Ok, back on track. Let’s talk about where you’ll be going to get your Irish on. It’s ok if you’re not sure yet. Neither am I. Let’s figure this out together.

St. Patrick’s Day and Irish pubs go hand-in-hand. There’s a lot to choose from in the area and probably all of them will be packed. Hey, did you know LV Scene has a convenient list of many of the Irish pubs in our area? Check it out by clicking here or going to the “FIND IT HERE” drop down menu at the top of the page.

A blue collar holiday like St. Patrick’s Day means local neighborhood establishments will be as crowded as the Irish pubs are. My first choice for Wednesday would be any of the bars in the West End of Allentown. Liberty St. Tavern, Callaghan’s, and Stooge’s should all have really good crowds. And by “really good crowds” I, of course, mean really drunk crowds.

But if you’re looking for a bigger party, probably all of the major bars in the area will be throwing something. Here’s some info about a few.

The Firehouse – Bethlehem – Green Bash – No cover, wear the color green and get a free shot! Featuring, Coors Light girls & Kiliian’s Girls, LEECHBOY from 6-10PM on guitar, DJ What & DJ Cyn form 10pm – 2am. $1.50-green Coors Light drafts, $3 Jameson shots, $5 car bombs.

Starter’s Riverport – Bethlehem – The Green Party – 20+, no cover, Cap Cee in the mix. $5 car bombs, $2 Dirty Girl Scouts, $3 Bud Light, $2.50 Coors Light.

There you have it, my take on St. Patrick’s Day in the Lehigh Valley. What are your thoughts? Where do you plan on being this Wednesday?

Hookah Turka is having a two night grand opening event this weekend that is sure to be the talk of the town. There’s a $5 cover charge and you can expect a DJ and live belly dancing. For all the details, head to either the Facebook event page or their website.

Expect to be wowed by the food, beer and prices at Hometown Heroes, a hard-working bar & grill that feels like your neighborhood pub. I consider it one of Bethlehem’s unsung treasures.

If you want to kick back with some friends, if you want to mellow out or pig out, you can do that here. If you want to ready yourself for bar hopping, you can lay the foundation here. If you’ve been out for a few hours, this is the place for a plate of disco fries.

Disco Fries = French fries with brown gravy and melted cheese.

You can thank our northern neighbors for this delicacy; in Canada this is called “poutine” and it kinda makes up for Bryan Adams. In the U.S. it’s called a most delicious solution to the munchies. If you’ve ever gone clubbing in NYC, you have probably devoured disco fries at a diner to revive yourself at the end of the night. Hometown Heroes smothers fries in savory, salty homemade gravy and melted fresh mozzarella. And you’d better say it like “mutz-a-rella.”

But before you get to the food, have a beer from the tap or bottle. Featured selections have included Guinness, Rogue Dead Guy Ale, Lord Chesterfield Ale, Yards Brawler, Victory Hop Devil, Lindeman’s Framboise, the elusive Leinenkugel, as well as PBR and Yuengling lager (domestic drafts are always $2!) Oh, and Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout which can sometimes be a meal in itself.

Along with the Disco Fries, my favorite appetizer is the house made tomato bruschetta with fresh mozzarella (“mutz”.)

The owners and the servers are affable yet attentive, and the food is meticulously prepared and promptly delivered to your table or the bar. Their menu offers something for everyone. Even kids, even vegetarians.

For meat lovers, though, the tasty 8 oz. Black Angus steak burger is an excellent choice. It’s as big as my face and served on a fresh crunchy roll. The heroes, several of which feature the fresh melted mutz option (which really classes up a sandwich, dontcha think?) are available in a half-size or whole. I have never seen anyone eat a whole sandwich. They are huge, not just in length but in girth. Take the Bri-Elle-T, which is a Hometown BLT with chicken tenders and ranch dressing added to it. A half-sandwich was so loaded with bacon that even I couldn’t finish it. And I love bacon! Once I ate the incredible Papa Allen: Ham, hot capicola, and tomatoes sautéed in butter then topped with melted mutz. Mamma mia. If you’re craving a hot pastrami sandwich, patronize this hometown joint instead of the Sands’ Carnegie Deli, and order a New Yorker.

