Patsel's

ATTN world- my mother has made her food blog debut! This afternoon we shared a fabulous lunch at Patsel’s, located in Clarks Summit. We haven’t given Clarks Summit the food love it deserves (as Jessica would say), so here is the first of many remarkable restaurants that deserve our fine attention. Patsel’s is owned by a couple from Waverly, PA and opened in August of 1999.

I’ve always heard people say, “cooking is a form of art,” which I think is absolutely true! Well, not only is the food at Patsel’s art work in plating, texture, and taste, but the restaurant itself is a piece of art. Mom has been to Patsel’s with her lady friends once before and she just raved and raved about it, so of course we made a trip to the infamous Patsel’s ourselves. I was definitely the youngest customer, but was in great company of tables filled with polyester suit wearing ‘adults.’ Just kidding, but really Patsel’s screams “Grandma lunch date” all over it.

A once meat market is now a uniquely designed restaurant. 11 years in the making of floral wallpaper patterns I would never, ever put together, hand carved doorframes, hand painted window frames, bold colors, polka dot walls, beading, tool, and frog statues in every other corner and window. Initially I had thought the owners had gone to every elderly person’s home in the tri-state area and incorporated all the inspiration from these homes into one place for a throw up of gaudiness. That thought only lasted about 7 seconds. After the initial shock, I was in love with the attention-to-detail design. It’s the definition of commitment, because for this type of design, you can’t sort of…fudge, or half do it. The design was committed from the front door to the plates I ate off of. If I haven’t sold it already, Patsel’s is a place to visit to see art in its most whimsical state.

As for the food…we both ordered off the special’s menu (which for me is a rule of thumb on a no-brainer good meal). Mom ordered cup of Asian vegetable soup, and an eggplant parm sandwich with a side salad and fresh fruit. I had the shrimp risotto. All the food was great! Absolutely no complaints. Not sure if my father (or other men I know) would be satisfied with the portion of the meals (i.e two jumbo-4-bite-shrimp in my risotto), but the portions were perfect for us ladies. More importantly, we had room for dessert, which mom and I accomplished quite well. List of desserts tried (yes I need bullets for this):

· Key lime crème brulee with coconut biscotti

· Warm pear strudel

· Sticky toffee pudding****my favorite

· Lemon ricotta cannoli**** mom’s favorite

We got the sample platter of desserts, so don’t worry…we’re not 500 lb (yet). All desserts were SO good.

At the end of the day, our lunch at Patsel’s was fun! We shared great company, fun environment, fun atmosphere, and fun food (wish I got a drink…I’m sure they’re fun too though). If you go: firstly, take your mom, make sure you go to the bathroom (just do it), order a special and the sticky toffee pudding, and finally, try a martini…and let me know how they are.

PS: get a coupon for Patsel's from restaurant.com :)