GREAT ALL AMERICAN DINER RUN

Thisilldous Eatery presents

GREAT ALL AMERICAN DINER RUN

tasty places to take your bike

Port Clinton Hotel

231 Center Street, Port Clinton, PA 19549 610-562-3354 • www.facebook.com/ThePortClintonHotel

In these days of chain restaurants that ll almost every exit of the Interstates, it is refreshing to come across something that still serves up a welcoming bygone avor as well as some great and tasty food.

When we had a few glorious late winter days a lot of riders came down with a mid-week illness and the only real vaccination was to get on your motorcycle and go for a sunny and warm ride.

We did just that, with the plan of meeting up with friends out in Port Clinton, Pennsylvania at Hermy’s, a very neat BMW and Triumph motorcycle shop. For us, we love walking around bike shops and Herm and his crew are always friendly, open, and very easy with us spending time just browsing and taking all that they offer. They have been big supporters of Backroads for years and we always enjoy heading out this way. Drop by – it is a great shop and, with this month’s Great All American Diner Run, an even more delicious destination.

The Port Clinton Hotel served as a stagecoach stop between Sunbury and Philadelphia in the early 1800s. Stagecoaches stopped at the Port Clinton Hotel, which was a great social center where news from other states and even foreign countries was exchanged. In fact, it became customary when signing the hotel register to add any news that they thought might be of common interest. The hotelkeeper and his family cared for the driver and passengers stabled the horses and entertained with a ddler and dances.

The hotel’s birth name was the “Gately Hotel” and is now named the “Port Clinton Hotel”. Situated in southern Schuylkill County, the unique little town clings on the hillside and embraces the peninsula between the Little Schuylkill and the main river. Port Clinton takes its name from De-Witt Clinton on the Erie Canal and was laid out in 1829.

A thriving community for many years, for large shipments of coal was brought to Port Clinton by the primitive railroads and was loaded on canal boats for shipment. The Schuylkill Canal passed through Port Clinton and many of the residents of the little borough received employment on the rail-

road and the canal. The Schuylkill Canal centered around two major terminals, Port Clinton on the north side of the Schuylkill Gap and Kernsville on the south side. The last boat to leave Port Clinton’s once crowded basin was the Mary Rose, which took a load of coal to the state sanatorium at Hamburg just before the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

Today Route 61 can be a very busy road as, although the canal is not in operation anymore, this road still sees major commerce passing through.

Just north of Hermy’s shop, you will nd the Port Clinton Hotel that boasts “a unique casual dining experience, serving lunch and dinner six days a week and known for “the biggest and best portions in the area!” We will attest to this.

Our group entered through the bar, and into the main dining hall. The hotel plays its age and history well and many times you might hear it is like walking back into history – The Port Clinton Hotel is the real deal. The hotel is really a hotel, not just in name only, and they do have rooms for the night, but these have been shut down by the quickly fading virus. Still, the bar and restaurant are open and doing a brisk business.

The menu was far bigger than we imagined and there were choices to be made. You’ll nd all the sandwiches that you are used to – think not only delicious but big.

If you are there with a small group probably one order of their addicting fries will work – we ordered two servings for ve hungry adults, and it was too much!

But, nothing wrong with that.

We’ll start with some appetizers as they have a few that you might not see often – Deep Fried Perogies, House Crab Balls and, being right along the Appalachian Trail, we have heard their Hikers Supreme Nachos are just that.

The hotel does serve ne dinners as well, but we thought we’d stick with their sandwiches - which are extraordinary. The Cheese Steak is served in all sorts of combinations and the burgers that were ordered truly did the Keystone State proud, and they offer it all from naked to fully dressed – they even have a Coney Burger.

A what, you ask? Coney Burger.

If you do not know what Coney is you still have many more miles to ride, my friend. If you want the real deal then grab a Coney Island Hot Dog – two Jumbo Dogs topped with Coney Sauce, Mustard, and Onions.

The Hawk Mountain, named for the world’s rst refuge for birds of prey, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, is ironically a giant hunk of Chicken with a Mild Hot Wing Sauce, Blue Cheese, and Provolone.

As we sat down our friend Chris touted the Trophy Fish Sandwich. He said he remembered it being huge and delicious. He was right – it was so big I half expected Jonah to walk out of its mouth. The Appalachian Trail rib eye sandwich is their priciest item at $16.95. You could consider splitting it – but on the other hand… As we said the Port Clinton is almost easy to miss, along Route 61, especially with the big I-78 intersection just down the road. But it is well worth taking a table at a classic bit of Americana, right up the road from a great bike shop. ,