Hello out there in cyberspace! Let me start off by saying that currently Morgan and I are enjoying ourselves out in Ocean City, MD; as such, the next series of posts will be from this sunny city, its surrounding area, or from wherever on the road we decide to eat. I realize it's not quite "Rochester's Endless Buffet," but I thought it'd be a fun way to share my experiences while I'm out of town. Hope you all enjoy!
This post is from Monday, when Morgan and I decided to take a quick break at an Allentown, PA rest stop during the grueling 8 1/2 hour drive. The food selection there was pretty mediocre, so we settled on pizza from Famous Famiglia Pizzeria, figuring it would be filling and inexpensive. Turns out, we were right.
This particular location (Famous Famiglia Pizzeria is a national chain) is inside of the Allentown Travel Plaza on the Pennsylvania State Turnpike, right outside of (you guessed it) Allentown, PA, and can be accessed from both the northbound and southbound roads. The rest stop is clean, well-maintained, and offers a number of roadside snacks at fairly affordable prices. The Famous Famiglia Pizzeria in particular has friendly, efficient staff, and stretches your dollar out without sacrificing quality. Since rest stop food is notorious for being overpriced, I was expecting to shell out around, possibly over, $10 for two slices of cheese pizza, but in reality only spent about $7 and some change. Famous Famiglia also offered a limited assortment of pasta, salads, and calzones, but I figured that cheese pizza would give me the most bang for my buck, and would serve as a great example of the pizzeria's most basic offerings.
Now, I'm no pizza expert (I leave that to my good friend at The Rochester NY Pizza Blog), but I have to say that Famous Famiglia's cheese pizza was a more-than-adequate snack during the long trek to Ocean City. While a slice of cheese pizza from a Pennsylvania rest stop can only hope to imitate the amazing quality of a New York-style pie, the emulated recipe at Famous Famiglia in Allentown does a damn good job in that department. The mozzarella cheese was melted to perfection, browned a bit on the top, and wasn't simply a tarp serving to hold pools of grease; in fact, the whole slice was only slightly greasy, unlike many New York-style pizzas I've had in the past that were practically oily hand towels. The crust was thin, light, and crisp, but was fluffy enough to give the slice some real substance, and was incredibly fresh in flavor and texture. As for the sauce, Famous Famiglia has found a wonderful blend of sweet, roast tomato flavor and aromatic, Italian spices.
While a single slice proved to fill my stomach only so much, in terms of rest stop food, Famous Famiglia definitely provided some great quality and value. If you ever find yourself in the Allentown, PA area, or traveling along the Pennsylvania State Turnpike, I highly suggest giving Famous Famiglia Pizzeria a shot...especially if you're on a budget!
Score (out of 10): 8
Location: Allentown Travel Plaza, Pennsylvania State Turnpike, Allentown, PA
Phone Number: (610) 366-3872
Website: http://www.famousfamiglia.com/
I think that's the same chain that's at the Rochester airport. As chains go, there are worse ones out there. (Not to be confused with La Famiglia in Greece, by the way.)
ReplyDeleteYou probably didn't know it, but you were tantalizingly close to one of America's pizza capitals, Old Forge, PA. They're known for a distinctive style of pan pizza, and for their sheer number of pizzerias. I meant to stop a couple of years ago while traveling through that part of the state but circumstances intervened and I didn't have time. Maybe you wouldn't have had time either. But google "old forge pizza" and you'll find a bunch of info.
hi guys, very good article.
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