sign above a restaurant reads "Kutztown Tavern"
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Review: Kutztown Tavern

sign over a large picture window that says "Kutztown Tavern"

Kutztown’s Main Street is one of the busiest in Berks County. An array of storefronts: shopping, services and restaurants (with a few residences thrown in) line the blocks from the edge of Kutztown University’s campus to the railroad tracks that bisect the town.

The more than a dozen eateries along Main Street cover just about every type of cuisine you could want: Chinese, Italian, sushi, barbecue, sandwiches, salads: you name it, and you’re likely to find it.

One of the most popular restaurants downtown, the Kutztown Tavern offers one of the most diverse menus in town.

Known simply as “The Tavern” to residents and students, alike, the Kutztown Tavern is housed in one of the largest buildings on Main Street. With a seemingly endless bar, a nice sized dining room and large upstairs event space, the restaurant is expansive. In addition, the building (which is actually two connected buildings) includes Shorty’s Bar, the Tavern Take-Out counter service and the Golden Avalanche Brewing Company.

Brewery equipment becomes part of the decor in the bar area as the system of vats and pipes that create the signature brew are in plain view just inside the front door.

bottle of Kutztown Red Cream Soda

Not being a fan of beer, myself, I was pleased to see Kutztown Red Cream Soda—a personal favorite of mine—on the beverage list.

A deep menu provides a wide range of appetizers, sandwiches and entrees. Everything from soft pretzels and 10 flavors of wings to Black Diamond steaks and seafood scampi. For me, a 9-ounce burger topped with Avalanche chili sounded like a winning combination.

close-up photo of curly fries and a burger topped with chili

The burger arrived on a toasted sesame seed bun. Chili poured over the edges and onto the plate below. All tavern burgers are served with lettuce, tomato and onion on the side, and I was more than happy to pile them on.

The burger was cooked perfectly with a nice little char around the outside. The mild chili added more flavor without being overwhelming (messy, yes; overpowering, no). And I certainly did not regret the curly fries, perfectly crisped, zesty additions to an already full plate.

Among the multitude of menu options are the “house smoked” offerings, three barbecue selections that are smoked in-house at the tavern. One of those—the brisket, cheddar and onion—caught Julie’s eye immediately.

brisket sandwich and fries from Kutztown Tavern

Meat and cheese more than filled the toasted ciabatta roll. The brisket was flavorful, with a fair amount of fat left on for extra flavor. The sharp cheddar worked well with the sweet barbecue sauce and grilled onions to create a delicious sandwich.

The only part of our meal that I thought could have been better was the price. The $2.89 charge for fries (instead of the standard potato chips) brought our total bill up to $35.00 for the two of us. I guess that is the cost of quality, however, as we were treated to excellent food and surprisingly speedy service.

For the past 15 years, the Tavern has been a popular go-to spot along Main Street. After our visit, it was easy to see why. When food, location, ambiance and service come together all come together, it makes for a great restaurant.

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

Kutztown Tavern
272 W. Main St
Kutztown, PA 19530

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Review: Jukebox Cafe

sign that reads "Jukebox Cafe" with a drawing of a jukebox

Growing up in the far western reaches of Berks County, Boyertown always felt like a world away. I only remember going there once when I was younger (for a double-digit loss in a Junior Legion baseball game). Even through more than a year of weekly reviews on Berks County Eats, the map of my visits had a noticeable gap in that part of the county.

It’s not for lack of wanting: a combination of bad timing and poor planning on my part had left the area as uncharted territory. I knew I had to make an extra effort to get there so my wife and I carved out time on a Saturday morning and headed east for a late morning visit to one of the more popular spots in town, the Jukebox Cafe.

The Jukebox Cafe sits along Reading Avenue to the south of downtown. The two-tiered parking lot was nearly full when we arrived, but we grabbed one of the few remaining spaces and took the stairs down to the front door.

The diner plays up on the jukebox theme with a decor reminiscent of a 1950s drive-in with a checkerboard trim, musical notes and records on every wall. Inside the front door was the namesake jukebox, though I have no idea if it actually works. With a number of groups waiting ahead of us for seats, no one would have been able to get to it if they wanted to.

We took a number and I grabbed a copy of the Boyertown Bulletin and passed the time reading about Amelia Earhart’s connection to Boyertown and brushing up on my Pennsylvania Dutch with an article on planting potatoes.

There is not a lot of seating in the dining area, but the tables were turned over quickly so we did not have to wait long before we were escorted to a corner booth.

Going in, I had every intention of ordering lunch; a burger and fries was sounding really good. I decided to take a look through the breakfast menu anyway (because like all great diners, they serve breakfast all day).

