Adventures: 2008 - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Garza here and back with another installment of my Adventures series :-).

Today we learn about Bethlehem, PA and the goodness that is "Christmas City, USA". Bethlehem is about an hour and a half NW of Philadelphia and about an hour and a half West of New York City. It has a small town feel to it and the residents are incredibly friendly and it definitely has all the goodness associated with East Coast food. The view from my 6th floor apartment on the hill overlooking Bethlehem was breathtaking! To the left was downtown Bethlehem and the preserved buildings from the Colonial era with Moravian University, Est 1742, anchoring the north side of downtown.

Main Street Commons Building

In the middle of my view was the Lehigh River and the adjacent old Bethlehem Steel Mill which now stands idle. Bethlehem Steel made the Golden Gate Bridge and over 1127 ships during WWII.  It ran for 130 years and during that time over 600 employees died! That is over 4.5 employees per year or about 1 every 2 1/2 months for 130 years straight... wow! Can someone say OSHA? Wow!

Bethlehem Steel sits idle as a casino is built on the old site

Bethlehem Steel lit up to shoot the opening scene in Transformers 2.

Lots of pyrotechnics and helicopters flying during filming

To the right of Bethlehem Steel on the foot of South Mountain, which rises up on the other side of Lehigh River, stands Lehigh University, Est 1865. Lehigh's Undergraduate Accounting program is ranked #1 in the nation by Business Week. As you look to the right you see more of South Mountain and South Bethlehem. Above South Bethlehem at the top of South Mountain, shining all year round for all to see, stands the 90 foot Star of Bethlehem! A beautiful sight to see! If you ever need to know where you are when in the area, just look to the Star of Bethlehem for guidance.

 
A short walk from my apartment is downtown Bethlehem and all sorts of eating goodness. When you hear about East Coast sandwiches, well this is what they are talking about: This is from Hometown Heros, located near downtown Bethlehem and is a monster sandwich maker and bar. My personal favorite is the one pictured here, a homemade roast beef, sliced fresh with cheese and mushroom. The one here is only 1/4 size and even at that a normal person should eat only half! Sandwiches don't come any better than this! Don't even mention sides, why would you ask for a side when you have such a monster sandwich, and not just a monster sandwich, but a mouth watering, incredibly delicious as you sink your teeth into grandma-couldn't-make-it-better roast beef?

Closer to downtown was my favorite place for pizza and calzones: Nick's Pizza located at Union and Main Street.
Oh yeah, so if you want some beer to go and you're having dinner, then you want to be in Pennsylvania. Because in PA, you can grab a six pack to go in your favorite restaurant like Nick's. That is pretty cool. But back to the pizza and calzone... Classic East Coast goodness with perfect dough, the sauce is flavorful, the cheese is real and chewy and the Italian Sausage is cooked up fresh. My kind of place. And if you want Spaghetti, get ready for a plate that would amply and easily feed a family of 4 (and with a pair of meatballs that are about the size of tennis balls).

In the middle of Main Street in downtown Bethlehem stands an incredible testament to Italian cooking... Mama Nina's! Owned by Nino and Nina and with the help of their son Vinnie, Mama Nina's serves up not just great Pizza itself, but also has some of the best pasta dishes I have ever eaten. Seafood is plentiful on the East Coast and there is much to choose from here. The Seafood Combination is great, but let me also recommend the Pasta al Forno. The Pasta al Forno is great both at Mama Nina's and at their son's place (his name is Salvadore) in South Bethlehem: Sal's. Mama Nina's is a little more upscale while Sal's caters more to the student crowd of Lehigh U. Either way, both have great food!

Mama Nina

The BEST Italian food I've ever had!!!!

Mama Nina's on Main Street, Bethlehem, PA

So much more Good Eats to talk about when you talk about Bethlehem, like the Apollo Grill which has the best appetizers and arguably the best American food in the area, as well as Billie's, the best breakfast to be had in Bethlehem. I only wish I had the pics to prove it! :-) But trust me, if you find yourself in the area, check those out, they are incredible and you won't regret a moment of it... ever!!!! :-D

Ok, enough for today.... this took a while to put together and now time to rest.

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day!