Harrisburg and the Lehigh Valley: Pennsylvania food day trips

Pennsylvania's capital and its eastern river valley do not get the attention Philadelphia and Pittsburgh do, but both reward a food-minded visit. Harrisburg has one of the country's oldest market houses and a compact downtown, and the Lehigh Valley, around Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, mixes industrial history, Moravian and German traditions and a growing restaurant scene. Both are easy to reach by car from Philadelphia, New York or Baltimore.

Why visit these two places at all?

Big-city guides tend to skip the places in between, and that is a mistake for anyone who likes markets, bakeries and local traditions. Harrisburg and the Lehigh Valley are inexpensive compared with Philadelphia or New York, parking is easy, and the people you meet are often the owners. The food is plain, hearty and old-fashioned in a good way, and you will eat things that do not show up in a food-hall trend piece.

What is the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg?

The Broad Street Market, in Harrisburg's Midtown, is one of the city's best-known food markets and is often described as one of the oldest market houses in the United States. Vendors sell produce, meat, baked goods and prepared food, and the market is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

In July 2023 an electrical fault destroyed the market's brick building, and vendors have worked from a temporary structure while the market is rebuilt. Ask a vendor where to find the stalls you came for.

What do people eat in Harrisburg?

Harrisburg's food reflects central Pennsylvania: pretzels, scrapple, chicken corn soup, pork and sauerkraut, shoofly pie and potato candy. Downtown restaurants cluster around Market Street and Second Street near the river and the State Capitol, and Midtown has more casual places. The legislative session fills restaurants with lawmakers and staff on weekdays, so a Tuesday lunch near the Capitol may be busy, while weekends are quiet. Harrisburg also sits near Hershey, to the east, so a chocolate-themed day trip is easy. Hershey's town has restaurants, a chocolate shop and an amusement park, and it is busy in summer and on holiday weekends, so book ahead if you plan to eat there.

What is the Lehigh Valley, and where do you eat?

The Lehigh Valley is the region around the Lehigh River in eastern Pennsylvania, with three main cities: Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. Bethlehem was settled by Moravians, and the Moravian tradition shows up in baking and the Christmas season. Bethlehem is also home to a former steelworks and hosts large summer festivals, so check dates and crowds if you plan to visit then, because restaurants fill and parking is scarce. The Christmas season brings another wave of visitors, with a holiday market and lights, and the main streets are full on weekends in December.

Bethlehem's downtown on Main Street is the busiest for dining, with restaurants in historic buildings, and the South Side across the river has a mix of Latin American, Italian and pub food. Allentown has a downtown that has been redeveloping, with a mix of restaurants near the arena and Hamilton Street. Easton is built around a central square with restaurants and the confluence of the Lehigh and Delaware rivers, and it has a seasonal farmers market, so check its schedule.

What about Pennsylvania German and Moravian foods?

Look for sugar cake, a sweet, buttery yeast cake with a caramelized top; shoofly pie; fastnachts, fried doughnuts eaten before Lent; pork and sauerkraut for New Year's Day; and pickled vegetables. At Christmas, Bethlehem's holiday market sells German food and crafts. Local bakeries and churches sell these items, often seasonally. Ask the staff what they make that week.

When are the best seasons to visit?

Fall is a favorite: farm stands, orchards and cider, with the foliage along the rivers. Winter holidays bring Bethlehem's markets. Summer brings festivals and outdoor dining. Spring is quieter. Many small restaurants close one or two days a week, usually Sunday or Monday, so check.

How do you plan a day trip?

From Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley is about an hour's drive, and from New York about an hour and a half. Harrisburg is about two hours from Philadelphia. Combining them takes a long day. Choose one: Harrisburg and Hershey for market and chocolate, or the Lehigh Valley for river towns and baking. Start with breakfast at a market or bakery, and book dinner if you are staying late.

What should you know about tax and tipping?

Restaurant meals carry the state's 6 percent sales tax, and tipping is the standard 18 to 20 percent for table service. Markets are usually cheaper than restaurants.

Treat the two regions as separate trips. Harrisburg and Hershey fit a day of market food and chocolate, while the Lehigh Valley suits a slower weekend with a different town each day. Check market hours and holiday schedules before you drive, because markets keep set days and some vendors close early. Parking is easiest at the edges of the downtowns, and the main streets fill on festival and holiday weekends, so book dinner ahead then. Ask about local baking traditions; the counter staff are usually proud of them.

How do you plan two Pennsylvania day trips with friends?

The easiest way to keep Harrisburg and the Lehigh Valley apart is two lists. In the Mosey app, start one called Market and chocolate for Harrisburg and Hershey and another called River towns for Bethlehem, Allentown and Easton, and add a line on every stop, such as the sugar cake worth the detour or the fastnacht you saw on a Tuesday. Send the invite link to whoever is driving, and the list becomes the argument settler between breakfast and dinner.

Rate each dish while you are still at the counter, since a pretzel, a slice of shoofly pie and a sugar cake are easy to mix up by Sunday. Follow friends who live nearby and the Friends' picks layer shows the places they have saved around the capital and the valley, which is where a visitor from Philadelphia finds the lunch spots that never make a magazine.

On your next trip west, rate the first thing you eat in the Mosey app and keep going.

For the rest of the state, start at the Food in Pennsylvania page.

More guides to read next:

• Lancaster County food guide: Central Market and Pennsylvania Dutch cooking
• Worcester, MA restaurants: Shrewsbury Street, the Canal District and diners
• Flagstaff food guide: downtown, Route 66, breweries and markets

More in the US food guides and the ranked lists of places.