Fiona and Steven Trachtenberg, who opened the unique venue just two years ago, said they are blown away by the national recognition.
Patch Staff
|Updated Mon, Mar 3, 2025 at 3:04 pm ET
POINT PLEASANT, PA — A Bucks County restaurant known for its unique vegetarian fare has been named one of the top 44 places to eat in the nation.
The food writers from USA Today have picked Dharma Bums in Point Pleasant as one of the places they would "return to again and again" and would recommend it to friends and family.
Fiona and Steven Trachtenberg, who opened the unique venue just two years ago, said they are "blown away" by the national recognition.
“We are elated,” said Fiona. “As newcomers to the restaurant industry we’re very, very excited and humbled.”
Steven added, “It’s fantastic to be recognized doing something different and off the beaten path. It’s really important to look at Dharma Bums as not just a restaurant, not just a bar. We are a music venue. We are a workshop. And we are a community event space. And to be able to wear that many hats and provide that to the community and to be recognized for the restaurant is great.”
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Located inside a restored stone building that once housed “Apple Jack” bar, the Trachtenbergs describe their restaurant as “a cozy space with a nod to the past - a simpler time when people gathered to listen to live music, eat good food, and enjoy a drink.”
The restaurant is named after their favorite book in which author Jack Kerouac (aka Ray Smith) explores the duality of his life and ideals, examining the relationship of the outdoors, mountaineering, hiking and, of course, hitchhiking through the west coast with his "city life" of jazz clubs, poetry readings, and drunken parties.
The owners describe the food at Dharma Bums as vegetarian-inspired food “with a wink and a nod” to Asian culture. “That’s something you’ll find throughout Dharma Bums, as a whole,” said Steven. “We have, for example, a Kimchi Mac n Cheese Ball on a bed of tomato chutney. And instead of French fries, we do a form of Thai Street fries.”
Two of their most popular dishes are its Hand Cut Thai Street Fries and its Wild Mushroom Potpie - a mixture of oyster and shiitake mushrooms “that’s absolutely amazing,” said Steven.
“People come for the fries and stay for the vibes,” adds Fiona.
“We also have hot honey cauliflower and waffles with garlic butter on the menu," adds Steven. "It’s brilliant. It’s sweet and savory. It’s amazing.”
Its drink menu is also inspired by Asian culture, including a Thai Basil Margarita, a Toki Smash made with Japanese whiskey, and an Asian Mule made with vodka, bluestem botanicals, chamomile syrup, lime, and ginger beer.
They also serve a variety of mocktails, including Pineapple Express, Cucumber Mule and Rosemary Cooler, and they spotlight a nonprofit each month for its "Cocktail For A Cause" fundraiser. This month, they will be donating a portion of its cocktail proceeds to the Bucks County Audubon Society at Honey Hollow.
Dharma Bums in Point Pleasant. (Contributed)
Dharma Bums rests on the bank of the Delaware River Canal, just a short walk from the Tohickon Creek Valley and High Rocks Vista. For more than 50 years, the building was home to Apple Jack, a notorious rough-and-tumble bar where many had their first underage drink, said Steven. It then flipped over to The Local for a few years, and then it remained dormant for close to six years.
After acquiring the building, the couple undertook a significant renovation, taking great pains not to alter too much of the community landmark.
“It was like we gave the building a big hug,” said Fiona of their renovation work. “We ensured that the building was safe. We did some structural things. We tried to keep the integrity of the building, which is very much loved. We opened up the second floor. We added a mid-century modern lounge and we restored the original bar area,” said Fiona.
The 19th-century building has a deep and storied past, its hallowed halls ringing of rebellion and resistance. Over the years, it has been a gathering place for the Black Cat Motorcycle Club and the watering hole for revolutionary patron Abbie Hoffman, whose famed Dump the Pump meetings took place within the very walls.
“We embraced the history and the lineage of the building, bringing it to what it is now,” added Steve.
Said Fiona, "The building has always had an underdog countercultural vibe. It’s got a lot of history with the Dump the Pump movement. Lots of poets and artists have been known to frequent the place. We see that continuing here where we have tried to create that community center feeling with play and creativity in everyday life.”
Dharma Bums is located at 4935 River Road, New Hope 18938. For information, call 215-66-dbums (32867) or email [email protected]
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