FOUNTAIN HILL, Pa. — The Lehigh Valley has plenty of restaurant weeks, but they’re usually centered in the bigger cities.
Fountain Hill is changing that. The borough's first restaurant week runs Sunday through Saturday, Feb. 25.
Put together by the Fountain Hill Community Coalition, the week will feature specials from five restaurants: Lorenzo’s, Gametime Sports Bar & Grille, Kasey Lynn’s on Broadway, Arelis and the Vineyard di Norma.
Resident Josh Popichak, who heads the subcommittee that organized the event, said the community coalition is relatively new and has two goals.
“Our main mission remains to, quote unquote, save the pool,” said Popichak. “The Fountain Hill swimming pool was closed last summer, for several reasons, one of them being the physical deterioration of the facility, and the other being the shortage of lifeguards.
"So we are working with the borough to remedy those issues. And along with that, we're also trying to rebuild community spirit, which has been sort of whittled away over the years.”
Popichak is the first to acknowledge the borough isn't flush with restaurants. But he said the community coalition sees it as a way to promote what Fountain Hill has to offer and provide a jolt for local eateries after the holidays.
The Vineyard di Norma
Recently bought by brother-sister team Rachael and Luke Prosseda, The Vineyard di Norma is the only restaurant of the group not on Broadway.
When asked what on the restaurant week menu she was most excited about, Rachael Prosseda said, “Our gnocchi is really delicious. We do have kind of a different spin. It's in the Parisian style. So it's egg, Parmesan cheese and a little bit of flour. So they're really light and, and, like soft. That's where they're really kind of pillowy. And so every season we change the presentation.”
She also recommended the house-made pasta, which comes with every restaurant week entree.
The Vineyard di Norma’s restaurant week deal is $35 per person for a three-course meal.
Kasey Lynn’s on Broadway
Russell Lebkuecher, a Kasey Lynn’s co-owner and chef, said his specialty is basic, warm and affordable food.
He also owns a catering business, so he said, “I do a lot of crazy stuff at weddings but at the restaurant I try to take care of things like stuffed peppers, or liver and onions and pork and sauerkraut mashed potatoes; just the old-fashioned, home-cooked food.”
At Kasey Lynn’s on Broadway, customers will receive a free appetizer and dessert with a purchase of $10 or more during restaurant week.
“I just want to make sure that people can afford it," Lebkuecher said. "Seconds are always free. I always want to make sure they get enough to eat.”
