Little Saigon – Amazing Vietnamese food!
Thursday evening Jaime and I with a few of our friends decided to go out for a quick bite to eat. It was a toss up between Vietnamese and Middle Eastern food. Vietnamese won. At first I was kind of hesitant about the choice even though I’m always up for new things. At this point I have never tried Vietnamese food and for some reason had no desire to just yet.
We followed our friend through a few narrow streets in Allentown and ended up at this quaint, unassuming tiny house. The place was called “Little Saigon”.
I remembered reading about this place in LV Eats blog a few months back.
We were sat a table that was covered in those plastic table cloths you see on grandma’s table. But once we were seated the fun began! The menu items were mostly meat selections but they give you a few vegetarian options. You can substitute tofu on any pork, chicken or shrimp dish. I ordered the Chicken curry with a tofu substitute. Everyone pretty much substituted their meat for tofu and they were very accommodating.
Our dishes came out pretty quickly and was over flowing with lemon grass, rice, vegetables and tofu. At first glance of the menu the dishes look very simple. But do not let that fool you. After I began to taste my dish I couldn’t believe how long I had waited to try Vietnamese food.
The tofu had a nice breading on it and was not soggy or over cooked. My curry tasted amazing. It did not taste like Indian or Thai curry. It had flavors of it’s own with just enough spices.
The night continued as we were filling up our stomachs and immersed in our conversation we realized that they were closing. It wasn’t the type of closing where they just let you relax and go at your own pace. She basically pointed at her watch and let us know she was closed. It was 9pm, which to me is a little early and put kind of a damper on the night. We hadn’t planned on being there for too much longer but it just seemed odd that she was pretty much kicking us out.
Overall, it was a great dinner with amazing food and quick service! I highly recommend Little Saigon which is right off of MacArthur Rd. Just make sure you plan for an early night.
by Mundania
Art, Jazz, Theatre… all in a WEEKEND!!!
If you are not sure what to do tonight there are a couple great events going on!!!
In the Bethlehem Historic district they are having an ArtWalk. From
5pm to 8pm tonight walk along Main Street and Broad Street where art galleries, restaurants and stores are opening their doors tonight showing off the work of local artists in the area. You can plan your whole evening just looking at different works of art, enjoying great food, listening to live jazz and stopping into the different stores along the way.
While you are walking around the Historic district be sure to check out
Wired Gallery’s Opening Reception:
ICON: Redefining Contemporary Pop Art
from 7pm -11pm
featuring work from Jeff Schaller, David Graham,
Chris P. Jones, Danny Moyer, and Jennie Schaeffer.
“Come and enjoy a glass of wine, live entertainment, and an assortment of tasty treats. A live model will be present inside the gallery to be drawn for figurative studies.”
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In Allentown check out the new The Omicron Theatre Project
The Omicron Theatre Project
July, 28 2007 at Last Night Alive! at Theatre 514
527 N. 19th Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania 18105
Cost: $20.00
“Come party with OTP at their Apocalypse Night Fundraiser for “The Nature Line”. There will be bands. There will be drink. There will be funny times to be had by all! For tickets, please email us at omicrontheatreproject@yahoo.com”
There is NO excuse to stay inside this weekend!!!
A Small Town is No Small Find.
When I’m not spending my days off reading magazines and watching embarrassing talk shows I like to revisit one of my favorite small towns or invade a new one. Last weekend Mundania and I stumbled into Emmaus, PA which until this point only served us as land in between my home and our destination point.
We were greeted with a modest Farmers Market (fresh produce is so beautiful), an indian grocery store, and several organic coffee spots. We settled on the somewhat newly-opened “Mas Cafe”, run by a sweet young couple with homey-modern decor. I also need to mention that in the last year, I’ve learned to appreciate a good cup of coffee. I don’t know anything about it, can’t explain the difference between Kenyan or a French Roast, but I can say with much enthusiasm that this was the best coffee I have ever tasted. If Torreo Coffee really had a company goal of world domination, they could put Starbucks out of business in a day.
You can buy their coffees from the internet, or from several cafes in Pennsylvania, including Mas. We recommend getting it there to support local business, pick up some home decorating tips from observing the atmosphere, and to say hello to the friendly and appreciative owners.
Our next finds seemed like they had been sitting there just so we could discover them. We stopped by the “Elephant’s Trunk” consignment shop where we found a 57 piece retro dining set for the sale price of $10. Fifty-seven pieces! Square plates! Shiny silver patterns! TEN DOLLARS.
And the fun didn’t end there! I could hear Mundania yell from the corner “Oh my god, look at this” and there, in near perfect condition, was some sort of odd (odd = wonderful) midcentury modern chair. Exactly our taste, and exactly within our budget for the sale price of $9.80! It even flips open to hide all those magazines. This is the type of chair that I would get sincerely upset about if one of my friends found it instead of me, it’s that perfect.
We were squealing and carrying on about what great finds we got all for under $20 bucks, then anxiously snatched up the items in case another couple would walk in any second and steal them from us. The ladies (most of whom are unpaid volunteers) helped us carry our things out to the car and wished us well. Definately check this place out for some real hidden and affordable treasures.