That’s when my eyes spotted four words I had never before seen together: cinnamon bun French toast. I realized then that my burger would have to wait another day.

cinnamon roll french toast topped with strawberry syrup and whipped cream

I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting until the plate was laid in front of me. It turns out that it is exactly what it sounds like: two cinnamon rolls that have been put through an egg wash and grilled like French toast. A layer of whipped cream was sandwiched between the two rolls, and the whole thing was swimming in strawberry syrup with more whipped cream on the side.

With every forkful, the warm cinnamon filling oozed out of the center. Somehow it managed to taste both like a cinnamon roll and French toast without sacrificing either flavor. The strawberry topping was something I never tasted along side a cinnamon roll before, but those sweet, fruity notes were a perfect match. The whipped cream was just the icing on the cake (or cinnamon roll, as it were), adding one more layer to an already divine dish.

red skin potato homefries topped with fried onions

To temper the sweetness of the main course, I also ordered a side of home fries with onions. For its home fries, Jukebox Cafe uses red skins potatoes which are so much more flavorful than yellow potatoes to start. With the mound of fried onions on top, it was a delicious, though unnecessary add-on as the cinnamon roll French toast would have been more than satisfying on its own.

omelet with red peppers on a plate with red skin potatoes and wheat bread

Julie also opted for breakfast during our visit, ordering the Little Richard: an omelet filled with bacon, tomato and cheddar. The ingredients were finely chopped with a pool of cheddar inside to ensure a flavorful bite every time. Her meal also included home fries and toast for a hearty breakfast.

Everything we had was enjoyable and made the trip to Boyertown worthwhile. With a check totaling less than $20, the prices are pretty good too.

Whether the jukebox plays or not seems irrelevant because the real star at the Jukebox Cafe isn’t the jukebox, it’s the food.

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

Jukebox Cafe
535 S. Reading Ave
Boyertown, PA 19512

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Review: Jambalaya J’s – Fairgrounds Farmers Market

window on a faux brick wall with a large banner that reads "jambalaya"

I have explored many of Berks County’s culinary hot spots: places like West Reading, Wyomissing and Kutztown have been good to me since starting this blog.

But there is one place in the county that has a higher concentration of restaurants than anywhere else. No, it’s not a town. It’s the Boscov’s Fairgrounds Farmers Market.

The 60 stands at the market feature fresh produce, butchered meats and bulk foods. But among the poultry and vegetable stands are more than a dozen places to enjoy a hot meal on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

One of those stands is located right inside the front door, and is the place I was eyeing up for my first market meal: Jambalaya J’s.

Jambalaya J’s is one of 60 stands inside the market. Opened in 2000, the stand has been offering Cajun fare for 15 years.

black chalkboard with a menu and prices for a New Orleans-style restaurant

The menu is narrowly focused with only a few options every week. The constants are jambalaya and crab cakes, two items that appear weekly on the menu board. The rest of the offerings are constantly changing. A range of po’ boy sandwiches, soups, sides and barbecue are offered each week.

We placed our order at the counter and the food was ready in a snap. The challenge was finding a pair of seats. The stand, itself, only offers a couple counter seats and a two-seat table that felt like it was a mile long. Thankfully there was a small table open in the seating area across the aisle.

I pulled up a chair and dug into my meal: a pulled pork sandwich combo with jambalaya and cole slaw.

paper plate with a pulled pork sandwich, dirty rice and coleslaw

The sandwich was gargantuan, served on an oversized, dusted kaiser roll. The sauce, sweet and rich, made a mess of my hands as it dripped out of the bun. The pork didn’t need much help as it was very flavorful on its own. With the sauce, it was up there with some of the best pulled pork I have tried.

With a name like Jambalaya J’s, the jambalaya has to be good. And this did not disappoint. While the Andouille sausage added some kick, it was not overly spicy. Instead, the thick rice creation was a little sweet. It was only when I got a little piece of dried chile pepper that I really got hit with the heat. That’s when the cooling, creamy cole slaw came in handy.

paper plate with crab cakes topped with remoulade and dirty rice

Julie’s Blue Plate Special was also covered in jambalaya, but with the addition of a pair of crab cakes topped with remoulade sauce. The remoulade really made the dish, adding a sweet and spicy element to the perfectly fried cakes.

The Cajun cuisine was not only delicious, but nicely priced as we only spent $20 for what was a very filling meal.

My first meal at the Fairgrounds Farmers Market did not disappoint. It was a delicious, filling meal that I would definitely order again.

But it might be a while until I get to try it again. After all, I still have dozens of other stands to visit.

