Salerno's Cafe — Restaurant in Old Forge

Was in Scranton for a convention in October of 2010. Attendees wanted to try something local, so my wife and I decided to try what was supposed to be the best Old Forge style pizza. Keep in mind that we were scouting the restaurant for a couple hundred folks eager to try something new.

We found the place easily, and parked on the street. We walked in, at about 7:00 on a Saturday night, past the bar and up to the "Please Wait to be Seated" sign, where we stood and waited. And waited. Aaaand waited. The folks at the bar sat stone-faced and stared at us like drooling morons. A little off-putting, but okay. We caught sight of a waitress, who upon seeing us, turned right around and disappeared into the kitchen. Then we tried to get the bartender's attention, but he seemed to be working hard to ignore us. Every time he glanced over and made eye contact, he quickly turned and started chatting with a bar patron. I walked to the end of the bar where he was, and, just like that, he hurried past me to the opposite end of the bar. Okay, maybe they order drinks differently at bars in Old Forge, PA.

We stood for a good 30 minutes before I broke protocol and brazenly walked past the sign into the dining area. I excused myself and asked a couple sitting there if they'd seen a waitress. The woman said "Oh yeah, she's around somewhere." After confirming that yes, we were in the right restaurant, and that they were in fact open and serving food, I asked if it took them long to be seated. "No, but we come here all the time." The man said, "If they don't know you, they make you wait, but once they know you, they take good care of you" I thanked them, and we left, as we did, the bar patrons and bartender followed us with their eyes, like they were waiting till the coast was clear. Fine. Whatever. Salerno's will never get our business. and we made sure that the hundreds of attendees at the convention didn't either.

Gave up and returned to Scranton; we ate at the Glider Diner, which I highly recommend you do too.

I will NEVER return to...

Quaint old Tavern restaurant unchanged for decades, but that's the charm. You're coming here for the food. A lot of the pizza places in Old Forge have lost their "pizzazz "... many times because the owners died and didn't pass on the exact recipies. Not Salernos. Still moderately priced with great food and fast service. Since old Mary Gingerelli passed and took her perfect recipe for sofrito with her, this has become the next best in town. They also have one of the best square red pizzas around. Had mine half sausage. If you eat in house , they will provide you with hot seeds, oregano, and garlic powder. Besides the basic salt and pepper. They have several beers on tap and an array of basic wines. TV in the bar for its patrons. Got a tray of red half sausage and a dinner of sofrito and drinks for 43. And change. This the average person can afford. But , please don't forget to tip yor hard...

Ordered 1 tray of Red, 1 Tray of Red W/ Sausage and Onions and 1 Tray of Double Stuff White and an order (8) wings. The Red (both)had a nice tasting sauce, however it was a bit disappointing to have, what appears to be, American. Cheese on it, the Base crust was a bit undercooked as well. All and All it was just “Ok”. The White was ok, not much of a flavor though. It seems American cheese is used in this as well, some Rosemary seasoning may have helped accentuate the flavor, but it’s the type of cheese that counts for the flavor in conjunction with seasoning. The Wings had literally no sauce on them and did not present very well, looked all dried out with minimal “meat on the bone”. I haven’t been here in about a year. In the past, I’ve always enjoyed the food at this establishment mostly “dining in”, got take out today, maybe just...