Devour The Poconos

I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince with my mom this afternoon while my son was in school. It’s been years since I’ve been to Foxmoor. Actually, the last movie I saw was the last Harry Potter, and that was at the mall. I can’t believe how much the price of movies has gone up over the last few years. $9 per ticket, and the matinee is only $2 cheaper.

Foxmoor remodeled a few years ago. I remember a big article about it in the paper, and I was curious to see how it changed. I’m still curious, because the only differences I noticed were nicer sinks in the bathrooms and slightly more comfortable seats. Perhaps the changes are subtle.

Aside from the comfortable seats and the fact that Foxmoor is almost always less crowded than the mall, it didn’t have a lot going for it today. Maybe they’re trying to conserve electricity because the bathroom lights were very dim, the toilet water pressure was pitiful (making for some very gross stalls), and the theater was roasting. I wore jeans and brought a sweater because theaters are usually freezing. About an hour into Harry Potter, I was starting to feel like I was in a sauna.

The overpriced popcorn was stale, they were out of lids for all drink sizes except small, and their candy selection was limited to about six choices. If they could at least fix the heating/AC issue, I would still choose them over the mall simply for the better seats and fewer people.

Pocono Mountain Carnival- Rt. 611 Mt Pocono
Although technically not a restaurant, the carnival does serve food so I thought it worth a review. The Pocono Mountain Carnival runs from Sunday July 19th through Saturday July 25th and is located just north of the traffic light in Mt. Pocono. Monday was “ride all the rides for one price” night, and I almost fainted from shock when I saw what that “one price” was. $25 per wrist band, up at least $5 from last year. We purchased one for my son, and $10 worth of tickets so I could take him on a few rides that required an adult. That $10 got me on three rides. Granted, there are a fairly decent amount of “kiddie rides,” but I did notice they increased the height requirement, likely in an effort to force more parents to purchase tickets. My son just barely made height requirement for most of the rides when last year he was more than tall enough for those same rides.

The midway games, as always, are not really worth the prizes. Expect to spend at least $5 for a Dollar Store toy. But in the big tent, the fire company has plenty of smaller games that cost under $1 to play. We actually won movie tickets for $2, not too shabby. All that money goes to the Volunteer Fire Department, so even if you lose at least your money is going to a good cause.

The food that is sold by the locals and the fire department is very inexpensive. For a total of just under $15, I had a chicken sandwich, perogies, a slice of cake, and a can of Snapple, my mom had a pulled pork sandwich and a can of Snapple, and my son had a six-piece chicken nugget basket with french fries and a chocolate milk. Can’t really beat that. The food was typical fried fare, similar to diner food. The tables were clean and plentiful.

My son had a wonderful time on the rides and we all had a very nice evening. However, I don’t think I’ll be returning next year because the ticket prices are getting out of control. I’ll stick to the Newfoundland Fair, where I can pay $7 to get in the gate and ride for free all day.

Garfield’s Restaurant & Pub, 400 Stroud Mall, Stroudsburg, PA‎ – (570) 420-1007‎

Having worked in the mall on occasion, I’ve frequently dined at Garfield’s for lunch, dinner, and take-out. It was conveniently located (right there in the Stroud Mall) and offered an alternative to the same old food court fare. The staff is incredibly friendly, but the service is unbelievably slow, even during less busy times. I would use up an entire lunch hour waiting for my food to arrive. This is not a place you can just pop into for a quick meal, or if you’re short on time. The take-out is a little better, about twenty minutes from the time I order until it is ready to be picked up. However, with takeout, you’re at the mercy of the bar staff, and if it’s busy, your food could get cold before someone gets around to taking your money.

Aside from the ultra-slow service, it’s not a bad place to eat. The prices are pretty standard for this type of chain restaurant, expect to pay at least $15 for a dinner meal and beverage. They do have some specials that can get you under $10. Considering that you’ll pay around $10 for two slices of pizza and a soda in the food court, it’s not a bad alternative.

