Brisket and Fries at the Red Horse Tavern

I have a group of dear friends that I try to have lunch with regularly. We have known each other for more than 30 years. Most of that time, we all worked together at Penn State. Now all of them are retired, except for me. My name is Chingachgook, and I am the last of the Mohicans.

OK, so that's what I say (or at least think) every time we get together, anyway. Yes, the conversation occasionally turns toward the question of when shall I join them in retirement bliss. It is a frequent topic at home, with my husband, as well. I admit that I do have a date or two in mind, but I'm not telling.  :-)

My friends and I get together about once a month at a venue we all agree upon in advance. On this day, we decided to meet at the Red Horse Tavern in Pleasant Gap, at the intersection of routes 144 and 26, about 10 minutes past the Nittany Mall.

I had never been inside before, though I've driven past many times. My friend assured us they offered nice lunches (the chef used to be the chef at the Gamble Mill in Bellefonte, which will be reopening soon under new ownership, or so I hear), but only on Wednesday through Saturday. So we decided to go on a Thursday.

We were actually supposed to go last Thursday, but icy weather was predicted (but never really materialized) so we rescheduled for this week. Such are the perils of winter lunching: everything depends on the weather!

A huge rain storm was barreling down on us, and the first few drops hit as I pulled my car into the parking lot. I spotted some dinosaur figures across the road, and made note to snag a few photos after our lunch. Alas, it was raining HARD by then, so I never got that opportunity. That's why you're looking at brisket and fries instead of dinosaurs!

Four of us showed up on this day. Our usual group is six, but frequently one or more can't make it. The dining room is on the small side, as is the parking lot. I imagine both can get quite crowded. The specials are listed on a chalk board on the wall. As it is a tavern, there is a bar just off the dining area.

We perused the menu and two of our party ordered the fried fish sandwich, one ordered creme brulee, and I ordered the brisket and fries. Here is the official description of my sandwich from the menu: brisket, house smoked, caramelized onion, smoked gouda, horseradish sauce, Ciabatta roll.

The food was good and I took about half of it home, in containers I brought with me. Yes, I am a container freak, and can wax eloquent on that topic. No, don't get me started. . . . Yes, this is a topic of some amusement among my friends, especially those who lunch with me.

I ran into a photographer friend. "Do you have your camera with you?" he asked. Me: "Of course! I was taking pictures of my food!" And so he snapped a selfie of us to share in a local photography group on Facebook. Just him, a retired PSU journalism prof, and me: the GirlWithACamera, in her native habitat, lunching her way through delicious central Pennsylvania. :-)

As the name of the place is the Red Horse Tavern, my soundtrack song is about horses. So here are the Rolling Stones, with Wild Horses.