An onion ring the size of Anthony’s head?! Foodie Finds in Allegheny, PA

One of the reasons we chose the RV life was to save money. Between the expense of eating out and the fact that we love cooking, we don’t go to restaurants too often while we’re on the road. Before we launched, we discussed how we don’t want to fall into the trap of this feeling like a vacation. We want to enjoy ourselves, but it’s still normal life. We have an easier time getting the hang of this because we both work, so no matter what, we need to carve out time for our jobs. But, when the day calls for some fun, it’s tempting to give into impulses. We try to make a point to only eat out when a local place looks good and we won’t have an opportunity to get the local fare anywhere else. Do we always abide by this? No, as evidenced by my new tradition to order Pizza Hut every time we’re displaced from our RV and in an Airbnb, which makes even less sense because we usually have full kitchens in Airbnbs. Nevertheless, we’re foodies at heart, whether that’s cooking or trying out a new restaurant. You might not think of western Pennsylvania as having sought-after cuisine, but from Anthony’s time living in Pittsburgh, he has the inside scoop. The German, Polish, and Amish influences of this area make for some tasty, homestyle eats. And when we’re fall camping in the woods, sometimes nothing hits the spot better than a hearty country meal.

A popular haunt for forest-goers is the Forester Restaurant and Tavern, located in Warren right on the edge of the National Forest. One glance at the Google images of this place and seeing their crisp, golden battered haddock, I had this restaurant on my mind all week. Anthony and I are fish and chips connoisseurs. It’s sad how many people can’t do this dish right, and we have a definitive ranking of the best, crispiest, juiciest fried fish we’ve had. Current first place was from a restaurant down in Martha’s Vineyard, Town Bar & Grill. Could Forester take the lead over a place actually on an island?

We wouldn’t get our answer for several days. We hoped to go for our anniversary dinner, but the tavern wasn’t open that day. We made no alternative plans to go out to eat and instead decided to pack a picnic for our day trip over to Kinzua Bridge State Park. Unfortunately…or maybe fortunately???...it started raining, so a picnic was a no-go. Instead we scrounged around for a restaurant that would please our palates and settled on Table 105, a gastropub in downtown Kane, PA. Not really the local cuisine, but they had a variety of options on the menu. We went for an early dinner on a Tuesday, so there were only a few tables occupied, but the vibe was an upscale but still causal bar/restaurant, with really cool wallpaper patterns that brought in the country vibe. We sat near a cattle-inspired wallpaper, but tastefully done (something I never thought I’d say about hairy walls).

We ordered the onion nest and maple bourbon boneless wings to start, and I also got a small Caesar salad. We were not prepared for what hit our table when the onion nest arrived. That heaping pile of onion strings must have weighed at least a pound. They were addictively good, nice and crispy, and we had leftovers for days. As impressive as the onion nest was, the crown jewel of our meal was the plate of wings. You can select bone-in or boneless and choose from a variety of sauces. We chose maple bourbon to bring in the fall flavors, and this sauce put the wings in a solid second place for the best wings we’ve had on the road. First place was here. The maple bourbon was more maple and less bourbon, a wonderfully sticky sweet glaze that stayed on the wings without getting too messy on the fingers. The wings were fried to perfection, and with more leftovers for days, they also reheated surprisingly well, which is tough for a sugary sauce.

I got the bianco pizza, which had all the toppings you’d expect from a white pizza: no sauce, melted cheese, globs of ricotta, and some garlic and basil. What made this pizza special, though, was the crust. I had never had pizza crust like that before. It was somewhere between a pizza crust and a pastry crust, light and flaky, with a rich buttery flavor. The crust was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and while fluffy, still thin enough to be foldable. Being an honorary New Yorker, I’m a fan of the foldable pizzas. I ranked this pizza also a solid second place of all the pizzas we’ve eaten on the road. First place goes to Black Mountain Pizza and Pasta in Asheville, NC, but Table 105 wins for unique crust, definitely a flavor I’ll be craving until the next time I’m in the Allegheny region.

The low dish on the totem pole was Anthony’s shrimp and scallop risotto. Though still fine, Anthony remarked that the flavor of his risotto didn’t really go with the side, which was maple carrots. Points for the autumn side dish, but combined with seafood flavors missed the mark. Anthony also said that his rice was undercooked. Risotto takes a lot of patience, so unfortunately undercooked is a common problem with these dishes. All that to say, the overall impression for food and ambience was fantastic. We were very pleased with our impromptu anniversary meal.

