up West Broadway, you’ll find a large two-story stone structure that dates to 1871 and served as the Carbon County Jail until the 1990s. It’s been converted into the Old Jail Museum, where tours of the jail, basement dungeon and the gallows are offered. The gallows are where seven of 20 Irish miners known as Molly Maguires were hanged after being falsely accused of murder.

Best Rail Trail – Travel & Leisure

The historic footprints of iron horses have certainly left their impression on the area. While freight trains continue to rumble through the rugged wilderness, some of the old abandoned rail beds have been converted into a massive network of very impressive rail trails.

If you’re looking to be active, the D&L Rail Trail runs north from Jim Thorpe to the Lehigh Gorge State Park. Businesses offering bike rentals are plentiful if you want to leave your bike at home. A notable feature as you enter the state park is the Turn Hole Tunnel, a 496-foot-long abandoned railroad tunnel that brings hikers to a unique vantage point overlooking the Lehigh River. Across the river, a trail leads to the very rugged and wild Glen Onoko Falls on Pennsylvania State Game Lands No. 141. While the falls are absolutely stunning, this trail is very challenging and is not recommended for inexperienced hikers.

Not to worry though, there are a number of lovely waterfalls directly along the D&L Trail further into the state park. From the south entrance of the Lehigh Gorge State Park, the D&L Trail twists and turns uninterrupted for 26 miles – all the way to the town of White Haven.

By the time you read this, the new pedestrian footbridge in Jim Thorpe will be open. The 250-foot steel bridge is the final piece that connects 58 miles of trail across Luzerne, Carbon and Lehigh counties.

If this sounds too strenuous, you might want to head down to Jim Thorpe Station and buy a ticket to ride the rails in style aboard the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railroad. The LGSR runs affordable steam- and diesel-powered passenger rides on weekends and select weekdays May through December. It’s truly a unique way to experience the beauty and history of the area.

This is just what’s going on in town. Jim Thorpe serves as a gateway to the Pocono Mountain area. Between them, you’ll discover vast wilderness areas that are perfect for hiking, fishing, hunting, boating, birding, swimming, whitewater rafting and what is billed as the Free 100-mile View. Whether you’re looking for a day trip, a weekend getaway or an extended stay, Jim Thorpe has plenty to offer.

For more information, visit Jimthorpe.org.

Tropical Hideaway

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There’s nothing more welcoming on a Friday night than your own backyard!

Nine years ago, David Gelatt and Kevin Peters bought a home in the city that had a history all its own. Situated on what was once “an unnamed alley,” the property dates to the late 1700s. Originally located on what was then the edge of the city, the East Side property was distinguished by an apple orchard, with the brick building on the site serving as a vinegar distillery. Hence, David and Kevin fondly refer to their home as “The Vinegar House.” As the city grew around it, the orchard disappeared, and the distillery transitioned into a home. Over the years it gained modern conveniences such as electricity, indoor plumbing and a kitchen addition.

David, who is an avid gardener, was anxious to transform the “postage-stamp-sized” (8×25 feet) backyard into an outdoor-living area. “There wasn’t much there,” he recalls, naming the deck that adjoins the house as its only attribute. Beyond that, the stump of a walnut tree, a flowering cherry tree, a brick walkway and gravel-covered ground served as the garden’s design elements.

So, David and Kevin set to work. Their to-do list included building a fence, creating beds (topsoil and peat moss were brought in), planting an apple tree (they thought it was only appropriate) and getting grass to grow (“That wasn’t happening,” David notes). The brick walkway was also replaced. They also installed a grape arbor that grows along the fence top and shades the deck. “It’s not perfect, but it works,” David says. “We get a ton of grapes from it.”

