Ski In, Pig Out By Christine H. O'Toole Special to The Washington Post Wednesday, February 9, 2000

The Washington Post

It's the end of another glorious ski day, and time to eat. Lots.

In the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania, it's peak season for snow sports, and a handful of non-resort restaurants offer carbo-loading and thawing possibilities.

With 100 inches of snow a year, the western Pennsylvania mountain ridges offer reliable skiing, snow tubing and snowboarding. Three resorts, Seven Springs (Pennsylvania's largest), Hidden Valley and Laurel Mountain, are clustered four hours west of the Beltway. Leave the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Somerset or Donegal, and you're within 10 miles of any of the three. Armed with an ATM card, you can proceed to cover all your needs for the day once you park: rentals, lessons and food, food, food.

And while even snack-bar nachos and soggy fries can taste pretty good after a few hours on the slopes, our family and friends have found other spots among the hills and dales that offer more memorable fare.

Right on the slopes at Seven Springs, the well-known Helen's offers a sparkling evening view from the chalet that belonged to the resort's founders, the Dupres. With Chateaubriand-for-two-style entrees and a piano lounge, Helen's is most definitely not for the likes of me – that is, people who never plan ahead. Reservations are a must (Saturday dinners are already booked into March) and lunch is served only on weekends. Walking up to the big roughhewn door in your parka at 5:30 and looking hungry won't help at all. Believe me.

Thus cast out into the snow, I cast about for other nearby possibilities. Here are a few, strung roughly west and north of the lifts, from homestyle to haute cuisine.

The teen and pre-teen favorite: definitely the Country Pie Shoppe. We first discovered the Shoppe's sugary glories during a summer trip, when an accident closed the highway and forced us onto two-lane Route 31. We stopped for lunch – there are four booths, sandwiches and a grill – but were immediately drawn to the bakery case. We kept pointing at the glass – one of these, two of these, and what's this? We finally emerged with a delicious variety of all-natural lard and icing confections: cream puffs, individual pumpkin pies, eclairs, fruit rolls, fist-size apple dumplings. Washed down with 16 ounces of soda – that's my sons' idea of good eating. We devoured everything we bought in the car within the next five miles.

More recent, we've become connoisseurs of the bakery's side room, the Old General Store, with its near-historic (read baby boomer) penny candies: candy buttons, marshmallow candy cones, Nik-L-Nips, licorice whips, jujubes, gobstoppers and Satellite Wafers, those goofy ellipses that taste like Communion hosts filled with glucose pellets. You can eat in or (attempt to) carry out.

Country Pie Shoppe, Route 31 East, Donegal, one mile east of turnpike interchange. Open daily, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. 724-593-7105.

Down Route 31 a mile, look for T.J.'s on the other side of the road, a fill-er-up spot that's casual, big and no-nonsense: big portions, no booze.

"What's your specialty?" I asked the waitress.

"Roast turkey," she answered immediately. "That's what everybody orders."

Our friend Larry estimates the place roasts 20 Butterballs each Saturday to feed the hungry hordes that descend. "I've taken nieces and nephews in there during their teenage, empty-Uncle-Larry's-refrigerator days and they inhaled the menu," he says. Luckily for Larry, a full platter's only $6.25. There's a salad bar on weekends, and big breakfasts starting at 7 a.m.

T.J.'s, Route 31, two miles east of the Donegal turnpike interchange. Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, till 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 724-593-6407.

Venturing a dozen miles east rewards you with Nino's in Laurelville. Just past Acme, which must be Wile E. Coyote's home town, Laurelville is the crossroads of state routes 31 and 982. Nino's is the big, dark brown house, a former speakeasy that's been serving dinners for decades. It features pasta, meats and seafood, stained-glass windows and a view of pine trees and snow – but not too many skiers, admits Eva the waitress.

My hunch is that's because Nino's is nestled at the bottom of a two-mile hill so steep it has its own runaway truck ramp (a sand hill for trucks that lose their brakes). The blaze orange signs say DANGER all the way down. But Tony Bennett's on the sound system, the soups are thick and hot, and my dessert of chocolate espresso truffle with chocolate mousse was like eating my own pound of fudge. The cozy bar, with a separate saloon menu, offers deejays or singers every other weekend. If the roads are dry, it's worth a try.

