When it was announced in May that Visit PA was bringing back
the Pursue Your Scoops Ice Cream trail – a program that highlights cow-to-cone
creameries throughout the state – I was thrilled. Last year, Julie and I had
started on the trail but life got in the way and we never finished. This year,
we are determined to get the free t-shirt that comes with five stamps on our
passport.
The trail celebrates cow-to-cone creameries across the state, there are two Berks County creameries on the list – Way-Har Farms in Bernville and the Nesting Box in Kempton. While we will visit them later, we wanted to start with a bit of a road trip.
Our first stop this year was Patches Family Creamery. Located just south of Lebanon, Patches is about an hour’s drive from our house. We had found it as part of last year’s tour and couldn’t wait to go back and blog about it this year.
The wooden building that houses the creamery and farm market
still looks new. It features a small number of tables inside with larger picnic
tables and benches on the shaded front porch.
In addition to ice cream, Patches offers a variety of dairy products and some baked goods.
Patches had more than 20 flavors of ice cream available when
we visited including all of the standards: vanilla, chocolate, peanut butter,
etc. – and a few originals like the candy scramble (think a candy store in an
ice cream tub) and cow tracks, their version of moose tracks.
They also offer an assortment of sundaes. Rhubarb was in
season so I decided to give a rhubarb sundae a try.
It was one of the best ice cream treats I’ve had in a long time. The sweet vanilla ice cream was the perfect complement to the tart rhubarb while the granola/oatmeal crumble added crunch and flavor to every bite. The ice cream itself is rich and creamy. Really, it was a perfect blend.
Julie also went with a sundae. Her fruit of choice was strawberry, but she went with chocolate ice cream for a delicious combination. The bowl was filled with fresh strawberries. The fruit and ice cream combined for a decadent chocolate-covered strawberry flavor – sweet, indulgent and delicious.
We also ordered a kiddie cup of ice cream for Jakob. For
whatever reason, our son is not a big ice cream fan and only ate a couple tiny
scoops. I ended up finishing it in about three bites. His loss is my gain.
I was surprised that our two sundaes and kiddie cup was less
than $10. It felt like a very good deal for quality all the way around.
Not only does Patches serve great ice cream, it’s also a great place for young kids to get out and play on a playground that caters to kids big and small. There’s also a petting zoo with goats and other farm animals (fun for most kids, scary for ours).
Patches is a great little spot out in the country that’s
worth a visit if you’re in the Lebanon area or worth a drive if you are trying
to earn a free t-shirt.
BCE Rating Ice Cream: Excellent Service: Very Good Ambiance: Excellent Price: Very Reasonable
Patches Family Creamery 201 Fonderwhite Rd Lebanon, PA 17042
In our blog from Wyomissing, I promised I wouldn’t wait five years to complete the trifecta. On a
Tuesday afternoon in June, I made good on that promise when Julie and I paid a
visit to the Alebrije along the 5th Street Highway in Muhlenberg Township.
The restaurant shares the Plaza 222 strip mall with Harbor
Freight Tools (who was having an “urgent blowout” sale, in case
anyone is in the market for tools), Mattress Warehouse and a Subway. The new
Jersey Mike’s Subs is near the front entrance to the strip while the new
Popeye’s is toward the back.
I actually think this location had the best interior of the
three. The walls were painted to look like a street scene in Mexico, brightly
painted with faux-tile awnings over the windows and doors.
An accent wall was painted with a mural of a stylized snake
and bird with the words “Alebrije artesania inventada por Pedro Linares
Lopez en 1936,” a tribute to the Alebrije style that lends its name to the
restaurant.
We were seated quickly but had to wait a few minutes for our
server to arrive – not what you want during a weekday lunch when you have a
limited amount of time.
As expected, the complementary chips and salsa were first to
arrive. It was pretty consistent with what we have experienced in the past,
though it was maybe a little thinner than others. It tasted just as good,
though and we didn’t leave much when finished.
We had ordered food and drinks at the same time to cut down
on the wait and my horchata arrived a short time later.
I love horchata, but haven’t ordered it for a blog since our visit to Let’s Taco Bout It in West Reading. It was really good. Julie mentioned that the milky, cinnamon-spiced drink reminds her of a chai tea latte. I never thought of it before, but I can see it the similarities (and I do enjoy both). My only complaint is that I asked for a horchata and a glass of water and never got the water.
