Restaurants in Harrisburg

A simple, homey sign and no-frills brick façade welcome visitors to the laid-back environs of The Hampstead Diner, where laminated menus elicit stomach rumbles with a seemingly endless supply of homemade eats. At breakfast, peppers, potatoes, onions, and eggs sink into skillets and scrambles, and plates of belgian waffles crowned with cutlets of fried chicken forge a delicious truce betwixt the worlds of sweet and savory. Diners perched upon wooden park benches happily chow down on morning or midday meals, which include Reuben sandwiches, chili-topped dogs, and freshly ground, hand-pattied burgers.

The chefs at Ciabatta stay up through the night, hand shaping and scoring dozens of loaves of airy bread until each perfectly resembles its namesake, which means slipper in Italian. Inside the flaky crust, the restaurant's sandwich smiths bury caches of oven-roasted turkey or parmesan pesto ham. They also toss the flavors of their Italian heritage into fresh salads and personal-sized pizzas. To complement their Italian eats, the staff at Ciabatta invites their guests to bring along their favorite wine, beer, or fizzy lifting drink at no corkage fee.