Best dining in Chambersburg area

[Snarky Tool]

Snarky Rules wrote:

<quoted text>
Congratulations! Your post is suitable for a two year old, and will not be given an "FTB."
But seriously, Querty has a point about keeping the thread about food and service in area restaurants, not flame baiting ethnic comments.

Follow your own advice for once. Neither your comment above or spamming the thread with "FBT" has anything to do with dining in Chambersburg.

There is this restaurant in Chambersburg I ate at once, I think it's called something like McDonald's but I'm not positive, but their burgers were delicious. I haven't seen one anywhere else so I don't know if it's a chain or not, but I would love to go back to that place. They've got the best Coca-Cola in town too, in my opinion.

[Qwerty]

food critic wrote:

went to Ping's over the weekend.
was dissapointed with the amount and taste of what I ordered. It had plenty of heat but very little taste. It was like the heat hit you but there was no taste behind the heat. The value was not what other chinese places around chambersburg provide.
that is my take.

More details please.

What did you order? how was it prepared? what was it served with?

[Effington]

Qwerty wrote:

<quoted text>
More details please.
What did you order? how was it prepared? what was it served with?

Agreed, completely. We're always trying to get more information about what exactly was ordered and specifics on why it was good/bad. That lets us know if there is something specific we should avoid, or if the whole experience was a bust.

I still haven't tried Ping's, but I plan to very soon.

[food critic]

It was very nice inside the restaurant. Had a nice small sushi bar. I ordered small szechuan chicken and hot and sour soup. The szechuan chicken with white rice. Like I mentioned before, I only felt the heat but was disappointed with the taste and also the portion given. The Hot and sour soup was good but 3 or 4 other chbg chinese places have better Hot and sour soups. I will try Pings again and will not try anything spicy, just to see how it compares vs spicy. Went to Town and country cafe the week before and it was amazing. It was crowded and the sandwichs we got were very good.
It sounded like the regulars get crab sliders and crab mac and cheese. Sounds like I will order that combo next.

[Effington]

Cool, thanks for the info critic.

[Motor City]

What are we going to do about the Mexicans?

[Qwerty]

Motor City wrote:

What are we going to do about the Mexicans?

Eat in their restaurants.

[Dan the Man]

Qwerty wrote:

<quoted text>
Eat in their restaurants.

LOL!

[Effington]

Ping's! It's fun to say and I was there for lunch. Kept it simple for the first visit, I'm trying to withhold judgment on places until I've eaten there at least 2 or 3 times.

The place is nice and looks somewhat upscale - dark furniture, low lighting and new carpet. It's very zen. There are tables and booths, and a sushi counter in the corner. The hostess was super friendly.

The menu is extensive - mostly Japanese, plus some classic Chinese dishes. I was hoping for more Thai - there were only three dishes. I believe they were pad thai, gang and spicy basil curry.

Like I said, I kept it simple and stuck with the reasonably priced Chinese lunch specials, which were all around $6-$7 and include fried rice and soup.

I went super classic American-Chinese with General Tso's, and asked for it spicy hoping it wouldn't be the sickly-sweet variety you get at most take-out places now. The chicken was white meat - not dark like it usually is - and not nearly as overly fried or breaded. The sauce was an orange (colored and flavored) sauce with some dried red chiles mixed in and some freshly steamed broccoli that was perfectly cooked. The sauce was still a little sweet for my liking, but this isn't something I typically order so I can't really complain. I did not find it overly spicy - typically when I ask for Chinese food spicy, they just put a few squirts of Sriracha in anyway. I probably should have gotten the Kung Pao. The fried rice was fresh, but not spectacular.

Oh, the won ton soup I had was also excellent, with homemade won tons and a nice broth that wasn't overly salty. The egg noodles were amazing.

The portions are a bit smaller than your typical China Wok takeout, but so is the quality, and at a comparable price. I'm sure the higher-priced entrees come with plenty of food. There were several tables occupied and a few folks came in for take out. I'd be willing to bet it's the best Chinese in area outside of Imperial in Hagerstown.

I look forward to going back and trying both Thai and Japanese dishes before passing judgment. But I think this a promising new addition to downtown dining, and should fill some much-needed niches.

I heard a rumor that Ginger House is closing, but a Thai restaurant may be opening in its place. And Bombay seems to be on track to reopen as well.

[Effington]

I should clarify - I meant that although the portions are a bit smaller, the quality of the ingredients is clearly better.

[Deafington]

Effington wrote:

I'm trying to withhold judgment on places until I've eaten there at least 2 or 3 times.

False. You slammed John Allison's after 1 visit when you took a giant party there during its opening week. Go back to your tower.

[Effington]

Deafington wrote:

<quoted text>
False. You slammed John Allison's after 1 visit when you took a giant party there during its opening week. Go back to your tower.

Yes, I agree I did that and it wasn't fair. And since that time, I have apologized for the snap judgement and praised the John Allison several times.

I didn't say I've never done that before - but I am making an effort not to do it again. I'm also making an effort to be more positive.

[employer]

Qwerty wrote:

Ok, at the risk of appearing really stupid, I have to ask a question.
What is "FTB"?
I'm at work, so can't look it up on urban dictionary. If it's really crude, you can just give me a hint. I'm reasonable intelligent, I'll probably be able to figure it out.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming:
To Don from G - please go ahead and register your identity. That way we know if you are a regular. Those of us who have been posting for a long time enjoy the lack of nastiness on this particular thread and are not inclined to allow newcomers to take it in another direction. There are plenty of places to post about illegal aliens and corrupt business owners. This is not that place.
I'm still waiting for more information on the new Asian restaurant on Main Street. Reviews anyone?

posting at work? I hope you post while on a break. Employees that are posting personal comments on work time is not a good thing.

