3J’s, a Java Journey jaunt (Lebanon Valley Food Critics)

Editor’s Note: Last year, Michael and Nicole Borrell began reviewing Lebanon Valley’s restaurants and eating attractions as the Lebanon Valley Food Critics. Since then, the couple has aimed to offer unbiased reviews of the eating and drinking establishments the Lebanon Valley has to offer. LebTown is pleased to be partnering with LVFC to share these reviews with our readers. Bon appétit!

I’ve been looking forward to it all year, the Visit Lebanon Valley Java Journey. Starting in mid-January, several local coffee shops develop different coffee drinks to try. You pick up a passport and mug at one of them for a small fee, and when you fill up the passport you’re entered into a drawing for a basket of goodies from the cafes.

We found out about this last year and found a lot of great stops and some that we didn’t even know existed. You’ll see our reviews of all our drinks we’ve had in a future post, but for now we wanted to feature a place we haven’t reviewed yet, 3J’s Coffee.

Located in the Palmyra Shopping Centre off Rt. 422 in… you guessed it… Palmyra, 3J’s is a coffee shop serving coffee, tea, smoothies along with breakfast and lunch options. They offer a counter to order items to go, along with booth, table, and bar seating.

We first came to 3J’s for breakfast for last year’s Java Journey, and have been back several times since. I have been craving the dish I got today for weeks, but wanted to wait until we could enjoy our secret drink with it!

My breakfast consisted of two monthly specials – Caramel Coffee Cake Latte and Crab & Bacon Benedict. The Caramel Coffee Cake Latte was a combo of Vanilla, Cinnamon, and Caramel. It was mixed well and had a good blend of espresso and syrups. It wasn’t too sweet or too bitter. This drink was available to everyone, not just passport holders.

The Crab & Bacon Benedict is not your ordinary Benedict. Served on a ciabatta roll, a crab cake sits atop with an egg, smothered with hollandaise sauce and tons of crumbled bacon. What I like most about this Benedict is the crabcake. It’s a good blend of crab, not a ton of filler, and just the right amount of seasoning. The ciabatta roll is huge and I ended up giving part of it to our littlest critic who gobbled up what she could.

Today we had our two part-time critics with us, and they enjoyed their meals as well. My mom got avocado toast, along with the Secret Drink, the Winter Comfort Latte. The Winter Comfort Latte consisted of maple and cinnamon. It was well-liked by both critics that got it. The avocado toast was thick wheat toast, topped with smashed avocado, salsa, fried eggs, and green onion. There was plenty of avocado and salsa. The only comment was that it could have been warmer, the eggs were room temperature by the time it made its way to our table.

The other meal two of us chose today was the breakfast burrito. Scrambled eggs, onion, green pepper, avocado, cheddar cheese, salsa, sour cream and hot sauce are wrapped up in a flour tortilla which was grilled. It was well put together, it didn’t fall apart when you bit into it. The flavors of the ingredients really stood out, and the salsa had a little kick to it. Usually when you think of a breakfast burrito, you expect meat in it, but this burrito didn’t need it. They did add some extra hot sauce because who doesn’t like a little extra spice?

The other drink that was ordered was a peppermint hot chocolate. My dad is not a coffee drinker, and I was kind of surprised he didn’t go with his normal chai latte. He really enjoyed his hot chocolate and said it had a good peppermint flavor to it. As he has been to 3J’s on our recommendation before, he’ll consider ordering the burrito and hot chocolate again.

Our take: whether it’s their signature menu items like the crab and bacon benedict, 3 meat omelet, or the oversized fluffy pancake, you won’t walk away hungry. The staff is pleasant and welcoming. The drinks are delicious and not overly sweet, definitely try one of their seasonal or monthly specials if you get the chance. You pay when you order at the table rather than waiting at the end of the meal, which is a little different.

We give this place ????

If you have a restaurant you would like us to visit or review, whether a place you like or are nervous to try, please message us on Facebook or email lvfoodcritics@outlook.com and let us know. We thank everyone for the recommendations and the kind words we have received.