The nice thing about Garfield’s is that they have a big sheet of butcher paper covering the tables, and a cup of crayons. My son likes to eat there because he can draw everywhere without repercussions. It is much easier to keep him entertained for at least half the time we are waiting.

Their food is good. I’ve enjoyed just about every chicken meal I’ve tried there. I’ve never had a bad meal. Even the plain old turkey sandwiches are better than most places, they use a different type of bread that makes it taste really good. Excellent potato skins. I get them without the bacon, they never have issues with my requests to add and remove random stuff from my food.

If they could just figure out a way to provide faster service, they’d be an awesome restaurant.

Sarah Street Grill,550 Quaker Alley, Stroudsburg PA 18360 570-424-9120

The Sarah Street Grill, located just off Sarah Street in Stroudsburg, offers a unique dining experience. It can best be described as a sports bar with live music to which you can bring a date, celebrate an anniversary, or just grab a casual meal. They have an eclectic menu featuring a combination of fine entrees, bar food, and a Sushi bar complete with Sapporo beer or sake. There is live entertainment nearly every night, with open mic Wednesdays and a large selection of local bands.

The restaurant is large enough that if you don’t want to be overwhelmed by the music, you can sit far enough way to still carry a conversation. While they do get very busy during the dinner hours, I’ve never had to wait more than ten minutes for a table. The atmosphere consists of low lighting, with candle-lit tables in some sections. The seating is comfortable.

Dinner is pricey, averaging $14-40, depending on your choice. Pastas are at the low range, steaks at the high. But the food is excellent, never disappointing. I love their Penne a la Vodka, the sauce is rich and creamy without being overwhelming. Chicken can be added for $2 more, and the helping is very generous. I’ve always had to request a to-go box.

Even the bar food and appetizers are a bit higher than average, around $10 for a burger, $7.50 for a dozen wings. Their wings are the second best in the area in my opinion (second to Flood’s), and every burger comes with the option of replacing the meat with a veggie burger, something I’d like to see every restaurant do eventually. Children’s menu prices are all $6, and offerings are fairly limited. They offer pizza, grilled cheese with fries, chicken fingers with fries, and linguine with red sauce. I can’t comment on the sushi menu because I don’t eat fish or rice, but they claim to be the best in the area. Prices for two pieces range from $3-7. They offer about 60 different bottled beers and twelve on tap.

Due to the price, this is not a place I can afford to eat at regularly, but it is often one of my top three choices for a nice night out. Their website has a calendar with all the upcoming live acts through July. Click on the days to check out the band’s website for more information.

Update- 7/16/09- Thank you all for entering my first giveaway! A random comment has been chosen and the winner has been notified. I am planning another giveaway for August, so please check back.

I am giving away one $25 Restaurant.com certificate to  one Devour the Poconos reader. I’ve been using their site for years to save money on dining out. They have a wide variety of restaurants to choose from, depending on your area.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post before July 15th telling me  your favorite place to eat, along with your email address so that I can reach you if your comment is selected. I will be using random.org to select one comment to receive the certificate.

This giveaway is open to residents in the US.  The giveaway runs until 11:59PM on July 15, 2009. One random comment will be chosen, that person will be contacted by July 17, 2009 and will have three days  to respond, otherwise another comment will be randomly chosen.

Ruby Tuesday, 1055 N 9th St, Stroudsburg, PA‎ – (570) 420-9110‎

I will never understand why an establishment that is doing well the way things are will up and change everything until they’re left with something that doesn’t even begin to resemble their previous environment. Ruby Tuesday used to be a great place to go for a great meal. The service was fast, it was child-friendly, and the atmosphere was very relaxed. It used to be a family favorite, especially when my son was still an infant. For reasons I don’t understand, he loved that place as a baby. Maybe it was all the entertaining little objects to stare at on the wall. Maybe it was the lighting. I didn’t question it too much because he was quiet and content, allowing us to eat in peace.

Then one day a couple of years ago, we went in and it was completely different. The menu was more “sophisticated” with far fewer offerings. The prices went up. The cute stuff on the walls came down. The service was significantly slower. My son was a toddler, and his patience was already fairly low, but when we had to wait over an hour to get our food one day because our server forgot to put in our order, he was a terror. I can’t say I blame him.

