- Restaurants and cafes across the Lehigh Valley are rolling out fall-inspired menu items
- It's not just pumpkin spice, but flavors such as apple and maple in everything from pasta to pancakes
- Hurry! Some of these seasonal offerings won't be around too long
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — While coffee shops and grocery stores dabble in all things pumpkin spice, restaurants and cafes across the Lehigh Valley are rolling out fall-inspired menu items of their own.
The anticipated autumnal arrivals bring other iconic tastes of the season, with flavors such as maple and apple found in things as diverse as pasta dishes and ice cream.
Here’s where to find these bites and beverages in and around the area. But hurry, they’re only available for a limited time.
All you need is a fork — and some cozy, creamy squash
What really indicates the autumnal transition is the debut of seasonal pastas, and at Nonna Sulina’s (5000 Bath Pike, Bethlehem), the fall flavor is on point.
The restaurant recently rolled out a dish it calls Giacomo’s Pappardelle — a maple pumpkin butter sauce with chicken over pappardelle pasta.
Owner and Executive Chef Giocomo Sgori loves sharing traditional Scilian cuisine with an inventive twist. October also is National Pasta Month, making it a great time to shine a light on the kind of food Nonna Sulina’s dishes up.
Meanwhile, Hampton Winds (3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem), a culinary training ground for the Northampton Community College Culinary Arts Program, will debut its fall menu on Sept. 28.
It includes a braised squash tortellini with ricotta, brown butter, a pine nut crumble, poached cranberries and caramelized onions.
Breakfast gets the fall treatment
Roasted (22 W. 4th St., Bethlehem) is known for its fresh, local, scratch-made breakfasts — especially the pancakes.
In fact, you can’t use the hashtag #food on Lehigh Valley-based social media without finding pictures of cinnamon bun, peach cobbler and other versions of pancakes that are so large they hang off the plate.
The September offering at the South Bethlehem cafe also combines two flavors that are sure to make your mouth water: caramel apple.
Owner Derek Wallen said the fall-inspired breakfast fare will stay on the menu until the end of the month. But with the pumpkin craze in full swing, October’s offering will swap out the apples and bring back 31 days of pumpkin pancakes.
Previous winter specials at Roasted have included cinnamon bun pancakes, and French toast with candied pecans, banana, brown sugar and spiced rum.
Speaking of French toast, the Farm & Table (119 S. Main St., Nazareth) serves up an apple pie French toast that’s an every-day offering.
But the restaurant also will offer pumpkin pie French toast and pancakes for fall, along with a pumpkin spice latte.
The eatery has become a go-to breakfast spot in the Lehigh Valley. In August, it rolled out pancake flights that include nine different flavors – including s’mores and cinnamon bun.
You can also find pumpkin pancakes back on the menu at Mitzi's Table (3650 Nazareth Pike, Bethlehem) that are dressed up with a cinnamon swirl, pumpkin cream cheese glaze, honey butter and candied nuts.
And if you're heading south along the Delaware, Mueller's General Store & Kitchen (3200 S Delaware Drive, just outside of Riegelsville) has a new fall menu that includes pumpkin pancakes and apple strudel waffles. They're also serving apple cider mimosas and hot spiked apple cider.
Drinks and Desserts
If your jam is combining ice cream and all things fall, pumpkin spice ice cream has made its annual return at OWowCow (all shops, including locally at 1262 Simon Blvd., Easton).
It also offers a mulled apple cider flavor, described as a cozy, roasted apple ice cream with ribbons of mulled cider syrup.
For those looking for vegan options, they have an apple crumble ice cream with crunchy crumble bits in a roasted apple vegan ice cream with hints of cinnamon. (For additional Vegan options, check out the menu at Vegan Treats (1444 Linden St., Bethlehem).
Meanwhile, Allentown staple The Udder Bar (1852 W Allen St.) has the Pumpkin Patch Bubble Waffle — a fresh-made bubble waffle with homemade pumpkin patch ice cream (pumpkin with Oreos) topped with extra Oreos.
To wash it all down (if you’re 21, of course), check out apple cider sangria or the brown sugar apple margarita at Tapas on Main (500 Main St., Bethlehem), or fall mimosas at The Flying Egg (451 Main St., Bethlehem).
Social Still (530 E. 3rd St., Bethlehem) also has the Sasquatch Cider Crushie (Sasquatch Vanilla Maple Bourbon, maple spice simple syrup, cider).
It's also fall for Fido
Don't forget your pets! The Dining Dog & Friends (3245 Hamilton Blvd, Allentown) has pumpkin maple donuts and other fall treats for you pup.