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

Jambalaya J’s
2930 N. 5th Street Hwy
Reading, PA 19605

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Review: Chatty’s

two stripmall storefronts with the words "Shoppes at Woodside" in green script at the top and a smaller sign reading "Chatty's" underneath

In today’s world, it is very rare for any business, especially a restaurant, to not have a website. At the very least, one would expect a popular restaurant to at least have a Facebook page.

Sometimes I have been frustrated when I try to look up a restaurant only to find nothing but an automatically generated Google+ page.

One restaurant where I ran into this is Chatty’s, a breakfast and lunch spot that continually shows up at or near the top of review sites, but which has no web presence of its own.

Not wanting to miss out on a place that had received so many four- and five-star ratings, I decided to make a trip and accept whatever surprises awaited.

Chatty’s is the centerpiece of the Shoppes at Woodside strip mall along Pricetown Road. It’s a place I had passed by many times on my way to and from the old Muddy’s BBQ location.

On the outside, there is not much to distinguish Chatty’s from the custom kitchen store next door. Inside, the restaurant exudes a more vibrant atmosphere than the exterior lets on. The two long side walls are covered in bright murals, with unique art work, including a three-dimensional painting of a horse and a Rajah Shriner clown. The seating areas, including the counter, have a faux diner look, with the painted black and silver as if it were stainless steel.

The sign inside the door invited us to seat ourselves so we sat down at a table for two in the back corner and perused  the single-page menus that sat on the table.

Saturday and Sunday, Chatty’s serves breakfast only, serving from 7 to 11:45 a.m. That means it’s all breakfast: French toast, pancakes and omelets make up the bulk of the menu.

The day’s specials were listed out on a dry erase board at the entrance, and that was as far as I had to look for my choice: cranberry walnut pancakes.

fluffy pancake stuffed with cranberry and walnut

I normally gravitate toward French toast when I dine out for breakfast, but cranberry and walnut are two words that will always get my attention. My waitress warned me that because they were the daily special, the pancakes were only a stack of two. One would have been sufficient. Though not the largest I have ever seen, these were big enough: thick and fluffy, and as big as the plate. The walnuts added a crunchy texture that you normally don’t get in pancakes, while the cranberry provided a different kind of sweetness than syrup alone could provide. After spreading a pad of melted butter on top, my plate achieved pancake perfection.

closeup picture of corned beef hash

Not knowing how much food I was going to get with “just” an order of pancakes, I also committed to a side of corned beef hash. Though it was a little salty (then again, I think that’s a requirement), it was tasty enough that I cleaned the plate.

plate with an omelet and two slices of wheat toast

Once she took her first look at the menu, Julie had her heart set on an omelet, opting for a smoked sausage omelet with toast. It is safe to say that Chatty’s did not skimp on the sausage.

a deconstructed omelet filled with cheese and sliced sausage

Inside was a full sausage link (think Johnsonville-sized) sliced thick and spread throughout. It wasn’t quite as smokey as she was expecting, but it still made for quite a dish. She obviously still enjoyed it as there were no traces left when she was finished.

The diner vibe continued all the way through from fast service—we were in-and-out in less than 45 minutes—to the prices. For all of our food, plus a glass of orange juice for me, our total came in at under $15.

We went in to Chatty’s knowing almost nothing about it, ready for whatever experience was waiting for us. Sometimes a little surprise is a good thing.

BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Service: Excellent
Ambiance: Good
Price: Bargain

Chatty’s
3130 Pricetown Rd
Fleetwood, PA 19522

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Review: Salute Ristorante Italiano

strip mall storefront with a sign that reads "Salute Ristorante Italiano"

There’s something about a nice Italian restaurant on Valentine’s Day. The two just seem to go together, the perfect match for a romantic night out.

Last year for our romantic splurge, we visited Mom Chaffe’s Cellarette, one of the oldest restaurants in Berks County. This year, we visited Salute Ristorante Italiano, one of the county’s newest.

Salute opened in November, taking over the former Frank’s NY Pizza in Sinking Spring, and bringing fine dining to the former take-out counter.

The aesthetic improvement is evident immediately as the entrance to the strip mall spot has been given a stonework facade. Inside, the restaurant is much-improved as well. Tables and booths line two seating areas, one raised a step above the other. When we arrived, a heart was tied to the back of each chair with lacey ribbon; the napkins beautifully folded into fans.

