Like Sushi? Join the Central PA Sushi Meetup Group!

After I stumbled upon this group on Meetup.com I immediately had to help get the word out. What a great way to meet new people and enjoy some incredible cuisine! The group has over 100 members (and growing) and has already planned a few meetups at local sushi spots - the last of which had 44 people in attendance! The group does maintain a blog if you’d like to read up on them, and they are planning their next meetup at Miyako Sushi in downtown Harrisburg on May 16th. They anticipate increasing the number of meetups hosted in order to accommodate the large interest, so expect to see more sushi meetups in the near future.

IdeaBlob.com, the site that gives out $10,000 every month for the idea that receives the most votes

Ever had a good idea? Now you can get that notion funded if it gets enough votes on IdeaBlob. The site is most definitely worth looking into. I just posted my own idea on the site that I’d appreciate you voting for or commenting on it: a website designed specifically for college students that outlines the events, discounts, destinations, jobs, and internships around the greater Harrisburg area. The idea is to attract more students to the region and really get those students connected to what’s going on here in hopes of reversing the region’s huge export of college students once they graduate.

The thing about this website that intrigues me is that really simple projects can actually win, you don’t need a doctorate to compete. In fact, the winner last month is a Penn State college student! Check it out or try your own idea!

The Best Burger in Harrisburg Hands Down - The Jackson House

So I randomly noticed a small hole in the wall restaurant the other day called the Jackson House, it’s located at 6th and Boas Streets. The storefront was littered with those best of Harrisburg stickers for best burger so I figured I had better look into the matter. I stepped inside the place for lunch (it’s only open for lunch FYI) and noticed the place certainly had character. It’s really not much to look at inside, but the sheer amount of people that were squeezed in the tiny dining room gave me high expectations for the food.

I wasn’t disappointed.

I ordered the “Jackson Burger” guessing it was the house specialty and sweet heavens the 1/2 pound burger was so juicy and succulent I basically inhaled the thing. Prices are practical, the staff was friendly, and I left more than satisfied. You should be aware that they don’t take credit cards, but other than that I fully endorse the place and suggest you toss whatever lunch you brown bagged this morning and head over to the Jackson House for the best burger in Harrisburg.

Get Downtown Discounts in Harrisburg

Want 15% off food at Bricco? $2 off Senators tickets? How about buy one get one free admission for all three of Harrisburg’s theaters? These deals and many more are available to you with a Harrisburg Young Professionals passport, free with HYP membership.

So membership must be pretty expensive right? Nope. Join HYP for a whole year for just $30. That includes admission to weekly HYP events as well as the discount card.

The Harrisburg Young Professionals are celebrating their 10th year as “a group of young, active, civic-minded professionals who have a clear vision of Harrisburg’s future as a great place to live, work, play, and shop.” Joining the organization is an excellent way to make new friends and contacts, familiarize yourself with the city, get a passport discount card, and find some fun.

Check out their website for upcoming events and more discounts: HYP.org

Culinary Review: Carib Soul

I noticed today that in the back of the Broad Street Market there are two small food vendors that I’ve never noticed before; Aurora’s and Carib Soul. Naturally I ate lunch from one of them, and today it happened to be Carib Soul. The vendor just moved in a few weeks ago so I’m assuming you probably haven’t tried their authentic Caribbean cuisine. I tried the jerk chicken with peas n rice for a side. Well let me tell you, there’s no need for a knife when eating Carib Soul’s chicken, the tender meat just fell off the bone, exploding with delicious flavor and spice. It’s well worth trying, and I’d recommend trying it soon! They’ve got a number of great Caribbean meals to chose from and I plan on getting very familiar with the fare. Yet another great spot to eat at my favorite chow hall the Broad Street Market.

Upcoming Event: Savor the Flavor- A Taste of Carlisle - Feb. 24th

I just stumbled upon this event, but I’ll be sure to attend. Why? Does “25+ local restaurants participate as vendors” mean anything to you!? I like Carlisle, but I really like food, and so I’ve taken the liberty of doing some advertising for the Carlisle Chamber myself. Events like these are just great for people like me who want to try food from every restaurant without having to actually pay for dinner 25+ times over.

