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5 Favorite Appetizers of 2015

December is a time to look back and reflect on the year that was. Berks County Eats is taking a look back at the best of the best from more than 50 restaurants that we visited in 2015. This week: Our Top Five Favorite Appetizers. 

Appetizers are the perfect answer when you just can’t wait for dinner. Whether it’s a light salad, a fried snack or a hearty soup, a great app is the best way to start any night out. Here are our favorite appetizers we found in 2015:

Heirloom – Red Quinoa Salad

red-quinoa-salad-heirloom

When I visited Heirloom, I described the red quinoa salad as “Hands down, this was the best salad I have ever eaten.” That was eleven months ago, and I haven’t found anything that comes close. Every ingredient was fresh and worked well together, but it was the creamy chèvre that brought the whole thing. Read Full Blog

White Palm Tavern – Pretzellas

mozzarella sticks battered in pretzels on a plate with marinara suace

Mozzarella sticks are usually nothing special, but White Palm Tavern put a memorable twist on theirs, using crushed up pretzels as the breading. The salty snacks were a great way to start our meal. Read Full Blog

Tavern on Penn – Fried Cheese Curds

plate of fried cheese curds topped with red pepper sauce

Another cheesey favorite from this year were the fried cheese curds at West Lawn’s Tavern on Penn. Instead of marinara, the fried pieces were served with roasted red pepper sauce that was just about perfect. Read Full Blog

Plein Air – Beet Soup

chilled beet soup in fluted cup

Soup is one of my favorite starters, but chilled beet soup is one that I hadn’t tried before my visit to Plein Air this summer. With its bright purple color, the beet soup was one of the most vibrant looking dishes I tried all year, and it had the flavor to match. The dill helped sweeten the slight sourness of the beets in what was a creamy, smoothie-like dish. Read Full Blog

La Abuela – Flautas

la-abuela-flautas

One of Berks County’s newest restaurants delivered a memorable dish on my first visit. The flautas at La Abuela in West Reading were superb. The fried tacos were topped with homemade salsa, queso fresco, Pico de Gallo and sour cream. I could have eaten them as the main course and been fully satisfied. Read Full Blog

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bowl of pho with beef
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Review: Vietnamese Delights

hand painted sign with cherry blossoms and the words "Vietnamese Delights"

It had been nearly a year — nine months to be exact — since my last trip to the Fairgrounds Farmers Market.

I love browsing the aisles of vendors and dine-in restaurants, but I never make it there as often as I would like. The Farmers Market of Wyomissing is just so convenient that a trip to Muhlenberg takes extra planning.

That planning came together, and last Friday when we made an evening drive to Fairgrounds with one stand in mind: Vietnamese Delights.

The Fairgrounds Farmers Market already offered a diverse selection of foods before Vietnamese Delights opened in 2013. Italian, Greek, German and Pennsylvania Dutch were all well-represented, but Vietnamese Delights brought an Asian flair that was missing from the global market.

Located in the southwest corner of the market, Vietnamese Delights offers its own little seating area. This makes it one of the few stands that will actually deliver your meal to your table (you still order at the counter so it’s not quite a full-service restaurant).

green colored bubble tea with a purple straw on a wooden table

First to arrive were our two bubble teas: mango flavored for Julie and honeydew for me. More smoothie than tea, the drinks are creamy with (optional) tapioca balls dropped in the bottom.

orange colored bubble tea with a purple straw on a wooden table at Vietnamese Delights

As you would guess, the drinks are extremely refreshing. My honeydew had that light sweetness of the melon that makes it so enjoyable. The mango flavor was strong and very sweet to the point of being more like dessert.

plate of bamboo shoots, pepper slices and greens from Vietnamese Delights

Next to arrive at the table were the add-ins for Julie’s pho, the brothy Vietnamese noodle soup. While the noodles and beef were cooked in the broth, a plate of bean shoots, basil, lime and jalapeno pepper were served separately.

The pho followed shortly behind. The large bowl was filled with hearty slices of beef, chopped shallots, onions and a heaping mound of rice noodles.

bowl of beef pho with noodles and vegetables from Vietnamese Delights

Rice noodles are an acquired taste for a Dutchman raised on the thicker, heartier egg noodles. The advantage of thin strands is that they absorb flavors well, soaking up the broth in every bite. Julie managed to finish most of her soup, polishing off all of the meat and leaving just a little broth and some loose noodles at the bottom of the bowl.

