Dutch Kitchen- Frackville, PA

Ah, my beloved hometown of Frackville. Actually, Frackville doesn't look like much anymore. I don't know if it ever did. It was the town of my youth, the place where I learned about life, where I was a bright eyed, positive kid looking to take on the world. It's the town where, on my Aunt Faye's porch, I told her I felt I was called to be a pastor- the first time I would ever utter that to anyone.

My hometown is like a girlfriend (or boyfriend) that you meet after years of seeing her and you see that she's just not the same anymore.  The current economy has not been kind, so the town is broken down, like the same girl (boy) you once knew who now is scraping to make ends meet with three children whose father (mother) never comes around.  Quite frankly, you see a lot of those situations in Frackville, too.  I could go on and on with the social commentary of a place I would love to see restored, but this blog is about the food.  Onward we go!

 The Dutch Kitchen boasts itself as the premier restaurant in the borough of Frackville. There are billboards up and down Interstate 81 advertising its "Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking", with the PA Dutch Hex signs. To many people, Frackville is known primarily because of the Dutch Kitchen. For many travelers using the aforementioned Interstate 81, the Dutch Kitchen is the premier place to stop and have a bite to eat before resuming one's journey. But, like the borough of Frackville itself, the Dutch Kitchen has seen better days.

Maybe it's that they unfairly fired a friend of mine, and I'm still bitter over that episode. However, that was years ago, and I would like to think I'm far, far past that. I prefer to think it's from the wilted lettuce I last saw on the touted salad bar that really wasn't all that impressive. Or perhaps the way-too-expensive-for-the-area pricing, including a $7 Pancake platter that you can get at other area restaurants for two dollars less. But what ever it is, I cannot see why some people absolutely rave about this place. It's even been included in most editions of the Roadfood guide to eating.

The Dutch Kitchen has seen better days. It is still possible to get a good meal there, though you can eat at other places in the area, get good food, and pay less. The last time I ate there was in early March 2012, when my uncle's father passed away, and we went there to eat after the funeral. I ordered a broiled seafood platter that included a crab cake, shrimp, scallops, and a fish filet. The crab cake didn't have much crab in it at all, being essentially a stuffing ball. The scallops were extraordinarily tough. The shrimp and the fish were good. I just don't see the same care put into this place that used to be there. This used to be a restaurant where you would go for special occasions. I ate there before my senior winter formal. I ate there when my Aunt Lucille died. This is a place of memory. This place's success is important to the borough as a whole, as it is one of the first landmarks that one sees upon entering Frackville.

 My honest opinion is that the reputation this place has had in the past is what the management is currently living on. Also, that particular exit has only two real dining options advertised on the exit signs- this restaurant and a Cracker Barrel. They don't have to try hard, so they don't. And still, people rave on about the food here. They must be seeing something that I am missing. As for the prices, they probably can get away with this because what is expensive for Frackville is still fairly cheap in most other areas, so travelers don't notice.

For nostalgia's sake, I want to give this place a good review, but if I am going to be honest, I will say that the Dutch Kitchen is a once-great restaurant that currently serves passable food.  They can call themselves "famous" all they want, and glorify themselves in their advertising, but the locals know, it's not what it once was.  They need to stop cutting corners and serve the kind of food we know they're capable of.  But as it stands, the Dutch Kitchen is the cute high school cheerleader who is still trying to live off of the looks she had twenty or thirty years ago.

 Man, this entry depressed me!

The Dutch Kitchen
433 South Lehigh Avenue
Frackville, PA 17931
(570)874-3265