Top of the 80's — Restaurant in Sugarloaf Township

Top of the 80's is a fine dining establishment located where Interstates 80 and 81 intersect in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. It offers spectacular views of the Conyngham Valley.

We arrived on a Saturday night at 7:00 and were promptly seated in front of a window overlooking the valley. Our server, Judy, was extremely pleasant and helpful.

We started with a refreshing Watermelon Wedge Salad, featuring fresh watermelon topped with mandarin oranges, smoked sea salt, arugula, red onion, feta cheese, and a balsamic reduction.

The French Onion Soup was also very tasty, with melted cheese cascading over the bowl. The soup was finely balanced with onions, broth, and croutons.

The chicken francaise entree was also pleasing, with a tender, egg battered chicken breast sauteed with lemon, white wine, and butter. My only complaint was that it was a bit salty and the sauce a bit thick however, it was very flavorful.

The Ken Pollock Special (named after the restaurant's president, consisted of an 8-ounce flat iron steak, crab cake, and a potato pancake. I ordered the steak medium rare, and it was grilled to perfection. The crab cake and potato pancake were also delicious, although both had too much batter.

We followed Judy's dessert recommendation of carrot cake and the New York cheesecake with chocolate syrup, and we were not disappointed. Both came with a spiced whipped cream.

Afterwards, we ordered an after dinner wine and proceeded to the patio for pictures. Enough can't be said about the view, which was ever-changing sunset views due to the scattered clouds morphing every minute. Once again, Judy was so helpful, coming out and taking our pictures with the valley and sunset as a romantic backdrop.

Our evening was wonderful and exquisite. The Top of the 80's has weekly specials as well as a standard line up of seafood and meat entrees. There is also a bar available inside near the patio entrance. If one is looking for a lovely date night, or celebrating a special occasion, Top of the...

I haven't yet eaten here, so I'm going to be fair and give 5 stars. I do think it borders on tacky for people to share a plate, but for a restaurant which calls itself a fine dining establishment to include a plate sharing surcharge on their menu is, in my opinion, the definition of tacky. Some restaurant owners need to have a stronger grasp on good customer service. I believe you'll lose more in the way people will view you and their likelihood of a return visit with this than the money you'll gain with the $4.00 surcharge. This has nothing to do with the $4.00 itself, a person who eats at a restaurant like this cares little about $4.00. This is about how petty it makes you look.

#FoodForThought

My reply to the restaurant's reply: I still feel the same about how customers will view the surcharge when they see it on the menu. With that said, I agree that an added side dish basically covers the surcharge. I think I'd consider adding that info to the surcharge wording if you choose to keep the surcharge on the menu. I also appreciate the polite reply. Some restaurant owners would respond with their ego and be at least minimally combatant. I'm a truck driver. If I spend the night in your area again, and arrive early enough, I'll be happy to visit your establishment. Thanks again for your...

Promptly greeted and sat. Yes this place is dated but that was part of the charm and the music matched which was strange in a good way. We quickly received water and bread before, Jody our server arrived to take our drink order. I like to engage servers to learn what they enjoy about the menu. I took Jody’s suggestion for my drink, one that haven’t had for years, a Long Island iced tea. My partner had 2 Tito’s and vodka. Jody recommended several items. We split the beet salad, delicious! Calamari was good. Chicken and crab piccata was very, very good, my partner only likes my piccata so this surprised me. I had an old time favorite that I haven’t had in years, calf’s liver with bacon, onions and mushroom gravy. For our sides we each had mashed potatoes and the most delicious coleslaw. Everything we ate was very, very good and the portions are ridiculously large. Way too large, something they need to correct especially with the price of food. We could not eat it all and could not take it with us because we were only passing through. Some people say the prices are high here but we spent $107 and left $20 tip. We will eat here again if we are in the area. However I am worried they will go broke if they don’t reduce their...