The last spot worth mentioning had us salivating for hot food despite the 90+ degree weather. “Balasia” is an organic veg(etari)an restaurant run by a former owner of the Green Cafe that used to be on Bethlehem’s South Side where the current Blue Sky Cafe stands. We weren’t looking to have a meal, but we wished we had known and planned better (as in, skipping a homemade breakfast) because the smells coming out of this old brick mansion were delicious. While Balasia’s dinner menu is a little steep in price (though I am certain well worth it!), more favorably priced lunch and Sunday brunch menus are worth reviewing.
Emmaus was a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon. If you’d like to know more, or have suggestions for nearby towns you think we’d like to visit, don’t hesitate to write us!
by: Jaime K
Mama Nina Focacceria
When I got back from my trip to Pittsburgh I had been craving brick oven pizza that had the thin crust and was fresh out of the oven. We wanted to stay around the Bethlehem area and not drive too far since I had been stuck in the car for half of the day. I remembered hearing about Mama Nina opening on the northside so we decided to drive over and check it out.
When we got there we saw that they had seating on the outside but due to the extreme heat I had no desire to sit outside. I also get weird when I can’t see a menu before hand. They didn’t have anything posted on the outside. We decided to take a chance and go in anyways. You can pick where you want to sit and we decided on a booth against the wall. As soon as we sat down a waitress offered us menus and fresh bread with garlic. When they gave us our bread they were not joking about the garlic. It was fresh minced garlic spread on top of each piece.
A lot of the pasta dishes looked excellent with interesting ingredients and the price ranges were $11 – $23 dollars. I decided that I still really wanted pizza. It was a hard decision with so many to choose from. They hand one featuring sun dried tomatoes, one with shrimp, one with a sort of Greek style and one with roasted red peppers. I chose the red pepper one and my girl got one that had garlic sauce and cheese.
We did not know how big they would be because it says “personal pizza”. Whenever I see that term I think of those tiny round pizzas. But to our surprise they were bigger then we anticipated. They both tasted amazing and you could tell the ingredients were fresh and the crust was thin just like I wanted. We shared each others and in the end we had left overs. The waitress checked back on us pretty often and she was very friendly.
This would is a great place to go out for dinner with your date but if that’s the case I would avoid the garlic bread. Even though it’s really good my car still smells like garlic.
Mama Nina Focacceria
548 Main Street on the
Northside of Bethlehem
Another Take Over event already?
The summer seems to be flying by and already there is another Takeover Lehigh Valley event. This time the event will be at the Maingate Niteclub:
Location:
Maingate Niteclub
448 North 17th Street
Allentown, PA
Date: Friday, July 13th
Time: 6:00pm
I think that is great they invited Takeover back and they are providing us with our own open air bar and private area with a complimentary drink. But this should be interesting because this bar is known for taping Girls Gone Wild. It even has it advertised on it’s website with the saying underneath “You Got it Flaunt it”. Perhaps there is a different type of crowd that comes to the Office Party nights.
At the last Takeover we had a great time so I’m hoping to see the same faces and some new ones. Everyone was extremely friendly and it was a great event. We hope to see you there!
You make my heart MELT.
My non-traditional work schedule often means I have to miss weekend events, but we were finally able to make it to the June Takeover! This one was held at Melt (level 3 lounge) , a swanky uppity lounge in the new appropriate, equally as uppity Promenade Shoppes in Saucon Valley.
One step inside this venue makes you want to look for a Toto substitute and declare you’re not in Bethlehem anymore. Despite the terrific views of Banana Republic and New Balance Shoes, the atmosphere transports you to a hip Miami hotspot (or at least as I would imagine one to look – more palm trees, less steel mills). Even the elevator to our coveted third floor Rooftop Lounge was fancier than most places I’ve traveled to.
The initial crowd was slightly disconcerning – rich, white, conservative middle-aged adults. We knew by their careless pointing and whispering that it’s not often this group sees girls with sleeve tattoos or neckties, or men that don’t dress sloppy. My stomach started to feel pangs of sitting at the “loser” table in 6th grade, except these were “high class adults”. Finally that notion eased me rather than made me nervous – it’s very apparant that all the money in the world won’t buy some people real class.
Ahem. Let the party begin.
I’m not sure if there is usually a cute queer bar staff or if they were imported for this special event, but that was certainly a perk. We were trying to decide between sitting at a long upholstered bench in the center of the action or at our own table with one of several fireplaces, and eventually settled on a part of the patio that looked like a beautiful outside deck party multiplied across a roof.
When a violent rain storm hit and the patio closed, it seemed to break the ice for a lot of people as everyone was forced to make friends quickly. Drinks were flowing and laughter ensued. Hands were shaken, smiles returned, names exchanged. For a moment I felt like the true concept of Takeover had been achieved – queer and straight folks enjoying a good time in the company of one another with no agenda but to have fun.
The night got longer, people got friendlier (and drunker). A trip to the ladies room was like inspiration for interior decorating – everything sleek and modern like a perfume ad in Vogue. There was even a beacon of light that came down on me in the stall like a surreal religious experience. Or maybe I just had too many drinks.