My meal was the last to arrive being the most involved of the two. I ordered the broken rice platter: a plate of white rice with pork done three ways (steamed, grilled and shredded), a fried egg, a cucumber and lettuce salad, and a dish of garlic fish sauce.

plate with white rice topped with shredded pork, steamed pork, white rice, a fried egg and cucumber and tomato slices

The best part about the plate was the shredded pork. Even though it was served cold, it was easily the most enjoyable of the three. It just melts in your mouth with a sweet flavor that isn’t barbecue, but is close enough to be enjoyable.

The grilled and steamed pork were served atop the bed of white rice. They had a nice peppery flavor that I really enjoyed. The egg felt a little out of place — I’m used to it being fried with the rice, not on top — but once I opened it up and started eating with the rice and pork, it all came together nicely.

As much as I love garlic, I was not a fan of the fish sauce. I much preferred the chili sauce that was sitting on each of the tables.

bubbles at the bottom of a bubble tea

I was able to finish everything on plate (not counting the fish sauce), but what neither Julie nor I were able to finish were all of the tapioca balls in the bottom of our smoothies. With the consistency of gummies, they just got to be too much work after the bubble tea was gone. In hindsight, we would probably get it without tapioca next time.

All in all though, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. At $30 it was a little more expensive than we had originally planned, but a lot of that came down to the indulgence of our $5 bubble teas.

We were able to squeeze in a little shopping before closing time, but we really didn’t need much else at the market.

Vietnamese Delights was the real reason we went, and it was certainly worth the trip.

BCE Rating
Food: Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Good
Price: Reasonable

Vietnamese Delights
2934 N. 5th Street Hwy
Reading, PA 19605

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The Outside In – CLOSED

large potted plant in a dining room with square tables with four chairs each

Editor’s Note: The Outside Inn closed in August 2018. No restaurants have taken over the space.

As an avid hockey fan, I try to make as many Reading Royals games as I can every season. I love everything about the experience at Santander Arena, but lately I’ve been wanting something more out of the dining experience.

Food at the arena can get expensive. It’s hard for two people to eat for less than $25, and for that you’re getting a cardboard tray to take back to your seats, which are not quite big enough to accommodate both you and your food.

That’s the struggle we’ve gone through in nearly every game we have attended in recent years. Finally I decided it was time for something different.

We drove into town early, nearly an hour before the doors opened. We were the first car on the parking lot, picked out the perfect pull-through space and headed a block west of the arena for dinner at the Outside In.

On the second floor of the Santander Building, overlooking Penn Street on one side and the lobby on the other, the Outside In has carved a niche as a breakfast and lunch spot for those living and working downtown.

Normally, the restaurant only opens its doors between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, but it makes exceptions when there’s an event at the Arena (all additional hours can be found on the events tab of the Outside In’s website).

The dinner menu is very similar to the usual lunch menu with the addition of a handful of entrees like crab cakes, coconut breaded shrimp and the smokehouse chicken grill (chicken tenders topped with ham, barbecue sauce and Jack cheese).

salad bar with various dressings and toppings

Just like at lunch time, Outside In offers the “Souper Salad Bar,” both as an all-you-can eat dinner option or as an add-on to your sandwich or burger.

The salad bar includes two soup options, salad greens and all of the toppings, six different dressings and rolls. I grabbed a cup of beef and rice soup to go with my salad of lettuce, onions, green peppers and cucumbers.

cup of beef soup with a side salad topped with ranch dressing next to a dinner roll

The soup reminded me of a beef barley soup, but with rice as the grain. There were chunks of tomato and other vegetables in a broth that the rice helped to thicken. Between that and my salad, it definitely hit the spot and helped stave me over until my main course arrived.

It was a tough choice, but I decided on the taco burger my entree. It is exactly as it sounds: a hamburger topped with taco meat, lettuce, tomato, olive, onion, cheese (which I passed on) and southwestern sauce.

burger topped with cheese and taco meat with battered fries

The crumbles of taco meat barely stayed on the burger before I took a bite. Afterward, bits rolled all across my plate. It would have been a little less sloppy if the hamburger patty had been dusted in the taco seasoning instead of adding the taco meat, and it probably could have used a little more southwest sauce to really add some kick. Overall though, it was a very good burger.

All burgers are served with your choice of fries, but there really is only one option at the Outside In, and that’s the Brew City fries. These beer-battered delights are the perfect addition to any meal. I made it through all of mine and a handful of Julie’s as well (for the record, she offered them to me).

For her main dish, Julie went with the English pub ciabatta, one of four hot ciabattas on the menu. Her sandwich was built with just four ingredients: ciabatta bread, roast beef, onions and cheddar cheese sauce.

ciabatta sandwich with sliced beef and cheese sauce on a plate with battered fries and four pickle rounds

Julie was a little worried about ordering the sandwich, fearing that it would just be lunch meat on a roll. While the roast beef was essentially lunch meat, it was grilled and very tasty, especially when paired with the cheese sauce. The ciabatta roll made it even more enjoyable. In the end, she was very pleased with it.

