Path Valley Family Restaurant

After hours of driving while relocating our family from Ohio to New Jersey, this was a welcome stop along the way. The folks working at this restaurant could not have been nicer. The service was good and the food hit the spot. Nothing fancy, just good home-cooked style food. Save room for some pie!

So us hikers, after a long day, we may stink, and our technical clothes may not be the most fashionable, but we're usually great tippers.   I left no tip at the Path Valley Family Restaurant, and I'd like to tell you why.

2 stars for the food.  Very large portions.  Taste, about average; better than Denny's, but nothing special.  

-1 stars for the service.  From the time we finished eating, to the time our server reappeared to ask if we needed anything (like the check), 45 minutes.  My coffee sat empty for more than an hour.  I tried desperately to make eye contact with every employee that past by our table, each one looked away.  No 'can I help you?' no, 'can I get your server?' No nothing.  And I'd intended to get desert, too.  Thanks for nothing.

So when I get to the register to pay, I'd intended to leave a minimal tip of a buck, at the very least for the kitchen staff.  "I'm sorry, we don't take cards".  Hey, its 2013, you need a scarlet letter on the door if you don't take plastic.  Even in the middle of Appalachia, WV, they take credit cards.  I don't carry much cash when I hike, because it isn't water-resistant.  So that tears it, I only had cash from my buddy who'd given it to me for gas., otherwise, I'd be washing dishes  I left the change (20 cents), but that's it.  

You'd think, with a Tuscarora trailhead within spitting distance, this place would be hiker friendly.   Not so much.

I drove by this place on business -- hard to believe considering Dry Run is pretty much in the middle of nowhere -- and thought I'd check with coworkers who'd eaten here before.  They said it was good.  Being a sucker for small restaurants and diners, especially in the middle of nowhere, me and a buddy took a motorcycle trip from Harrisburg out the backroads and up and over the mountains and stopped at the Path Valley Family Restaurant for lunch and to warm up.  What a great little place !!  The coffee was fantastic with top-offs poured frequently.  I got a reuben sandwich which was good corned beef -- not stringy or fatty at all.  And my buddy got a turkey wrap which he said was great.  Our food was ready in no time, the server was attentive and friendly, the restaurant was clean and the bill very reasonable.  Next time I ride out to the mountains or I'm in town on business, I plan to stop and have a meal.  Thanks !!