By the nights end, we were back on the patio with new friends, laughing and gossiping and sharing makeout-the-the-bathroom stories (tip: make sure the door is locked). We all got dressed up, we all met new friends, we all got hit on. Not bad for a night out Bethlehem.
by: Jaime K
Some Vegetarian Finds:
Living in places like Pittsburgh and Northampton, MA, you have a ton of choices if you are vegetarian. I love being back in the Valley but I do find it challenging if I want to take my girl out for dinner to somewhere that has a lot of variety for the both of us. Perhaps many of you don’t have this problem but if you do, here are a few places we have found that we love to go to for our fix.
Blue Sky Cafe: 4th Street on the Southside of Bethlehem has great breakfast
and lunch options. It’s very small and cute. A lot of younger people work there
who are very friendly. The food is excellent! But if you are in a hurry I would recommend going somewhere quicker.
Billy’s Diner: Northside of Bethlehem. We love this place for breakfast items. It has a lot of choices to choose from and I recommend the Yanna omelet which is an amazing greek omelet that Billy makes. He’s also the sweetest guy, whenever we walk in he always chats with us and makes you feel like he’s known you forever.
Nawab: 4th Street on the Southside as well. If you have never tried Indian food
you really should! They have a great lunch buffet that’s $7.95 and has a variety of dishes to try. But is also a great place to take your date and it’s BYOB!!!
Tortilla Flat: the Northside of Bethlehem on the Main street. We have only heard great things about this place but have not have not tried it out yet. The other day while we were strolling around we saw their menu and they had a lot of different vegetarian options. They serve breakfast as well and had a variety of dishes that looked delicious. The inside has exposed brick with murals painted on the wall. They also feature Spanish classical guitar from 7-9 on Friday and Saturdays.
Starters Riverport: located on the Southside of Bethlehem. So if you don’t mind big televisions with sports playing all around you, then you should check out their amazing veggie burgers. I was surprised to find out how great they were when my friend dragged me there one day. You can build your own and I have to say my favorite is the buffalo veggie burger which is lettuce, blue cheese, and buffalo wing sauce. It’s definitely a great place to go if you do enjoy sports.
Vegan Treats: located on the Northside of Bethlehem. Don’t let the word “vegan” get to you. This bakery serves New York city, New Jersey and has been featured in several magazines. Amazing desserts!!! The place looks like a cute retro diner. If you do have a sweet tooth please check this place out. I was shocked when my g/f told me this place was in the Lehigh Valley. Look at this photo below! How can you resist?
What is there to do this weekend?
There are some great events happening this week / weekend. So there is no reason to stay in the house or wonder what is going on in the Valley.
Tonight was the official opening night at the Southside Film Festival. No worries, it will be going on all week long. It is featuring films “from 22 countries, 15 States consisting of short films, comedies, documentaries, dramas, romance, sci-fis, animations and zombie musicals…” You can get their schedule from their website.
My g/f and I are jump starting our weekend on Thursday with the Take Over Lehigh Valley night over at Melt LEVEL 3. It starts at 6:30pm and should be a really good time. More information is on both websites. We are excited to go and meet other queer people in the community. Now that I’m back in the Valley I want to make it a point to be social and meet a lot of different people. Come out and join us!!!
If you are in the mood to check out a new restaurant / brewery, the Allentown Brewworks has officially opened for business. It is owned by the Fegley family who runs the Bethlehem Brewworks. This is a part of the revitalization of downtown Allentown and is on the 800 block of Hamilton Street. It consists of three floors of dining space, including a banquet room called the Hamilton Room and a lower-level lounge called Silk. There will be outdoor dining in an area called Das Biergarten.
I love the atmosphere over at the Bethlehem Brewworks so I’m very excited to check this new place out. It seems like a great place to take your date or have beers with friends.
Hopefully this might give some of you a couple ideas on what to do this weekend. Have fun!
Dear Queer Lehigh Valley…
Moving back to the Lehigh Valley from Northampton, Massachusetts was a bit of an adjustment. If you have ever been there you know that there is a queer person on every corner. It seems that we outnumber the straight people. You can freely walk around holding hands without anyone staring or saying smartass comments under their breath.
I made the choice to quit my full-time design job so I could move back to attend college for web design, try my hand at running my own design studio and to be closer to my girlfriend Jaime (the other half of this blog).
I feel really good about my move and I feel like the Valley has so much potential to build a queer community. I have seen it happen in my hometown of Pittsburgh. It was once a place where nothing was going on except people gathering at the bars on a Friday night. There is nothing wrong with meeting your friends out for a beer but I guess I’m looking for a little more. I think we all deserve that.
We started the myspace page so we could have a space to put up events and to promote visibility. We are close to 300 members so far. This summer we are hoping to put together a dance party or two with local dj’s within our community and we have more ideas stirring around in our brains.
The blog you are reading will be written by Mundania and Jaime. We just want to use this space to post events, reviews, write about places we find in the Valley and surrounding areas. I’m very excited to see what the future holds and hope to meet more queer people in this community to exchange ideas and to just know more of you.
by Mundania