In the end, we spent about as much at the Outside In as we would have inside the arena, but it felt better paying $25 for a sit-down meal with made-to-order food. The service was certainly better and we didn’t have to stand in line for 20 minutes just to place our order.

I’m sure that I have plenty more Royals games ahead of me this season. And while I know that I will continue to look for new places around the Arena, I’m sure that I will be back at the Outside In before too long.

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CLOSED – La Abuela Mexican Restaurant

exterior of a restaurant with a green neon sign in the window that reads "La Abuela"

Editor’s Note: La Abuela Mexican Restaurant quietly closed in early 2026. As of mid-February 2026, paper is up on the windows and it appears a new business may be coming soon but there has been no official announcement.

A few months ago, Julie and I were walking through West Reading during the annual Fall Fest on the Avenue. As we made our way down Penn Avenue, we paused outside La Abuela Mexican Restaurant, the newest restaurant in town at the time.

The owners were standing outside, handing out photocopied versions of the menu to everyone walking past. I was intrigued, but I always like to give a restaurant some time before making a visit.

Fast-forward to a Friday night in November, in need of a place for dinner that was close to home. I dug through our pile of menus and came across the La Abuela menu I picked up two months ago. My decision was made.

La Abuela is located in the old Van’s Cafe, next to Subway on the 400 block of Penn Avenue. It has a major advantage over many of the other restaurant’s along West Reading’s main thoroughfare: a row of customer parking spaces on a private lot behind the building.

wall mural of a map of Mexico with states in bright colors of organe, pink, green, yellow and purple

The most notable change in the building since the new restaurant took over the space is the floor-to-ceiling map of Mexico. Bright shades of orange, yellow, purple and green highlight the country and neighboring Guatemala, home to one of the restaurant’s co-owners.

In English, La Abuela translates to “Grandmother.” A picture of an elderly grandmother adorns the menu, which is filled with traditional Mexican dishes.

empty bottle of Jarritos mango next to a full red glass

It also includes 10 flavors of Jarritos, a brand of Mexican soda. I enjoy these sodas so much more than American soda because they are made with real cane sugar (and a lot of it. A two-serving bottle contains more than 50 grams).

But what I love more than the soda is the food. I couldn’t wait for our meal so I ordered an appetizer of flautas, fried tacos filled with chicken and topped with homemade salsa, queso fresco, Pico de Gallo and sour cream.

flautas topped with drizzles of sour cream with a side of green salsa

The crispy tortillas ate like an egg roll with more flavor coming out of every crunchy bite. The sour cream and queso fresco helped temper the spices in the salsa. I probably could have gone through a couple plates of flautas and left very happy.

Instead I finished off my share and waited for my tacos al pastor to arrive. Normally, I go for something heavier like enchiladas or fajitas, but marinated pork with pineapple, sautéed onions and cilantro sounded too good to miss.

three tacos al pastor with pork, pineapple and onions on a plate with a cup of refried beans, cup of guacamole, cup of chunky salsa and a cup of sauce

I was not disappointed. The meat was so tender and flavorful. With the sautéed onions, it ate more like fajitas than tacos.

Three different salsas accompanied the dish, including a cup of fresh-made guacamole. It was so smooth with the right mix of cilantro and mild heat. The other two salsas — one a Pico de Gallo, the other a tomatillo sauce — were good in their own right (the Pico was probably my favorite of the two), but the guacamole was perfect.

While I was enjoying my tacos, Julie was digging into her enchiladas verdes. Like me, she opted for something a little out of her comfort zone as she normally enjoys her enchiladas with a red sauce, but she greatly enjoyed this change of pace.

white plate with three enchiladas topped with verde sauce and cheese with a scoop of yellow rice, serving of refried beans and a small amount of greens with a tomato

The chicken was juicy and spicy, but not hot. The cheese was melted inside the tortillas as well as sprinkled on top.

Her favorite part of the meal might have been the refried beans, which she called the best she has ever eaten. I would tend to agree.

The beans were made using black beans so they looked more appealing than the brown beans we get at most restaurants. The black beans also gave it a richer flavor.

After we had our fill, Julie asked our waiter for a box for her last enchilada. Our waiter, one of the co-owners, tried to talk us into dessert, saying it was better than dinner. Unfortunately we had no room left in our stomachs to confirm his claims.

We had arrived early for dinner, about 5 p.m., and there were not many others in the restaurant with us. By the time we were finished an hour later, it had begun filling up for dinner so it took our waiter a little longer to take our check (about $35) and see us on our way.