It was about 20 minutes from the time we ordered until our
lunch arrived. It felt like twice as long. Because of it being lunch, I was
hyper sensititve to the time it took.
When it did arrive, my food looked amazing (as always at
Alebrije). It also looked huge. The stuffed burrito was the length of the
oversized square plate, flanked on one side with rice and refried beans. A
simple chopped salad sat on the other side.
The burrito Alebrije was stuffed with ground beef and topped
with tomato sauce and cheese crumbles. The seasoned ground beef was delicious
and the tomato sauce was light and complemented it very well. It was also
hearty and filling to the point where I couldn’t finish all of the sides.
Julie enjoyed an order of tacos de carnitas (pork). They
were topped with onions, tomato and cilantro and served with guacamole, pico de
Gailo and spicy salsa.
Guacamole is always Julie’s topping of choice with tacos.
And it really went well with her carnitas. The pulled pork was nice and
flavorful, though not as much as the ground beef. Still, the tacos were very
good, and again, very filling.
It was then that we realized that she was only supposed to get two with the lunch version, not the three that was on our plate. When the check arrived, we realized that while we both thought we were clearly ordering the lunch specials, we each had been given – and charged for – the dinner portions. That put our lunch around $30 (with my horchata).
We didn’t raise a stink about it as the difference in price isn’t that much, but it was a little frustrating. The lunch service also wasn’t as quick as I would have liked – there was a lengthy wait for our check after the meal, as well.
Would we go back to the 5th Street Highway location? Sure.
But next time, it will be for dinner.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Fair Ambiance: Excellent Price: Reasonable
Alebrije Mexican Restaurant 3225 N. 5th Street Hwy Reading, PA 19605
Editor’s Note: Brocmar Smokehouse is closed. The space is now used as B2’s on-site cafe.
In January 2018, we made our first visit to Brocmar Smokehouse at the Shillington Farmers Market. By this time, the local barbecue company was already running a stand at the Santander Arena.
The Farmers Market was their second location and featured an expanded menu that included the Brocmar Taco – the dish of smoked meat, coleslaw and barbecue sauce atop a corn cake that made our list of Favorite Entrees for 2018.
And Brocmar’s stand at FirstEnergy Stadium, which opened for
the 2018 season, has become my go-to for ballpark foods.
Fast-forward to the summer of 2019 and Brocmar Smokehouse is
now four locations strong with the opening of their first full-service
restaurant at the Lofts at Narrows in West Reading. The new Brocmar shares a
space with the B2 Cafe – the grab-and-go breakfast side of B2 Bistro. Under the
partnership, B2 continues serving coffee and breakfast while Brocmar takes over
for lunch and dinner service.
Two weeks ago, I was
invited to the friends and family opening. So Julie, Jakob and I stopped in
last Friday evening for a first taste of the new Brocmar.
While the restaurant is attached to B2, Brocmar has fully
taken over the space. From the Brocmar sign painted on the brick outside to the
high-top tables made out of barrels in the dining room. Honestly, it feels more
at home with the industrial salvage motif than B2 does.
This was only the second night of table service for a business that has never done it before so there were hiccups to work out. We were seated promptly and we put in our drink order quickly but were told that Jamie would be taking care of us after that. Jamie never came so it was obvious that they’re still learning who is responsible for which tables, but things were smooth after that.
For the friends and family event, we were encouraged to
order a lot of food and to try some of the new offerings along with the old.
After we ordered, it wasn’t long before a large tray filled with sample dishes
arrived at our table.
The friends and family preview menu was “limited.”
About the only thing that wasn’t available was my beloved Brocmar taco. But
that just meant an opportunity to broaden my horizons – appropriate since
that’s exactly what Brocmar was doing as well.
(Gary, the owner and pitmaster, offered to have one delivered to us anyway, but we declined. If you want to read about the Brocmar taco, click here).
Brocmar offers eight different sauces, and I’ve tried just
about all of them now. Preview night was my first exposure to the Mississippi
Comeback sauce – listed as a “classic southern dipping sauce for fried
foods.” Appropriately, it was drizzled atop my order of fried catfish.
Long time readers know that I am not a fan of seafood but I
was pressured into trying the catfish. I have to say, I actually enjoyed it.
There wasn’t much of a fishy taste to speak of. Instead, most of the flavor
came from the combination of the breading and the sauce. The comeback
definitely had a kick to it – not as much as the cayenne-based Moonshine sauce
– but enough to get your attention. And both Julie and I really enjoyed it. I
would actually order it again sometime.