Some come specifically to get the daily special hero. Like, on “Wild Card Sundays,” you can chomp on that big steak burger with three fried eggs, bacon and cheese, called the Alter Egg-o. If you eat one of these, let me know in the comments.

After a few visits to Hometown Heroes I started to crave it. And it wasn’t just because of the food. For $20 you can eat great, enjoy a few brews and have dollars left for a healthy tip and a few games of MegaMaxx. And sometimes, they even have cheesecake.

The fun superhero-themed website provides their full menu, including the daily specials and featured beers: www.heroesbethlehem.com

310 E. Goepp Street (near the intersection with Linden St, in the north side of Bethlehem)

610-317-8007

Thursday – March 4, 2010

Associated Mess Live Improv Comedy – Pitcher’s Sports Bar – Allentown – The best/only live improv comedy in the Lehigh Valley. $8 or $5 with college ID. Cheap beer, too!

Friday – March 5, 2010

White Trash Bash – Drinky’s – Easton – “107 The Bone’s Scotty Brilliant and DJ Dangerous Dan. Dress “Trashy” in your wife beaters, trucker hats, etc. for $2 Shots All Night! $4 Red Bull & Vodkas All Day, $2 Any Pint (10-12). No Cover Charge.”

Saturday – March 6, 2010

One Night in Vegas – Starter’s Riverport – Bethlehem – DJ Roonie G is back at Starter’s Riverport. So if you missed the first One Night in Vegas, have no fear, One Night in Vegas Vol. 3 should do the trick.

The night starts at 7PM and is open to anyone looking to show off their singing, spoken word, or comedy abilities. Need any more information?  Check out the Facebook event page.

Friday – February 19, 2010

The Firehouse – Bethlehem – Pre-Mardi Party – No cover, dress to impress. DJ $weetlife mixing video and music. $2 Miller Lite Bottles, $2 Kamikaze Shots, and $5 Hurricanes.

Saturday – February 20, 2010

Starter’s Riverport – Bethlehem – Masque 2 – Audio Dynamikz is “bringing Bourbon St to Bethlehem”, no cover, bead contest with a cash prize, complimentary beads and mask will be provided.

The Firehouse – Bethlehem – Bourbon Street on Broadway – $1.50 Coors Lite drafts, $2 Coors Lite bottles, and $2 bourbon shots

If you’re like me, you thought fondue was just melted cheese or chocolate cooked over a little burner and stirred up with color coded forks. Maybe you hosted a fondue party to try to appear all cosmopolitan. Well, it’s a pain in the ass to make your own fondue, so just go to The Melting Pot for the full experience.

This national fondue chain restaurant moved onto “restaurant row” on Broad Street in downtown Bethlehem. If you’re up for a high-calorie adventure, it’s the place to go.

Basically, “fondue” is just food dipped into a pot. The Melting Pot goes beyond basic.

A nose-wrinkling smell of boiling meat is the first thing that hits me when I enter the warm, lush feeling entryway. No, that’s not the most appetizing odor. But it gets better!

I’ve been to the Melting Pot a few times. It doesn’t get any easier for me to order. It’s puzzling. To make my choices clearer, I start with a fancy drink. My favorite is the Strawberry Blonde Martini: $9 worth of champagne, strawberry vodka and fruity flavors. Sparkly! The wine list is extensive, and, expensive.

If you want to start with dessert, you must have the Yin Yang martini. But, if you do that, you might not be hungry for the dessert fondues, which to me are the top reasons to go to The Melting Pot.

First know that you’ll be spending a lot of time with your waitperson. They’ll cook everything at your table on burners. They’ll explain the process to you as they’re cooking. “Now, I’ll add the garlic.” “Let’s turn the heat down to 3.” “I’m going to flambé this chocolate now.” If you don’t like your server, your meal is going to suck. I have liked all of my servers here, they’re personable and professional.

There’s this big deal called the Big Night Out which includes a cheese fondue, a salad, an entrée and a dessert, all themed together. Right now you can get Alpine. I’ve never found this appealing but if you’ve skied Germany or Switzerland, you might enjoy reminiscing: “And after the Matterhorn, I had the best melted Gruyere and bratwurst, just like this!” I do not know what the Big Night Out costs, but I assume it’s a big price.