After a delicious, and quite filling meal, I was glad that I found the menu earlier that day. La Abuela was definitely the right choice.

BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Service: Good
Ambiance: Good
Price: Reasonable

La Abuela
448 Penn Ave
West Reading, PA 19611

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Road Trip – Phamous Phil’s BBQ – CLOSED

sign for phamous phil's bbq & Grill

Editor’s Note: Phamous Phil’s is now closed.

Berks County Eats crosses the county line to bring you some of the best dining both near and far. This edition takes us 45 minutes east of Reading to Collegeville, PA.

I have talked often in this blog about my love of barbecue, especially the great options we have here in Berks County.

But the barbecue boom is alive and well outside our borders, too. In neighboring Montgomery County, Phamous Phil’s BBQ is doing southern-style barbecue a little differently, but as well as anyone else.

The restaurant gained some notoriety in 2013 when it appeared on the short-lived Food Network series Restaurant Divided.

On the show, co-owners Phil and Robin Schmidt had competing visions for the restaurant. Phil wanted a barbecue joint. His wife wanted a chophouse.

In case you were wondering who won, the sign above the door now says “Phamous Phil’s BBQ.”

The address says Collegeville, but Phil’s flagship restaurant is actually located in the village of Evansburg, just west of the state park of the same name.

Driving from Berks County, it’s best to keep your eyes peeled. If not for the large parking lot next to the building and the small sign out front, there’s not much to distinguish Phamous Phil’s from the houses along the road. The two-story building, complete with vinyl siding and blue shutters, blends in with the residences on Germantown Pike.

map with pushpins beneath a sign that reads "how far did you come for BBQ?"

Inside, Phil’s looks like — if there is a such a thing — a typical barbecue restaurant. The walls are adorned with things like old license plates, antlers and antique machinery. There’s also a push-pin map asking “How far did you come for great BBQ?”  with at least one tick in most of the 48 states plus some in Canada and Alaska.

Feeling very much in the barbecue spirit, I decided to order a glass of the fresh-brewed iced tea (for those who prefer something a little harder with your BBQ, Phamous Phil’s is a BYOB).

mason jars with sweet tea and lemonade

It came served in a mason jar with a second glass of simple syrup to sweeten it to your taste. As someone who has ripped through sugar packets to sweeten iced tea in the past, I gladly took advantage of this easy alternative (and probably used a little too much, if that’s even possible).

Like all great barbecue restaurants, Phamous Phil’s serves all of your favorite smoked meats like ribs, brisket and chicken, but the menu also includes some originals, like the Sloppy Phil, a sloppy Joe made with rib ends, and my choice, the smoked meatloaf.

meatloaf sandwich on a plate with ruffle chips

The meatloaf is crafted in-house with Phil’s own barbecue seasoning then smoked to give it the beautiful pink smoke rings around the outside.

Phamous Phil has three unique sauces available to pair with your meal. The Inphamous sauce is the original sweet, mild barbecue. The Jacked Up barbecue is a hotter version of the original. And the Phired Up hot sauce is exactly as it sounds.

three bottles of different sauces from Phamous Phil's BBQ

I poured some Jacked Up sauce on my meatloaf sandwich and dug in. The sweet-hot flavor of the sauce was perfect with the smoky meatloaf. The meat was very tender, almost melting in my mouth with every bite.

bowl with a potato and cheese casserole

While sandwiches are all served with a side of chips, I decided that I needed just a little more and ordered some potato casserole. The blend of chunky potatoes and just the right amount of cheese was a great addition to the meal.

chicken salad sandwich on a plate with ruffle fries

Another one of the unique menu items at Phamous Phil’s is the chicken salad sandwich. While you can find this at a lot of delis around the area, Phil’s puts a unique spin on it by using smoked chicken as the base.

The smoked chicken is mixed with mayo, celery and a spice blend to create a chicken salad sandwich unlike any other. Having the smoked chicken gave it an added flavor depth that Julie really enjoyed on her sandwich.

After having our fill of barbecue, we made the drive back to Berks County full, satisfied and only a little lighter in the wallet — our total bill came in under $25.

I always love good barbecue, no matter where I find it. And I found it at Phamous Phil’s.

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Review: Bertie’s Inn

wooden board on a wall with a painting of a historic country inn

Editor’s Note: Bertie’s Inn got new owners in 2021 and is now known as The New Bertie’s Inn.

I had a craving for a burger last week.

After a month of pizza, I was ready to move on to another comfort food favorite. I have had some great burgers during my Berks County Eats journey, but I’m always looking for something new.

