A few weeks ago, I was in State College for the 4th stop on my tailgating tour. While in Happy Valley, I had some amazing ice cream and witnessed first hand the impressive tailgating skills that PSU fans have. There was one more place that I visited while in State College.

This was my first visit to State College, and I must say I was impressed. It is a gorgeous little college town. It reminded me a lot of Chapel Hill, NC, where the University of North Carolina is. Every college town has a main street where the majority of restaurants and shops are located. PSU was no different. College Ave is where you will find the best food and shopping in State College. On one side of the street was campus with its beautiful trees and buildings, while the other side was lined with more restaurants than I had time or the stomach capacity to visit. I will have to make a return visit to investigate them further. I did have time to dine at one place.

The Diner is a Penn State tradition and has been feeding college kids since 1929. It is open 24 hours and serves sandwiches, soups, burgers, and of course breakfast. I decided to go with breakfast.

It was a tough decision, but the Nittany Lion won out. This consisted of 2 eggs, breakfast meat and homefries. I went with bacon and scrambled eggs. There is one more item that the Nittany Lion includes…

The Grilled Sticky! The Diner is famous for their grilled stickies and after trying them I can see why. Looks like a regular sticky bun right? Well that is where you are wrong. Looks can be deceiving. Don’t let them fool you.

What separated the grilled sticky from imitators is in the name. It is grilled. The Diner begins with their delicious home made sticky buns. The sticky is then cut into strips, buttered, and grilled for a few minutes. This simple step of grilling elevates the sticky bun to new heights. It added a crisp crunch to the outside of the bun. This might not sound like much, but when you break off a piece of the bun with your fork and hear that crispy crunch you can tell the difference. The taste of the bun is changed as well. Having a warm toast like feel to the outside of the bun was something new and different. Needless to say, once I started eating this sticky bun, it didn’t last long.

Can’t make if to State College, or are you a PSU alum that has moved away? No worries. You can order grilled stickies from this website and they can be mailed directly to your door. After trying the grilled sticky for myself, I now understand why there is a mail order business. If I had been accustomed to eating them during my college years, I would definitely need to try them again. I have only tried them once and I am thinking about ordering a box.

This past weekend was my bye week on the tailgating tour. Don’t worry, I still have a tailgate to show you this week. On Wednesday, I have a bonus tailgate that I will bring you. Curious to know where it is? Stop bye Wednesday to find out.