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What to do with all those zucchinis

Update: Due to the late rain today, the Zucchini Races have been postponed until next week. You still have time!

Zucchinis at the starting gateI don’t know what it means, but I’m really intrigued. The Bucks County Foodshed Alliance’s Lower Makefield Farmers’ Market will present this Thursday, August 13th   20th

ZUCCHINI RACING!

All ages welcome. Race a zucchini or just come watch the fun! Prizes will be awarded.

Market hours are 3:30PM – 6:30PM
Zucchini racers must be submitted for judging by 5:00PM
Race heats begin at 5:30PM

For more details or an entry form, please email sandygfarm@gmail.com.

Here’s some background and rules:The origins of zucchini racing remain shrouded in mystery.   However, researchers have found that competitive zucchini speed events take place from Seattle to Texas to New England.   

Anyone wishing to take the leap into competitive zucchini racing should possess the following:  a zucchini, a sense of humor, creativity, and basic but sound engineering skills (because it’s hard to win if your zucchini racer falls apart before the finish line.) 
 
Zucchini Racer  Specifications:
· Race car must be made of a real zucchini and must be the main part of the entry.
· Decorate and name your zucchini racer.
· The zucchini itself may be no longer than 12 inches in length. Decorations adorning the zucchini may extend no more than 1 inch from the “front end ” of the zucchini.  The entire zucchini racer may be no wider than 8 inches, including wheels and decorations.
· Wheel axels must be incorporated into the  zucchini itself.  It‘s not acceptable to just attach a zucchini to an existing “vehicle” that rolls.  This means no attaching a zucchini to a skateboard, roller skate, toy car, etc. 
· Zucchini racer must have 3 or 4 wheels. Wheels can be any type – wooden, metal, vegetable, or plastic.
· Each racer must be self-propelled – no motors or auxiliary propulsion.
· Each complete zucchini racer will be weighed upon entry and must not exceed 4 pounds.
· The zucchini racer must be sturdy enough to compete in multiple races.

 [I guess that leaves out zucchini bread or casseroles.]

The Lower Makefield Farmers’ Market, managed by the Bucks County Foodshed Alliance, is an open-air, producer only market located in the Veteran’s Memorial Park at the intersection of Edgewood Rd. and Heacock Rd. in Lower Makefield, PA. The farmers’ market runs each Thursday from June through Oct. 15th.

Products include:  Seasonal fruits and vegetables, award-winning artisan cheeses, grass–fed beef products, fresh eggs, ice cream, gourmet prepared foods, exotic mushrooms, artisan breads, flowers, sweet and savory pies, yogurt, butter, handmade soaps, wool products, and more.

Tidbits: Calling the new Black Bass

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Caught this short piece in the Bucks County Herald last week. A frustrated announcement from Laura Krein, Sales and Marketing Manager at the newly re-opened and renovated Black Bass Hotel  in Lumberville. There has been some confusion and difficulty getting to them via phone, so she’d like everyone to know that the new phone number is 215.297.9260. We haven’t gotten there yet, but we hear the tavern menu is nice. Let us know if you get their first, and leave a comment below.

Update from Laura Krein: Verizon is now giving out the right phone number.

Tidbits: Where the buffalo roam…in Bucks County

Bison steakIf you’ve frequented the local weekly farmers’ markets (and some local farm markets,) you already know that buffalo are being raised in Bucks County and are available for your eating pleasure. Today’s Intelligencer has a great article on two buffalo farmers – Backyard Bison and Hillside Farms. Rod Wieder, whose herd of 50 buffalo grazes on his Springfield Township farm, talks in the article about the trend towards pastured, naturally raised meat. Wieder sells his bison meat every week at the Linden Hill Farmers’ Market in Ottsville (Fridays, 3:30 – 7:30 pm). Gary and B.J. Schuler raise their buffalo in Telford, selling it at their farm store. They also run The Rising Sun Inn, where bison is a mainstay of the menu.