So I did a quick Google search for “Best Burger in Berks County,” and found Berks County Living’s Best of Berks award page and their description of Bertie’s Inn.

The country inn is seemingly in the middle of nowhere, along Old Friedensburg Road in Exeter Township.

I had no idea what to expect when we arrived. I knew two things about Bertie’s Inn before we arrived. One, that the restaurant and bar hosts an annual belt sander race. And two, that I was going to get one of the award-winning burgers.

When we pulled up, we didn’t even know where to enter. Neither did the couple behind us who also had never been to Bertie’s before. After a miniature game of Let’s Make a Deal, we chose door number 1 which led us into the bar room.

The bar ran the length of the building with high-backed, wide-based wooden stools lining the counter. Two staff, one young lady and a jovial gentleman who invited us in and put our minds at ease.

He could sense that we were first timers by the lost looks on our faces as we asked about table seating. He pointed to the darkened room behind us and gladly flipped the light switch and led us in.

We pulled up a couple chairs at a corner table and took a look around the room. The room was very plain, sterile even. The walls were white with little color and a single piece of artwork, a painting of Bertie’s Inn on a piece of wood, hanging on the wall opposite us.

burger topped with pulled pork, peppers, tomato, onion and lettuce on a paper plate

Scouring the menu, I found the burger options. There was a build-your-own option with about a dozen toppings to choose from, but I wanted to try the burger that earned Bertie’s the Best in Berks title: the Motley Burger.

The name is unique, but you can find versions of the Motley at other restaurants around the county. The burger is topped with pork BBQ, your choice of cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and green pepper (which is actually the most surprising topping).

Our server informed us that all of Bertie’s burgers are made to order so we could expect a longer wait than at your larger restaurants.

When it arrived, it was easy to see that this was made in-house. the burger was plump and juicy, not flattened like a pre-processed patty. The toppings were also  cut fresh, including a whole slice of onion (my favorite) and two thick slices of green pepper.

I tried my hardest to take the two halves and turn them into a single burger, but it was a daunting task. Fully constructed, the burger stood at least six inches tall.

Making matters more difficult was the juiciness of the patty. The bottom bun became soggy as it soaked up all of the drippings from the patty. I tried turning the whole creation upside-down, but it was too late to salvage it.

As thick as it was, it was impossible to get a little bit of everything in a single bite, but I did get a good taste of everything on the bun.

The pulled pork was OK, but it probably couldn’t stand on its own as a sandwich. That said, it worked perfectly on a burger that was already flavorful. The green peppers were an interesting addition, though I would have enjoyed them better if they had been more finely chopped to better fit.

burger topped with pulled pork, blue cheese sauce, peppers, lettuce, tomato and onion

In addition to the Motley Burger, Bertie’s also offers a Motley Blue. The Motley Blue features all of the same ingredients as the original but with the addition of blue cheese dressing.

Julie was anxious to try the Motley Blue and taste how the blue cheese dressing mixed with the burger. She was afraid it would make the burger too wet. Of course the burger was already wet so it didn’t matter. The dressing actually gave more of a blue cheese flavor than cheese would have.

paper plate of fries

We also grabbed a large order of fries to share as a side. The fries were good, but nothing truly special. The thick-cut spuds were more like fast food fries than fresh-cut, but still enjoyable as a change of pace to the burgers.

When we were finished, we headed over to the bar to pay our tab. For our two burgers, an order of fries and two bottles of water (Bertie’s does not offer tap water), our total came to $28. You can find cheaper burgers in Berks, but I certainly did not feel cheated.

I’m not ready to call them the Best in Berks, but the burgers at Bertie’s Inn were certainly very enjoyable.

And now I’m craving another one.

BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Service: Good
Ambiance: Poor
Price: Reasonable

Bertie’s Inn
160 Old Friendensburg Rd
Reading, PA 19606

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Corropolese Bakery & Deli – CLOSED

exterior of Corropolese Bakery in Douglassville

Editor’s Note: The Douglassville location of Corropolese Bakery & Deli is now Slicer’s Deli. The change was made in January 2022. The location still carries Corropolese products but is no longer under the Corropolese umbrella. Corropolese still has three locations in Montgomery County: Audubon, Norristown and Royersford.

I would be willing to bet that most Berks Countians have never heard of tomato pie. Far fewer are likely to have tried it.

Tomato pie is most popular in Philadelphia and the western suburbs where Corropolese Bakery & Deli has spent more than 90 years perfecting this unique dish.

For Berks Countians, good tomato pie is closer than you may realize. Corropolese operates a location in the Douglassville Shopping Center, just off Routes 422 and 662.