For Valentine’s Day, Salute offered a pared down version of its dinner menu in prix-fixe form: for $50, each person received an appetizer, entree and dessert. A small welcome cocktail was also included in every dinner.

tall glass half-filled with a cocktail

The Love Potion was comprised of chocolate vodka, crème de cacao, fresh strawberry puree, and half and half, all topped with a chocolate covered strawberry.

rectangular plate with a caprese salad

We put in our appetizer order while we pondered the entree choices. As our starters, we opted for the Carpese salad and bruschetta. The Carpese salad was good, with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, but it paled in comparison to the bruschetta which was some of the best I have had.

rectangular plate with bruschetta topped with shaved parmesan

The perfectly toasted bread was topped with mounds of diced tomatoes and shaved Parmesan cheese. It had just a hint of balsamic mixed with a very flavorful olive oil, and mixed with the tomatoes, it made for a sweet, tasty appetizer.

We were surprised to find that in addition to the appetizers, every entree also included a cup of soup or starter salad. We both opted for soup: I went with fava bean while Julie chose Italian wedding.

small cup of bean soup with a toast point

My fava bean soup was delicious. The consistency reminded me of a split pea where there is little broth to speak of and the flavor comes almost entirely from the vegetables. But the real highlight here was the homemade crouton: two pieces of fried bread. It was dark and crispy like melba toast, but absorbed a lot of flavor from the frying, giving it a unique flavor that was perfect for dipping.

small cup of wedding soup with a toast point

Julie’s wedding soup was also interesting (and excellent) as it was more of a cream base than a broth base, which made it extra hearty.

ravioli topped with a heart-shaped slice of prosciutto

My main course arrived with a special Valentine’s Day touch. I ordered the norcina ravioli¸ a potato and ricotta ravioli with sausage and mushrooms in a cream sauce, all topped with a heart-shaped piece of dough. For added style, the plate was brushed with blue and yellow coloring. I knew what the norcina ravioli would include, but I didn’t expect it to be constructed quite as it was. There were four small ravioli buried beneath a mound of mushrooms and ground sausage that provided most of the flavor. It was a much heartier dish than I was expecting.

linguine topped with light red sauce and a lobster

Across the table, Julie decided to spoil herself with lobster. The lobster half was served atop a bed of linguine in a light sauce with tomato slices, freshly chopped basil and minced garlic. Again, the chef +went the extra mile on presentation by painting the plate red and black. The linguini had a little extra texture which allowed the sauce to better stick to the pasta, making for a delectable dish.

puff pastry drizzled with berry sauce and topped with a whole raspberry

Of course you can’t take your sweetheart out to Valentine’s Day dinner without enjoying some sweets, and Salute did not disappoint. Our waitress brought out a plate with both of the night’s featured desserts: almond parfait and a puff pastry with custard and wild berry reduction.

chocolate mousse topped with almonds and drizzled with chocolate syrup

The puff pastry was good though I would have liked just a little more custard to cut through the concentrated sweetness of the reduction. The almond parfait was on an entirely other level. Made from almond ice cream topped with chocolate and crushed almonds. The semi-bitter dark chocolate hardened atop the ice cream, creating a contrast in texture and flavor.

On a normal night, we would have never ordered so much food, and our bill would have probably been significantly less. But for our one-night-a-year splurge, it was well worth the $100 price tag.

It was a near-perfect night out: incredible food in a great atmosphere making for a memorable Valentine’s Day.

Here’s a salute to Salute, a great addition to the Berks County restaurant scene.

BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Service: Good
Ambiance: Very Good
Price: A Little Pricey

Salute Ristorante Italiano
4718 Penn Ave
Sinking Spring, PA 19608

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Review: Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe

sign hangs outside a yellowish-orange building that reads "Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe"

Downtown Reading is probably one of the most underrated food hubs in Berks County.

Penn Street alone offers a wonderful variety of options. Yet for those of us who don’t live or work downtown, making the trip into the city for a meal seems like a lot of work.

Sometimes all it takes is a little push to get us suburbanites to head into town. For me, that push came in the form of a half-price gift certificate for Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe.

While the Peanut Bar may be Penn Street’s most famous eatery, it is far from the only option. Just two doors down from the Reading landmark is a restaurant that has been building a legacy of its own for the better part of the last decade.

A display case just inside the front door of Mi Casa Su Casa shows off the accolades that the restaurant has earned in its first eight years of business. The restaurant’s success has led to a second location, as Mi Casa Su Casa also operates a cafe inside the Goggleworks.

Because of its location, Mi Casa Su Casa is perfect for breakfast and lunch for those working downtown. When we walked in, it was clear that Saturdays were a much slower time. But for a couple people sitting at the counter, we had the dining room to ourselves.

Mi Casa Su Casa’s menu isn’t very big, but it is varied, reflecting both American tastes and the Caribbean heritage of the owners.

