Taste of the Month

Ady Martinez uses her grandmother’s recipes to share her culture and educate others about Venezuela through food. Martinez co-owns Juana’s, a restaurant in downtown State College serving Venezuelan favorites like tequeños, cachapas, and more. Juana’s started out as a vendor at the State College Farmers Market in July 2018. Martinez says they prepared food at…

Centre County diners can take a culinary trip through eastern Europe and central Asia right here in Pleasant Gap. Café Luna, which opened in October 2022, focuses on sweet and savory regional dishes from faraway lands. The restaurant is run by Gary Shindy, his parents, and other family and friends. The family hails from Kazakhstan…

Approximately twice a week during Penn State’s fall and spring semesters, the hottest dinner reservation in town is not in a restaurant at all—at least not in the traditional sense.  The pop-up-style theme dinners of Café Laura, located in Mateer Building on the north end of campus, book up weeks in advance, drawing students, faculty,…

Looking for a crispy and savory snack or meal? Look no further than one of State College’s newest restaurants, Tasty K. Located downtown on Calder Way, Tasty K offers Korean fried chicken, rice, and French fries. While the menu may be small, the flavors and textures pack a big punch. Owner Andy Lee, who says…

Sarah Bryan grew up helping her mother and grandmother in the kitchen, but never really thought of it as a career. As a teenager, though, she became increasingly interested in reading recipes and learning about the ingredients and techniques used in each dish. “I was really interested in the whole thing, cooking and especially baking,”…

Walking into Bonfire Old-Fashioned BBQ is like walking into a backyard neighborhood party. There are no strangers. Everyone who enters is family. The welcoming atmosphere is key to the business’s success, according to co-owner Josh Kunig. “It’s like that relaxing time in your backyard,” he says. “You bring everyone over. It’s that hospitality—you want to…

To kickstart your day, consider taking a trip to Pleasant Gap to check out the Tiny Tavern Café.  The café fills the former bottle shop at the Red Horse Tavern on the corner of Main Street and College Avenue. The Red Horse owners had contemplated what to do in the front space of the building.…

David Anderson spends his Saturday mornings packing loaves of bread, bags of bagels, and bundles of cookies into his car.  Anderson, also known as the “Bellefonte Bread Baker,” bakes and delivers sourdough-based products to the doorsteps of loyal customers around the Centre County region. He works full-time as a chef, graduated from the Culinary Institute…

Looking for a fresh, healthy option in downtown State College? Look no further than Roots Natural Kitchen, a modern twist on good, natural ingredients. The restaurant offers customizable rice and veggie bowls and salads. But Roots Natural Kitchen is much more than that, according to interim general manager Nelson Hartley. Hartley says everything served at…

Shawn Carter had built a successful catering business serving a worldwide variety of foods and flavors when he decided to try out the Downtown State College Farmers Market in April 2022. Carter, a Penn State alumnus, remembered walking through the market on his way to campus and thought his cooking could add something new to…