Nino's, Route 31, Laurelville, about six miles west of Donegal. Open for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. 724-547-2900.

If you're looking for lots of choices in a relatively small area, go north to Ligonier, a half-hour drive on Route 711. It's a charming village, with streets radiating from the Diamond, a tiny bandstand in the center of town.

There's ethnic variety within walking distance: Chinese (eat-in and takeout) at First Wok, upscale Italian at Baldonieri's, Mexican at Casa Chapala, comfort food at Erin's and more. We chose the Ligonier Tavern for Victorian painted-lady ambiance and massive menu, from salads and sandwiches to steaks. There's a children's menu to boot. The Christmas lights outside look just right against the snow brushing the windows of a closed-up front porch.

First Wok ( 321 W. Main St.; open 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily, Sundays 4 to 9:30 p.m.; 724-238-4378); Baldonieri's (Springer Road; open Thursday through Saturdays 4 to 10 p.m.; 724-238-3636); Erin's (111 N. Fairfield St.; open 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, closes Tuesdays at 3 p.m., Sundays 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; 724-238-0422); Casa Chapala (122 N. Market St.; open 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily , till 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 8:30 p.m. Sundays; 724-238-7399); Ligonier Tavern (137 W. Main St.; 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, till 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and dinner only till 8 p.m. Sundays; 724-238-4831).

If a cozy, isolated lodge in the snow is what you have in mind, try Stahlstown's Foggy Mountain Lodge – if you have four-wheel drive. Without it, my car skittered off the gravel drive in the storm and had to be yanked out by two chivalrous gents with a truck and a chain. I recovered my equanimity, and appetite, in front of the restaurant's broad fieldstone fireplace.

This ambitious inn, on 120 acres between Donegal and Ligonier, is in its second winter. Through February, the "Sweethearts Month" specials include lobster soup and baked brie en croute for two, chops, steaks, sea bass and chicken. My chicken and pasta was superb.

While the restaurant awaits its liquor license, the bar along one wall looks desolate. Meanwhile, Foggy Mountain reminds guests to bring their own wine or (for those of us once again not planning ahead) pours a complimentary glass.

Though a weeknight's crowd was me and one other couple, the meal was outstanding, and the service (including the tow) first-rate. I'm coming back here. In chains, if necessary.

Foggy Mountain Lodge, Old Distillery Road. Open 5 to 9 p.m., till 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; closed Mondays. Dinner and lodging packages available; www.foggymt.com, 724-593-5050.

A Just Bunch

From Melinda Garroway of University Park, Md., a fair-minded blend of city, town and country distinguishes her top three personal escapes – which she notes, economically, as follows:

1. At the Woods Resort (1-800-248-2222) in Hedgesville, W.Va., the Evergreen lodge rooms have individual outside entrances, fireplaces, large Jacuzzi tubs and skylights. Almost Heaven.

2. The Admiral Fell Inn (1-800-292-4667), on the waterfront of Baltimore's Fells Point, was once a vinegar factory and is now one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Historic Hotels of America. Furnished in the Colonial style.

3. The Hotel Strasburg (1-800-348-8327) is in the Shenandoah Valley and was originally built as a private hospital (which explains why the room doorways are so wide). Suites with whirlpools start at $109. All of its antique furnishings are for sale.

We'll publish readers' lists of their Top Three Escapes through Feb. 23, sending all whose lists we've used a thank-you copy of The Post's getaway guide, "Escape Plans." (The deadline's passed for new lists, sorry. Meanwhile, you can find "Escape Plans" at area bookstores and many Starbucks – or you can stay tuned till March, when we start offering Escapes readers new weekly ways to win it and other fab prizes.)

Philly Addendum

Thanks to alert readers who pointed out the omission in last week's Philadelphia story: Forget the long walk or $7 cab; you can get from 30th Street Station to Center City for free by flashing your Amtrak ticket stub as you board the subway upstairs.