Did you ever have one of those days when you just couldn’t make up your mind? That was us on this day. There were just too many delicious-sounding options that we decided to create our own mini-buffet by ordering four sides to split between the two of us.

Our waitress delivered our meal, one plate at a time until our table was no longer visible under a sea of white plates.

plate with yucca fries and two dipping sauces one mayo ketchup, the other garlic butter

The first item set down in front of us was the yuca fries. Yuca is a distant relative of the potato, a starchy root vegetable native to South America and a staple food for millions of people. The thick-cut yuca were deep fried to a light yellow and served with two options for dipping: mayo ketchup and garlic butter.

Yuca is much starchier than a potato so the fries maintained a lot more substance through the frying process. But after a nice soak in the garlic butter (which I claimed for myself while Julie happily took the house-made mayo ketchup), the fries went down smooth. Though I have to say they were much more filling than I had expected.

rice topped with beans from Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe

Our rice and beans were next to arrive. When it was presented, the rice was neatly piled on the plate with the beans in a small bowl. The use of red beans (I wrongly assumed black when I read ‘rice and beans’) made it look like a bowl of baked beans, but the flavor was altogether different. There was no brown sugar or bacon. Instead it used mild spices that let the natural flavor of the beans come through.

empanada and fried plantains on a plate from Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe

A pair of beef empanadas served as a stand-in for our main course. The trip through the fryer made the outer pastry crispy and delicious. I was expecting cheese to come oozing out after my first bite, but was pleasantly surprised that the filling was mostly beef, with just enough cheese to hold it together. It was about as perfect as I could have hoped for.

plantain chips from Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe

Completing our make-shift four-course meal was an order of tostones, fried plantains. Plantains contain more starch than a banana, making them perfect candidates to join the rest of our meal in the deep fryer (only now do I realize how much of our meal was actually fried). They were delicious, and despite having had more than my fair share of food already, I could not stop popping them in my mouth.

After adding on a couple bottles of soda to our final bill, our lunch was still just $17, a bargain for what appeared to be an endless amount of food. The best bargain Mi Casa Su Casa offers, however, may be the free parking in the lot behind the restaurant, which will save you a little money and a lot of hassle.

Our meal at Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe was well-worth the drive downtown. It was a great meal at a great price. You can’t ask for much more than that.

It took a little motivation to get there, but the food is more than enough motivation to go back.

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

Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe
320 Penn St
Reading, PA 19602

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Review: China Penn

nighttime photo of a restaurant with an illuminated sign that reads "China Penn"

On BerksCountyEats.com, we use multiple subcategories for our reviews, including fine dining, casual dining, Italian and Asian.

What I have found since starting this blog is that Asian is a very broad term that covers a wide variety of foods. There are vast differences between Chinese and Japanese cuisine. And both are widely different from Thai food. The only real similarity is the portion of the world from which they come.

But at China Penn, you can get a taste of three different cuisines in one place.

China Penn has been in Exeter Township for more than 30 years. It has undergone some changes in that time, including an ownership change a few years ago, but it continues to thrive today with a menu that would put many diners to shame.

The menu is actually three menus in one. There is a Chinese section, with favorites like General Tso’s chicken and chow mein; a Japanese section with sushi and sashimi; and a Thai section that included pad Thai, rice and noodles, and curry dishes. It was the Thai menu that most appealed to both of us on our visit.

cup of coconut soup with carrots and chicken

My stomach was growling by the time I arrived at the restaurant so I knew I needed something to fill it sooner than later so I started off my night with a bowl of chicken coconut soup. Inside the coconut flavored broth was one large chunk of chicken breast, long slivers of carrots, and fresh herb leaves. It was a delicious combination—just enough coconut to add a note of sweetness without overpowering it. Having to cut the large piece of chicken with my spoon was more than a little frustrating, but well worth the extra effort.

purple colored flower atop a plate of stir fry

The main course was certainly one of the prettiest plates that I have received since doing Berks County Eats. Most of the plate was covered in my dinner, basil chicken. The rest was covered by a beautiful floral arrangement made out of pink cabbage and shredded carrots.

While I don’t recommend eating the flower, I highly recommend the basil chicken. The stir-fried dish featured white meat chicken tossed with basil leaves, green and red peppers, and red and yellow onions. It looked like a lot of food, it was a lot of food, but a lot of the plate was filled with vegetables so I convinced myself that I was actually eating light, despite cleaning my plate.

