DISH: ‘Stating’ a new menu

by Nikki M. Mascali
Weekender Editor

‘STATING’ A NEW MENU

State Street Grill (114 S. State St., Clarks Summit) has unveiled a new menu, plus the popular eatery is now open for brunch.

Brunch items I’m already salivating over range from peanut-butter-and-chocolate stuffed French toast with whipped cream and toasted organic quinoa over greens with dried cranberries and pomegranate dressing to dill-laced tuna salad on ciabatta bread.

Lunch items include a prosciutto salad with mixed greens, pine nuts and black peppercorn lemon dressing and a ham-and-cheese pretzel Cuban with whole grain mustard, pulled pork, pickles, ham and Swiss cheese. Plus, SSG still has an array of flatbreads to choose from.

Flatbreads can also be found on the dinner menu — like my hummus favorite — as can such tasty-sounding delights as grilled swordfish with cucumber and soba noodle tangle, toasted sesame vinaigrette, cilantro and pickled cauliflower and five-cheese raviolis.

After typing all that, I am seriously drooling. See State Street Grill’s whole menu for yourself at www.thestatestreetgrill.com to get your own drool on.

THERE’S A NEW CHEF IN TOWN

Kevin Klinetop, Mount Airy Casino Resort’s executive chef, has announced Chef Sal Fasano was recently hired at the resort’s Italian eatery La Sorelle Cucina.

Fasano, who was born and raised in Naples, Italy, is a 20-year veteran of the restaurant industry and was formerly the head chef at Medici Restaurant, a Zagat-rated Italian restaurant in the Sand’s Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J. His fortes include traditional Northern Italian favorites like specialty breads, pastas, desserts and pastries.

Benvenuto, Chef Fasano! Mount Airy is located at 44 Woodland Road in Mount Pocono. Visit mountairycasino.com for more info.

CARNIVORES UNITE

A kind friend took me to Ipanema Grille (1911 N. Main Ave., Scranton) last Thursday for dinner. If you’ve never been, I highly suggest you get thee to this Brazilian steak house tout de suite because you are missing out.

The main feature is rodizio, featuring more than 12 different types of meat served tableside from a sword-like skewer. I tasted everything that came at me … except for the chicken livers. There was ribeye, lamb, flank steak, pork ribs, turkey wrapped in bacon (my personal favorite, by the way) all the way to the grilled pineapple dusted with cinnamon at the end.

The whole experience is an interactive blast, from the way you help take the meat off the skewer with your tongs to you controlling the pace of service. Want to take a breather? Flip your flipper to red and the servers stop. Ready for more? Flip it back to green. Also worth noting is that Ipanema Grille makes the best sangria I’ve ever had.

Find out more at www.ipanemagrille.com.

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