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HAZLETON — The sauce was savory; the meat flavorful but not too spicy, Judy Hall said after sampling an entree at Sazon Latino.
She and her husband might visit the restaurant again, the Hazle Township woman said, and stay for a full meal instead of just a taste.
“Then I could practice my Espanol,” Tom Hall said.
For about 40 foodies, Friday evening was all about tasting as they toured a dozen “eateries and bodegas” with Krista Schneider from the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress.
Their 90-minute walk started at the Chamber of Commerce on Broad Street, concentrated on shops along Broad and Wyoming streets, and gave them a chance to sample everything from pizza and brownies to mini sandwiches and mangu, a dish of mashed plantains blended with oil and onions.
“I’m up for all kinds of food,” said Jennifer Mills of Hazleton, who enjoyed her first taste of Dominican-style mangu from the Prestigio restaurant.
Some younger members of the group were eager for foods with which they were familiar — namely hot dogs from Jimmy’s Quick Lunch.
“She’s been talking all day about a hot dog from Jimmy’s,” Andy Tritt said of his 3-year-old daughter, Hosanna.
Hearing that, owner Jim Grohol had additional trays of hot dogs brought out in front of the store so Hosanna and her 5-year-old sister, Eliana, could have some. The large group had already devoured the first few trays of hot dogs on buns, some covered with onions and some with chili.
“It’s good,” Hosanna said as she munched her dog.
“And Broad Street has been good to us,” Grohol said, giving a brief history of the family business his grandparents James and Adelaine George established in 1937.
His grandfather, who previously sold hot dogs under the Atlantic City boardwalk, was looking for available storefronts on Hazleton’s Broad Street “on a cold day during the Depression,” Grohol said. “He noticed everybody was walking on the sunny side of the street,” so he chose the location where his grandson still sells hot dogs.
After the group visited Frankie’s Pizzeria, Ashley Singley and Jonathan Poltrok of Hazleton said they enjoyed the thin-crust pizza — “I loved it,” Singley enthused — as well as the idea of the walk, which they hoped would help build some cross-cultural bridges.
For Judy Hall, an adventurous cook who has made ceviche at home with scallops and lime juice, a visit to the Hazleton Super Market on Wyoming Street provided more ideas.
“You can roast it, bake it, fry it, anything you like,” store manager Jose Lopez told her, indicating a very large sweet potato.
As for plantains, he recommends frying them or layering them in place of the pasta in a lasagna-type dish.
The group tasted barbecue at The Pines Eatery and Spirits and freshly baked cookies courtesy of co-owner Francine Umbriac at The Shop2; chatted with owner Armando Lainez at Di Pisa Italian restaurant, admired pastries at Carmen’s Bakery & Deli and tasted mini sandwiches and bite-size brownies at The Dragonfly Cafe.
After 90 minutes of nibbling, walk leader Schneider opened two boxes of chocolates from Victoria’s Candies.
“This is your dessert,” she said.
Although Hazleton has experienced recent gun violence and stabbings, several participants said they felt safe on the walk. Adding to their secure feelings were several cadets from the Lackawanna College Police Academy who accompanied them. The cadets take part in every First Friday event, Schneider said.