Fresh from the market: August 8th

Here’s all the great vegetables and fruits available at many local farmers’ markets this week, followed by a recipe using all those summer squash and tomatoes. Bon appetit!

This week’s freshly picked vegetables are: basil, beets, cabbage, cilantro, collards, cucumbers, dill, edamame beans, various eggplants, fennel, fresh garlic, green beans, perennial herbs, hot peppers, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, parsley, diverse sweet peppers, radishes, scallions, summer squash, sweet corn, swiss chard, tomatoes, zucchini, and possibly tomatillos (the staple of salsa verde!).

Freshly picked fruit: Blackberries, blueberries, peaches, pears and raspberries.

In addition, many markets are selling pastured, all natural meat (beef, chicken, pork), pastured eggs, homemade pies and sweets, breads, cookies, muffins, scones, raw veggie chips, raw honey, organically grown flowers, freshly roasted organic coffees, prepared foods and handmade soaps, fiber products and handicrafts!

Thanks to Robin Hoy of the Wrightstown Market for her help on this list.

Summer Vegetable Gratin
Serves 6-8 as a side or 4 as a light main dish.   Published July 1, 2008.   From Cook’s Illustrated.

The success of this recipe depends on good-quality produce – AND taking the time to remove some of the water from the vegetables. Buy zucchini and summer squash of roughly the same diameter. While we like the visual contrast zucchini and summer squash bring to the dish, you can also use just one or the other. A similarly sized broiler-safe gratin dish can be substituted for the 13- by 9-inch baking dish. Serve the gratin alongside grilled fish or meat and accompanied by bread to soak up any flavorful juices.

INGREDIENTS
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound zucchini , ends trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (see note)
1 pound summer squash (yellow), ends trimmed and sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (see note)
2 teaspoons table salt
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes (3 to 4 large), sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 medium onions , halved lengthwise and sliced thin pole to pole (about 3 cups)
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 large slice white sandwich bread , torn into quarters
2 ounces Parmesan cheese , grated (about 1 cup)
2 medium shallots , minced (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

HOW TO

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush 13- by 9-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon oil; set aside.
2. Toss zucchini and summer squash slices with 1 teaspoon salt in large bowl; transfer to colander set over bowl. Let stand until zucchini and squash release at least 3 tablespoons of liquid, about 45 minutes. Arrange slices on triple layer paper towels; cover with another triple layer paper towels. Firmly press each slice to remove as much liquid as possible.
3. Place tomato slices in single layer on double layer paper towels and sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand 30 minutes. Place second double layer paper towels on top of tomatoes and press firmly to dry tomatoes.
4. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and dark golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Set onions aside.
5. Combine garlic, 3 tablespoons oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and thyme in small bowl. In large bowl, toss zucchini and summer squash in half of oil mixture, then arrange in greased baking dish. Arrange caramelized onions in even layer over squash. Slightly overlap tomato slices in single layer on top of onions. Spoon remaining garlic-oil mixture evenly over tomatoes. Bake until vegetables are tender and tomatoes are starting to brown on edges, 40 to 45 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, process bread in food processor until finely ground, about 10 seconds. (You should have about 1 cup crumbs.) Combine bread crumbs, remaining tablespoon oil, Parmesan, and shallots in medium bowl. Remove baking dish from oven and increase heat to 450 degrees. Sprinkle bread-crumb mixture evenly on top of tomatoes. Bake gratin until bubbling and cheese is lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and let sit at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.

Big Wings at Duck Deli

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by guest blogger Rich Baringer

I'm coming for you...I’m not a big chicken wing fan—mostly because they’re usually, well, lousy. They’re either too greasy or too skimpy or too bland. But there is one place that I can’t resist ordering wings. They’re just the best around.

At The Duck Deli in New Britain (just south of Delaware Valley College on Rt. 202), owner Chris Forlano offers delicious BBQ dishes: pulled pork & chicken, brisket, seafood, all sorts of side dishes—all the things a good BBQ place should have and more. And everything is very tasty.