The Douglassville location offers everything that the other three locations (Norristown, Lansdale and Limerick) offer: carved-to-order deli meats, fresh-baked pastries and cupcakes and loaves of specialty breads.

deli counter at Corropolese in Douglassville

But the big draw is their famed tomato pie, which has earned “Best of Montgomery County” accolades multiple times.

If we mapped it out on a family tree, tomato pie would be pizza’s distant cousin, the one that only shows up once or twice a year at family gatherings.

The similiarities are obvious. Tomato pie and pizza are both layered dishes that start with a crust, tomato sauce and cheese. But in a lot of ways, Corropolese’s tomato pie is the antithesis of pizza.

One key difference is how you eat it. Pizza is best when it’s fresh out of the oven. The hotter, the better. With a tomato pie, there’s nothing wrong with eating it warm, but it’s a dish best served cold.

sheets of tomato pie on a counter inside Corropolese

When we went to the counter to place our order, there was a quarter-sheet already boxed and waiting for pick-up. (Pies are served in two sizes: full sheets with 32 slices and quarter-sheets with eight). No heat lamp. No warm-up in the oven. We just took our box, headed out the door and ate it as it was.

Another similarity is the crust. The crust on the pie is thick, like a Sicilian pizza but with a softer texture. One of the comments I read on a review site described it as “spongey.” I would describe more like the consistency of a soft pretzel — crisp on the outside and a little doughy on the inside.

Corropolese offers several variations of the tomato pie, some that more closely resemble a pizza than others, but the original “red” has just two toppings: tomato sauce and Romano cheese.

box with a tomato pie cut into eight rectangels

On a traditional pizza, tomato sauce is more of an after thought, a thin layer that provides a little color and some flavor. On the tomato pie, the sauce is everything. It’s layered on thick, much thicker than a pizza, with a flavor that more closely resembles spaghetti sauce.

I can’t explain the physics behind it, but somehow the sauce manages to maintain a semi-solid form, never running off the crust even after several bites.

The last ingredient in Corropolese’s tomato pie is Parmesan cheese. There’s no shredded cheese, no fresh mozzarella, just a liberal sprinkling of grated Parmesan. It provides just a hint of flavor, and that’s all it needs to do. This is, after all, a tomato pie. And that’s the most important part.

signs highlighting "best of" wins for Corropolese Bakery

Corropolese is not a place to go if you’re looking for a sit-down meal. There are no seats inside so after we paid our $8.00 at the counter (the pie was only $4.50, but we had two sodas as well), we took the pie to the car to enjoy.

I suppose on a nicer day, you could set up a picnic blanket on the grassy median in front of the shopping center, but your best bet is to take your tomato pie home with you.

What you take home will be something that you won’t find anywhere else in Berks County. Tomato pie may never grow to become as popular as pizza, but everyone should try it at least once.

And Corropolese does it better than anyone.

BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: *Takeout Only
Price: Very Reasonable

Corropolese Bakery & Deli
180 Old Swede Rd
Douglassville, PA 19518

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Review: The Original Mama’s Pizza – Sinking Spring

order counter with chalkboard menu board at Mama's Pizza in Sinking Spring

There are a lot of Mama’s making pizzas around Berks County. There’s Mama’s Pizza and Grill, which operates three locations (Kenhorst, Temple and Rockland St.); Mamma’s Delight in Kutztown; Mama Maria’s in Boyertown; and the former Mamma B’s that recently closed along Pricetown Rd.

Then there is The Original Mama’s Pizza, which operates locations in Sinking Spring and Wyomissing. We wanted to visit the “original” Original Mama’s so we took the short drive down Rte. 724 to the Spring Towne Center.

Local pride is on full display as soon as you walk inside. In addition to the framed photos from the Philadelphia Phillies glory years, the wall bears certificates from the National Night Out and Spring Township’s Parks and Rec. The most impressive piece is the large “thank you” note in the corner, written on oversized paper in a young child’s handwriting.

Wall inside Mama's Pizza with a variety of sports plaques and signs

We placed our order at the counter and took a seat by the front window. I already knew Mama’s had a loyal following — it’s what helped earn them a Reading Eagle Reader’s Choice Award in 2014 — and it was clearly on display with the endless stream of customers coming through while we waited for our pizza to arrive. It made me even more excited for the slices that were on their way.

I never get just a single slice of pizza anymore. There is nothing less appetizing than dried-out pies sitting behind glass waiting to be thrown into the oven to reheat.

Yet I found myself looking through three shelves of slices at Mama’s, searching for one to call dinner.

One that looked (and sounded) more appetizing than the rest was the Quatro Gusti. Literally translated “four flavors,” it was built with sausage, ricotta and grilled onions, but I would hesitate to call them toppings.

