Sangria is poised to bring Allentown’s fine dining culture back to the future with owner, Easton restaurateur George Meireles, adding fine Mediterranean to his successful collection of boutique restaurants in Easton.

Here, a few details from LV Scene’s taste test during a soft-opening Saturday.

The Look: Posh, sleek, yet friendly, Sangria’s modern interior is punctuated with designer lighting, warm hues, and roomy metropolitan bar. Dine inside or alfresco when the weather allows. Sangria is sure to alter one’s perspective of fine cuisine in the Queen City.

Appetizers: Don’t miss the Calamari Fries, large, tender calamari steak sliced and dipped in milk, batter and served with roasted tomato sauce and garlic basil aioli, sure to be voted the best of the Valley and beyond. Other winners are the Boneless Lamb Skewers with Roasted Garlic and Rosemary sauce over bed of potato straw, or Tuna Carpaccio, thin slices of seared tuna accompanied by watermelon and mint salsa.

The Sangrias: With four house recipes on “tap,” the sangria flows at Sangria. The traditional red  proved to please with just the right combo of red wine, and bouquet of refreshing fruit and wine flavors, while the Silver Sangria is brilliantly clear and tasty. Even the reluctant will find favor with the sangria here.

Salads: From the Mediterranean Seafood Salad, with octopus, bay scallops and shrimp tossed with bell pepper, Kalamata olives, fresh tomatoes, parsley and red wine vinaigrette to the Caesar Salad with Parmesan or Chopped Greek Salad with Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette, salads are a must in Mediterranean fare, and great to share with and pair with one of the flat breads.

The Entrees New take on traditional  Mediterranean favorites, from tasty seafood dishes, including traditional paella, to pastas, several savory lamb dishes, and beef made to order at table side, and a dose of poultry selections. Lamb chops were grilled to perfection with rosemary glaze, as was the pistachio crusted Tilapia. Exotic flat breads, including a daily special, are a must accompaniment.

The Service: Friendly attentive servers prove par excellence in knowledge of the Sangria dining and beverage menu.  By the taste and look of things, Sangria is bound to please, bringing fine dining traffic to downtown Allentown.

Food Review: Sangria Serves up Sophisticated Five-Star Fare is a post from: LV Scene | Your Guide in the Lehigh Valley

On Thursday night, 300 plus guests hobnobbed at a private opening cocktail party following the official  ribbon cutting ceremony with Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski and restaurateur George Meireles.

Located in the slick Alvin Butz Building,   Butz construction folks were out in full force, including Wendy Body, a project manager, who by the way, donned a stylish mandarin orange chemise dress for the occasion. Party goers also included  the always fashionable Allentown business owner, Linda KrisKo, of Krisko Insurance, and Miriam Huertas, of Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, who was proudly showing the new hot spot.

Also on hand, branding gurus, Jane Heft and Lenore Mohr, of Enze, who by the way, branded Sangria, in addition to their other projects such as Steel Stacks,

From Easton, where Mr. Meireles also owns other hot spots, including River Grille and Valenca, was Easton Mayor Sal Panto, and other Eastonians including advertising director Peter Stevenson, and writer Annette Gray.

Also out enjoying the night of sipping sangria, and plenty of appetizers, from giant fried calamari, to savory lamb meatballs, bite size risotto balls, and artful shrimp appetizers, were Allentown city councilmen Michael Donovan, Julio Guidy, and Mike D’Amore, plus plenty of Lehigh Valley business folk Stay tuned for food and beverage review.

Allentown: Sangria Opens with Fanfare, Savory Food and Nightlife is a post from: LV Scene | Your Guide in the Lehigh Valley

Sangria seems to also boast the largest outdoor sidewalk patio seating in the Lehigh Valley

Update:

Sangria is scheduled to open on Monday the 23rd of August.

What are your thoughts? Is the revitalization of downtown Allentown going in the right direction?

…….