My favorite among Brocmar’s sauces is still the Cripple
Creek. Made with bourbon and brown sugar, the Cripple Creek sauce is a dark,
thick sauce with deep flavor and just enough sweetness. It works on everything,
but I especially enjoyed it on our loaded tots.
The golden brown tots come topped with cheese sauce (we had
it on the side) and choice of meat – for us, brisket. All of the ingredients
are good, but it was the addition of the sauce that made it great for me.
Adding that rich, smokey flavor to the tots and brisket was perfect.
Among the other samplers we got were the smoked wings. Unlike the fried version, these had a nice char around the outside. Julie found it to be a little too well done, but I thought the char from the smoker added some excellent flavor.
I thought the same about the ribs. They were charred on the
outside but the meat still came off the bone easily. And with a few drops of
sauce, they were very enjoyable.
Both Julie and I also ordered sandwiches (to be fair, we
thought we were getting half-sandwiches, not whole sandwiches cut in half) with
our favorite barbecue meats – brisket for Julie, pulled pork for me.
There’s nothing I can say about Brocmar’s smoked meats that
I haven’t already said. They know what they are doing, and they are doing it
right.
I did, however, use the opportunity to try out a couple new sauces. The Moonshine sauce – Brocmar’s hot sauce – was way hotter than I expected. I was a much bigger fan of the Red Dirt Road sauce, a black pepper-based sauce that went really well with the pulled pork. I also found the Hokey Pokey sauce to be a good pairing too. It’s described as “mild and sweet with a little twang.” It’s a classic ‘cue sauce that I enjoyed, for sure.
Like his parents, Jakob is also a big fan of Brocmar. Our
19-month-old loves Brocmar’s mac and cheese. We knew that going in to the meal.
What we didn’t know was how much he loves Brocmar’s baked beans.
I don’t blame him either. The baked beans are unique in that
it’s a blend of black and red beans. The sauce is just sweet enough.
None of us needed anything else, but there was “Nanner
Pudding” waiting.
Thankfully it was a small sample, but it was more than
enough to get a taste of the delicious dessert – sweet pudding topped with
fresh cut bananas. The only problem is that I have never had room for dessert
after a Brocmar taco.
But maybe the opening of the new location will get us to
broaden our horizons a little more when it comes to Brocmar Smokehouse. We
certainly tried more on this night than in all of our previous trips to the
Shillington Farmers Market combined.
And all of it was delicious. If they can nail the service – again, this was their second night of running a full-service restaurant – the new location will become a mainstay in the crowded West Reading dining scene.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Good Ambiance Very Good
Brocmar Smokehouse – West Reading 10 S. Summit Ave West Reading, PA 19611
Editor’s Note: Aaron’s Tacos now has a physical location at 242 N. 9th Street in Reading.
We saw the red wagon being towed north on Route 61 that
morning. “They must be setting up at the Fiesta,” I said to Julie.
The red wagon is distinct around Berks County. It’s the
center of operations for Aaron’s Tacos, a mobile food business that has been
making the rounds in Berks County for the last several years.
The Fiesta was the Spring Fiesta, held at Jim Dietrich Park in
Muhlenberg Township on June 8. The event is hailed as having Berks County’s
Best Tacos (you may remember our recent visit to the Berks County Taco Fest – a
completely unrelated event with a couple overlapping vendors). Aaron’s was one
of about 15 food vendors schedule to take part in the event.
We were at the festival early. It was shortly before noon and the lunch crowd was still rolling in while we were there. There was no line at Aaron’s when I walked up to the window to order my three tacos – one each of steak, chicken and chorizo.
As I waited, two things were clear to me.
1. Aaron’s needed one more person.
2. One more person couldn’t fit inside the wagon.
The flat-top grill was between myself and the woman taking
my order. She was very nice and went through the full list of proteins
available. But she was also responsible for cooking them while a colleague
stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her while pan-frying pastelillos and Jamaica
beef patties.
She was also the one accepting the money, and with so little
room, she had to walk outside the wagon to a table with a cash box. Eventually,
a third person came and was on the grill, at least some of the time, which
helped the process.
And while I appreciated that my meat was being cooked to
order, it felt like an eternity as I watched sevreal people come through and
get their ready-made fried meat pies while my tacos remained unfinished on the
cook-top.
