The Food Diaries: Char’s Tracy Mansion.

I’ll openly admit it: one of my biggest hesitations about moving back home was the food. More specifically, the lack thereof. I love food, and that’s not an exaggeration. I love the taste, the smell, and mostly, the experiences that come along with a great meal. And, well, I grew up here – it’s an area where people congregate at the local diner or a nearby Applebee’s for a night out. If they want something a little fancy, they drive a few extra miles to the nearest Red Lobster or Olive Garden. This area offers little else besides the stereotypical splattering of uninspired chain restaurants.

At least that’s how it was when I left in the fall of 2008, and I never really bothered to look beyond that or expect much else.

But, now that I actually live here, I’m realizing that over the past 8 years, central Pennsylvania has stepped up its culinary game ever so slightly, and there are some hidden gems nestled somewhere in between the TGI Fridays and Red Robins.

Enter: Char’s Tracy Mansion.

Harrisburg, PA has climbed its way into the level of cool that a city must reach to host a Restaurant Week. While it has not quite developed into the all-out crowd-drawing food fest that cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia offer to its residents, it’s a start.

I shot my mom a quick text, followed by a link to all of the restaurants that were participating in Restaurant Week, she chose the venue and we set a date for a Girls Night. I’ll admit, I had never heard of (or even noticed) Char’s Tracy Mansion, even though it’s the only restaurant in Harrisburg situated on the Susquehanna.

The mansion was built in 1913 as a Tudor Revival home for an industrialist. It was a sprawling 30-room home, equipped with hardwood floors, fireplaces, an iron cage elevator and a coal bin so large it was later used as a dining room. In 1951, it was converted into a osteopathic hospital, and later into mental health facility, before it was finally purchased in 2012 with the intent of turning it into a restaurant.

We were fortunate enough to score a seat on the front porch with our chairs angled forward towards the river. The sun was setting, the air was cool – it was a beautiful night!

The Restaurant Week menu was predetermined; each guest could choose from three options for each of the three courses offered. My mom chose the beef tenderloin roll, served with a side of horseradish cream, as her appetizer. I’m a sucker for a good egg roll, and this one was downright delicious. For her meal, she went with chicken and eggplant parmesan, served on a bed of fettuccini noodles with marinara sauce. The eggplant melted in your mouth and made me realize that I really don’t eat enough of it. Yum. For dessert, she chose the peanut butter pie, made with an Oreo crust and accompanied by a caramel sauce: decadence in its tastiest form.

I, being a creature of habit, chose the spicy shrimp taco as an appetizer. The spice of the seasonings was off-set by the avocado aioli, tomato, greens and pickled red onion – I truly could have eaten 100 more of them. I love tacos. (Heart-eyed emoji.) For my second course, I went with the grilled pork tenderloin, which I’ll award the winner of the night. It was coated in a dry coffee/cocoa rub, and served with Yukon mashed potatoes, braised cabbage, onion and green beans, all atop herbed pork jus. I honestly could have licked the plate clean. For dessert, I chose the apple-cinammon bread pudding drizzled in creme anglais, and enjoyed it very much after I picked out all of the raisins. Ick.