Progress

Here is the photos of progress. Of course far from finished, but well on it’s way. Most important to note - I have been in a better mood.

Struggle

About a year or two ago my parents decided to get the floors redone in the house. At this time I was away in Los Angeles and had not control over what was going to happen to my room. Consequently, everything I owned was placed half-assedly into boxes. No method to the madness. No consideration either - after finding a bottle of baby oil leaking on top of personal sentimental items such as high school yearbooks and other mementos. In past visits home, I have avoided my bedroom completely so I wouldn’t have to deal with cleaning it up and slept in the tv room. Fortunately or Unfortunately, this lazy avoidance did not work out this winter. My allergies have gotten worse or this house has gotten dustier (safe to say that it’s both). A house with 5 cats, 2 dogs, and tons of dust collecting furniture has made this trip hard to breathe. Recognizing the importance of clean air, I moved back into my bedroom. I have opened up the window to air out the room (it’s been a closed room with stale air for probably a year) and have began to deconstruct the boxes. It is not as easy as I thought it was going to be. It’s going through over a decade years of “stuff” I have accumulated. I am more of a pack rat than I remembered. From the looks of it, I archived everything! Every magazine I ever read, every stuffed animal I ever received, every bag I ever used… somehow I had kept in my room. Ridiculous. I found my drivers permit, tons of photos, my “Blossom” hat (circa ‘92), all my high school notes, grades, papers, a plethora of cd cases (with no cds), individual socks missing their partners, clothes, etc. It’s an intense and slow process to sift through these things. Each picture I want to look at, each old shirt I want to try on. Reflection on the way it used to be. Quite the purging / detoxing experience. But, this is what I have been doing the past few days. As no-fun as it sounds, it is making me feel more comfortable at home. This trip has been unexplainably hard for me and now I am thinking it was because I didn’t have my own space. Because I am FINALLY going through everything, I am making it comfortable for the 25 year old Meg (and hopefully the future Meg) and not trying to live in the messy space the 18 year old Meg left behind….

Just one reason why I prefer to live in Los Angeles

Because this isn’t great:

Service = rude
Food = overpriced and bland.

I know what you’re thinking. Maybe it would be better without the traditional cheez whiz. You might be right, but it was by accident that I got stuck with the traditional, nasty “cheese.” I ordered my “pepper cheese steak” and by the time I had realized the man at the window had not asked me what type of cheese I wanted (like I had heard him ask my friend ahead of me) and was probably going to give me the cheez whiz, I said “wait!” but, the man didn’t listen and poured the cheez whiz on it. I said, “I wanted provolone cheese,” but he gave me the face similar to one of a d-bag and said “too late.” I was livid of this soup nazi-esque experience. I wanted to just throw it out, but it cost 8 dollars to not get what I wanted. I gave it a try, realized it sucked and decided I would write about it. The meat was dry. The peppers too oiled up to really add anything to the sandwich except more oil. Rip Off. All and all, gross and boring. Go to Subway instead.

Sorry Philly… you’re not my city.

Pat’s King of Steaks
237 E Passyunk Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 468-1546

Highlights of Christmas Dinner

Prime Rib

Mashed Potatoes

Happy Christmas / Merry Holidays

Pennsylvania: Longacre’s Modern Dairy

Longacre’s Modern Dairy is a family owned and operated business in Barto, Pennsylvania. In 1920, John S. Longacre would wake up, milk his dairy cattle, and then deliver the milk to neighboring towns by a horse-drawn wagon. In the 1940s, the Longacres built a dairy on the corner of their farm and started to make their own ice cream. In 1996, they went organic. Today, the dairy on the corner of the farm is the Dairy Bar, which is where my Dad, brother, and I went to have a nice ice cream treat.

