Once and a while, a man’s thoughts turn to home cooked meals. You know, the kind that you prepare yourself. My family generally prefers the “hunt and gather” meals versus the “nuke and thaw,” so trips must be made out of our cushy area to…the grocery store. With multiple children and multiple jobs, my wife and I never get time to ourselves, so when it’s time to grocery shop, we occasionally make it a date. And Wegmans is our date location of choice. Almost everyone in the valley knows about Wegmans even if you don’t live close to one. It’s not our regular grocery store (too expensive), but …

After a few weeks of hot dogs and fast (but tasty bakery eats), this week, we went a little upscale. I mean, just because you have kids doesn’t mean you have to give up your desire to eat at a place with tablecloths and French food you can’t pronounce, right? Waving my “parent’s are grownups too” flag high, I bundled the entire posse into the car and headed (on a tip from a reader) to the Buckeye Tavern in Macungie for a taste. Parking: It was a dark and stormy night…So DD missed the parking lot the first time around. But once we got to the right place (thanks to my co-pilot/wife) the parking…

This week, we were off to the other side of the valley to check out Vassi’s Drive-In. The family has been one or twice (or four times) before, but we’ve always gone in the front. This time we headed to the back and tried the full dining experience on for size. Parking Ample parking for a weekday (we came for lunch), but I could see this parking filling up in the summer. But it’s there, and in the valley, you don’t complain if off street’s available. Note: The parking lot is about three times the size of the dining room. Be ready to enjoy the great outdoors if it's full. Parent Perks #1 The …

You know how sometimes, food is better the second day? That’s the feeling I had while eating at Louie’s Bakery in Emmaus. And while that sounds like a vague insult, remember that I am a dad of two, and my life is leftovers. So these are darn good. Parking Off street parking awaits in the back of the cheerful stand-alone building, as long as you don’t miss the turn-off. The building is essentially across from the Yacco’s on the outskirts of Emmaus, and the turn-off is before the building. Keep your eyes open.   Family Perks #1. The back door-Thank god for a door in the back. Don’t mock the man…

Editor’s note: Dining Dad will now be reviewing restaurants from a variety of locations in our area. If you have a suggestion to visit, please let the editor know at Elizabeth.Rich@patch.com. We’ve now included a rating system at the end of every review. Thanks for the input!    One recent weekend afternoon the fam and I decided to hit up Bethlehem Brew Works for a light bite. We shot for baby naptime, so we could see how the place stacked up to a sleeping infant/car seat scenario.   Parking Bethlehem Brew Works is in the both fortunate and unfortunate corner of Broad and Main in downtown …

Hello again Uppersaucon-Coobersbergian-Lowermilfordites! This week was cold and miserable, so we decided to step it up a notch and head out for pasta. I had driven by Ecco Domani several times, but hadn't stopped by. So I hauled out the biggest child, and headed out the door. Once you get past the "under construction" Giant market, and navigate the "under construction" parking, you'll find the restaurant just off of 309. The space was nicely appointed, and at the time we were there, fairly empty. Perhaps it was because it was a weeknight, but a few tables showed up towards the end of the meal…

Sunday means a lot of things to different people. To our family, it means brunch. Whether we make it or eat out, brunch is a must-have requirement to start (or end) our week.  This Sunday found us low on pantry items, so it was off to Coopersburg Diner after oldest boy returned from Sunday School. normally, we've encountered waits of 45 minutes or more, so we were pleasantly surprised with the brief 5 minutes from door to table. After we sat down at the vaguely sticky table (the poor busboy was swamped and hurriedly wiped down our table with water) we started pouring over the novel that they …

Recently I took my family (all of us this time, plus my father-in-law) to the Promenade and decided to try out Red Robin.  It's definitely one of those restaurant chains that pose as a sports bar except instead of having tons drunken sports enthusiasts screaming at a television there are tons of kids screaming at their parents. But with an 8 year-old and an 8 month-old in tow, I felt that I fit right into the pack. I was pleasantly surprised to see wide aisles for fast-treading parents with strollers, no matter how big or small. Even if you opted to haul your carseat in without the latest 4 …