They took off most of the stuff I like on the salad bar, although some have returned since then. I used to love the pasta salad. It was light, tangy, and easy to pick out the stuff I didn’t want. The replaced it with a mediocre pasta salad that is denser, more bland, and hard to pick around. What happened to the pudding? That was great pudding, and kind of made the salad bar worth the price because you could technically get an appetizer and a dessert.

On our most recent visits, the quality of the food varied drastically. The chicken tender meal, which is usually a safe bet, was horrible for an adult, but just right for a child. My chicken tenders were floppy, strangely spiced, and not conducive to dipping. My son, who got the chicken tender kids meal, had the thicker more traditional style. I was tempted to swap with him, but I doubt he would have eaten mine. Mine was supposed to come with broccoli and mashed potatoes, but they were kind enough to let me substitute and get french fries. They are very good at allowing substitutions and eliminations, which is important to me because as a picky eater, what I ask for barely resembles the item on the menu by the time I’m through.

I go back there on occasion, when we’re in that part of town and can’t think of anyplace else to eat, but I remain extremely disappointed in the changes. During our most recent visit in the middle of the afternoon, it wasn’t very crowded and the service wasn’t quite as slow. But unless they revert back to the good old Ruby Tuesday we came to love, this will never be a regular stop for us again.

Flood’s, 732 Main St, Stroudsburg, PA 18360, (570) 424-5743

Flood’s is a bar, but it is also a great place to eat as a family during the day and early evening. Their menu is mostly common pub fare- burgers, sandwiches, and wings. The prices are average for a bar and wont break the bank. I realize that taste in wings is highly subjective, but in my opinion, they have the best McHales wings in the entire area. Juicy, never overcooked or dry, perfect combination of BBQ and hot sauce. I’ve never once had a bad wing experience there.

It is located on Main Street, so parking can be a nightmare, especially later at night when all the college students are out. This is a college bar. We live in a college town so pretty much every decent bar is a college bar. But it is also a good place for locals. After ten pm, this place is packed. It gets hot, loud, and hard to get served quickly. But during the afternoon and early evening, I’ve always received excellent service. At night, I would use this as strictly a take-out place if you’re not looking to go out drinking, and call well in advance because it can take a while to get your food.

If, however, you are looking to get out for a night, Floods will fill that need too. Yes, it is packed. It’s not a huge place, although far from a hole in the wall. But the bartenders are great and make an excellent drink. I’m not a beer drinker, so I can’t comment on the quality of their selection, but it is my understanding that they have a fairly decent imported beer menu. They have a place mat with beers around the world, you can check off all the ones you’ve tried.

Flood’s is one of those bars you’ll either love or hate. When I used to go out regularly before settling down, it was my bar of choice. I loved it. Loved the atmosphere, the people, even the entertainment on occasion (most of it wasn’t my taste, but it was still fun). They are very good to regulars and newcomers alike.

Marita’s Cantina,745 Main St Stroudsburg, PA 18360 – (570) 424-8355

Marita’s Cantina has been a part of downtown Stroudsburg for many years. They are in a newly-built complex at the same location. The remodeled restaurant is nice, but a little bland. The only redeeming quality is the use of very large, bold paintings. The whole dining area and bar are in one big room now. I preferred the previous relaxed atmosphere and layout. The booths are uncomfortable. The tables are too close to the narrow benches.

The food is expensive, and they charge you for every “extra” possible. I ordered chicken quesadillas, which always come with sour cream in every other location I’ve eaten them. Here, it cost an extra $.80. My mom ordered the fajitas, and indicated that she wanted the guacamole, which came with it. Perhaps the waitress thought she wanted extra because she was charged almost $2 for an extra small side. She complained, and it was removed from the bill after a lecture regarding the rising cost of avocados and a warning to “just keep that in mind for the next time.” The total bill for two adults and a child came to over $40.