Typical flowers and plants initially formulated the garden’s evolving themes. “One year we did purple, another year everything was edible,” David explains, adding that successive color themes included all-white and yellow-and-red. Another theme focused on fragrant plants. Late last year he was toying with the idea of introducing a cottage-garden theme for 2018. He theorized that plants suitable for drying could be incorporated into the Williamsburg Christmas theme that resonates throughout the house and garden during the holidays (be sure to come back in December to see that creation). In the end, he decided that the tropical theme still commanded his attention.

It was about three years ago that David discovered a tropical site on GardenWeb.com and became intrigued. So began a course in self-education that entailed visits to favorite garden centers such as Black Creek Greenhouses in East Earl (home to what David calls a “fantastic coleus collection”), Martin’s Greenhouse in Narvon (“always an adventure”), and Ott’s Exotic Plants in Schwenksville, Montgomery County (“where you never know what you’ll find”). The more he experimented, the more confident he became.

Discovering that tropicals can be pricey, and taking a cue from the strategy of moving house plants outdoors for the summer, he also began scouting garden centers and big-box stores for deep discounts on tropicals and what he refers to as “regular house plants.” When Kevin arrives home and spies new orchids, he instinctively knows that “Lowe’s had a good sale” going that day.

The plants grow, climb and are contained in the garden. “We really have to take full advantage of the limited space we have,” David says of the vertical direction the garden takes over the course of the growing season. “It starts out looking very organized,” he laughs. “But, by season’s end, it looks like a jungle.” Indeed, as they relax in their tropical hideaway, David and Kevin often hear passersby comment that they “heard there’s a jungle” on the other side of the fence.

Alas, when fall arrives, David and Kevin over-winter what they can accommodate in a second-floor bedroom, and discard the rest. “I wish I had a greenhouse,” David says. However, last year they recycled much of what would typically be trashed by posting a “free plants” notice on Facebook. The ploy worked beautifully, and by day’s end, most of the plants had found new homes.

It’s probably safe to say that dinner at the Gelatt-Peters household rarely (if ever) centers on take-out. That’s because the two love to cook. In the summer, their interests turn to canning. “We’re both obsessed,” Kevin admits. David traces his obsession to “growing up in a family of cooks. My mom canned all summer – we even had a root cellar.” Kevin was also familiar with the canning process.

Initially, they grew their own ingredients in a rented garden plot at Lancaster County Central Park. “We both work fulltime, and it got to be too much,” Kevin explains. “The garden ate up our weekends.” Now, they are regulars at Root’s Country Market, the Green Dragon, the Corn Wagon and Busy Bees Farm Market in Ronks. They often score good deals by going late in the day.

Kevin explains that they have their repertoire down to a science, with each carrying out his job like clockwork. You name it, and they’ve canned it. Their red beets are out of this world – maybe better than candy! And, their pickles are just the right combination of sweet and sour. The pasta sauce is simply scrumptious. As you might guess, they often receive canning paraphernalia as gifts. In turn, they’ve discovered their handiwork is perfect for potlucks and gift-giving.

While David finds the canning process to be “relaxing,” he says there’s nothing better to do on a Friday night than to sit on the deck with drinks and dinner and “do nothing.”

 

Summer Dining Foxchase-Style

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Dining outdoors has become a rite of summer. Many local restaurants now offer beautifully landscaped and illuminated outdoor areas where food, drinks, entertainment and fun are on the menu. In Northern Lancaster County, the go-to destination is The Double D Grubbery at Foxchase Golf Club.

Four years ago, Foxchase’s owners, Doug and Steve Graybill, were looking for a way to further utilize the club’s pavilion that consistently stayed booked for weekday golf tournaments. Envisioning it as an evening destination for the community, they opened The Double D Grubbery, offering a menu of casual fare and summer-inspired drinks on a Tuesday-through-Saturday basis.

The positive response to their new venture prompted the cousins to up the ante. They expanded the venue with The Grove, which was created by taking down trees and clearing brush. Concrete was poured to define the space. “It was done on a really windy day, and the guys pouring it were upset that leaves and other things were landing in it,” Steve says. “I told them not to worry about it, that we’d pick it off later. Well, when we did that, we were left with impressions that looked like fossils. It was perfect!”