But Duck Deli wings are…oh man, they’re just so delicious. They come in 3 varieties: Western BBQ, Honey BBQ & Buffalo (I usually go for the traditional Buffalo). Servings come in 5, 10 or 15 pieces, but unlike most places, one Duck Deli wing includes the little drumstick AND that other part (whatever it’s called). You get the whole wing. I don’t know the size of the chickens that these wings come from, but I wouldn’t want to meet them in a dark coop. They’re huge wings, full of meat. You can make a meal out of them (as I did today for lunch). The meat is smoky and tender, falls off the bone and tastes great. Simply said, they’re the best wings I’ve ever had.

The big chicken’s loss is our gain.

Check out fellow blogger Peter Justason’s post on the Duck Deli too.

Duck Deli on Urbanspoon

Bucks County Taste Serves Up Dinner

It all began with an innocent question.

“Why don’t we offer an auction item?” said my wonderful husband, Mark. “Dinner for four, at our house, all Bucks County ingredients.”

We were at a fundraiser for our synagogue, Kehilat HaNahar (in New Hope), and Mark thought it would be something we – at Bucks County Taste – could uniquely contribute to the auction.

“Sure,” I said.

The next thing we know, three couples are bidding on it, and someone says – in front of forty people – “why not do three dinners, and raise even more money?”

“Uh, sure…” said Mark and I, looking at each other.

We’ll give more details later – like the menu and where we sourced the ingredients – but the upshot is we’ve done two of the dinners with much success, and Betty Cichy of the Bucks County Courier Times and Intelligencer, is covering them in an article in today’s Food Section (Wednesday, August 5th). Betty came with me as I shopped for dinner ingredients all over Bucks County, and she and Bill Fraser, Intelligencer photographer, came to the dinner to sample, photograph and talk with our guests. A great time was had by all!

Here’s the menu we served. Thanks to all the wonderful Bucks County farmers and producers who helped make it happen. In particular, we received donations from:

Starters

White Peach-Plum Sangria, with Crossing Vineyards Viognier, and Fairview Farm peaches and plums
Sweet and Sour Chicken Bites, with None Such Farms chicken
Local Artisanal Cheese from Ely Farm Products
Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta with Blooming Glen CSA Farm tomatoes and torpedo onions, and Rise Bakery whole wheat baguette

Dinner

Roasted Beets with Leek Flower & Sea Salt Chevre Over Microgreens, with Traugers Farm Beets, Blue Moon Acres Microgreens, and Flint Hill Farm Chevre
Hickory-Smoked, Grilled New York Strip Steak and Butterflied Leg of Lamb, with Haring Brothers NY Strip and Happy Farm Leg of Lamb
Macaroni & Garlic Cheddar Cheese, with Birchwood Farms Garlic Cheddar Cheese
Baked Eggplant & Summer Squash with Parsley & Garlic, with Anchor Run Farm vegetables, and Pasqualina’s Puglian extra virgin olive oil
Green Beans with Basil Pesto, with Anchor Run Farm beans and basil

DESSERT

Ice Cream on Pizelles with Summer Berries, with OWowCow Creamery Indonesian Vanilla and Rose Cream ice cream, Pasqualina’s homemade pizelles, Solebury Orchards‘ blueberries and wild raspberries from our backyard.

If you are interested in any recipes, just let me know and I’ll send them to you.

Tidbits: Healthy Donuts?

Manoff's Donut PeachesDonut peaches have arrived at Manoff Market Gardens.

Boy, do they look good!

These yellow and white peaches are only around for  a week so be sure to stop by Manoff’s soon.

 

Manoff Market Gardens
3157 Comfort Rd.
Between Laurel and Paxon Rds.
Solebury, PA 18963

Update from the Manoffs: “We’re picking the Sun Hi and Loring Peaches and more Raritan Rose white peaches, as well as the new White Nectarines and Fantasia Yellow Nectarines. We still have some Donut Peaches available. The Peach Festival is this coming Saturday, August 15th with hayrides, homemade peach ice cream and pies.”