Hot Spot: Sangria Opens In Downtown Allentown is a post from: LV Scene | Your Guide in the Lehigh Valley

1. Abode Fine Furnishings Antiques

Home décor lovers will find two floors and seven rooms of antique and signature home furnishings at this lovely East Market Street retailer located just a few doors up from Main Street.   Stylish finds for nearly room of the home, including patio and garden, the price points here vary, and so does the selection, with new deliveries almost daily.  The home or apartment dweller will find rustic to one-of-a-kind furnishings, French Country, modern, contemporary and a selection of fine art. Visit Site

2. The Attic

Fashionable vintage duds for gals and guys just got cooler when The Attic opened its latest digs at 516 Main Street, Bethlehem recently. bThe Attic buys, sells and trades vintage or nearly new attire, footwear, handbags and costume jewelry. Also, small retro house wares have been popping up on the floor. A favorite spot among college students, teens and stylish folk of any age, merchandise spans Louis Vuitton pumps to American eagle flats, boots for men and women, leather designer (or knock-off) hand bags or belts, gobs of costume jewelry, plus racks of hip jeans, outerwear, tops, and jackets galore. Certainly a cool place to shop or sell your hip clothes, in fact, just last week, my daughter made $75.   For fashionista’s on any budget or whim, other Attic locations include Kutztown, Manayunk and Broad Street in Bethlehem. Visit Site

3. Mixed Bag on Main

Charming mix of hand selected accessories, hand bags, and fashions for women and youth, Mixed Bag on Main at 450 Main Street, may be small on space, but big on fab finds whether looking for just the perfect pair of earrings, PJ’s, rain gear or gift. Visit Site

4. Shuze

Shoe lovers unite. Shuze rocks the Bethlehem shopping scene both on sides of the Lehigh River, with a new location at 520 Main Street added this summer. Shuze’s two retail boutiques, the other located on East Third Street, South Bethlehem, stocks fun, lively yet sophisticated footwear from fashionable flats, to high styled heels. Shuze offers fine shoe brands in hand selected styles from Born, Frye, Hunter Boots, Nicole, Simple Shoes, plus fashionable apparel, jeans and accessories. Visit Site

5. Seasons Olive Oil & Vinegar Tap Room

This handsomely appointed shop features myriad of fine olive oils and vinegars from around the world, served straight from shiny bright stainless steel casks.  A must stop for that hard to find gift for any home owner, chef or foodie.  Seasons is located at 504 Main Street, Bethlehem, PA. Visit Site

6. Tangerine

Bright new slice of an eco-friendly gift shop located in the Main Street Commons, Tangerine is just steps away from the popular Brew Works, with an array of gifts, cards, dinner ware, home accessories, and biodegradable soaps and cleaning products to boot. All, of course, in dash of citrus hues.

7. The White Picket Fence

Fabulous floral arrangements, wreaths and décor fill this Main Street home furnishings boutique with gifts and accessories for fashionable women as well.  Check out the courtyard patio for additional ideas, and the shop owner will create one of a kind, made to order designs for your home, office or condo. Great gift ideas here for the bride, to the retired. http://www.kudzu.com/m/The-White-Picket-Fence-21316180

8. Girl Friends Boutique

Sassy, sexy apparel, accessories, handbags, belts, and shoes from myriad of designer and brand names, plus Sex in the City inspired looks,  marks this lively boutique as a must stop destination in dowtown Bethlehem. Located on the ground floor of the Main Street Commons, Girlfriends Boutique is a noted destination for fun loving style seekers. Plus, the best spray tans, using organic ingredients only, in the Lehigh Valley for$30.  Visit Site

8 New Hip Stores to Shop Downtown Bethlehem, PA is a post from: LV Scene | Your Guide in the Lehigh Valley

Easton Area Restaurant Week is a post from: LV Scene | Your Guide in the Lehigh Valley

The Lehigh Valley’s nightlife and dining scene has seen a lot of growth throughout the past year. Several new bars and restaurants have made a big impact here in the Valley and it’s been fun to track the new growth that’s come to our area. Roosevelt’s 21st, The Firehouse, The PigPen, and The Bookstore are just some of the new additions we’ve seen this past year. The past year has also brought a world class casino to our neck of the woods. Despite it’s formidable size, the Sand Casino Resort Bethlehem hasn’t had quite the impact on the Lehigh Valley’s entertainment many of us thought it would.

You may have noticed that the over the past several weeks, the amount of new posts has dwindled down to one or two a week. I wish I could say that that is likely to change for the better, but, unfortunately, it’s not. About two weeks ago I was offered and accepted a job in Atlanta. This week will be my last in the Lehigh Valley for the foreseeable future. At this point in time I have not been able to find anyone interested in taking over the website. Right now my plans are to leave the website up and running, there’s still a lot of usable content here on the site. Our restaurant reviews, list of weekly events and the “Find it here” bar listings will still be helpful for anyone looking for information about entertainment here in the Valley. But at this point no more new content will be posted to the site. I have ownership of the domain name thelvscene.com for at least the next 12 months and will leave the site up until then. If you are interested in taking over the management of this website, let me know. Shoot me an email at lvscene(at)gmail.com and we’ll figure something out.