They also brought in another cousin, Dwight Graybill of Cocalico Builders, to work his magic from a décor perspective. He further defined the space by enclosing it with walls. One was built from mushroom wood and enhanced with old window frames that were salvaged from an area farmhouse that had been razed. Another wall was created from 100-year-old barnwood that came from the family’s Triple G Farms – the golf course, which is 27 years old, was carved out of the Graybills’ farmland. “As kids, we used to drive golf balls into the side of one of the barns,” Dwight explains. “The wood was dimpled from the force of the balls hitting it. I thought it was an appropriate addition to a golf course. People often ask how we made the wood look so old.”

He also created a faux fireplace using doors salvaged from the Mountain Springs Hotel in Ephrata. “One of them still has the door number on it,” he points out. “That’s the neat thing about what we’ve done,” he says. “Because we’ve reused architectural elements from the area, there’s a lot of local history here.”

C.E. Pontz Sons further beautified The Grove area by adding landscaping and a water feature.
In addition to dining, The Grove has become a popular destination for bridal and baby showers, birthday parties and other smaller social events. It’s often utilized as the venue for cocktail hour for Foxchase weddings.

Weddings prompted another expansion project at Foxchase – the construction of a second pavilion. Dwight added design elements to that structure by lining the ceiling with metal roofing material, adding lighting, building a bar and incorporating sliding barn doors that enable the venue to function as one entity or separate areas. “We just dressed it up a little bit,” he says. Depending upon availability, the wedding pavilion will be used this summer for overflow from The Double D Grubbery.

In Steve’s estimation, “Dwight’s creativity lends itself beautifully to what we’re doing here. Guests really enjoy the atmosphere.”

The venue will become a bona fide family affair on June 30 when Doug’s daughter, Korrie, who serves as the events coordinator for the club, has her own wedding on the premises. “Oh, she’s keeping me busy,” Dwight says of the enhancements and finishing touches she has assigned him. Korrie loves Foxchase’s vibe, saying, “It’s tucked away, and it offers beautiful views of the countryside – it’s just a wonderful place to sit and relax.”

More changes are on tap for 2018. The Double D Grubbery’s summer season debuted on May 16 with an expanded menu – courtesy of Chef Rick Bender – that includes appetizers, salads, flat-bread pizzas, sandwiches, burgers and entrées such as crab cakes, rib-eye steak and Santa Fe chicken. The menu also offers a selection of kid-friendly items. “We feel we have the staff in place to take The Double D Grubbery to another level,” Steve remarks.

The fun element is also being expanded. Those waiting for tables or wanting to stay beyond dinner can now play games such as croquet, cornhole and golf. In regards to golf, it’s probably safe to say you’ve never played a round like the one Foxchase offers. The 9-hole short course is in the midst of a cornfield. “It’s the only course of its kind in the nation,” Steve says, noting that the holes are big enough to swallow a soccer ball, which makes it perfect for golf-loving parents and soccer-loving kids.

Foxchase Golf Club is located at 300 Stevens Road in Stevens. The Double D Grubbery is open Tuesday-Friday, beginning at 4 p.m. On Saturday, doors open at 12 p.m. For more information, call 717-336-3673 or visit foxchasegolf.com.

Wood-Fired Pizza at Home

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My first wood-fired pizza experience was at Dogfish Head’s old brewpub in Rehoboth Beach. I remember it as being absolute perfection. That savory crab-and-asparagus pizza with a creamy white sauce forever skewed my pizza experience.

Eventually, Dogfish Head changed its off-season pizza night, and the ingredients for my favorite pie disappeared from their menu. However, as my passion for food has grown over the past few years, recreating that pizza stood at the top of my must-do list.

