At Hardball Cider, Head Chef Amanda Cox invites diners to play with their food—especially, when it comes to the famous pancake mound, which is offered all day every day. “You can have fun with your brunch,” she says, describing the entire menu as indulgent taproom food.
The mound consists of roughly 14 silver-dollar pancakes and three toppings that come on the side. Of course, guests can request as many add-ons as they’d like. And let’s just say, they are truly endless—Cox even threw Halloween candy into the mix during October. Some mainstays include apple butter, herbed Brie, jalapeño maple, coconut anglaise, spiced yogurt, cranberry chutney, chocolate chips, sweet potato vinaigrette, dried fruit, crushed peanut brittle M&Ms, apple cinnamon Cheerios, fresh apple and pear, chocolate syrup, rainbow sprinkles, kettle corn and toasted fluff.
Of course, when you dine at Hardball, you also have your fair share of ciders to choose from. And for this dish in particular, Cox recommends the Sunday Hop, a drier cider that’s brewed with hops. “You’ve got that little bit of sweet, but it’s like a beer for people who like beer,” she says. They’ve also started circulating different local brews on tap—at press time, it was HiJinx. But according to Cox, the entire menu is local: “Down to the cheese on the cheesesteak,” she says.
And she uses cider in nearly everything. “Even if it’s not mentioned on the ingredient list,” she says, “I always emphasize the cider flavors.” It’s the perfect gig for Cox, who readers may remember as the former head chef at Valenca. “I love the process of making things and pairing food and beverage.”
553 Main St., Bethlehem | 610.625.3744 | hardballcider.com
