Can this Bellefonte eatery make you love Brussels sprouts? Here’s a look at Alloy Kitchen

A new restaurant has opened its doors at Titan Park in Bellefonte. Alloy Kitchen, a restaurant under the Titan Hollow umbrella and sister business to Mad McIntosh Cidery, opened in late February and now serves eager diners Wednesday through Sunday. Partners Lori and Jess Sabatino are at the helm, Lori serving as executive chef while Jess works behind the scenes.

“We’re getting really positive feedback on the food,” Jess said. “People really seem to enjoy it.”

While Lori had originally envisioned the menu as focusing on shareables and items that would compliment offerings from Mad McIntosh Cidery, she said the team adjusted the menu ahead of opening to include more entrees, salads and sandwiches, though all are still shareable if desired. The menu includes a mix of new takes on comfort foods and unique international favorites — and one of the clear crowd winners thus far has been the restaurant’s fried Brussels sprouts with hot honey.

“I never thought I would be slicing so many Brussels sprouts in my life,” Lori said, laughing. “I have people stop me and say, ‘My husband won’t eat vegetables, but he loves the fried Brussels sprouts. ... The French onion soup dumplings is one of our biggest sellers, as well as the reuben egg rolls on the menu. I also have a kimchi mac ’n cheese, which people find intimidating, and then after they eat it, they say it’s the best thing they’ve ever had.”

For Jess, the nachos (topped with pulled pork, black beans, rice, corn, cheese and lime cilantro sour cream) and schnitzel entree are personal favorites.

But it’s not just the menu that makes Alloy Kitchen stand out. The restaurant’s unique vibe is also something diners will be hard-pressed to find elsewhere in Centre County. While the restaurant’s name is a nod to the location’s prior life as a metal factory, Alloy Kitchen has also taken care to preserve the site’s history and industrial feel through its decor and architecture. Add in the array of beverages available from the cidery and Mad McIntosh owner Angela Eliasz’s hands-on approach, and Lori said they’ve come upon a winning combination.

“It’s collective,” she said. “The ambiance is very unique. When we walk into that space, it’s magical. You’re not going to go anywhere in this area and be in a space like that. I cook a lot with (Eliasz)’s cider and I think we pair well together. I think that brings people back. ... We try to touch tables. We already have regular customers coming in. I’m mostly in the kitchen, but (Eliasz)’s out front and she gets to talk a lot to our customers. I think that brings people back. They feel connected to us.”

Menu items that feature Mad McIntosh cider include the cider-marinated chicken sandwich (topped with an apple slaw and gouda). Lori also uses the cider to marinate the pulled pork that appears in the kimchi mac ’n cheese and nachos. She adds that she’s constantly playing around with new cider and food combinations and is considering making a cider cheese, as a new take on the classic beer-cheese-and-pretzel combination.

Looking to the future, the Sabatinos have plans to add an outdoor dining space with more than 100 seats. Titan Hollow also recently launched an event space under the name Titan Events. The two also mention potentially launching a product line featuring the restaurant’s sauces and soups. The outdoor dining space is expected to be ready by June and Titan Events is booking small events now, and the space offers capacity for 150-person, sit-down events.

But for all of Alloy Kitchen’s positive customer reviews and the restaurant’s upward trajectory toward further success, Lori credits the business’s kitchen staff for their accomplishments thus far. “Alloy wouldn’t be receiving the positive feedback without them. Our kitchen manager, Brent Moyer, has been doing an amazing job at leading our talented chefs. We feel truly blessed to have such a great team,” she said.

Learn more about Alloy Kitchen at titanhollow.com/alloy-kitchen.