I’ve posted the event details on zvents.com and eventful.com, $25 for advance tickets, $10 with a college ID. (I keep mine for occasions such as these)

Culinary Review: The Kim Chee People

There really is nothing better to me than paying a small amount of money for a large amount of delicious food that is sold from an independent restaurant or food stand. That happened to be my experience today at the Broad Street Market. First of all, if you haven’t been to the Broad Street Market you are plain crazy, the place is overflowing with quality homemade foods and eats of all varieties for great prices. Take for instance the UNBELIEVABLE green chili curry I had from the Bankok Kitchen the other day. I’d venture to say it was the best meal I’ve ever had before. (yea I said it)

Anyway, back to the Kim Chee People. The Korean food stand has been in the market for only about a week, it’s run by two sweet ladies who really are more than willing (like most of the vendors) to make you whatever you want, however you like it. I tried the lunch special, for $5 I received: 1 chicken dumpling, 1 beef dumpling, steamed vegetables,  kim chee, fried rice, and a pile of spicy pork. I enjoyed it to the last bite, eating past the point of fullness. The moral of the story here is give the Kim Chee People a try, the food is good, the price is nice. And if you haven’t been to the Broad Street Market….. GO! This I command!

Local Links, Local Events —> Get Connected

One day after watching 4 straight hours of CSPAN I came to a startling  realization of profound understanding about myself. I hate boredom. It’s so boring. I wasn’t sure if there really was anything more interesting to do in south central PA than take notes on the latest happenings inside congress and read Hardy Boys books in my basement. Valiantly, I embarked on a quest to find something more entertaining than the free channels on TV. What I uncovered I’ve made into a list. That list is now the new home page on the website www.ExperienceHarrisburg.com. I am always looking to extend the list, but for the time being I am pretty satisfied that if you can’t find something new to do from the links and events already listed on ExperienceHarrisburg.com you are nesting in a bed of lies.

True story.

Your local PA Artisan Trail “15 By Way of the Arts”

I randomly came across an interesting initiative of PA not too long ago, “PA Artisan Trails.” For those of you like me who have no idea what artisan trails might be, “Route 15 ByWay of the Arts is one of several Artisan Trails located in scenic traffic corridors throughout the state. Modeled after successful national programs and those in several other states, the PA initiative combines arts & crafts with tourism and economic development. The Artisan Trails offer guided weekend packages and self-guided road trips provided by select lodging, dining and artisan partners, and each Trail attempts to capture the unique essence of its local area.” That’s straight from the website: rt15arts.com.

It’s quite an interesting program and allows you to find something new to do whether it be dine n wine or checking out the local artisans. Be sure to check out the calendar as it is updated regularly with a number of interesting events. So now you know!

Get Connected (Get off the couch and meet some new people)

It’s easy to get stuck in a routine of isolation after a long day of work - but just as easy to find some new people to hang out with, honest! With the power of the internet it is really a little spooky how connected you can actually get, I’m not into myspace b/c people I don’t want to find always find me!

Fortunately, there are sites that allow you to be a little more selective in who you’d like to meet; take meetup.com for instance. The website allows people to join a large variety of groups from wine enthusiasts to home entrepreneur groups and actually plan events to “meet up.” Just around Harrisburg there is quite a few interesting groups, a spanish group, an entrepreneur group, and a work at home group to name a few.  Might be worth checkin out.

Also, websites like zvents.com, eventful.com, campuscentral.com as I’ve mentioned before are great ways to get connected with whats going on in the area.

The Harrisburg Young Professionals (hyp.org) are another great group of people. The run all kind of events and social gatherings, a really great place to make contacts and new friends. The membership annually for HYP is $30 I believe.

SO, don’t make excuses, get off the couch! Use the internet to find some people of interest and get connected, life is more enjoyable than the average amount of time people watch tv every day - 4 hours!