Unfortunately, I discovered the cost of installing a wood-fired oven was beyond my reach. Then, through the waves of heat, an oasis appeared in the distance: the charcoal-fueled kettle grill. Weber kettle grills have been an American staple since 1952 and remain largely unchanged. A basic Original Weber charcoal grill costs a smidgen under $100, even less if used, putting gas grills to utter shame on a cost basis. Furthermore, the hype surrounding Weber’s build quality is completely justified.

KettlePizza Oven

So, you’re probably wondering how a seemingly limited charcoal grill can be of any use in baking a wood-fired pizza. A gadget call KettlePizza offers an ingenious solution: a stainless-steel insert that converts kettle-shaped charcoal grills into wood-fired pizza ovens.

Assembly is a snap. First, no tools are required, as it adjusts to fit 18.5 and 22.5-inch grills, plus 26.5-inch grills with an extension. The grill’s lid is placed on top of the KettlePizza, which has an opening for a pizza peel, allowing the heat to remain trapped in the dome. The next step is to remove the kettle grill’s top grate and place it inside the KettlePizza insert. This will raise it away from flames and into the hotter air. A pizza stone then rests on top of the grate, level with the grill’s edge and the opening in the KettlePizza. The result is easy access, superb heat retention and even heat distribution below the pizza.

For my “oven,” I started with a basic KettlePizza kit that included the insert, a metal peel and a pizza stone. The kit was added to an old stainless-steel Weber grill I restored; today, the model is known as the ‘Performer Deluxe.’ Brilliantly, the Performer Deluxe scorches charcoal’s Achilles heel – slow startups – with a propane burner to fire up rapidly. Dried hardwoods fully ignite in minutes, taking the oven from a cold start to 700 degrees in roughly 20 minutes.

KettlePizza carries a variant for propane grills, but that option misses out on the mouth-watering flavor added by a hardwood fire. Temperature-wise you will also be at the mercy of your grill’s BTU gods, which is more limiting than a hardwood fire.

Fire + Wood

Hardwood selection is equally as fundamental to flavor as the quality of your ingredients since each variety produces uniquely smoky flavors, tantalizing aromas and varying burn rates. Apple, maple, hickory, pecan, oak, mesquite and cherry are popular hardwoods that can be mixed to create more elaborate profiles.

The Restaurant Store in Lancaster has been foundational to my setup, as it carries perfectly sized pieces of dried hickory specifically for cooking. (The moisture content of wood impacts the burn rate and temperature, so it needs to be dry.) My baseline for startups is half-a-dozen pieces of hickory.

When building the fire, it’s important to line the back edge of the oven with wood in a ‘c’ shape. It’s essential that heat from the fire be indirect to avoid burning your pie into an embarrassing crisp. Heat and temperature are two different things, but to keep it simple, the air above the pizza and below the stone will get plenty hot.

The KettlePizza and Weber lid both have built-in thermometers that help to monitor and utilize differing temperatures at the bottom and top of the oven. I’ve found that an infrared thermometer is more accurate and helps measure the temperature at various points on the pizza stone.

Baking Tools

A trip to the Restaurant Store will prove to be well worth your time in the pursuit of a better bake. For example, the store carries an assortment of wood peels and pans – in matched quantities and dimensions – to fit your pizza stone. A wire brush is useful for sweeping the stone clean between each bake and removing burnt food and corn meal that can leave a bitter taste. A pair of pizza turners, tools for rotating the pizza, can also be lifesavers, especially as you get started. I found my set online and mostly use them for tending the fire.

A thin aluminum peel is ideal for turning the pizza to even out any hot spots and for pulling a finished pizza out of the oven. Aluminum peels are easier to get under the pizza and can be used to crisp the top of the pizza by lifting it into the hottest air in the dome of the oven. Leather fireplace gloves can literally save your skin.