While I had never been to China Penn before, the restaurant was an old favorite for Julie and her family, at least while it operated a second location on State Hill Road in Wyomissing. Wanting to relive her past, she ordered one of her favorite menu items to start: egg drop soup.

cup of brothy egg drop soup

It’s a little weird to think that it’s basically just chicken broth and eggs, but it’s still really good, and it’s easy to taste why it’s a go-to dish for so many people.

glass of orange colored Thai tea

After our trip to Thaiwat last year, Julie developed a taste of Thai tea. And when she saw it on the China Penn menu, she could not resist the creamy, sweet drink.

plate of chicken topped wtih slivered carrots and peppers

For the main course, Julie went back to the Thai menu at the Thai BBQ chicken. Instead of the chunks of white meat that were stir-fried in my dish, Julie’s meal was served with a whole sliced chicken breast plus dark meat, layered among vegetables like green peppers, cabbage, onions and carrots.

The name is deceiving because there really is no barbecue sauce to speak of. Instead, the dish is served with a bowl of peanut sauce for dipping. The thick sauce had a heavy peanut flavor, but more natural than peanut butter. It made the perfect accompaniment for the dish.

Our meals totaled about $35, a little more than we were expecting, but we also weren’t expecting to get two bowls of soup and a cup of tea. All-in-all, it felt like we got more than our money’s worth.

It’s cliché to say that China Penn offers a world of flavors, but with three distinct menus featuring three distinct cuisines, maybe in this case, the cliché fits.

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

China Penn
4203 Perkiomen Ave
Reading, PA 19606

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two fried chicken breasts in a takeout container with fries and a dinner roll
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Chicken Supreme – CLOSED

sign hanging off the side of a building reading "Chicken Supreme"

Editor’s Note: Chicken Supreme is currently closed for regular business hours. The space is still being used by the owners as they operate the Sammy’s Steaks food truck at area events.

Fried chicken may be the ultimate comfort food.

It’s fast and filling, a relatively inexpensive offering that appears on menus across the country in some way, shape or form.

But very few of those restaurants take a simple pleasure like fried chicken and build their business around it.

Chicken Supreme in West Reading doesn’t just serve fried chicken, the restaurant specializes in it.

Like many main street restaurants, Chicken Supreme is shoehorned into a small space. The pick-up counter takes up most of the space, with limited seating at a raised counter along the side wall. Not the best place in town for a sit-down meal, but it works great for a menu built on take-out items.

The restaurant is also home to Sammy’s Steaks and manages Mulligan’s Fish Fry and Seafood at Green Dragon Market so the menu includes cheese steaks, crab cakes, oyster sandwiches and fried fish. But it is the chicken that takes top billing with fried breasts, thighs, drumsticks and tenders, served in dinner combos and boxes of eight to 32 pieces. They also have fried hot wings, sold in quantities from six to 100.

two fried chicken breasts in a takeout container with fries and a dinner roll

As a white meat fan, I opted for the two-breast dinner, served with fries, coleslaw and a dinner roll. The chicken must have gone right from the fryer to my box because a small puddle of oil had developed on the Styrofoam.

The white meat shown through the dark, crispy skin. There was no light, flaky breading to hide it. The wetness from the deep-fried bath left my hands dripping after every bite of the greasy goodness. Inside the box was also a small packet of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce, about the size of a jelly packet you would find at a diner. I took full advantage of it, dipping pieces of meat in it as if I were enjoying a holiday meal.

takeout cup filled with coleslaw

While my hunger would have been satisfied with just the chicken, I managed to also polish off the fries. They were the battered kind, the ones that just slide down with little effort. The final piece of my meal was the coleslaw, very creamy with finely chopped cabbage. Unfortunately most of it became sacrificed so I could finish the rest of my meal.

two pieces of fried chicken - one breast, one thigh - in a takeout container with fries and a dinner roll

Julie is more of a dark meat fan than I so she opted for the standard two-piece dinner with a thigh and a drum. With less meat on her plate than my own, she was able to finish off her dinner (though I helped with a few fries).

Together, the two meals cost about $17. The great part about Chicken Supreme’s menu is that the price includes tax so there’s no guess work in the final cost.

There’s nothing fancy about Chicken Supreme, but there shouldn’t be. That’s not what it’s about. Fried chicken is comfort food, and comfort food is about simplicity and it’s about flavor.

That’s what Chicken Supreme excels at.

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

Chicken Supreme
410 Penn Ave
West Reading, PA 19611

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Food & Festivals: Reading Fire + Ice Fest

ice sculpture featuring a snowflake and the words Reading Fire + Ice Fest

Editor’s Note: The Reading Fire & Ice Fest was discontinued after 2019. West Reading now hosts an Ice & Spice Festival each January with food specials and ice sculptures.

