Grand Eats and Sweets offers a taste of grandmother's kitchen
If you're hungry for a home-cooked meal, you'll find it in this restaurant, at the location of a former Quizno's.
Grand Eats and Sweets in Penn Township's Grandview Plaza Shopping Center takes on a much brighter look, with walls painted bright hues of magenta and green, decorated with floral wall art.
Though Grand Eats and Sweets is lodged in a fairly narrow space, there are still several tables to choose from or a counter.
As soon as I passed through the door, a waitress welcomed me to find a seat. Throughout dinner, I heard regulars talking about their week and asking the wait-staff about theirs -- the simple act of conversation often lost with smartphones at the table. Oldies rock played over the speakers.
Owners Jill and Robert Curry opened the restaurant about a year ago. They previously owned Hanover Railside Family Diner across town, which they renovated to become a banquet facility and a dairy bar and grill.
At Grand Eats and Sweets, the daily specials, including three homemade soups, took my eye on a Saturday afternoon. The soups and breaded haddock are some of the patrons' favorite items, Jill Curry said.
But I found the hot roast beef sandwich with gravy hard to resist for $6.50.
Overall, the entire menu reminded me of dishes I'd find in my grandmother's kitchen.
Two country fried chicken breasts with gravy? Yes, for $7.50. BLT on toast with mayo? Yep, for $3.50. Grilled ham slice? You bet, for $6.95. Plus there are steaks and plenty of seafood -- crab cakes, haddock squares, clam strips -- to choose from.
All platters come with two sides. I ordered mashed potatoes with gravy and tossed salad with the Grand's own egg dressing.
First came warmed potato dinner rolls with butter on the side. Then, the salad.
As a native York Countian, I've eaten a lot of egg dressing (including at Grandma's house on Thanksgiving Day). But really, the Grand's dressing captured a tasty balance of sweet and sour (no offense, Grandma).
The platter was a generous portion of roast beef sandwiched between two slices of white bread, smothered in gravy, with mashed potatoes and gravy on the side.
It was all I could do to finish my dinner, let alone think about dessert.
Yet the sweets are a main attraction at the restaurant (hence its name). Choices vary from ice cream and pudding, to fresh-baked cakes and pies.
Apple dumplings and chocolate cake with peanut butter icing are two of patrons' favorite desserts, Jill Curry said.
I was reminded the menu wasn't the only aspect of Grand Eats and Sweets taking me back to my childhood at Grandma's house – the entire dining experience was.
Grand Eats and Sweets
Location: 1446 Baltimore St., Penn Township (in Grandview Plaza Shopping Center)
Cuisine: American
Jess' pick: Hot roast beef sandwich with gravy and two sides, $6.50
Parking: Lot
Hours: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; closed Sunday
Price range: $1.25, choice of hot chocolate, lemonade, hot and iced tea, coffee and lemonade; $15.95, combination seafood (1 haddock square, 1 crab cake, 2 jumbo shrimp, 2 breaded scallops and ¼ pound clam strips)
Alcohol: No
Smoking: No
Accepts: Cash and credit
Takeout: Yes
Kid's menu: No
Details: Call 717-630-9188