The Lunch Bunch needed a couple of trips to complete this story.
The day we planned to call Ladles to schedule a photo, we learned the New Kensington restaurant was closing. The whole operation was returning to its original location in Arnold on Fifth Avenue.
That meant a return trip to check out the "new" place that was open only for private parties for the past few years. The Arnold space, which opened in 2001, was bustling with customers enjoying lunch in dining areas that are tastefully decorated with grape vines and white lights throughout -- quite the cozy ambiance.
We ordered soup in honor of the restaurant's moniker. Happily, Ladles lives up to its name no matter where it's located.
The French Onion Soup ($5.25 a bowl) arrived piping hot with a thick layer of cheese that stretched from our spoon to the bowl. The rich beef broth was swimming with sliced onions and homemade croutons. It came with a soft, crunchy-on-the-outside breadstick.
The Roasted Red Pepper Soup ($3.25 for a cup) featured an abundance of tiny bits of roasted red pepper in a light cream-base broth. The peppers added a mild but flavorful taste to this homemade comfort food.
The Artichoke and Asiago Dip ($6.99) is a beauty of an appetizer for sharing -- it's a bread bowl with cut-up breadsticks for dipping into the creamy, warm cheese dip, brimming with chopped-up artichoke bites.
We also shared Sweet Potato Fries ($3.99). The slender-sliced sticks of sweet potatoes were served with a dipping sauce infused with cinnamon. Think yogurt with cinnamon.
We didn't get to the restaurant early enough to score some of the popular Kathy's Crabcakes, so we opted for a California Chicken Salad ($8.99) with strawberry vinaigrette dressing. We were ready for fresh salad greens, grilled chicken, pecans and fresh strawberries. The salad comes with blue cheese, but we asked for ours without it. Our salad arrived with iceberg lettuce mix, grilled processed chicken strips, bits of pecans and red seedless grapes. We asked about the fresh strawberries and were told that since it was fall, they had switched to grapes since the strawberries were not looking that great this late in the season.
We found this salad a little disappointing -- maybe because we love fresh strawberries so much and are not grape fans.
A lunch portion of Paulina's Homemade Ravioli ($9.99) arrived with a half-dozen handmade large meat and spinach ravioli in marinara sauce. Two large bread sticks accompany this dish and, for a side, we chose a fresh side salad. The lunch portion seemed to be the right amount, because we finished these ravioli and didn't need a box for leftovers.
During a breakfast visit to the former New Kensington site, we were pleased with the extensive menu of sandwiches, wraps, omelettes, frittatas and skillet breakfasts with choices of eggs, ham, bacon or sausage, home fries and toast. The same menu is can be found at the Arnold location.
One of the breakfast specialties, Sassy Eggs Florentine ($5.99), comes with scrambled eggs, fresh leaf spinach and diced ham, topped with cheddar cheese and served with your choice of toast. We loved this dish and the order of Syrian toast made our morning even better.
A short stack of Blueberry Pancakes ($4.49) was more than we could eat in one sitting. The tender, fluffy pancakes had plenty of blueberries inside and just a few on top -- so few that our server quickly said she would remedy that with a small container of additional berries. We weren't going to complain, but it's nice to have an attentive server who noticed the shortfall and quickly fixed it. We ordered a side of bacon and enjoyed three thick, crispy slices.
Compiled by Rebecca Killian, Sis Reola and guests. Meals are paid for by the Valley News Dispatch and are unrelated to advertising.
Additional Information:Ladles
Address: 1733 Fifth Ave., Arnold
Phone: 724-337-9310
Hours: 7:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Sundays
Credit cards: All major credit cards accepted
Smoking: No
Handicapped accessible: Yes
Prices: Breakfast: $2.99-$8.49. Lunch: Appetizers, $3.99-$10.99; salads, $3.99-$11.99; sandwiches and burgers, $6.49-$8.49; entrees, $10.99- $23.99