Hello August!

Summer harvestMy apologies for posting the weekend events so late. Between some technical difficulties with the website (we’ve switched servers) and dealing with Lyme’s Disease (I am dragging), I’m behind. And I simply can’t believe it is August already! Probably the heat and humidity isn’t helping either.

We hope to get to the Farm Tour Potluck sponsored by the Bucks County Foodshed Alliance on this Wednesday, August 5th. It will start at 6:30 pm at Trauger’s Farm in Kintersville, on Route 611/River Road.

Here’s the run-down for the weekend. Check out our online calendar, Food Events in Bucks County for more details on any of the events below. Have a cool, relaxing weekend.

Friday, July 31st:

Saturday, August 1st:

Sunday, August 2nd:

Fresh from the market: July 31st

Fresh from the marketLook at all the great vegetables and fruits available at many local farmers’ markets this week. Enjoy!

Here’s this week’s freshly picked vegetables: Asian turnips, basil, beets, cabbage, chard, collards, cucumbers, fennel, green beans, green peppers, herbs, hot peppers, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, parsley, radishes, scallions, summer squash, tomatoes and zucchini.

Freshly picked fruit: blueberries, raspberries, peaches and possibly blackberries and nectarines.

In addition, many markets are selling pastured, all natural meat (beef, chicken, pork), pastured eggs, homemade pies and sweets, breads, cookies, muffins, scones, raw veggie chips, raw honey, organically grown flowers, freshly roasted organic coffees, prepared foods and handmade soaps, fiber products and handicrafts!

Thanks to Jeanne Scanlon of the Wrightstown Market for her help on this list.

Canal House Cooking

By guest blogger Susan Sprague Yeske,

As partners in a business that transforms chefs’ cookbook dreams into reality, it’s good to share a common vision. It’s also good to like the same kinds of food.

Shared tastes and a love of the culinary world prompted local food experts Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer to step beyond their role of crafting other people’s books and create one of their own.

Christopher Hirsheimer, left, and Melissa Hamilton in their Lambertville loft studio
Christopher Hirsheimer, left, and Melissa Hamilton in their Lambertville loft studio

Volume one of Canal House Cooking was published this month, the first in a series of softcover cookbooks that focus on seasonal cooking. In the book the two moms, who live in Hunterdon and Bucks counties, share the summertime recipes they make at home.

The 80 recipes in the book focus on foods in season and feature summertime fare such as tomatoes, plums and zucchini. Every course is covered, from seasonally appropriate mixed drinks to dessert.

The two authors are former magazine food editors with credentials that include years spent at Saveur and Metropolitan Home. Christopher has collaborated on four other cookbooks, including three for Saveur.

Melissa is well known in local culinary circles for co-founding Hamilton’s Grill Room in Lambertville with her father, Jim Hamilton.

Canal House CookingCanal House Cooking costs $19.95, or $49.95 for an annual subscription of three books and can be ordered through the website thecanalhouse.com.

Next will be a book on fall and holiday cooking, then a winter/spring edition. In addition to the website, books are available at amazon.com, Farley’s Bookstore in New Hope, Pa., and the Hamilton’s Grill Room. The books will also be sold at other private bookstores in the U.S. and through Anthropologie stores.

This recipe from the book is a great way to enjoy the fresh local tomatoes just coming into season:

Roasted Tomatoes Studded with Garlic

serves 4

INGREDIENTS

½ cup diced pancetta
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pasta
2 anchovy fillets
1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs
4 tomatoes, tops sliced off, seeds scooped out
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
small handful fresh thyme, parsley, or basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper
½ pound spaghetti

HOW TO

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Fry the pancetta in a skillet over medium heat until browned and crisp around the edges. Use a slotted spatula to lift the pancetta out of the skillet to a plate. Leave the rendered fat in the skillet.
  3. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the anchovies to the same skillet. Use a wooden spoon to mash the anchovies until they dissolve. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring often, until they are golden.
  4. Put the tomatoes, cut side up, in a baking dish and slip some garlic into each tomato. Mound some bread crumbs into each tomato and scatter pancetta and herbs on top. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle the remaining 4 tablespoons of oil over all.
  5. Roast the tomatoes in the oven until they have browned a bit and the interior is supple but the tomatoes haven’t collapsed, 1–1½ hours.
  6. Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain.
  7. Return the pasta to the pot and stir in some olive oil and some of the oily tomato juices from the bottom of the tomato roasting dish.
  8. Serve the spaghetti with the roasted tomatoes and their juices spooned on top.

