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Photography by Jen Foster
Gin, pomegranate citrus, and ginger syrup
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Photography by Jen Foster
Ice cream trio
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Photography by Jen Foster
Jamison Farm lamb
1. John J. Jeffries
Lancaster Arts Hotel, Lancaster
Farm-to-table, sustainable dining is a priority at John J. Jeffries, named for the 1890 signature of a tobacco inspector found on a floor beam of this historic tobacco warehouse during renovations. The restaurant is located in the downtown Lancaster Arts Hotel, featuring numerous works by local artists. The restaurant and hotel are under separate ownership.
Chefs Sean Cavanaugh and Michael Carson have developed menus with a creative commitment to local, organic or chemical-free produce; grass-fed cream, butter, and eggs; sustainable seafood; meats that are locally-raised, confinement-free, and pasture-raised without hormones, antibiotics, steroids, or forced fertilization.
This philosophy carries over to beverages as well—water used for drinking and cooking is filtered through an in-house carbon system; all coffee is organic, fair trade, and locally roasted. The bar and wine menus highlight numerous local beers, wines and ingredients mingled into creative cocktails.
The dinner menu features both small and large seasonal plates. Pumpkin bisque with cinnamon creme fraiche; poached beet, carrot, and lentil salad; or Lil’ Ponderosa grass-fed beef liver are found on the small plate menu.
Vegetarian dosas off the large plate menu combine fermented black-eyed peas, lentils, quinoa and jasmine rice crepes, layered with red quinoa and spelt berries, mixed with seasonal vegetables and marinara sauce. Additional dishes feature Jamison Farm lamb, Lil’ Ponderosa beef, and more.
Photography by Jen Foster
2. Cafe 24 Hundred
Double Tree Resort byHilton Lancaster, Lancaster
Sometimes hotel restaurants receive a bad rap. But Cafe 24 Hundred’s menus, like all others on this list, highlight fresh local products and the ingenuity of talented chefs. This includes local microbrews available in the Double Tree Resort by Hilton Lancaster’s lounge. The menu blends American classic comfort food with innovative new cuisine.
For starters, there’s butternut squash soup with candied walnuts or winter root bruschetta featuring butternut squash, sweet potato, yellow carrot, parsnip, bleu cheese and balsamic reduction. Switch up your salad with Café 24 Hundred’s superfoods buddha bowl, which includes baby kale, greens, toasted chickpeas, sunflower kernels, tomatoes, cucumbers and an avocado-Greek yogurt dressing.
One of the more creative sandwiches is the French onion chicken sandwich piled with caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, and horseradish aioli on a brioche bun.
In terms of entrees, creativity abounds: parsley and horseradish crusted salmon, braised short ribs, quinoa niçoise and prosciutto-wrapped cod are some of the seasonal selections. But the menu also features a category called “comfort food classics” where you’ll find tomato-glazed meatloaf—a blend of beef, veal and pork meatloaf served with Texas toast, grilled asparagus and roasted potatoes.
The hotel offers numerous accommodation packages including a “Celebrate NYE luau Package” with a luau dinner buffet and additional New Year’s Eve activities designed to celebrate the arrival of 2019.
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Photography by Jeremy Hess
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Photography by Jeremy Hess
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Photography by Jeremy Hess
3. Riverrun Lounge
Hotel Indigo, Harrisburg
From craft cocktails to dinner on the bistro patio aside fire pits, Riverrun Lounge at Harrisburg’s Hotel Indigo combines brand new and sleek accommodations with a locally sourced, creative menu. Signature breakfast bowls help guests start the day with a healthy, energizing kick along with Harrisburg’s famed Elementary Coffee.
Local touches are woven into the hotel design and restaurant menu, from framed photographs of the Walnut Street Bridge to the menu’s Greenbelt salad featuring a cucumber roulade, arugula, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, shaved almonds, avocado, red onion, and an Olio hickory balsamic—all encircled with a shaved cucumber “green belt.”
Another local fave, the fried Lebanon bologna sandwich, highlights Kunzler’s sweet bologna with Herlocher’s mustard, Gruyere and greens on a pretzel roll, accompanied by Middleswarth chips. The Caputo club incorporates York County’s award-winning Caputo Brothers’ cheese.
“There are fun winks to our neighborhood story throughout the menu,” says Diana Bernardo, general manager. “For example, we use violet beets as a nod to Violet Oakley, [the artist who painted historic murals in the state capitol building].” Little capitol symbols throughout the menu signify locally-sourced dishes.
