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Revamped Landing opens in Hanover

Landing brings fine dining, laid-back atmosphere into one restaurant

Created: 02/01/2010 09:56:09 AM EST

Rita and Marion Spencer of Penn Township peruse the menu at The Landing Sunday afternoon. The Hanover restaurant re-opened in January under new management. (Evening Sun - Doug Bauman)

Eleven years ago, Chris and Allison Staub met while working at his parents' restaurant, The Landing, in Hanover.

He worked in the kitchen; she was a server. Three weeks after meeting, they went on their first date.

The rest is history.

Recently, the Staubs returned to the restaurant where they met, this time as the new owners.

Chris Staub's parents, John and Say Staub, sold it about two years ago to Michael Bennett, who closed it last year, citing a poor economy.

In January, Chris and Allison Staub re-opened the place after performing an interior makeover.

Having never been in the old restaurant, I don't have anything to compare with the new designs, but Allison Staub said they did some minor renovations, such as changing some of the art work on the walls and breaking up the all-wood décor.

The goal is to provide fine dining with a friendly feel.

Come in jeans after work, she said. Or come on a romantic date. It's all the same to the new owners. They just want people to come check out the new food and feel of the restaurant.

The menu offers appetizers, soups, salads and sandwiches for lunch, as well as lunch combinations.

I opted for the cream of lump crab soup and a chicken salad sandwich, for $10.95.

Many crab soups tout the "real" crab inside, but at The Landing, they didn't need to. The meat was visible from the first bite to the last, when I had run out of soup and just had chunks of crab meat. This soup took over the No. 1 best crab soup in the area spot in my book.

Not surprisingly, the soup is also one of Allison Staub's favorite items on the menu.

The chicken salad sandwich was a little dry, and could use some mayonnaise. But it came on a Kaiser roll, with chips, a pickle and coleslaw. And I was stuffed.

Most lunch combinations offer only a half sandwich with a soup, and having a whole sandwich was a nice change.

My dining partner had a Rueben, and said it was delectable.

The restaurant is split into a bar and a dining room area, which technically closes at 9 p.m. But Allison Staub said they would never turn someone away.

The bar offers food after the dining room closes, and I know we'll definitely be back.

Ticket to Lunch is a weekly column featuring local restaurants' meals available during the lunch hour. Reach Katharine Harmon at kharmon@eveningsun.com.