Great Places to Eat in the Poconos

A word of caution: I’ve always been a proponent of customer reviews on the internet. What better way to guide us to the best rated restaurants, products and services? Well, lately my faith in the internet user feedback bubble has burst. There are online businesses that now offer to sell fake reviews of a business typically in batches of 100 to 500 five star reviews. There also are online businesses that offer to remove negative reviews of a business. Very devious and disheartening for me to learn this. Anyway here are some of my favorite eating establishments.

Dale’s Pocono Bistro

Our mission is to serve well prepared fresh food. That is mine and Karlyn’s main focus and the reason I’m proud to recommend us for great breakfast and lunch. From our original recipe pancakes, pasture raised eggs, fresh baked artisan bread and home made soups we expect nothing less than satisfied customers.

Located on Route 611 in Bartonsville we’re just a few miles from the Premium Outlets, Great Wolf Lodge. Kalahari and Camelback Resorts. Open daily 7am to 3pm, closed Mondays and holidays.

Momento

Fine Italian dining in the Poconos is rare. There are a few who make the claim but miss the mark. Owner and head chef Nicola Mersini is a proud native of Torino Italy. Every dish I’ve ever had here reminds me of the classic Italian restaurants in Northern New Jersey where I grew up. Some of my favorites are their Mediterranean Mussels, Chicken Parmesan, Roasted Monk Fish and Seafood Fra Diavolo. I’ve never had a dish at Momento that wasn’t outstanding. If I ever have special guests for dinner, this is my go to place. Located in Stroudsburg.

Cook’s Corner

Dave Cook has been in the restaurant business longer than me. He’s a no good, son of a …. whoa wait a minute LOL I’m kidding. I have a lot of respect for Dave and his little family restaurant in Henryville. I live about a mile away and I’m a frequent customer for dinner. In summers I often ask Dave to cater parties at my house. Cook’s features a standard American fare menu along with a very extensive daily special board which inevitably features some variation of Grilled Salmon and that’s usually what I order. If you’re super hungry Dave Cook’s portions are what I call generous.

Shinjiru Ramen

My favorite dinner at Shinjiru Ramen is Spicy Miso Chicken Ramen, fried boneless chicken in a mildly spicy miso broth with Japanese vegetables and noodles. Very satisfying. The dining room is not large but it’s very clean and nicely decorated, located in Tannersville.

Pho Saigon III

In the heart of Mount Pocono is Pho Saigon III. They feature variations of the traditional Pho broth bowls but me being a creature of habit I go to my favorite #30. It’s a bowl of noodles splashed with some broth and covered with grilled boneless chicken thighs, a chopped salad tucked inside and topped with egg rolls. It’s delicious.

El Rincon Caribe and Emilio’s Place

El Rincon in Tannersville and Emelio’s in Bartonsville are two totally separate Latin American restaurants. I love them both. They both are primarily takeout but also have limited dine in facilities. If you like pulled pork or chicken stew over seasoned yellow rice with a side of beans both of these places will make you smile. Of course their menus offer more and are not 100% identical but they are worth a try.

Blue Ridge Estate Vineyard and Winery

I met Randy Detrick, owner of Blue Ridge Vineyard about 20 years ago when he was just starting out as a vintner. To this day I’ve never met anyone with so much vision and energy. Sometimes I think of him as the Milton Hershey of winemaking.

When he took me on a personal tour of the vineyard I felt in the presence of someone with decades of experience not the actual 18 months. His wine also reflected my initial impression. Blue Ridge has grown far beyond the wildest expectations I had for the place but maybe not beyond Randy’s dream. With its view of the vineyards across his valley I feel like part of an event and often when I visit this beautiful place there’s live entertainment and excellent food vendors.

Over the years Blue Ridge Vineyard wine has achieved regional popularity and some national awards which are well deserved. I have a jelly cabinet at home and after twenty years you’ll still find Blue Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon and Blue Ridge Godfather inside it. They’re both dry reds.