If you don’t want to stomach that, go a la carte. Depending on your table size, you’ll have one or two burners within easy reach and you’ll share one or two cheese fondues. You’ll spear bread cubes, apple slices and veggies with your color-coded fork. It’s so good you’ll be scraping the pot and asking for second plates of “dippers.”

The chocolate fondue choices are all heavenly. But whichever you choose, you’ll get a plate of rice krispies treats, pound cake, strawberries, brownies, marshmallows bananas and cheesecake to immerse and devour.

In between cheese and chocolate, if you desire, you can have a salad and/or an entrée.

Well, the salads are lackluster in comparison to the cooked food. And, the act of cooking raw meat and seafood in a steaming pot of boiling oil and broth directly in front of me, when there’s a chance I might undercook it, and I lose meat chunks in the pot as they mix with my dining companions’ meat chunks, well, it’s kind of weird. Is this what they do in the Alps? Really? The Melting Pot makes it as appealing as possible. You’ll select a plate of raw ingredients, which are seasoned. You select your cooking method, which is seasoned. Then you are presented with dipping sauces in case you need even more flavors. The combinations of tastes are seemingly endless and the dinner is spent trying all the food on the table, every which way. That’s part of the fun of The Melting Pot.

Fondue rules: Remember your fork color. No double dipping. Don’t let the fork touch your mouth. All of these rules are void if your dining partner is a very close friend.

When to go to The Melting Pot:

First date? I wouldn’t recommend it.

Third date? Probably not. If you have the full dinner, you might feel incredibly full, breathing garlic, and sweating from the steamy pot of oil at your table. Better to wait until at least your fourth rendezvous.

Special occasion? Absolutely. The Melting Pot makes celebrating easy on the party-planner. Make your reservations and they’ll offer you the package options of balloons, a vase of roses, photo souvenirs and more.

Business meetings? Leave the meeting at the office and break the ice here. Don’t talk business with cheese dripping down your face.

My favorite dishes:

Cheese fondue: Wisconsin Trio (Fontina, Butterkase, and Buttermilk Bleu with wine and scallions and sherry.)

Chocolate fondue: Chocolate S’mores!

Each is $16 for a pot that feeds two.

What I’m excited about:

The first Ladies’ Night at this location will be next Tuesday, February 23. Special $5 martinis and glasses of wine, special $35 per person 4-course menu! Girly friends in other cities rave about The Melting Pot’s Ladies’ Night deals. Also, join “Club Fondue” and get coupons and event notices sent to you. And, guys, Ladies’ Night might be a good time to relax at the posh bar.

The Melting Pot is one of a handful of restaurants in the Lehigh Valley for which you can make reservations conveniently on Open Table. Why talk to a live person when there’s an app for that?

The Melting Pot is located at 1 East Broad Street, Suite 100 (corner of North New Street & E. Broad) Bethlehem, PA 18018

(484) 241-4939

Link for menus and event info at this location: http://www.meltingpot.com/locations.aspx?z=18018&n=171935

1. It exists
2. It is “blue” themed
3. It may or may not be associated with Blue Moon beer.

That’s it, and not for lack of trying either. The Blue Bash Facebook page could not have any less information and requests for more information have gone unanswered.

I’m struggling to find reasons to continue writing about this event. I keep coming back to the question, “If they’re not going to put out any information about this, why should I?”. Anyway, there you have it. Blue Bash. Tonight.

Friday – February 5

Fahrenheit Friday @ The Firehouse – Featuring DJ Diamondkutz from Power 99 - NO COVER if you get in before 10pm, $2 Kamikaze shots, $2 Miller Lite bottles, $2 Coors Light bottles, and $5 $weetlife Swizzles.

Fist Pumpin First Friday @ Starter’s Riverport – DJ CyN will be spinning all high energy dance music…nothing under 120 bpm.

Saturday – February 6

DVDJ Unique @ Starter’s Riverport – $5 Cover (Free w/College ID)

Sunday – February 7 – Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Party @ PigPen, Featuring Uncle Kracker - Lots of info, check it out here.

Super Sunday @ Mothers – Open at noon. $2 Coors Light Bottles & $9.99 All-You-Can-Eat Wings.

I hope everyone is prepared for the storm that’s coming in. There’s a lot going on this weekend, hopefully the storm doesn’t cause too much of a problem. Have fun out there, but most importantly be safe!

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