The taste of their ice cream is unlike any other I have tried and ranks very high in my book. It is rich and creamy (but not sickenly rich like Coldstone’s and fresher than store quality). Also, knowing that it is organic makes it taste even more delightful. On the wall there is a long list of flavors (probably over 30) that makes it incredibly hard to choose just one.I wanted to order the Garbage Sundae, a combination of 10 flavors and 10 toppings. Instead, I ordered the large cup of 3 flavors: Cocoanut Custard*, Banana, and Cake batter. Even though I am not a huge fan of cocoanut, I do love custard ice cream. The cocoanut custard is egg custard flavored ice cream with shredded cocoanut throughout. The banana ice cream is made with real bananas (helping me reach my recommend daily amount of fruit). My favorite was the cake batter. I could eat this flavor all day. It was sweeter than the other two flavors in my cup, for obvious reasons. Across the board, the flavors were fresh, creamy, and matched up to their flavor name perfectly. I highly recommend trying it out. Even if you are not in the mood for ice cream, I encourage buying your local milk here. The nonfat milk tastes richer and fresher than the milk you buy at the store and it’s organic!

*I know how to spell coconut. However, Longacre’s spells it “cocoanut.”

Longacre’s Modern Dairy

1445 Route 100
Barto, PA 19504

Get Directions(610) 845-7551

Pennsylvania: Landis Store Hotel

Landis Store Hotel is one of my favorite restaurants in Pennsylvania. No lie! I have been going there with my family since I was a child. It is always a delightful treat to visit when I am in town. The restaurant is located in the hills of Berks County and is not the easiest place to find, but that just makes it all the more special. The history of the restaurant is interesting. It started as a hotel in 1800. In 1853, it added a general store and post office. Then in 1952, it was purchased by the Henshaws who kept it as a general store and bar until 1970 in which it was then turned into a restaurant. In 1975, the Henshaw’s daughter and son-in-law, Janet and Gary Henshaw bought the restaurant and remain the current owners. The executive chef, Marilyn Flannery, has worked there ever since I can remember, and makes the most amazing dishes. And this most recent trip was no exception!

I started with the Caesar Salad. This is one of my favorite salads. It is flawless; the lettuce is crisp, the Parmesan is fresh, and the dressing is homemade. It does not include anchovies, but that is okay. It is a big salad, but that just reassures you that you are getting enough vegetables in your diet. For my main course, I ordered the Saute Flounder with Shrimp, Garlic, and Wine. In retrospect, I feel guilty about ordering the flounder because they are an overfished species. I do not recall the last time I ate flounder though, so I’m not too terrible (I hope). The tomatoes were in season and tasted fresh and juicy. The garlic wine sauce was subtle and did not dominate over the taste of the flounder or the shrimp. The meal was delightful and every bite was better than the next. Every main course includes your choice of two vegetables. I chose the zucchini with almond and mint, and the corn fritters. I would never have thought of combining zucchini with almond and mint, but each taste worked well with one another. I would even make it at home. A fritter is any kind of food coated in batter and then deep fried. I don’t know how popular they are in Los Angeles, but to me they seem more common on the East coast, at least in Pennsylvania (think apple fritters!). They taste like creamy summer fresh corn little pancakes. Like most things fried, you can’t go wrong.

Dessert was the best part! My Dad and I ordered 3 different desserts because we are crazy. We ordered: Strawberry Ice Cream, Chocolate Cheesecake, and a Chocolate Mousse Torte. Yes, so much chocolate! The strawberry ice cream was homemade and tasted less creamy than it did fruity. This refreshing and lighter taste went well in between the rich chocolate bites of the cheesecake and torte. Neither my Dad nor I could pin point which chocolate dessert was better because they were both amazing! I recommend to anyone that visits to at least try one dessert, if not three. You are probably thinking I’m a little piggy, and granted I do have my moments, but I can assure you that these desserts were not finished during one sitting because they were so wonderfully rich. A lot of restaurants fail at being incredible at both main courses and desserts, but this is not the case here. They are always above and beyond.

Note: They are not open every night. I suggest calling ahead.

Landis Store Hotel

4 Baldy Hill Rd
Landis Store, PA 19512
(610) 845-2324