The Bullpen--Tyrone

Oooooh the Bullpen.  This place is offically the Tyrone Watering Hole.  Primarily a sports bar, the Bullpen does have good food HOWEVER, they also have painfully slow service.  I'm not sure whether to hold the cooks or the wait staff accountable, but I have a feeling that it is a combination effort.  If you do not have a significant amount of time at your disposal, you should go elsewhere.  If, on the other hand, you want to watch whatever sport happens to be on ESPN, drink a couple of beers, and see your waitress in 30 minute increments then you're golden.  Friday night gets pretty crowded (it's the only place in town) so plan for no food service after 9 and a rowdy group.

This only happens if you're lucky.  The real fighting goes down at RJ's.

  If you're there before eight any day of the week you can meet Skip--Tyrone's Appalachian Royalty.  Truly a hilarious/offensive storyteller, Skip is pretty entertaining.  Just don't tell him if you lean a little to the left.  Ok, back to the food.  They have a pretty standard sports bar menu--wings, deep-fried food, pizza, sandwiches, burgers, etc.  The burgers are money, but some of the "salads" and sandwiches are tricky.  I ordered a Chicken Salad salad the other day which seemed like a good idea.  From that sentence, I think you can deduce that it wasn't.  Half of the fun at this place is meeting the locals and having a long, relaxing dining experience.  There's a lot of fun Joe Paterno memorabilia and other random celebrity photos to oogle while you wait for service and they have an internet jukebox (!).

Wow.  He's old.

As far as beer goes, there's Yuengling on draft and they just got Shocktop Belgian White, snazzy, in the bottle.  The selection isn't great, but it's not bad either.  If you go, tell Skip I say, "Hi."


Favorite Meal to date:


FRENCH DIP
Slices of roast beef wedged between garlic bread with au jus.


The Bullpen
Washington Avenue & 3rd St
Tyrone, PA 16686
(814) 684-1992


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Main Street Cafe--Alexandria

Located along the Juniata in Alexiandra, Main Street Cafe is one of my favorite local spots.  When the weather abides, no place can rival their patio overlooking the river.
  

Who knew it was sunny in PA

Big canopy umbrellas provide ample amounts of shade and in the evening tiki torches light up the perimeter.  The menu at Main Street offers everything from "Overloaded Potato Skins," to Prime Rib, but I think this place is best defined as a sports bar.  The best items on the menu are the sandwiches and burgers, though I've heard rumor that the seafood is surprisingly palatable.  The most popular night at Main Street is Wednesday Wing Night.  Enjoy a dozen of their wings at a special discounted rate and wash it down with a pitcher.  Check their website for other nightly deals and a full menu (www.mainstcafe.us).

more attractive from the patio...

214 Main Street
Alexandria, PA 16611

(814) 669-4494

Diner 22 on Old Route 22--Alexandria

Another joint off the main drag (20 mins off I-99), Diner 22 is a great place to go for some local color.  Though they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, breakfast is the best bet here.  If you're headed over on a weekend, plan on waiting 10 minutes or so for an open booth.  The menu exemplifies a typical truck stop--pancakes, french toast, eggs, etc., but Diner 22 never 
disappoints.  The menu never changes, but the consistency is comforting.

 

Oh, and they have pie.

5562 Barree Road
Alexandria, PA 16611
(814) 669-9094

Spikes "Up the Mountain"--Ginter? Tyrone?

Truly a cultish establishment, I've never known if Spike's has a more formal name.  Anytime I've heard it mentioned, it has been followed with the epithet "up the mountain."  This is due to Spike's location 15 minutes out of Tyrone straight up the mountain.  You leave civilization and journey up Jamesville Pike through State Gameland 158 and other miscellaneous hunting grounds, then you'll know when you've reached Spikes when you see a dense barrier of cars surrounding a shack with some neon signs.  If you're looking for  sheik ambiance, then this is not your establishment.  

This may be a slight dramatization

Spike's has roughly 10-12 tables which are always full, so plan on having to stand for awhile on a Friday or Saturday night.  Also plan on being aggressive and competitive to get one of those table because some of the locals are pretty sneaky. Why go to this much effort?  Because these are the best GD wings you will ever have.  I have never been much of a wing eater, but going to Spike's has made me embrace the cheese, grease, and fried chicken like I was born here.  I don't care what kind of wings you order, but for the love of god, order wings.

There's no way to go wrong (see favorite meal)

Favorite Meal to date:

PARMESAN BACON WINGS
I feel like these are pretty self-explanatory in their awesomeness

87 Pennyslvania 153

Ginter, PA

Gamble Mill Tavern--Bellefonte

Since Burley's is officially out as my favorite fine dining establishment (see previous post), the Gamble Mill Tavern will be usurping its spot.  Located at 160 Dunlap St., Bellefonte, the Gamble Mill is a bit more of a hike from my house in Tyrone but well worth the trip.  Don't be distressed when you turn down Dunlap at the command of your GPS and find yourself on a sketchy side road with barbed wire.  Shockingly, you are on the right track.  Just keep on keepin' on and the Gamble Mill will be on your left.  My mother discovered the Gamble Mill last year on a Celiac's blog and after driving around Bellefonte for 15 minutes wondering "Is that the right road?" we realized it was.  And we've loved it ever since.

And now I'm contemplating having birch adornments in my house.

The menu is French inspired although the cuisine highlights local ingredients and fare.  Once a flour and feed mill along Spring Creek, the Gamble Mill has been restored to a fine dining establishment on the top floor and microbrewery/tavern on the main.  As you walk in the entrance, you can see the old mill-stone laid out in the garden as well as sneak peaks of the fermenting tanks in the brewery.  If I had a rating system, this place would be five stars.  But I don't.

Favorite Meal to date: 

LOCALLY RAISED SMOKED PORK CHOP

amish pepper jelly, mustard sauce, potato & cabbage cake

The Gamble Mill Tavern

160 Dunlap St.
Bellefonte, PA
(814) 355-7764

Mac's Meat Market/The Grid Iron--Tyrone

If you happen to be driving through Tyrone on I-99 and don't feel like eating Sheetz for lunch again, then you should stop over at Mac's Meat Market.  Located at 1658 Columbia Avenue, Mac's Market is a local shop that offers great quality meat in addition to subs, pizza, and the like.  Fast, cost-effective, and high-quality, Mac's is one of my favorite stops for an afternoon sub.  The McManigal family owns and operates the store and their customer service is great. 

Sunday and Monday

Favorite Meal to date:


PINEAPPLE AND BACON PIZZA
Born from the fact that Mac's doesn't have Canadian Bacon.  A delicious accident.


1658 Columbia Avenue 
Tyrone, PA 16686
(814) 684-0660

RIP Burley's--Tyrone

It feels wrong to start this blog off with anything but an acknowledgment to the late and great Burley's Fine Foods of Tyrone, PA.  Living in Tyrone, Burley's was literally the only option in fine dining for a thirty minute radius and everyone is sad to have seen it gone.  I have since attempted to make their Crab Bisque and, needless to say, it was lacking in all areas.  From their amazing steak and seafood choices, to the legendary Lemon Drops, and who could forget the beautiful patio!  Burley's was truly an oasis in an otherwise bland food community.  You shall be missed.

The "Now Open Tuesdays!" seems to be salting the wound

Favorite Meal in Memoriam:

KENTUCKY DERBY STRIP

 Skillet seared, bourbon flamed onions, pecan butter, redskin mashed potatoes