Fifteen minutes later, they were finished and I paid my
$10.50 before joining Julie and Jakob at a table nearby.
(Julie and Jakob enjoyed a meal from Tlacuani Mexican
Restaurant in Temple, a restaurant
we visited in 2015).
My tacos looked great and – like all tacos from Aaron’s –
were prepared in the traditional Mexican style with onions and cilantros. The
only additional embellishments were radish slices and limes. The former added a
splash of color; the latter, a little DIY citrus flavor.
I enjoyed all three. The corn tortillas were also grilled on
the flat-top and were served hotter than any other tacos that I have been
served, but they also stayed together better than any other corn tortillas so
maybe that’s the trick.
With all of the toppings the same except the proteins, they
became the only differentiator between the three. The chorizo was at the top of
my list because the spiced sausage has more built-in flavor. The chicken and
the steak were both good, as well. I would gladly eat all three again in the
future.
But I don’t know that I would wait for them again, at least
at an event like the Spring Fiesta where there were 14 other places to get
tacos that are just as good without the wait.
Maybe I caught them at a bad time – and I hope that’s all it
is – but it just seems like the little red wagon isn’t quite big to do the job
as well as it could.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Fair Ambiance: N/A Price: Reasonable
Editor’s Note: The Circle S Ranch House is now closed. The restaurant closed on April 8, 2022 after 49 years in business. The owners cited a desire to spend more time with family in the closing announcement. A new restaurant, Lilli’s Ranch House, has opened in its place but is unaffiliated with the original.
Anyone who has driven along Penn Avenue in West Lawn has undoubtedly noticed the Ranch House.
At night, the neon sign beams in bright orange. During the
day, the sign and the building itself, with faux fence posts on the roof and a
giant wagon wheel on the wall, catch the eye of passersby.
I remember visiting the Ranch House as a kid with my parents and grandparents. Thirty years later, it still feels the same with an interior that is almost exclusively made of wood – wood-paneled walls, wooden booths, exposed wood beams and wooden ceilings. It’s a similar look to the Ranch House’s sister restaurant, Schell’s, the Muhlenberg Township drive-in.
Green cushions and cream curtains are an interesting – and
tired looking – accent. The dining room could probably use an update, but
change isn’t really welcomed by the more mature crowd that frequents the Ranch
House.
And it’s really not a surprise that their primary clientele
skews older – the menu is simple and cheap. The most expensive item on the menu
is an eight-ounce steak, served with two sides for less than $15. The cheapest
is a two-ounce burger for $2.55.
My Wagon Wheel hamburger and fries was middle-of-the-road
when it came to price at $5.59. For that price, the burger is Plain Jane – even
more so than I realized. The only option for the Wagon Wheel is cheese or no
cheese. For lettuce, tomato and onion, you need to order the Ranchburger, which
also is served with their special ranch sauce. (Both burgers are also on the
menu at Schell’s).
I probably should have remembered that , but I didn’t so I
ended up with a plain hamburger. I have to say, though, their hamburger patties
are pretty good. It reminds me of a Burger King patty, a similar flavor only
thicker and served on a sesame seed bun. It was pretty good for what it was,
but I do wish I had the LTO and understood the difference when I ordered it.
The fries were simple but good. They’re not fresh-cut or
anything fancy, just thicker cut French fries that needed salt and pepper. But
there was plenty of them for the money.
Julie also had a plateful of fries on the side with her grilled
pretzel bun sandwich. The sandwiches are prepared with a choice of turkey, ham
or roast beef, with or without cheese. She opted for the turkey with cheese (at
almost $9 with the 75-cent upcharge for cheese, it was the highest priced
sandwich on the menu).
Pretzel buns are always good. This was no exception. Otherwise, it was your typical turkey melt. Enjoyable, but unremarkable.
One of the positive things about the Ranch House for Julie
and I – other than the price – is that it’s really kid-friendly. They have a decent kids menu with 10 entrees
and two kid-themed desserts – all with western-themed names – so we have no
problem bringing our son Jakob, now 18 months old.
Whenever we can, we placed his order before our own so it
arrives early and we can begin feeding him before our meals are served. It
allows us to give him our full attention and get him busy eating before he gets
impatient in his high chair.
Jakbo’s half-eaten dinner.