[traveling food junkie]

Meeker wrote:

I want to take this time now to give a shout out to some kick ass restaurants in Chambersburg.
China Buffet
Montezuma
Applebees
AJ's Deli
Titos Tacos
Mario's Italian Restaurant
The Cottage
The Orchards
Copper Kettle
That's it that's the list. Back to your regularly scheduled programming and as always holla atcha boi.

These places are ordinary, nothing outstanding.

[Effington]

traveling food junkie wrote:

<quoted text>These places are ordinary, nothing outstanding.

I have to say, there isn't a single place on that list I would put in Chambersburg's top 5 places to eat.

[See Chel Post]

Hey y'all.

Qwerty, you dear of sweetness and light, FBT means Flame-Baiting Troll from what I can decipher.(Loved your suggestion on how to 'handle' on the Mexicans!)

Whatever our qualms with the PO and their misguided subscription plans, they did try to protect some of the longer running threads from garbage.(Incidentally, clearing your cookies, or not allowing them in the first place will take care of that subscription thing. jus'sayin)

For those unaware, Bulgogi House has a Facebook page, with photos of their menu. They have other types of kimchi listed, but I have not tried them.

Thank you Effington and food critic, for your reviews of Ping's. I'm hoping to get over there soon.

I went to John Allison Public House a few weeks ago and found our waiter to be very professional, courteous and generally helpful, but the food wasn't a stand out.

There were some music performances that night, so maybe that contributed to the lack of selection and substance, so I will go there again.

For the record, it has been Effington's comments that convinced me to give it a go in the first place and they are the reason I'm going to give them another try.

[See Chel Post]

I actually came to talk about a visit to Chic's I had recently.(Virginia Avenue, Hagerstown)

On Former Chambersburg Girl's experience we tried them a while back and they were mostly pleasant.
We've since explored other seafood (non-sushi/sashimi, love them, but not what we were looking for) in the area --- like the other popular seafood place over by HCC, the name escapes me, but they are far too proud of their bland, overly oiled food. Plus, it was noisy and service wasn't much of anything.

Back to Chic's. Good stuff. Prices are pretty standard for fish and crab. Very casual atmosphere.

Appetizers were crab stuffed mushrooms and potato skins. The mushrooms were button, firm and hot. Good, but we probably won't order them again.
My guys fought over the potato skins. Generous portion overloaded with crumbled bacon and cheese topped with thick sour cream. That will definitely be ordered again.

I ordered swordfish with baked beans and green beans. The swordfish had been ever so lightly overcooked on one corner, but was a generous, thick portion (using the deck of cards measurement it was a little over two decks thick and 1.5 across.) The baked beans were... weird. Not bad, but odd flavors. It was sweet, but more than a bit of brown sugar sweet and I think I tasted a bit of cinnamon(!?) maybe. The green beans were firm, not seasoned much.

DH had one of the smaller combo plates, fried white fish, two scallops, a portion of clam strips and some butterflied shrimp and one fried oyster that he did eat (because he's a wuss.) He stuffed himself before he even made it to the sides of corn and slaw, so I can't tell you what he thought of them, but the marine life he did eat, he enjoyed.

The Boy had shrimp and fries. He ate the shrimp, couldn't finish all the fries and didn't complain.(Did I mention he's a teen, so no complaining is kind of a big deal? I'm pretty sure I wasn't that cranky as a teenager but my Mom just laughs.)

Dessert. Dear heaven dessert!
The desserts we enjoyed were not on the menu, because it's old (I guess.)

Fresh peanut butter pie and made that day pumpkin cheesecake. They also had apple fritter, but DH had tapped out at that point, unable to ingest a wafer thin mint, so The Boy and I went it alone.

Oh, we fought over those two pieces.

He mostly won on account of being scrawny and needing to pack on some pounds, but those desserts were good enough that I seriously considered letting him starve.

I have never had any variation of peanut butter pie or pumpkin cheesecake, so I don't know how they normally taste and the cheesecake didn't ~seem~ like cheesecake to me -- almost six inches high, creamy, but light, too, like a whipped mousse. I ~can~ tell you they were good.

I craved them for the rest of the night (mostly the peanut butter pie, but I love pumpkin) and since then, have wistfully imagined devouring a whole pie by myself.

Good stuff.

The waitress, was also very helpful and friendly and it was just a good over all experience.

But those desserts --- Mmmmmmmm

[See Chel Post]

** I meant DH did NOT eat his shrimp or oyster --- because he's a wuss.

[salsify]

I do hope Ginger House doesn't close, per the rumour posted by Effington. I just like those folks. Their young daughter serenaded us with her newly acquired violin this past week....which doesn't necessarily translate into good dining, but the food was, per usual, good, and the music was a little treat.

Had dinner at Town and Country for the first time. My pork schnitzel was simultaneously v. chewy and dry but the cider braised cabbage was good. H had grilled salmon with crab which he pronounced v. good. We will keep it on the list... with Eff's 2-3 times of visiting rule in mind. I have a bizarre history of ordering a much looked forward to veal and /or pork schnitzel and being disappointed with the plate. Maybe it is me. I do like the new decor of T&C much better than that overwrought Victorian/romantic/? schtick that Emily's had.

[Qwerty]

employer wrote:

<quoted text> I hope you post while on a break.

Thank you for your concern.