Awesome Crayola Eats in an Unlikely Place: Two Rivers Brewing Company, Easton, PA

As we traveled along for Little D's birthday celebration, after our Brooklyn stop at Roll-N-Roaster, we found ourselves in Easton, PA.  Easton is the home of the Crayola factory (our birthday destination), Lafayette College and an abundance of chain restaurants.  While it was tempting to just try the never ending pasta bowl at the Olive Garden, I thought Little D deserved something better.  So we spent much of our drive to PA researching restaurants.  With a little luck, we found an amazing spot - Two Rivers Brewing Company.

Yes, I know it sounds like a bar.  And it is, so don't judge, it has stellar food.

The restaurant occupies an old 3-story building.  Today the first floor is the only floor that serves food and drink, the upper floors will soon be the official brewery. Sadly, they are not serving their own brews yet, however, several PA beers are available on tap.

We sat close to the bar and to the live music (one lady with a guitar) singing a combination of 70s covers and her own stuff, and we began our feast.  When I say feast, I am not kidding.

Their menu is eclectic to say the least.  We wanted a lot.  JB and I settled on 4 plates as we drank a local Pennsylvania brew and a California Malbec, respectively.

1.  Gumbo: This was a risky choice.  We were very far from New Orleans, but it felt like a gumbo night. We were blown away by the thick soup that was chock full of chicken, andouille sausage, shrimp and okra.
2. The Breakaway Farms Pork Board: We hemmed and hawed over this one.  Should we or shouldn't we.  This was essentially a bacon sampler.  It was Little D's birthday, and he does love bacon, so we went for it.  The server presented us with a huge wooden cutting board that had 3 different kinds of bacon, plus pork belly, bacon jam, homemade boursin, mustard and bread.  To say we loved this would be an understatement. Each bite was better than the last.  And every combination was a winning one. Pork belly and bacon jam. Bacon jam and boursin.  Smoked bacon and boursin.  I could go on.  Let's just say we were shocked (but not really) when before long the platter was clear.
3.  Shrimp and Grits: If the gumbo was a hit from the South, this was the lone miss.  Several overcooked shrimp lay on a bed of cheesy grits.  I am usually one for cheesy grits.  But this was so far away from the Shrimp and Grits I had at Luke this summer that it did not compare.  You know the dish is a miss when JB says, "You can finish this one".
4.  Peanut Butter Bacon Cheeseburger: Because we hadn't indulged enough, we had to try this.  It was genius - more bacon, cheddar and a peanut brittle dust smothered a delicious grass-fed burger.  I had to throw in the napkin on this one early, I was done.  JB prevailed and declared it a masterpiece.
5.  Grass Fed Beef Kids Burgers and Fries: This was probably one of the best kids menu dishes I've ever seen and for $5 at that.  "A little salty", per Big Z, "but awesome".  Sadly, I didn't have any, but if it was anything like the other burger, I'm sure Big Z's "awesome" review is accurate.

We had no room for dessert and decided to have some celebratory ice cream for Little D the next day.  We had eaten (well) enough.

Until our next Berger,
KLB

Two Rivers Brewing Company542 Northampton St.Easton, PA 610.829.1131
www.tworiversbrewing.com