On our final day in Allegheny, we decided it was now or never to try Forester Tavern. Being a Saturday, we were afraid it might be crowded. They take reservations but our decision to go was last-minute, so we walked in at peak dinnertime and hoped for the best. They had a high top table at the bar available, which we took. Immediately this place felt homey. It smelled like delicious homecooked food, was warm and cozy, and was decorated with an outdoorsy theme…for the most part. While the ladies’ room was classy and rustic, Anthony let me know that the men’s room was very much for the men, dotted with music album covers, Sports Illustrated covers, and Playboy covers. If anyone wants to talk about the weird misogynist décor in men’s bathrooms, Anthony’s got some stories. With the whole restaurant having a rustic lodge vibe, this was out of left field. I guess they really want to cater to their male customers in more than just a food way.

Though we felt right at home, pulling into a parking spot among many, many other pickup trucks, the tavern was packed with patrons of all ages, from infants, to teens having their post-homecoming dinner, to adults. Forester welcomes tourists due to its vicinity to the National Forest, but we could tell that it was also a place for the locals. People would walk in, recognize someone they knew, and enthusiastically go over to shake hands and say hello. By the end of the night, we were talking with the couple at the table next to us, sharing our opinions of our meals.

Anthony made it very clear that he wasn’t in the mood for onion rings again, but his opinion quickly changed when the plate made it to our table. We thought we weren’t prepared for our giant onion nest at Table 105. There is literally nothing that would have prepared us for the spectacular monstrousness before us. They mentioned on the menu that the onion rings were thick cut and they weren’t kidding. We stared at the plate in comic disbelief, wondering what the onions must have looked like that produced such an exceptional array. As Anthony said, this wasn’t a question of how many onion rings we want; it’s a question of how much of an onion ring we want. One ring and we were both already almost too full for dinner. The rings were delicious, though. The onions were tender and juicy, and the batter was the same as what they use for the fried fish, so we got a preview of what that would taste like. They even gave us the batter crumbles a la Long John Silvers. You can’t beat greasy crunchy bits of batter.

We also ordered the Bavarian pretzels and beer cheese, to ensure we were actually ordering some items that gave a nod to German influence. Not surprisingly, they were fantastic. Anthony brought in the Polish cuisine with a side of perogies, which were unlike any we’ve had before. They were fried, so the potato skin became more crispy, and they were seasoned with a blend that tasted like everything bagel seasoning. In some weird way it worked, but I think we both prefer the soft perogies that melt in your mouth.

Now to answer the burning question: was the fried haddock actually as good as the pictures? Anthony ordered it for his entrée. Despite my devotion to this “best fried fish” quest, I’m not much of a seafood eater, so Anthony gets the meal and I try it. First off, that was the biggest piece of haddock ever. The menu said it was Icelandic. As in, the size of the whole country?! But it was tender and flaky. The batter of course was delectable, but Anthony thought it was actually a tad too sweet to adequately pair with the fish. Alas, the Martha’s Vineyard fish still reigns supreme, and rightly so.

The low dish on the totem pole was my entrée. I ordered fettucine alfredo with chicken, knowing that pasta would be a risk in a place that seems more meat and potatoes. I was hoping to get something that would reheat well because we’d have a travel day the next day and it’s nice to have something to quickly zap up at a pit stop. Unfortunately my pasta was overcooked and the sauce had practically no flavor. The chicken in the pasta was good, again going with my theory that meat and potatoes are the way to go at this place. I learned my lesson, but luckily I was already full from my giant onion ring and pretzel nosh.

We would easily recommend either of these restaurants if you’re visiting the Allegheny area. We were impressed by the standard of food that we could get just outside the forest, and it aligns with Anthony’s theory that western PA can do some good grub. The best part about going out on the town in Allegheny, though, is the community. We met so many kind and welcoming people, that by the end of our stay, we felt immersed in the local culture. We love when this happens, and it’s one of the perks of RV life. We get to stay in one place for longer periods of time, instead of cramming in a bunch of tourist activities on a whirlwind trip. Though 10 days wasn’t a ton of time, we felt satisfied with everything we experienced. Now we know that a gem is waiting for us whenever we’re making our way across the country and want to stop for some outdoor time and yummy eats as we pass through Pennsylvania.