Adventures in Blair County: The Phoenix

You already know that the man and I love to go out to lunch on his day off. There are a handful of places in our town that I will eat at. It's not that I'm a picky eater, I just try to be a healthy eater and that alone eliminates most chain restaurants. I will eat at Chipotle (because they have high quality standards and I know that they use the best ingredients that they can find) and I recently had an organic "bowl" of something at Panera. I can't remember what it was. It was very salty though--that's saying a lot for me, I probably won't choose to go there, but if forced to at least I know they have an option for me.
So that leaves me with just five other places in our town that I will eat at. Five.
The Phoenix is one of these. I wish I had discovered this gem sooner than last year. I had no idea that we had food this good in Altoona. We first went last year with a group of people after sending our kids off to the prom.

It doesn't look like much from the outside and it's not in the most attractive part of town. But don't let that stop you. Look how nice it is inside:

I never would have guessed that it was like this inside based on the address.

They made me very happy last year when they decided to open for lunch. Here is their lunch menu:

In addition to the menu they also have daily specials.
And these little parmesan crusted fried noodles are your free "chips and salsa"
They are seriously addictive.

On this day one of the specials was an ocean perch sandwich with fries--it's what the man got.

I forgot to take a picture of my lunch. But you can believe me when I tell you that I got one of the specials too. I got the steak salad (minus dressing and cheese). It was very good, and made with real lettuce and not iceberg. That is another reason that I'll only go to five restaurants in town. Iceberg shouldn't ever be allowed to be on a salad. It's not good. Not at all.
It was also made with real steak. As in, "How do you want your steak prepared?" steak. Not those steak-um things. I still shake my head when I see a restaurant trying to pass that stuff off as steak.

For dessert the man ordered a slice of coconut cream pie. He cannot pass this stuff up. Especially when it's made with whipped cream topping instead of a meringue topping.

If you're looking for a special place to go out for dinner then I recommend The Phoenix. Everything is wonderful. We took my parents there several months ago and my father said that the calamari appetizer he got was the best he's ever had. Ever.
Check out their website here.
They are located at 300 4th Avenue in Altoona.
You will not be disappointed.

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