The past year has been fun, I’ve made a lot of new friends through the site and have had a lot of good times at some of the events you’ve read about here on LV Scene. Thanks for making LV Scene your go to source for news and information about the Lehigh Valley’s nightlife, dining, and entertainment scene. And who knows, maybe things won’t work out in Atlanta. Maybe I’ll be back to start LV Scene 2.0. Stay classy, Lehigh Valley!

The future of LV Scene… is a post from: LV Scene | Your Guide in the Lehigh Valley

If you’re like me, you thought fondue was just melted cheese or chocolate cooked over a little burner and stirred up with color coded forks. Maybe you hosted a fondue party to try to appear all cosmopolitan. Well, it’s a pain in the ass to make your own fondue, so just go to The Melting Pot for the full experience.

This national fondue chain restaurant moved onto “restaurant row” on Broad Street in downtown Bethlehem. If you’re up for a high-calorie adventure, it’s the place to go.

Basically, “fondue” is just food dipped into a pot. The Melting Pot goes beyond basic.

A nose-wrinkling smell of boiling meat is the first thing that hits me when I enter the warm, lush feeling entryway. No, that’s not the most appetizing odor. But it gets better!

I’ve been to the Melting Pot a few times. It doesn’t get any easier for me to order. It’s puzzling. To make my choices clearer, I start with a fancy drink. My favorite is the Strawberry Blonde Martini: $9 worth of champagne, strawberry vodka and fruity flavors. Sparkly! The wine list is extensive, and, expensive.

If you want to start with dessert, you must have the Yin Yang martini. But, if you do that, you might not be hungry for the dessert fondues, which to me are the top reasons to go to The Melting Pot.

First know that you’ll be spending a lot of time with your waitperson. They’ll cook everything at your table on burners. They’ll explain the process to you as they’re cooking. “Now, I’ll add the garlic.” “Let’s turn the heat down to 3.” “I’m going to flambé this chocolate now.” If you don’t like your server, your meal is going to suck. I have liked all of my servers here, they’re personable and professional.

There’s this big deal called the Big Night Out which includes a cheese fondue, a salad, an entrée and a dessert, all themed together. Right now you can get Alpine. I’ve never found this appealing but if you’ve skied Germany or Switzerland, you might enjoy reminiscing: “And after the Matterhorn, I had the best melted Gruyere and bratwurst, just like this!” I do not know what the Big Night Out costs, but I assume it’s a big price.

If you don’t want to stomach that, go a la carte. Depending on your table size, you’ll have one or two burners within easy reach and you’ll share one or two cheese fondues. You’ll spear bread cubes, apple slices and veggies with your color-coded fork. It’s so good you’ll be scraping the pot and asking for second plates of “dippers.”

The chocolate fondue choices are all heavenly. But whichever you choose, you’ll get a plate of rice krispies treats, pound cake, strawberries, brownies, marshmallows bananas and cheesecake to immerse and devour.

In between cheese and chocolate, if you desire, you can have a salad and/or an entrée.

Well, the salads are lackluster in comparison to the cooked food. And, the act of cooking raw meat and seafood in a steaming pot of boiling oil and broth directly in front of me, when there’s a chance I might undercook it, and I lose meat chunks in the pot as they mix with my dining companions’ meat chunks, well, it’s kind of weird. Is this what they do in the Alps? Really? The Melting Pot makes it as appealing as possible. You’ll select a plate of raw ingredients, which are seasoned. You select your cooking method, which is seasoned. Then you are presented with dipping sauces in case you need even more flavors. The combinations of tastes are seemingly endless and the dinner is spent trying all the food on the table, every which way. That’s part of the fun of The Melting Pot.

Fondue rules: Remember your fork color. No double dipping. Don’t let the fork touch your mouth. All of these rules are void if your dining partner is a very close friend.

When to go to The Melting Pot:

First date? I wouldn’t recommend it.

Third date? Probably not. If you have the full dinner, you might feel incredibly full, breathing garlic, and sweating from the steamy pot of oil at your table. Better to wait until at least your fourth rendezvous.