This past weekend, the Reading Downtown Improvement District presented the first annual Reading Fire + Ice Fest, a combination indoor/outdoor festival that featured three days of events in and around Penn Square. I make it a habit to support as many local festivals as I can, which is why I braved the sub-freezing temperatures and headed downtown on Saturday for the Fire + Ice Fest.

The highlight for food-lovers had to be the Chili cook-off. Seven area restaurants and two individuals brought the fire to an icy Saturday afternoon, all competing to win the favor of both the judges (a team of Reading firefighters) and festival-goers.

people gathered around high-top tables covered with white linen tablecloths

The competitors were set up inside the ballroom of the Abraham Lincoln Hotel, a beautiful (and thankfully warm) venue. It’s a place that probably sees more filet mignon and hors d’oeuvres than bowls of meat and beans.

sample size cup of chili with a plastic spoon

First in line was the offering from Jimmie Kramer’s Peanut Bar. This was one of the chunkier of the chili that I tried, with a heavy emphasis on the tomato. Through it all, there was a distinct taste of balsamic vinegar that came through, giving it a flavor that was far different from all of the others, and one that I greatly enjoyed.

Callowhill Cafe Coffee Shop would have been the next stop in the rotation, but by the time I arrived, the table was already bare.

sample size cup of white chili with chicken and carrots

Instead, my second stop was the Mi Casa Su Casa stand. Mi Casa Su Casa made the bold choice to go with a white chicken chili instead of a more traditional beef and bean. The chili had a cauliflower and white bean base with carrots, celery and other vegetables mixed in. In this case, different was better as the restaurant provided a dish that truly stood out.

sample size cup of chili topped with corn and a tortilla chip

With the event in its own building, the Abraham Lincoln Hotel brought their own chili, along with several topping options and a tortilla chip. What set this chili apart was the sauce, which carried a strong barbecue flavor.

sample size cup of chili with beans

My next stop was Boscov’s Catering. The chili was good, delicious, but nothing to really make it stand out from the rest. The best part of this was the homemade tortilla chip that it was served with it.

sample size cup of chili with a chunk of beef and dollop of sour cream

Another restaurant that opted to be different was Judy’s on Cherry, who went with a pork and black bean chili with a dollop of sour cream on top. The large chunk of pork was tender and delicious, but with a very brothy sauce, it ate more like a soup than a true chili.

sample size cup of chili with a piece of cornbread

Sofrito Gastro Pub‘s chorizo chili was probably the hottest one that I tasted during the event. It featured a heavy dose of hot peppers. To help cool it off, the chili was served with homemade coconut bread croutons that really complemented the dish.

sample size cup of white chicken chili

One of two non-restaurants to enter the competition, the Kauffman family (no relation to Kauffman’s Bar-B-Que Chicken) who came with their own version of the white chicken chili. It was good, but I thought it was just a tad over-spiced and couldn’t compete with Mi Casa Su Casa’s white chili.

The second of the independents was Lauren Kessler, who, like Callowhill Cafe, had already run out of chili by the time I arrived. It’s a shame because the “Three Little Pigs” chili sounded like it could be a winner.

Every patron who entered the banquet hall received six People’s Choice tickets. I spread mine out between four restaurants: The Peanut Bar, Mi Casa Su Casa, the Abraham Lincoln and Sofrito (the Abe and Peanut Bar split my two extra tickets). I was surprised to find out later that Boscov’s had swept both the judged and People’s Choice competitions. Not that I didn’t enjoy their offering, I just thought there were better options.

man carving a dragon out of ice

After finishing off my last cup of chili, I headed out to the ice sculpting competition. Dragons aren’t really my thing, but I couldn’t help but appreciate the intricacy of the designs on display.

ice craving of a pagoda

All weekend, Penn Street was lined with sculptures that showcased both sponsors of the event, including a frozen bust of Abraham Lincoln, and Reading landmarks like the Pagoda and a massive train.

band performing outside on a cold day wearing jackets and gloves

There was also live entertainment all weekend, as well as food trucks on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, a Saturday morning pancake breakfast at the Outside-In, a Snow Ball on Saturday night at the Abraham Lincoln, and free ice cream sundaes on Sunday.

For a first-time event, it looked like the Reading Fire + Ice Fest drew a nice crowd, especially at the chili cook-off, evident by multiple places running out of chili before it closed at 2 p.m.

I certainly hope it was successful enough to come back for another year. I’m looking forward to more chili.

