Harrisburg Restaurants

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For those eating mainly fast food, this must be quite an experience. We are luck to have each day homemade food, and, top luck, Portuguese homemade food.

That's why I must confess that the food was OK, gently served, but... not a particularly great lunch. Fernanda loves jam (I don't), and enjoyed also the desert that I didn't taste.

This place just opened on 2nd Street. We had a great meal there. The seafood gumbo is dark, rich, and perfectly seasoned. I had a fried catfish "blue-plate special" that was done to perfection. And "Chocolate bread pudding with Jack Daniels sauce" is as good as it sounds.

Four of us (two of us had blue-plate specials, all four had appetizers) ate for $110 including tip, BYOB. And they practically had to roll us out the door, we were so full.

Favorite Dish: One of our dinner companions had an alligator dish with shrimp, that came with a sauce so good that he ate all the sauce off the plate. He gave me a piece of the alligator and it was indeed delicious.

This Sunday-only buffet is run by the local Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, and is the place to go for delicious soul food, homemade desserts, great gospel music, and friendly people. It's a part of the community: You will not find it in the phone book or area restaurant guides. Ain't the Internet grand?

For some odd historical reasons, this all-you-can-eat brunch is $9.96 a person.

Thanks to my friend Becky Myers for taking me here!

Favorite Dish: The corn pudding is awesome: creamy / crunchy / tasty. The greens are great. The fried catfish is yummy. And the desserts...oh, the desserts...

According to my friend Becky, the Vietnamese community in Harrisburg came by way of a resettlement facility at nearby Fort Indiantown Gap.

Any of these three places can serve up a tasty Vietnamese dish. Keep in mind that, in Vietnamese cuisine, "soup" can be a full meal--often with leftovers for the next day!

Favorite Dish: Being a non-meat-eater, I go for the seafood soup. Pho Oanh and Garden Vietnamese give you fresh basil and cilantro leaves to add yourself.

Cafe Fresco has been a restaurant that I have frequented on several occasions. I keep returning because I like the atmosphere and menu. That all changed tonight.
I took a large group to Cafe Fresco - 16 people in all. The reservation was amended via a phone call during the day, from 15 to 16. When we arrived, the table was set for 15 people. The manager was going to give us another chair and we had to ask him for another full table so 2 people were not sitting on the end of a table. This was a sign of things to come.
We asked our waitresses (we had 2) if we could split the check into 4 separate checks. We were informed Cafe Fresco does not split checks for more than 8 people. When we asked the manager for some help, he told us they cannot split checks for more than 8 people because it would take the servers too long. Allow me to put this into perspective. We had 2 waitresses and at the time we were ordering, only one other table was occupied and they had already ordered. We also had to ask the bar to find our waitresses so we could order.
When we asked the manager if we could put in multiple credit cards, he told us we could, provided the check was split equally among the cards.
Personally, I find the policy of not splitting checks ridiculous. Especially when you consider we could have separated our big table into 4 little tables (hindsight....).
The real rub of the evening was the manager's unwillingness to even meet us half way or compromise at all. It was his behavior that caused all 16 of us to decide we wouldnt be coming back to Cafe Fresco.
I should mention the food here is good, but its simply not worth the customer service. You can get equally good food at a number of other restaurants in downtown Harrisburg. Skip Cafe Fresco. Its not worth the hassle.

The service,management, and ownership at Cafe Fresco downtown has much to be desired. My recommondation is to take in any of the other high quality establishments which inhabit our restaurant row. The management and owner takes no responsibility for the horrible service!!

You can get soup and salads here besides sandwiches and wraps.
Seafood, beef, chicken, Greek and Tex-Mex additives can be put on the salad for more nutrition.
Soup flavors include: broccoli, onion, chicken-n-rice, veggie, potato.

Since they are a bread company, you can always get a hot or cold sandwich or a wrap.
My favorite is the Smokehouse Turkey Panini or the Chicken Caesar Sandwich.
For a full menu, see the website below.

Prices are reasonable. Atmosphere is bright, art-deco with tables and counter service.
The staff are friendly (my wife can carry on a conversation with them for hours). The order is filled quickly. The only problem I have is that the open-environment can get a bit loud during busy times of day.

So stop in and have a bite.

Don't forget to take home some bakeries goods while you are at it.

Favorite Dish: Hot Turkey Panini

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A must visit if you are in the Harrisburg area. Appalachian brewing co. has four locations to better distribute their fine food and beverages (see website below for other locations). There is ample room for large groups in the upper or lower dinning areas. The large L shaped bar can seat about twenty people comfortably.

Favorite Dish: One of the best IPA's I have ever had the pleasure of tipping back. It was a delectable smooth and heavenly hoppy. I had a spiced turkey burger with fries that really hit the spot.