the Horse Inn- Yee haw!

Hidden in tiny alley off of Marshall, The Horse Inn filled my fantasy for food and fetish:
  the covert restaurant is housed in a converted stable filled with  leather and riding accoutrement.

This place is full of ambiance and cool history, complete with hand-crafted wooden floors with exposed brick walls. Food was first served on the premises during the early 20s, when the second floor was converted into a speakeasy.  The European hand-crafted bar unit dates back to the 1800s and a front section, made from an original door from Franklin and Marshall College, dates back to 1787.

this creatively cool Carriage house loft boasts a French chef and a selection of delectable delights ranging from land to sea, as well as vegetarian dishes.  Members of our party raved over the ever-popular tenderloin tips, which literally melt in your mouth.  Prime rib is served Friday or Saturday. Veal dishes ( perhaps the best veal in the county), chicken (black & tan chicken, chicken portabella and more), seafood (orange roughy, surf n' turf / lobster and filet, shrimp, crab cakes, fruits of the sea combo platter), pasta (penne marinara, mariner's bounty / shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels and catch of the day over angel hair pasta, Horse Inn chicken n' shrimp) and sandwiches round out the menu. There are also several daily specials, including a catch of the day. and kiddie menu.

Draft beer selections are almost all Pennsylvania brewed, while the wine list features several made in nearby Chadds Ford, Chester County, although I opted for Arrogant Frog Chardonnay in honor of my French, moody husband.

We cannot wait to go back and work our way through the menu.

KEEP ON TACO TRUCKIN' -Taqueria El Jalapeno

You know the Taco Bell in Lancaster where Route 30 & 462 meet?
On the edge of the Walmart parking lot?
Okay, drive right past that craphole and go west.
Just up the street you will find a better parking lot at Riviera Pizza.
And in this parking lot, you will also find heaven in a hot fresh tortilla.

Taqueria El Jalapeno is a taco truck serving simple, inexpensive fresh mexican street food.
Tasty tacos are $1.50 each and topped with traditional cilantro and onion along with the options of mild or hot salsa.

We love the carne asada ( steak for those gringos who don't speak taco as a second language).
The carnitas (pork) are cool and the lengua (beef tongue) is lovely,
and we cherish the chorizo (spicy sausage) and perfectly good pollo ( chicken).

There are also tacos al pastor-
Al Pastor means "shepherd's style" and is traditionally marinated over one or two days in a combination of dried chilies and then slowly cooked by flame on a vertical rotisserie very similar to how middle eastern shawarma is cooked.  Taqueria El Jalapeno skips cooking on the spit, but sweetens the deal with pineapple and onion on top as tradition dictates.

Typically open 11am-11pm daily,  Taqueria El Jalapeno satisfies our cravings for south of the border cuisine in amish country.

PENNSYLVANIA-We Don't Want to EAT in your STATE-ia...

Moving from Culinarily and culturally sophisticated and adventurous Los Angeles to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania has been serious culture shock for my husband, Mike.

Raised in L.A, but was born in Paris, and his real name is Michel ( pronounced "Me-shell" )
but that may sound kinda gay to these here fine 'merican folks, so we'll stick with Mike.

Anyhoozle, trading the fast lane of the 405 freeway for the slow clip clop of horse hooves and buggy wheels on Route 23 in Lancaster County meant leaving behind fish tacos and falafels and forgetting Phillipe's French Dips, Pinks Hot Dogs and obscure late night Korean bbq trucks.

Everything here is boiled to death and salt is the opiate of the people.

Where will we go?

What will we do?

And more importantly,
what can I feed my arrogant french husband???