As Ralph indicated, I live within walking distance of Dickinson’s Biddle Field.
I’m going to make three posts here. The first will be dedicated to reviews of places to stay and places to eat in Carlisle. The second will be dedicated to RPI’s upcoming football game at Dickinson. And the third will be a travel advisory for my fellow RPI fans who might be thinking about coming to Troy for a game or other event and looking for a place to stay overnight.
I have never had occasion to stay in a hotel in Carlisle. I once went to a business meeting at what is now the Comfort Suites at 10 S. Hanover St, which is right in the center of town. Seemed like a nice place, from what I could see in the area of the meeting rooms, but I can’t speak to the quality of the accommodations.
I know there is a Sleep Inn very close to Exit 47 off I-81, so there’s a convenience factor in favor of that hotel. Again, I’ve never stayed there.
I can report a little more extensively about restaurants, although because my wife has to use a walker, we are limited to restaurants that have their own parking lots, which means we haven’t eaten at any of the restaurants near the center of town.
Momma Spriggs should be pretty close to the Army War College. We’ve eaten there a number of times and I’ve always thought it was a really nice place. They have both indoor at outdoor eating, and I’ve always enjoyed the food, but for some reason there have been times when the food hasn’t agreed with my wife. My wife says she had one of the best burgers she’s ever had at Momma Spriggs, and the chicken pot pie was pretty good, but any other time she’s eaten there, she’s ended up getting diarrhea. She doesn’t know why – the food tasted perfectly OK to her, but she did have those problems, so we haven’t been back there for the last month or so. I ate the same entrees she did and had no problems at all - I’d still be inclined to recommend that restaurant, but my wife would be less so.
There are a Cracker Barrel and a Chili’s quite close to the Sleep Inn. If you go a little way north from the Sleep Inn and turn left at the light by the Chick-Fil-A, there’s a big shopping center with a Chinese buffet and an Applebee’s (in addition, of course, to the Chick-Fil-A). The Applebee’s is way down in the corner of the shopping center, not visible from the entrance, but if you keep going past the Walmart and the Staples, eventually you’ll see it.
As far as diners go, we haven’t eaten at the Middlesex Diner. We have eaten at the Carlisle Diner, which is just a bit west of Biddle Field, and we thought it was OK, but nothing special. We’ve also eaten at the Walnut Bottom Diner, which has been rated the best diner in the Carlisle area, but it’s not as close to the field or the Sleep Inn as some of the other restaurants.
Also close to Biddle Field are the Pizza Grille, two Italian restaurants named Miseno’s, and the Rustic Tavern. The Pizza Grille, like the Carlisle Diner, is OK, but nothing special. Miseno’s II is on High St. a little way east of Biddle Field, while Miseno’s is about 3/4 mile west on Ritner Highway, a little way past the Pizza Grille. Miseno’s II has a larger dining area, while Miseno’s is basically a takeout pizzeria with a few tables, so you can eat there. My wife and I generally get takeout from Miseno’s, which is visible through the back door of our house, and we think it’s very good. We haven’t eaten at Miseno’s II, but people seem to think well of it. We like the Rustic Tavern a lot. The crabcakes are as good as any I’ve had anywhere. To get there, you go west on High St., turn right at the light at Orange St., go under the railroad overpass and make an immediate left, and the Rustic Tavern is a short distance ahead on the right.
And if you’re interested in ice cream, Leo’s, a short distance west of Biddle Field, has lots of flavors of really good ice cream.