“[People] talk about hotel restaurants having a bad rap, so [they] are pleasantly surprised when they dine in our restaurant. Here you’re not going to find something cookie-cutter. It has to do with our Hotel Indigo brand incorporating locally sourced food,” says Bernardo.
Hershey’s Bow Creek dry-aged rib eye steak is featured on the dinner menu; local Amish-raised chicken breast is the star of chicken piccata.
Be sure to save room for dessert—Harrisburg’s Urban Churn ice cream and goodies from Camp Hill’s Pennsylvania Bakery provide one final sweet taste of Central PA.
Photography by Jen Foster
Purple potato gnocchi
4. Per Diem
Hotel Rock Lititz, Lititz
The newest restaurant-hotel combo “on the block” is Per Diem at Hotel Rock Lititz; both have just opened as of the fall of 2018. The 139-room hotel incorporates “backstage vibes” into the décor.
Meantime, Per Diem was developed by brothers Joshua and Jacob Funk of TFB Hospitality (owners of Annie Bailey’s Irish Public House, Gravie Kitchen + Commons at Rock Lititz and TFB Catering, providing in-house catering for Rock Lititz Studio clients plus event catering).
Sourced from numerous Lancaster County farms and producers, Per Diem’s menu features an eclectic mix of drinks and dishes. Purple potato gnocchi features local mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, shallots, and brown butter. Off the cocktail menu, the nunca muerte (“never dead”) combines aged tequila, a house-made floral elixir, Mexican lime and additional secret ingredients. We’re sure the rest of this developing menu is sure to “rock”!
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Photography by Donovan Roberts Witmer
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Photography by Donovan Roberts Witmer
36-ounce Tomahawk chop
5. 1700° Steakhouse and Ad Lib Craft Kitchen & Bar
The Hilton Harrisburg, Harrisburg
Located on Restaurant Row along 2nd Street, The Hilton Harrisburg offers a prime downtown location during the holidays—especially on New Year’s Eve—as the landmark location for the city’s iconic Strawberry Drop.
“Our hotel is a hidden gem to most travelers…they do not expect to find a high-end metropolitan hotel with two on-site restaurants and supreme customer service,” says Rachele Sohn, catering manager.
1700° Steakhouse overlooks Market Square and features a centerpiece eight-foot-high glass wine wall housing more than 1,000 bottles from an extensive wine list of 350 varieties. The beverage menu also features more than 225 whiskey and bourbon selections to complement the steakhouse’s star dishes, Midwestern prime beef, dry aged beef, and certified Angus beef as well as sustainable seafood. The smoked bison short rib is prepared with crispy creamed barley, broccolini, mizuna, preserved lemon, and black truffle. Sides include truffle lobster broccoli mac and cheese with Piave, wild mushrooms and leeks; Anson Mills grits with poached egg and Parmesean; and more.
Executive chef John Reis and executive sous chef Anthony Bianco strive to source food locally as much as possible. Ad Lib features a traditional American tavern menu with modern, creative twists and more than 40 shareable plate options.
There’s a special holiday lunch menu December 11-14 and 18-21, plus a New Year’s Eve dinner and cocktail menu to help guests usher in 2019 in culinary style.
Guest accommodations include 340 rooms with junior and executive suites—plus guests can end their stay on a culinary high note, enjoying the chef’s tasting brunch menu and the build-your-own mimosa and bloody Mary bar.
Photo courtesy One Lincoln
One Lincoln Restaurant
Gettysburg Historic Hotel Restaurant in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
6. One Lincoln
The Gettysburg Hotel Est. 1797, Gettysburg
Overlooking Gettysburg’s iconic Lincoln Square, and watching the world go by along Route 30 (the Lincoln Highway), the picturesque white Gettysburg Hotel, Est. 1797, also has one of the best holiday views in town—looking out onto Gettysburg’s Christmas tree located in the center of the square. It’s also the site of Gettysburg’s New Year’s Eve fireworks and festivities.
The hotel’s restaurant, One Lincoln, looks out onto the square and even features one of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite dishes, chicken and biscuits. Executive chef Joseph Holmes describes the menu as “casual comfort” food, including bruleed onion soup with provolone, Gruyere and French bread croutons; Maryland crab mac and cheese; New York strip steak with Gorgonzola fondue and bacon; and more.
