Restaurants in Lansdale

Following Baja Fresh’s ethos set in 1990 as a healthy take on fast food, never-frozen meats sizzle atop the grill before they're tucked into made-to-order tacos and burritos. Grilled corn and flour tortillas embrace fish, carnitas, chicken, and steak, and smoky queso fundido sidles onto nachos and into burritos. Between bites, chips scoop up salsa made from farm-fresh produce rather than poured out of a can or fabricated in a space-age replicator. A complimentary salsa bar ensures no mouthful goes unspiced, and guests can scoop up their favorites as they await their dine-in, takeout, or catering orders.

If people are what they eat and generally eat three meals a day, then indulging at Brasserie 73 for lunch and dinner can help you achieve up to 66.66% of the je ne sais quoi you need to land the starring role in Amelie: Part Deux. Start the meal of your choice with some succulent slurps of lobster-tomato bisque topped with a flaky puff pastry ($10), or apply the vibrant crimson hues of a roasted beet salad ($7 dinner, $10 lunch) to your lips, its earthy flavors balanced with creamy, crumbled chevre. For dinner's first course, indulge in a serving of pan-seared foie gras atop sweet dried-apricot risotto and drizzled with white truffled honey ($18) or cinnamon-dusted scallops with pickled jalapeños ($16). Beef buffs, on the other hand, can delight in the grilled NY strip steak served with caramelized cauliflower, onion rings, and smoked tomato coulis ($33) while herbivores happily help themselves to plates of garden vegetable pasta ($15).

Buffet islands dot the landscape of the Franconia Heritage Restaurant dining room, populated by platters of veggies and seasoned meats that provide limitless mixing and matching. Throughout the week, chefs whip up a full menu of à la carte options, replenishing buffets with freshly made Italian entrees along with fish dishes and crisp salads. Come Friday and Saturday evening, kitchen crews shift focus to an upper-crust menu of snow-crab legs, steamed clams, and prime rib.

Cozy booths wrap around an archipelago of buffet islands in the spacious main dining room, while subdued lighting and cranberry tablecloths distinguish an adjacent second space. HDTVs and WiFi captivate countertop diners, providing thrilling images of sportsmen arguing with referees and shouting at their own shoes.

Owner and culinary mastermind of French Quarter Bistro, Mark Van Horn’s prerequisites for a good meal are simple: authenticity, home cooking, and a liberal dash of soul. This dedication to comfort cooking has earned the French Quarter Bistro a host of dedicated regulars as well as the Philly Hot List's award for Best Soul Food in 2009, 2010, and 2011. In the bustling kitchen, chefs whip up creole and Cajun eats using unique ingredients such as house roasted peppers, alligator sausage, and fried pickles. Along with their flavorful dishes, French Quarter Bistro also serves up a variety of entertainment throughout the week, including open mic nights with local singers and poets tired of the wrestling portion of poetry slams.

Born and raised in northern Greece, Piazza Presto founder Chronis Sapalidis carries on a longstanding family tradition of restaurateuring in his open-kitchen bistro. Pizza, pasta, and sandwiches populate the lunch and dinner menus—and on Chronis’ specialties menu he betrays his Mediterranean origins and Philadelphian affinities. During the day the restaurant serves as a café and bakery, and patio welcome guests with open awnings whenever weather allows and no pteranodons darken the sky. A BYOB establishment, Piazza Presto secrets a wine cellar in a rich wooden cabinet, and will keep diners’ wines chilled for their next visit if requested.

Malucci's Brick Oven Pizza has three locations, and the chefs at each bake their namesake food to the proper melty, crispy state alongside other Italian dishes. They cover their specialty pizzas in toppings such as buffalo chicken cheesesteak, broccoli ranch, or taco: a loaded concoction of steak, blue cheese, cheddar, and hot sauce. Malucci's staff also toasts calzones and sandwiches such as a sub with sweet sausage, grilled broccoli rabe, and provolone. The cooks cover their chicken wings with hot honey, garlic, or Caribbean jerk sauces, ensuring that their wings are never as bland as a report on the optimal width of parking lot paint lines.