My quesadillas were excellent, I have no complaints about the taste of the food. My son was able to get chicken fingers, one of the few foods he’ll eat at a restaurant. The fried ice-cream was awesome, the best part of my meal. The service was fine, although the waitress didn’t inform us that we would be charged extra for sour cream or guacamole. It’s not mentioned on the menu either, so I feel she really should have told us. All in all, it was a mediocre dining experience, and I doubt it’s likely we’ll go back when we can get the same food for less elsewhere.

The Big A: Italian & American Grillehouse and Bar, 1 Fox Run Lane ,East Stroudsburg (Corner of Rt 209 & Keystone Rd) (570) 223-1700

The state took the original Big A Steakhouse on Route 209 through “eminent domain” several years ago as part of the Marshall’s Creek Bypass Project (which rapidly became a very sad joke in our area when they ran out of money), forcing the restaurant to relocate. The Big A proved they could bounce back in major style. Now located two miles north of the old location, The Big A is housed in a beautiful sprawling facility with private rooms for events and an expanded menu. The dining area is classy and romantic with dim lighting and candlelit tables.

The large menu offers both American and Italian choices, including chicken, pasta, seafood, steaks, and burgers. It’s hard not to find something new worth trying with each visit. Their Chicken Francaise is amazing, and although I don’t eat them myself, I’m told the steaks are excellent with very little fat. Even the children’s menu offers more sophisticated choices like penne, steak medallions, and mozzaluna (fried half-moon mozzarella slices, similar to mozzarella sticks but with a prettier name) along with chicken and cheeseburgers.

The food is pricey, on par with other more upscale restaurants in the area, but it is well worth it. From the dinner menu (available all day) pasta dishes range from $14-19, chicken from $17-19, and steaks from $17-39. Children’s meals come with a soda and soft-serve ice-cream and range from $6-9. The lunch menu, available from 11:30-3:30 daily, has less expensive sandwiches, wraps, and burger options. The most expensive item on the lunch menu is $15, the average price range is $8-9. I often purchase certificates of restaurant.com when they have their sales (which is frequently). They usually offer $25 off $35 or more. If you get it when they have their 80% off sale the certificate only costs $2.

Service is excellent at the Big A. The food arrives hot in a reasonable amount of time. The waiters and waitresses are fast and attentive. If you are uncomfortable because of temperature, volume of music, or anything else, tell them and they will do their best to make it right. For a family on an average income, this is a great place to go for a special night out, but the cost prohibits it from becoming a weekly event. If I could afford it though, I’d eat there as often as possible. It really is a wonderful dining experience.

Bennigans, Milford Road, East Stroudsburg, PA 18302, 570-588-5030

First, an important note- the address on Bennigan’s website states that this location is at 5261 Milford road in East Stroudsburg, bit this is not correct. They are actually much further up 209 (going north), a half mile past Foxmoor Village, on the left. If you are not familiar with the area, call them and they will give you directions.

I am always excited to see a new restaurant come to the area. I used to eat at Bennigans when I briefly lived in Maryland and I always liked their food. This year for Easter, it was just me, my mom, and my son. We felt it was pointless to cook an entire meal for two adults and a very picky child, so it seemed like a good time to try out the local Bennigans.

The inside of the restaurant is very nice. Brand new, clean, and comfortable with many different rooms. They spread out the patrons on that day so there were few people in each dining area. We were put in what I can only assume was the “people who may have noisy children” room, kind of out of sight/out of mind. Our server was quick to take our drink order but slow to return.

I ordered Cajun chicken over pasta, my mom ordered a special chicken dish, and my son ordered Mac and Cheese. My food was cold, but I think it would have been good if it was hot. My mom’s meal looked nothing like the picture and was missing sides. It took some arguing to convince the waitress that this was completely different than what was displayed before she admitted my mom was correct. My son’s Mac and Cheese was nothing more than microwavable Kraft Easy Mac or something very similar.

I believe in second chances, so I am willing to give Bennigans another try once I’ve exhausted all my other options. If I have a better experience, I will come back and update this. But for now, I have to say I was extremely disappointed by both the service and the food on that particular day, and I’m not looking forward to going back there any time soon.