Slice of four cheese stuffed pizza with a cup of marinara sauce from Mamas Pizza in Sinking Spring

Sure there were some onions and sausage pieces scattered on top, but most of the goodness was underneath the filmy layer of cheese. That’s where the ricotta was packed in, as well as hearty chunks of sausage and sweet onion slivers.

While the top layer looked tired, it was fresh as could be underneath with ingredients that blended perfectly together.

Slice of stuffed meat lovers pizza with a cup of marinara sauce from Mama's Pizza in Sinking Spring

Julie went with another stuffed pizza that was a daily special. It was described as spicy chicken balsamic with bacon, but the description was a little deceiving.

a fork lifting the top layer off a stuffed meat lovers pizza

We never tasted any balsamic, nor was it very spicy. There was plenty of chicken and more than enough bacon. That’s not to say it wasn’t good. It was. It was also very filling to the point where Julie couldn’t finish the braided crust.

Normally one slice of any pizza, regardless of how big, is not enough to fill me. That’s why I insisted on also getting a pair of pepperoni sticks.

Two pairs of long pepperoni sticks topped with garlic and parmesan with a cup of marinara sauce

In the end, we probably didn’t need them, but they were still very good. They looked like extra long breadsticks when they were sitting in the case, but were broken in half before being served with a side of marinara dipping sauce (a side of sauce was also served with both of our slices of pizza, but neither of those needed it).

The pepperoni sticks tasted as good as they looked, with a nice amount of garlic, Parmesan and herbs to go with the cheesy, meaty filling.

Along with our two bottles of iced tea, our bill came to just under $20.00. At first, this sounds like a lot, but not when you consider that neither one of us had any room left when we were finished. (At lunchtime you can get a real bargain with a stuffed slice and fountain soda for $5.25).

The name “The Original Mama’s Pizza” doesn’t mean that it was the first to use the name. It’s just a way to distinguish it from the rest.

But what really sets The Original Mama’s Pizza apart from the other Mama’s in Berks County is the pizza. That’s what keeps everyone coming back.

BCE Rating
Food: Good
Service: Good
Ambiance: Fair
Price: Very Reasonable

The Original Mama’s Pizza
2661 Shillington Rd
Sinking Spring, PA 19608

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Review: Romano’s Chicago Style Pizza & Grill

logo of Romano's Pizza & Grill in Reading, PA

Editor’s Note: The restaurant is now Romano’s Italian and Mexican Food. Chicago-style pizza is still on the menu.

Four years ago, I took my first trip to Chicago. It was a chance to enjoy another rich culinary scene, but more importantly, a chance to try some authentic deep dish pizza.

It’s a regional favorite that you just don’t find very often around here (we had an UNO Chicago Grill at one time, but that’s like saying we have authentic Tex-Mex food because we have a Moe’s Southwest Grill).

But a good deep dish pizza isn’t as hard to find as I thought. In fact, it’s the specialty of the house at Romano’s Chicago Style Pizza Grill.

Romano’s doesn’t have the best location in town. It sits on the corner of Lancaster Ave. and Grace St., south of the Bingaman St. Bridge, with no parking lot of its own. There are private parking lots all around it, but just a handful of spaces along the curb that are readily available for Romano’s customers.

On a rainy Tuesday night, that wasn’t a problem. We found a spot along Grace St. and rushed inside.

It was a slow night for Romano’s. Only the counter service area was lit up. The small dining room was shut down, the lights were out and the TV was turned off. But they fired everything back up for us so we had our own private dining area for the night.

Picture of the Brooklyn Bridge hangs on the wall of the dining area of Romano's in Reading

The decor is simple, just a couple of pictures hanging on the walls and a flat-screen in the corner. We made ourselves at home at one of the half-dozen tables in the room while we waited.

At the front counter, there were a few tired looking slices waiting to be claimed, but we ordered a whole pie so we knew ours would be fresh but would take time (25 minutes). To tie us over until it arrived, we ordered a few garlic knots to share.

aluminum foil pan with four garlic knots and a cup of marinara

The garlic knots were also sitting on the counter in a big bowl, but we were less concerned with the way they would heat up than the pizza. They turned out pretty well — maybe just a little chewy — but the flavor was good, especially with the marinara dipping sauce.

We ordered light on the appetizer because we knew we had a daunting meal ahead of us in the form of a 14″ Chicago deep dish pizza.

It was quite a sight to behold, a true pie with a tall crust, a thick layer of cheese, a light layer of tomato sauce and a dusting of Parmesan on top.

