Located at the center of Downtown Allentown's redevelopment, The Dime is renowned for its views of Center City Allentown and has earned a Wine Spectator award for excellence every year for the past five years that it's been in operation. The Dime is a restaurant, bar and lounge situated right in the Renaissance Allentown Hotel and named for the former Dime Bank. Somehow, though, it doesn't feel staid and generic like many hotel restaurants often do. The menu and the aesthetic try their best to reflect the location and history. “We are, after all, the first point of reference for many people who are coming to the city,” says Roman Cristali, director of beverage and food.
Who are those people? Well, apparently Allentown's Renaissance houses a whole lot of folks who come for business, which is what we'd expect. But it's a draw for those who come here for kids sporting events and tournaments. And then, of course, the restaurant wants to feed you burgers and steak and pasta and appetizers before or after hockey games, big concerts and events at the PPL Center. The clientele is comprised of locals and those who travel for work and stay at the hotel during the week. “We're always asking how we can surprise and delight those people,” says Adele McFarlane, restaurant manager.
The menu is locally inspired and sourced when possible—calling it “Pennsylvania American,” which is perhaps a new food designation in and of itself. (I'm not sure what's so PA-centric about kale Caesar salad with roasted grapes, but it almost doesn't matter, because it's delicious, thanks to the fact that it incorporates baby kale, which is tender and sweet, and roasted grapes.)
Mostly, the designation gives the kitchen a way to distinguish itself and incorporate items on the menu such as scrapple, spaetzle and schnitzel, which may be totally unfamiliar dishes to out-of-towners—but nostalgic favorites for locals. Or at least incorporate things that are popular and for which the Commonwealth is known, like pretzels, which are part of the breading in a calamari dish that also includes fried pickles, shallots and carrots. But you'll also find things such as a unique Asian pear, that's grown in Kempton from Subarashii Kudamono, put into pancakes, for example. The duck wings—a popular appetizer, served Asian style with sweet and sour sauce and pickled cucumber—are sourced from Dr. Joe, a.k.a. Joe Jurgielewicz in Hamburg, preferred among many chefs as the go-to purveyor for duck.
“Our motto is indigenous, intriguing and independent,” says Cristali, who worked as a chef for many years before moving to front-of-the-house duties.
You can count on a hotel restaurant to serve three meals a day, and to present a menu that will suit just about anyone. The burger options are proof: You can get a straight-up burger (The Dime burger) with eight ounces of ground chuck on a house-made potato roll (also feels very Pennsylvania); a chicken burger with grilled pineapple, jack cheese and a teriyaki glaze; or a vegan burger that's also gluten-free and comes with vegan American cheese. Main entreés run the gamut from steak, lamb and fish to chicken, pasta and seafood. And of course, there's always dessert, whether it's the signature gelato cake—which is always on the menu—or a seasonal rotating selection of sweets, such as an old-fashioned chocolate cake, crème brûlée or cheesecake.
And don't fret if you fall in love with something on the menu—The Dime does an overhaul twice a year and a couple of seasonal tweaks in between the big edits. There will always be those steaks, chops, chicken, house-made pasta and salmon dishes, though, Cristali says.
The restaurant caters to the local business crowd with its Market Trio Lunch offering—for $13, you can opt among a soup, salad and entrée or half sandwich. “It's like a little bento box,” says Cristali. “We try to get people in and out in an hour.” Conversely, The Dime also wants you to just come and hang out, too—the bar is extensive (the bourbon collection, too) and there's plenty of soft, lounge-y seating both in the restaurant and spaces adjacent to the bar and near the elevator.
Over at the bar, there are 24 taps—23 of which are dedicated to beer (one is for wine) and a whole suite of signature cocktails to choose from.
The Dime is one of a few, if any, restaurants we've encountered to present its menu completely electronically: Instead of paper, you get a tablet. From an operational perspective, it definitely makes the menu easier to update, and it saves a few trees in the process. It's also mostly a novelty, at least in this area, and, as such, it took me a little bit longer to get through the menu. The servers are well trained in moving diners through the options and any user-generated confusion.
Technology aside, The Dime is ready to greet locals and visitors alike. “We want to be the soul of the neighborhood,” says McFarlane.
The Dime Restaurant & Bar
12 N. 7th St., Allentown | 484.273.4010 | thedimeallentown.com
Hours: Sun.–Thurs.: 6:30 a.m.–11 p.m.; Fri. & Sat.: 6:30 a.m.–midnight
Reservations: Recommended, especially on event nights
Parking: Several parking decks within easy reach, along with street parking; free parking weekdays 5 p.m.–midnight, Sat. & Sun.: 8 a.m.–midnight, excluding dates when there's an event at the PPL Center
Specials: Sunday Brunch with a Bloody Mary Bar and live music 11 a.m.–3 p.m.; Market Trio Lunch Mon.–Fri.: select among a menu that includes soup, salad and choice of half a sandwich or jasmine rice bowl or chicken skewers, for example. And of course, dessert—fresh berries or a brownie bite. Live entertainment on the weekends, 9 p.m.–midnight.
Happy Hour: Mon.–Fri.: 5–7 p.m. PLUS a reverse Happy Hour on Wednesday, bar only, 9–11 p.m.: $4 domestic draft beers, $5 domestic craft beers, $5 well cocktails, $5 house wine. Starters on the bar menu are half price—think crispy honey Brussels sprouts, Turkish beef skewers, truffle French fries and other salty, snacky things.
What to Order: Kale Caesar Salad (the roasted grapes!), Pretzel-Crusted Calamari, Duck Wings, The Dime Shrimp Cocktail, the Chicken Burger, the Sustainable Verlasso Salmon (currently served with beet risotto and a blueberry gastrique). The Dime Gelato Cake.