“I strive to create a menu that features dishes that are recognizable and familiar to our customer so that they feel comfortable when ordering. But when the dish arrives, I want there to be a positive ‘wow’ factor in both presentation and taste,” Holmes says.
On December 1, enjoy the hotel’s “Breakfast with Santa” event. Also on December 1, in conjunction with the neighboring Majestic Theater’s free community showing of It’s a Wonderful Life, One Lincoln offers a special menu featuring dishes and drinks inspired by the classic movie.
Holmes is preparing a special New Year’s Eve dinner menu and New Year’s Day breakfast buffet—the perfect accompaniments to the New Year’s accommodations package.
“We also offer special packages for a quick getaway, such as our Romantic Escape Package, which includes an overnight in a suite with a fireplace and jacuzzi bath, a romantic dinner in One Lincoln, a bottle of champagne, a box of chocolates, and a movie at the Majestic Theater in their cuddle seats—the perfect winter escape,” says Andrea Proulx, Gettysburg Hotel director of sales and marketing.
Photography by Donovan Roberts Witmer
7. The Barn at Allenberry
Boiling Springs
A picturesque retreat just minutes from Central PA’s towns and cities, Allenberry Resort features unique accommodations (lodges and cottages) plus on-site entertainment, a spa, and farm-to-table dining at The Barn Restaurant.
“There might be no better time to visit The Barn and Allenberry than in the winter months,” says Aaron Jumper of the Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau. “The winter menu at The Barn Restaurant and delicious, renowned Allenberry sticky buns complement the cozy atmosphere of the entire resort. Guests can add a spa treatment or a show at the Playhouse at Allenberry to round out the getaway.”
The historic but recently renovated resort is tucked into the woods alongside the Yellow Breeches Creek in Boiling Springs, Cumberland County, minutes from Carlisle.
Perhaps as a nod to the area being a world-class fly fishing location, pan seared rainbow trout almondine, served with Lyonnaise potato, lemon brown butter, almonds, rainbow chard and snap peas, is a menu favorite. The farm fresh, locally-sourced dinner menu also includes Allenberry crab cakes, roasted duck breast, farm steak and frites, and more.
The creative brunch menu includes fun items like the cornbread waffle served with vanilla ice cream and maple syrup, or you can order the afternoon espresso martini from the brunch cocktail menu. But Allenberry’s most famous culinary delights are its sticky buns—you can even pick up a box to take home as a delicious souvenir.
Accommodation packages include the Dine and Dream package, which includes a $50 gift certificate toward dinner at The Barn, the Silver Spa package featuring a massage or facial, or the Showstopper package, which includes tickets to attend a show at the historic Allenberry Playhouse.
On stage, the holiday musical The Man Who Saved Christmas runs from November 23-December 16. Based upon the true story of A.C. Gilbert, inventor of the Erector Set, the musical captures the flavor of the World War I era and Gilbert’s battle with the American government as it attempted to ban toy sales during 1917’s holiday season.
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Photography by Donovan Roberts Witmer
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Photography by Donovan Roberts Witmer
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Photography by Donovan Roberts Witmer
8. The Forklift & Palate Restaurant
The Warehouse Hotel,Spooky Nook Sports, Manheim
It doesn’t matter if you’re a visitor or local—a trip to the Spooky Nook Sports complex is “one-stop shopping” for a weekend getaway, says Mackenzie Bender, PR & communications manager.
“We can offer everything under one roof. We have a 135-room hotel, bar and restaurant, sports complex, fitness center and 700,000 square feet of meeting and event space,” Bender says.
Both The Forklift & Palate Restaurant and The Warehouse Hotel are housed in a former industrial warehouse, where visitors will see recycled and repurposed warehouse elements throughout the facilities. The green restaurant and hotel also incorporate state-of-the-art environmental practices, including geothermal heating and rainwater recycling.
Offering a classic American menu, The Forklift & Palate Restaurant offers a different dessert special and two specialty cocktails every month, says Bender. One of the menu favorites is the barbecue. St. Louis ribs feature slow-smoked meat smothered in a moonshine barbecue sauce and served with bacon Caesar salad.
“Being attached to the largest sports complex in North America affords us more opportunity than most. Our meetings and events team frequently works with companies that want a venue for their holiday or end-of-year parties and, having 14 acres under one roof, we’re able to accommodate them,” Bender says.