Deep dish Chicago-style pizza cut into six slices on a pizza tray

The pie was cut in six big slices. I grabbed my first slice and was surprised to find that I didn’t need a fork and knife. Instead, I was able to pick it up and eat it like any other pizza.

But this was not like any other pizza. The tomato sauce was sweeter; the cheese gooier. And the dusting of cheese on top added a nice saltiness to the dish and helped bring it all together.

When eating a more traditional pizza, I can usually force four slices if it’s good. This was great, but I could only manage two. It was too robust and filling to pack away any more. Julie struggled even more, making it through one-and-a-half slices before calling for a box.

We took what was left of our meal up to the front counter and had it packed up before moving on to the cash register to pay our bill. With two bottles of water thrown in, our bill was a little under $25, not a bad price considering the pizza could have comfortably fed four people.

Romano’s brought a fresh flavor to Reading when they opened for business in January. There are dozens of pizza places across the county, but only Romano’s is bringing the taste of Chicago to Berks County.

And it has certainly been a welcome addition.

BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Fair
Price: Reasonable

Romano’s Chicago Style Pizza
501 Lancaster Ave
Reading, PA 19611

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Blind Hartman’s Tavern – CLOSED

exterior of Blind Hartman's Tavern

Editors Note: Blind Hartman’s Tavern is now closed. The restaurant shut its doors during the pandemic. The property is now a funeral home.

For as long as I can remember, our Tuesday night tradition has been trivia night at the Works at Wyomissing.

Over the years, our team has undergone a lot of changes as old friends drift away and new ones arrive.

With all of the changes that our team has been going through, it seemed like the right time to change up our Tuesday night routine and try something new.

My friend Matt had suggested we check out Blind Hartman’s Tavern, where they host a Name That Tune trivia contest on Tuesday nights.

If someone were to choose the location today, I doubt that it would be approved for a restaurant. Blind Hartman’s sits on a busy stretch of Route 12, just north of the city line. When traffic lines up, it’s hard to make the left into the parking lot.

The lot only has about 20 spaces. Overflow parking is across the street. As hard as it is to turn left across Route 12 in a car, it’s even harder to walk across.

But Blind Hartman’s wasn’t built yesterday. A tavern was built on the spot in 1823 by a man named Joseph Hartman, who had been blinded in a childhood accident, giving the tavern its name.

I really didn’t know what to expect going in, but I certainly didn’t expect the mustached mannequin looking out over the bar from the second floor. I also didn’t expect such an expansive bar room, with a large center bar stocked with bottles of every spirit you could name.

The menu was also bigger than expected with nearly 20 different appetizers — double that if you count each of the 18 wing flavors. But what intrigued me was one of Blind Hartman’s “home-style favorites,” the chicken and gravy.

fried chicken and gravy from Blind Hartman's Tavern

As it turns out, the portions were just as big as everything else. My plate was filled with four breaded chicken breasts (and the obligatory vegetable medley so I could feel better about myself).

The chicken breasts had a nice, golden-brown breading and plenty of white gravy to go with every bite. It was heavy and hearty, so much so that half of it went home with me.

plate of fries from Blind Hartman's Tavern

Part of the reason for my full stomach was the side of fries, so many that they came on the side in a large bowl. The fries were my favorite part of the meal, thin and fresh-cut with just a little too much salt. My chicken went home with me because I wasn’t leaving any fries behind.

Julie went with a salad, but it was no less hearty than my own meal. The full title of her choice was the “bacon balsamic bleu spinach and steak salad.”

steak salad from Blind Hartman's Tavern

As the name suggests, her salad was topped with strips of steak and drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. The bleu cheese, served on the side, is expected with a steak salad. But the balsamic was a nice addition, giving it more of the feel of a salad.

Tuesday night is also “Frankenburger” night at the Tavern. For $7.99, you can build-your-own burger, starting with a half-pound patty. Matt seemed to enjoy his creation, but I’ll have to wait for another night, myself.

The fourth member of trivia team, Christina, is a vegetarian. For her, the options were much more limited. She opted for the Caesar salad and left a little disappointed by the dressing, which wasn’t laid on as thick as she had hoped.

Overall, it was a good night out, and a great change of pace. We even finished second in one of the two rounds (the $5 gift card was a nice bonus). And for Julie and I, we spent about $37 for our food — a lot of food.

Though I wouldn’t say we are going to make Blind Hartman’s our new Tuesday night home, I’m sure we will be back.

And when we return, we’ll be sure to bring our appetites.

BCE Rating
Food: Good
Service: Good
Ambiance: Fair
Price: Reasonable

Blind Hartman’s Tavern
2910 Pricetown Rd
Temple, PA 19560

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Bars & Pubs Closed