Marathons, Music and Markets

Chef ToqueMany local farmers’ markets invite local chefs to cook and demonstrate. This weekend, Wrightstown Farmers’ Market will have Denis Chiappa from Carlow Cookery demonstrating how to make some great summer dishes, starting at 10:30 am.

At the Linden Hill Farmers’ Market, Chef David Zuckerman of Earl’s Bucks County (formerly Earl’s Prime) will be preparing market items on the grill. Darlene Kaminsky of Chestnut Hill Farm Gourmet Foods will be teaching how to can and preserve. Both will be doing demos at 4:30 & 6:30 pm.

Local Harvest Restaurant Week continues through Sunday, July 26th. SEE, a Lambertville-based community organization, is sponsoring the event in Lambertville and New Hope to raise awareness about sustainability – in our society, environment and economy (SEE). With cooperation from local restaurants, farms, food producers, and Zone 7  (a local foods distribution business), SEE is bringing the best of the region’s local harvest to local restaurant tables. If you eat at one of the participating restaurants, you’ll be able to enjoy dishes specially prepared for the event using the finest local ingredients. Check out SEE’s website for more information about their mission, more details about the restaurant week, and a list of participating restaurants (which includes practically all of the good ones in Lambertville).

The Farm-to-Table Dinner benefiting  The Heritage Conservancy is coming up soon, on Saturday, August 1st so buy your tickets soon. The catering will be done by Soup to Nuts Caterers and Earl’s Restaurant in Peddler’s Village, which recently changed its menu and concept to focus on local, farm-fresh ingredients. Price will be $45 per person, with proceeds benefiting the Heritage Conservancy, a land conservation organization here in Bucks County. It will be held at the historic Lindsay Farm in Warminster.

Here’s the run-down for the weekend. Check out our online calendar, Food Events in Bucks County for more details on any of the events below. Have a peachy-keen weekend.

Fresh from the market: July 24th

Fresh from the marketI started this feature last week, and will list for you throughout the local growing season the kinds of vegetables and fruits available at many local farmers’ markets.

Here’s this week’s freshly picked vegetables: Asian turnips, basil, beets, cabbage, chard, collards, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, fresh garlic, green beans, green peppers, herbs, hot peppers, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, parsley, radishes, scallions, summer squash, tomatoes, zucchini.

Freshly picked fruit: blueberries, raspberries, peaches and possibly blackberries and nectarines.

Thanks to Robin Hoy of the Wrightstown Market for her help on this list.

Dilly's 25th Anniversary Marathon

The Dilly's BurgerDilly’s Corner is celebrating their
25th year in a big way with a 25-hour marathon. Just like it sounds – 25 hours of eating, more or less. It starts tonight, July 23rd at 11:00 pm and ends tomorrow night, July 24th, at 12:00 am. Here’s the schedule of events:

Thursday, July 23rd, 11:00 pm:
Dilly’s opens (closed during the day today)

Friday, July 24th:

  • 1:00 – 3:00 am: 1985 Menu Pricing
  • 3:00 – 4:00 am: Adult Ice Cream Eating Contest
    (entry fee: $3)
  • 5:00 – 10:00 am: Breakfast
  • 1:00 – 3:00 pm: Kids Hour
    (3 – 6 years old, Make-Your-Own-Cone)
  • 3:00 – 4:00 pm: Kids Ice Cream Eating Contest
    (7 – 12 years old)(entry fee: $3)
  • 4:00 – 5:00 pm: Hamburger Eating Contest
    (13 years old and up)(entry fee: $10)
  • 7:00 – 9:00 pm: Live Music
  • 12:00 am: Closing

All contest fees will be donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Sign-up at Dilly’s for each contest.

