by Jacy Hammacher—

Moonlight Café, 4140 Carlisle Road; Dover, PA 17315   (717) 292-5643

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover!  When we pulled up to this particular BYOB, to celebrate being married for 10 years, my husband and I noticed the ordinary façade and later discovered it was not an indication of the top-quality food we were about to experience. There wasn’t an empty parking spot and it was a full house of around twelve tables, full of wine-loving foodies. We were seated fairly quickly; and, as we pulled our wine selections out, our server brought two wine glasses and a corkscrew so as to not keep our thirst unquenched.

My husband (or date should I say?) and I chose to start our evening with the Moonlight Crab Dip appetizer. The crab itself was so rewarding that I could have stopped there, but it also left me wondering what else could be on the menu that would satisfy my palate. As I perused the choices, I noticed that they offer a nice selection of categories that would complement a variety of wines.

We brought a 2009 Lingenfelder Shoy, made from the Scheurebe grape, which was full bodied, yet refreshing with a slight peach nose. Therefore, I was in the mood for some more seafood to pair with it. I ordered the Shrimp Champagne, which is raspberry cream sauce, tomato, mushroom, and spinach over fettuccine noodles and shrimp. The mix of flavors between food and wine made my taste buds dance!

Chris, on the other hand, was looking to have something that would accompany this big, bold, California Cab that had rich backing spices, and a smidgen of espresso bean. He made the only logical decision he could and ordered the Bacon-Wrapped Filet Mignon over a mountain of mashed potatoes and broccoli with balsamic glaze.  Needless to say, we will be eating there again soon.

by Lynne Beeson

Mellow Minded Café – Living, Loving, Local  at 5943 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg, PA 17112  717-412-7120

Hours: M-Tu 11-4; W-Th  11-8; F-Sa 9 -9; Su 9-3

This is our frequent go-to when we want to avoid the Friday interstate traffic snarls, and still want a good meal!   This place is family friendly, reasonably priced, and the best we’ve found among local ‘vegetarian-or-not’ places.   It’s casual, with counter walk-up service, but food is brought piping hot to your table when ready…so you can order, then sit back, pop a cork, and settle in a bit and chat before your food arrives.

Great care is taken with allergens, food restrictions, and preferences – including gluten free, dairy free, and vegan notations on the menus – the people behind the counter know what’s in each recipe, or will check with the chef if they don’t.  There’s something for everyone from small plates (prosciutto wrapped asparagus with balsamic) to large plates (fajitas your way) and from salads (add fish, shellfish or steak) to smoothies (from a fruit cornucopia – whatever you wish), But on to the fabulous FRESH food we enjoyed last visit, and the local wines we paired!

This visit, our dining trio started with the tomato bisque, which is gluten free, thick yet creamy, and oh so good. We paired soup with Allegro Brut Rosé.   Moving on to entrees, we sampled the crab cake dinner – one humongous lump crab cake on creamy parmesan risotto with grilled asparagus; the specially marinated, then BBQ tofu sandwich on brioche with very fresh, organic mixed greens on the side; and “the burger” (no roll this time to really savor the burger) made with locally raised, grass fed beef, topped with garlic aioli, lettuce and tomato also with a side of lightly dressed organic greens. With these we paired Allegro 2014 Skin Chardonnay, and the awesome, drinking-at-its-best right now, Allegro 2002 Reserve Merlot – every weekend should start this way!   You must check out this place.   Mellow Minded also serves breakfast – we keep planning to do that – it just hasn’t yet happened – but it will as we keep coming back and have yet to be disappointed.