Special occasion? Absolutely. The Melting Pot makes celebrating easy on the party-planner. Make your reservations and they’ll offer you the package options of balloons, a vase of roses, photo souvenirs and more.

Business meetings? Leave the meeting at the office and break the ice here. Don’t talk business with cheese dripping down your face.

My favorite dishes:

Cheese fondue: Wisconsin Trio (Fontina, Butterkase, and Buttermilk Bleu with wine and scallions and sherry.)

Chocolate fondue: Chocolate S’mores!

Each is $16 for a pot that feeds two.

What I’m excited about:

The first Ladies’ Night at this location will be next Tuesday, February 23. Special $5 martinis and glasses of wine, special $35 per person 4-course menu! Girly friends in other cities rave about The Melting Pot’s Ladies’ Night deals. Also, join “Club Fondue” and get coupons and event notices sent to you. And, guys, Ladies’ Night might be a good time to relax at the posh bar.

The Melting Pot is one of a handful of restaurants in the Lehigh Valley for which you can make reservations conveniently on Open Table. Why talk to a live person when there’s an app for that?

The Melting Pot is located at 1 East Broad Street, Suite 100 (corner of North New Street & E. Broad) Bethlehem, PA 18018

(484) 241-4939

Link for menus and event info at this location: http://www.meltingpot.com/locations.aspx?z=18018&n=171935

Lv Eats: Review of Melting Pot Bethlehem, PA is a post from: LV Scene | Your Guide in the Lehigh Valley

And after a year of waiting, the St. Patrick’s Day West End pub crawl is finally here too! Last year’s West End pub crawl was easily the best night out I’ve had all year. I cannot recommend this pub crawl enough!

As you can see from the picture on the right, Allentown’s West End alliance has a bunch of cool events coming up. I suggest you take a look at their Facebook fan page for more information.

But these are just some of the upcoming events that will be going on in the Lehigh Valley. Because if there is one thing we know how to do right in the LV, it’s use a holiday as an excuse to get sloppy drunk. Stay tuned to LV Scene for more information about all the St. Patrick’s Day festivities throughout our area.

UPDATE: The West End pub crawl is this Saturday! If you haven’t already, make plans to participate in my favorite event all year. You do not want to miss this event! See you there!

Saturday – March 20, 2010 – St. Patrick’s Day West End Pub Crawl is a post from: LV Scene | Your Guide in the Lehigh Valley

Ok, back on track. Let’s talk about where you’ll be going to get your Irish on. It’s ok if you’re not sure yet. Neither am I. Let’s figure this out together.

St. Patrick’s Day and Irish pubs go hand-in-hand. There’s a lot to choose from in the area and probably all of them will be packed. Hey, did you know LV Scene has a convenient list of many of the Irish pubs in our area? Check it out by clicking here or going to the “FIND IT HERE” drop down menu at the top of the page.

A blue collar holiday like St. Patrick’s Day means local neighborhood establishments will be as crowded as the Irish pubs are. My first choice for Wednesday would be any of the bars in the West End of Allentown. Liberty St. Tavern, Callaghan’s, and Stooge’s should all have really good crowds. And by “really good crowds” I, of course, mean really drunk crowds.

But if you’re looking for a bigger party, probably all of the major bars in the area will be throwing something. Here’s some info about a few.

The Firehouse – Bethlehem – Green Bash – No cover, wear the color green and get a free shot! Featuring, Coors Light girls & Kiliian’s Girls, LEECHBOY from 6-10PM on guitar, DJ What & DJ Cyn form 10pm – 2am. $1.50-green Coors Light drafts, $3 Jameson shots, $5 car bombs.

Starter’s Riverport – Bethlehem – The Green Party – 20+, no cover, Cap Cee in the mix. $5 car bombs, $2 Dirty Girl Scouts, $3 Bud Light, $2.50 Coors Light.

There you have it, my take on St. Patrick’s Day in the Lehigh Valley. What are your thoughts? Where do you plan on being this Wednesday?

Wednesday – March 15, 2010 – St. Patrick’s Day is a post from: LV Scene | Your Guide in the Lehigh Valley

Hookah Turka is having a two night grand opening event this weekend that is sure to be the talk of the town. There’s a $5 cover charge and you can expect a DJ and live belly dancing. For all the details, head to either the Facebook event page or their website.

Friday & Saturday – March 12-13, 2010 – Grand Opening of Hookah Turka is a post from: LV Scene | Your Guide in the Lehigh Valley