Food & Drink

Local restaurants in the Lehigh Valley are already embracing 2025 culinary trends from the National Restaurant Association's annual report. From sustainability efforts to emerging Southeast Asian flavors, businesses have already given customers a taste of what's in store for the new year.

If you're looking to entertain guests with delectable beverages sans alcohol this New Year's Eve, there are more — and better — options than ever, including some locally-made drinks.

At least a half-dozen popular Lehigh Valley restaurants permanently closed their doors or released plans to shift operations in the final months of 2024.

Hotel Bethlehem’s event experts share holiday hosting tips, emphasizing confidence, preparation, and simplicity. It's not as hard as you think, they advise.

Warm up outdoor weather shopping this weekend with a cup of Mexican hot chocolate and some warm cinnamon pastry.

The mocktail mixing competition brought together media personalities from different outlets in the Lehigh Valley, serving up alcohol-free drinks.

Marblehead Chowder House on William Penn Highway in Palmer Township has been in operation since 1996. The ownership says the business has changed with the times and owes its success to loyal customers and staff.

Let's Go Coffee Co. in Emmaus held its grand opening Friday. The business offers a wide selection of coffees and gluten-free baked goods.

Yardley-based craft brewpub Vault Brewing Co. will celebrate its official opening, with specialty-brewed beers, holiday cocktails, and a curated menu focused on locally-sourced foods this weekend.

More than 70 Lafayette College students and other College Hill faithful packed into Gyro Concept at 323 Cattell St. in Easton to celebrate its grand opening. A Bethlehem-area location is coming soon.

The 2024-25 Pennsylvania State Budget introduced updates to the state's complex liquor laws, including extended happy hours and ready-to-drink cocktails. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board already received over a thousand RTDC applications and has begun permitting with the law effective Sept. 16.

Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 in Forks Township celebrated the grand opening of Colonial Cafe 71, a coffee shop which helps teach employment and life skills.

The Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market officially added The Brass Rail to its list of merchants Thursday morning — the first time the eatery has been in operation since it shuttered on Lehigh Street in June 2022.

The North Street spot has been known locally for its affordable, yet classic, early morning and lunchtime eats, including pork rolls, pancakes, cheesesteaks and more. The news of the sale comes after 41 years of business.

South Whitehall Board of Commissioners on Wednesday heard a proposal for a new PJ Whelihan’s in Ridge Farms, a mixed use housing development at the intersection of Cedar Crest Boulevard and Walbert Avenue.

Organizers of the beer festival have teamed up with Allentown Mural Arts for a day of craft beer tasting, mural unveilings, live music and local eats on Saturday, Sept. 7.

Chef Ryan Lukow of the Savory Grille unseated reigning champion Chef Courtney Davenport on Sunday to win the Allentown Fair’s annual Iron Chef cooking competition.

The scrapple contest was held on Saturday, Aug. 31 at the Great Allentown Fair.

Baseball, food and fun family offerings are out there if firing up the grill is not your thing.

The Lehigh Valley's newest bagel shop is officially in full swing, holding its grand opening Wednesday Aug. 28. Customers have continuously raved about the bagel spot since its soft opening mid-July.

The 10th anniversary of Clam Jam, the Easton festival held by Third and Ferry Fish Market, brought hundreds of seafood devotees to the city Sunday and crowned new chowder and homebrew champions.

The Lehigh Valley Zoo is hosting its annual Brew at the Zoo again in 2024. This year, it falls on Saturday, Sept. 14, and will feature more than three dozen craft beers and ciders.