Dough

You probably already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen to make some of the best pizza dough you’ve never tasted. But, if you are going through the work of making wood-fired pizza at home, at a minimum you’ll want to upgrade your ingredients. I prefer bread flour (for a crispier crust) mixed with a high-gluten flour. However, all-purpose and 00 flours are fine. Two teaspoons each of salt and olive oil, one of sugar, and 2-1/4 teaspoons of activated yeast in 2-1/4 cups of water are all you need. Then, combine everything in a stand mixer, where it should climb up a dough hook and not be too sticky. Add more water or flour as needed.

Once mixed, place the dough in a bowl thinly oiled with extra virgin olive oil. Let the covered dough proof rise at room temperature for a couple of hours prior to baking, or put it in the refrigerator for a couple of days in advance of baking if you prefer to let it ferment longer. Extra dough can be frozen.

If you want to save time or err on the side of caution, I’d recommend that you start out by using store-bought dough. The heartache of watching a day’s worth of work go up in smoke isn’t worth the risk. Buying dough from your grocer’s bakery or potentially from your local pizza shop can add consistent quality and time savings as you learn to create unique flavors and textures that are transformed by fire.

Sauce

Similar to making the dough, producing an excellent tomato sauce from scratch is quite easy. Four tablespoons of olive oil, four garlic cloves, and a teaspoon each of basil and parsley, are sizzled in a saucepan before crushed local or canned peeled tomatoes are added and cooked over medium heat for 10 minutes total. Add salt and pepper to taste, and that’s it.

Making an Alfredo sauce from scratch is a little more involved, but the richness of flavor will be your reward.

Again, canned sauces are great timesavers and good insurance policies for starters, but making your own will give you something to do as the dough rises. Better yet, the aromas that will flood your kitchen are well worth the process.

Pizza Assembly

I start each pizza on a wood peel that’s been dusted with flour and cornmeal to help absorb moisture. For convenience, I recommend you have one peel for each pizza of the bake. Letting sticky dough rest too long on a peel is a near guarantee that it will permanently stick at the precise moment you hope to gently slide a pizza into a heated oven. The pizza should slide freely on the peel; if it sticks, add more cornmeal and flour generously underneath. I usually form the shape of the dough by hand then roll it out for a thinner crust before brushing olive oil on the crust.

Smaller pizzas are wonderful in that they allow for individual preferences. From fresh and cured meats to asparagus, peppers, mushrooms, apples, arugula, and even Maryland lump crab, the list of superb local ingredients and creative possibilities is endless.

The Bake

Once the pizza stone hits approximately 550-600 degrees F, I’ll shuffle a pizza off of the wood peel. At those temperatures, a pizza will bake in a matter of a few minutes, so stay near the oven, and knock on wood, it would behoove any baker to keep a fire extinguisher on hand for safety. Once on the hot pizza stone, the dough begins to bake instantaneously. It will almost immediately rise, and the edges of the crust will start to curl under ever so slightly, a sign the pizza has started to release from the stone.

Use an aluminum peel to carefully lift the front of the pizza to see if it has released before you rotate it 90-180 degrees for an even bake. If the pizza starts to burn, the temperature is too hot, and the proximity or quantity of heat needs to be reduced.

Savor

Once out of the oven, you won’t believe this slice of Italy was made in your own backyard. Cut, serve and share – along with your favorite glass of red wine or craft beer. If you decide you need more pizza, the fire will easily stoke for another round.

Hopefully, this leaves you inspired to try baking your own pizza. Six months after experimenting with the KettlePizza, I must say it’s been the most challenging and rewarding fun I’ve had cooking. Not surprisingly, it’s also the food event we’ve shared with the greatest number of friends.

Recipes & Resources

KettlePizza Website: kettlepizza.com
Dough Recipe: Bobby Flay ‘s Pizza Dough Recipe, foodnetwork.com.
Margherita Sauce Recipe: Tyler Florence’s Margherita Pizza Recipe, foodnetwork.com.
Alfredo Sauce Recipe: allrecipes.com

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