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A wooden sign advertising Heirloom restaurant in Hereford Township
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Heirloom – CLOSED

wooden sign that reads "Heirloom Continental Cuisine"

Editor’s Note: Heirloom’s owners have decided not to renew its lease, and the restaurant closing after New Year’s Eve Dinner, December 31, 2016. The space is now home to Cab Frye Catering Company.

One of the great things about Berks County Eats is being able to promote local businesses in Berks County and our neighbors.

While there is certainly a place in this world for large corporations, it is the small businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities.

When it comes to locally owned restaurants, some go even further, using locally sourced ingredients in all of their meals. And it is this farm-to-table attitude that really got me excited when I first read about Heirloom, a fine dining restaurant that opened near the village of Palm in Hereford Township back in October.

Heirloom is tucked away in the easternmost part of the county, where Berks, Montgomery and Lehigh converge. It’s only a short drive from Allentown, Quakertown and Pottstown, just off Route 100 and not far from the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

For those of us on the other side of Reading, it may as well be the other side of the world. Our trip there was a scenic drive along Route 12 and a never-ending series of backroads through the scenic countryside, a land of stone houses and picturesque farmland that seemed so far away from Wyomissing.

When we finally arrived, the sun had already set so I couldn’t get a good glimpse of the building. But with the interior door framing a stained glass window (one of several stained glass panels in the building), it was hard to miss the beauty inside the historic building.

Heirloom, which opened in October, is a true farm-to-table restaurant with a menu that is constantly changing based on what’s in season and what’s available from local farmers. This also means that the menu is small—just one page, about eight appetizers and six entrees, all of them prepared from scratch.

basket of bread with a plate of butter cut into triangles

One constant at the restaurant is the fresh-baked bread, served with every dinner.

salad topped with quinoa and chevre cheese

The latest addition to the appetizers was the red quinoa salad, leafy greens piled atop a bed of quinoa and grapefruit, topped with cow’s milk chèvre cheese. It had a perfect blend of elements: a nice texture from the quinoa, a little sweetness from the grapefruit and a hint of sour from the vinaigrette. But what really set it apart was the creamy chèvre that just melts in your mouth. Hands down, this was the best salad I have ever eaten.

bison steak topped with shaved carrots and cubed potatoes

When looking down the menu for my entree, my eyes never made it past the first word, “bison.” The description said the cut was 1 1/2 inches thick, but I really didn’t comprehend how large my portion would be until the full plate was set before me.

As she delivered my plate, my waitress informed me that today was the first day that the bison was on the menu, and that I was the first guinea pig to try it. The slab of bison was covered in shredded fried carrots and surrounded by potatoes, mushrooms, and diced turnips. The meat was tender, and with the vegetables and juicy broth, it reminded me of extra lean pot roast. And it certainly tasted like something that should remain on the menu moving forward.

salad with fried balls of goat cheese and pickled red onion

While my salad was new to the menu, the Heirloom salad that Julie ordered has been a permanent fixture since day one. A look at the ingredients makes it easy to see why: mixed greens, radish, onion vinaigrette, pickled onions, bacon lardons, goat cheese and fennel pollen.

rack of lamb over potatoes

For the main course, Julie went with the rack of lamb, served with fingerling potatoes and mushrooms in mushroom sauce, garnished with kale leaves. The sauce was a pleasant surprise. Almost broth-like in its consistency, it really enhanced the flavors of the meat rather than mask it.

Despite having more than our fair share already, it didn’t take much convincing to be talked into dessert. After hearing descriptions of many decadent options (including flourless chocolate cake, Tahitian vanilla crème brûlée, and pumpkin funnel cake with cinnamon ice cream), we opted for a homemade s’more.

toasted marshmallow dessert drizzled with chocolate and graham cracker dust

Don’t confuse this with the campfire treat. The s’more started with a base of Mexican chocolate ice cream infused with chili peppers, which was topped with a homemade marshmallow. It was drizzled with chocolate syrup and graham cracker dust,  then toasted on top to give it some beautiful color. I almost felt bad for the chef who prepared it because I’m sure we finished it in half the time it took to prepare because it was that good. The marshmallow melted on the tongue while the chocolate ice cream had just the tiniest hint of pepper that didn’t burn, but woke up the taste buds to everything else on the plate.

Heirloom is not a place that many can afford to make a weekly or even monthly visit to, but it isn’t meant to be that kind of restaurant. Though our check came to $100 (At $40 and $32, our entrees were the two most expensive on the menu), I can say we got much more than we paid for.

two chocolate truffles on a plate

The complimentary homemade espresso truffles that arrived with our check certainly didn’t hurt either.

The whole experience was exceptional, from attentive service to fantastic food. As excited as I was to try Heirloom for the first time, I will be even more excited to go back again.

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