See our review of Dilly’s below. Have a great time!

Food, Inc. Documentary at the County

For an enlightening and provocative inside look at how our food is being produced in the U.S. food industry and who’s “in the kitchen,” the new documentary Food, Inc. is showing at the County Theater, 20 E. State St. in Doylestown through this weekend.

The film opened in New York last month and is beginning to make its way around the country. It is directed by Robert Kenner and co-produced by Eric Schlosser (author of Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food). Robert Kenner is a 1968 grad of Solebury School, so we’ve got some real local ties to the film’s fame!

Showtimes are:
Thursday 4:00 and 9:35 pm
Friday 6:25 pm
Saturday and Sunday 1:15 and 6:25 pm

It’s rated PG and is 1 hour and 34 min. It’s a MUST SEE for everyone who cares about our food, our health, our economy, our environment and human and animal rights.

Thanks to Robin Hoy, manager of the Wrightstown Farmers’ Market, for this information. (Sorry I was late putting this up; the movie has been showing all week.)

Dilly’s Corner

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By guest blogger Emily Trostle

I’ve never been one to get excited over hot dogs and hamburgers, but there’s one place I’ll travel the distance to when I need to get my fix: Dilly’s Corner, on River Road in New Hope, is the place for burgers, hot dogs, ice cream and an overall good time.

Celebrating 25 years, Dilly’s Corner is always buzzing. Porsches, Harleys and SUVs all cram into the tight parking lot to experience this delightful blink-and-you-miss-it restaurant. There’s a covered patio with tables so you can sit out of the sun or avoid bad weather. For nice days, there are wooden tables placed around the parking lot.

Dilly's SpreadFor my spread, I got the Dilly Cheeseburger, Dilly Dog, a vanilla milkshake, and curly fries. The cheeseburger is a 1/3 of a pound patty, yellow American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayonnaise. The awesomeness of this burger lies in its simplicity. It doesn’t sound too different from anything you might make at home, but the cheese is perfectly melted, the lettuce is crisp, the tomato ripe, and the onions flavorful but not overpowering. The burger is cooked just slightly pink in the center and is superbly juicy.

Then there’s the Dilly Dog. Topped with peppers, onions and French fries, this quarter pound hot dog is served on a toasted torpedo roll. I topped it off with a healthy serving of relish – because if I’m going to have a hot dog, it’s got to be the messiest hot dog for miles. (I admit I had to surrender to my plastic fork for the first leg of this adventure.) The fact that Dilly’s toasts the Dilly Dog’s bun is what really made it for me. Like I’ve said, I like my hot dogs messy. This usually leads to soggy buns that won’t support my hot dog toppings. The toasted torpedo roll manages to hold all those peppers, onions, fries and any additional toppings without fail.

Dilly’s is popular for its ice cream, as well. While I would have liked to have gone all out and gotten a sundae to top off my meal, I couldn’t justify it after the burger and hot dog. BUT since a milk shake is made with milk, and milk is good for you, well, a milkshake would be a good thing.

I’ve had my fair share of milkshakes, but there’s just something about one from Dilly’s that raises the bar. It’s more like really thick, creamy milk than watered down ice cream. It’s not so thick that you can’t drink it through a straw and for some reason it’s not so cold that it gives you a brain freeze.

If I could come up with a theme for Dilly’s it would be “keep it simple, but do it well.” I have yet to try their salads or veggie burgers, but I’ll bet they’re just as good as the burgers and dogs.

If you crave a good burger and milkshake and don’t want to deal with diners or sit-down restaurants, Dilly’s Corner is ideal. Or, if the entire family wants ice cream, pack them up and take the scenic drive. The grill is open most nights until 9, and ice cream is served until 9:30.

Dilly's

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