Rachael's Roadhouse

For many years my family owned a little cottage North of Pittsburgh, outside of Meadville Pa. The fastest route is the interstate, but I always liked to travel on Rt. 19, which runs parallel to Interstate 79. While the scenery is great, the food was a struggle until the Iron Bridge Inn, the Springfield Grill, and Rachel's Roadhouse popped up. All are owned by the same group so technically, I guess it's a chain, but it doesn't seem like it! My favorite of the three has always been the Iron Bridge, all are pretty good and comparable to each other.

Stacy and I were doing a little Christmas shopping, and headed to the Grove City outlets. By the way, I was a bit worried about the holiday crowds on the weekend before Christmas, but Sunday was our only opportunity to shop so we had to go then. We arrived just after opening time at 9:00. To my surprise, it was practically empty! After about three hours it started to really fill up, but it wasn't bad. Anyway, after our morning of shopping, I intended to head over to Rachael's.

The menu has a nice selection of salads, sandwiches, steaks, ribs and seafood, but one thing I really like is their variety of different Reuben's. Traditional of course, but they also have a Carolina Reuben, that is loaded with BBQ pork, also a Russian, a turkey, and even one with a fish fillet. I went with turkey on rye and it was very good. Stacy had a salmon salad which had a generous portion of salmon over mixed greens with a balsamic drizzle. Looked pretty tasty!

If you are want to go to any of these places, take 79 to the Grove City exit, turn left, and continue to route 19. Turn right on 19 and Rachael's is just ahead on your right. If you want, the Iron Bridge Inn is just a bit farther on the left hand side. Either one's a good choice!

As usual, just click on the title above to see their website.

The Iron Bridge Inn

For many years I've made the drive up route 19 to Meadville for various reasons. I know that it's much faster on 79, but I enjoy the more relaxed, although slower, on 19. One of my favorite stops for lunch is the Iron Bridge Inn just outside of Mercer.


This is a rustic sort of place but don't let that fool you. This is not just bar food. Stacy and I started with a Tahi Calamari appetizer that was served with a tasty and spicy Tahi chili sauce. The calamari was cooked just right...not like rubber bands (or should I say gum bands?...This is called Burgh Feeding!). I then ordered one of my favorite sandwich's, the Cuban. For those that haven't tried one of these, they consist of a meat, in this case pork, along with shaved ham, a sliced pickle or two and a mustard sauce, all served on a pressed ciabatta roll, panini style. Excellent!

Stacy had a turkey cranberry wrap. Not really my style, but she said it was very good. I didn't bother to try it.

The Iron Bridge is also known for their prime rib, and while I've never tried it here the servings that I spied coming out of the kitchen looked good enough that I'm pretty sure we will go back and try it.

The Iron Bridge Inn is just a few miles from the Grove City Shops. If you want to escape the predictable chains, it's worth the 10 minute drive. When you come out of the shops, turn left on 208 west bound. At route 19, go north and it's a couple of miles on your left...Just over an iron bridge.