On our recent visit, we ordered him “The Lone
Ranger,” a hot dog served atop a plate of baked beans. It’s two things
that Jakob loves and two things that heat up fairly well which is important because
he can’t finish an entire meal yet.
Before we arrived, we had already decided that we were going
to finish our meal with ice cream. After debating back-and-forth for a few
minutes, we decided on one of the Ranch House’s signature ice cream treats –
the Bull Dog.
Named for the Wilson School District’s mascot, the Bull Dog
is a beast of a sundae: four scoops of ice cream (vanilla and chocolate) with
crushed peanuts, strawberries, peaches, pineapple and whipped cream – and a cherry
on top, of course.
When it arrived at the table, our jaws dropped at the size
of it. But it was actually much more manageable for the two of us than we
original thought, working out to a two-scoop sundae each.
(Full disclosure: we thought Jakob would share some but he
filled up on his hot dog and beans and actually refused ice cream).
There was no question that this was the best thing we ate
during our meal. I especially loved the mix of chocolate ice cream with the
fresh strawberries. But the pineapple topping
and the peaches were also very good with both the vanilla and chocolate.
It was a very satisfying end to our meal.
Even with the addition of the sundae, our total bill was
only $28. You can’t argue with that price for a full-service restaurant.
The Ranch House may not be “cool.” At more than 40
years old, it’s not new either. But for a young family like ours, it’s not a
bad choice.
BCE Rating
Food: Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Fair
Price: Very Reasonable
Circle S Ranch House
2738 Penn Ave
West Lawn, PA 19609
Julie, Jakob and I are fortunate to live within walking
distance of West Reading and the shopping and dining district that is Penn
Avenue.
But venture to the county’s eastern edge and you’ll find a downtown
on the rise. Boyertown is anchored by incredible attractions in the
Colebrookdale Railroad and the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles. The
latter was our destination on an early spring day.
With time to spare and empty stomachs, we decided to take a walk through town and find a new place to try for lunch. It was early – only 11:30 a.m. – but lunch service had begun at most places, including The Other Farm Brewing Company.
Farm & Forge is the brand used by the brewery for its
restaurant and bar along Philadelphia Avenue. The tagline is “Food. Drink.
Music. Community.” The first part was really the only one we cared about
it.
Sure, we were a little early, but it was obvious that the
Other Farm is not a lunch spot. There were only a handful of others in the
restaurant – and that number only grew slightly during our visit. The
impressive stage in the back of the dining room says that this a place for
nightlife, not mid-day.
The food menu isn’t huge but there is decent variety among
the salads, wood-fired pizza, “smaller plates” and “bigger
plates.”
It was an excellent burger. First, ground lamb makes an
excellent base – it’s more flavorful and richer than beef. And the toppings
were perfect – especially the tomato chutney which was sweet and a little tangy
and made with cherry tomatoes so the big flavor came in big bites.
Of course any great burger must be served with great fries,
and I can say the truffle Parmesan fries (an upgrade I couldn’t pass up) were
truly great. They were loaded with shredded Parmesan cheese and parsley for an
herby finish that was made a perfect partner for the burger.
Across the table, Julie ordered a chicken bacon ranch pizza,
one of her favorite specialty flavors. It was topped with cheddar and fontina
cheeses, red onion, and of course grilled chicken and ranch dressing.
It feels like every restaurant in Berks County now offers
wood-fired pizza, but that’s not a bad thing. I much prefer the crisp crust
produced by the wood-fired oven. It provides a much sturdier, and oftentimes,
more flavorful base for the toppings.
The toppings on this pie were strewn about while the ranch
was drizzled on in a spiral. Each bite was different, but all were very
enjoyable.
Even our toddler enjoyed the slice that his mommy shared
with him.
One other thing that I enjoyed was my soup. I had ordered
the soup of the day as an appetizer, and it came served with delicious pita
chips. The soup was creamy and a little nutty – unfortunately I never wrote
down the exact description and because it was the soup of the day, I couldn’t
find a description anywhere.
(I did send a Facebook message to Other Farm a week after
our visit but only received an auto-response. Though I can’t blame them for not
answering a crazy person asking about their soup).
Everything we had was very good, and it was pretty
reasonably priced at around $40 for the whole meal.
Boyertown is home to many great restaurants (some we’ve visited include Firefly Cafe, CD’s Place and Jukebox Cafe) and you can count the Other Farm among those.
At this point, Boyertown’s dining scene may be an attraction
in and of itself.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Very Good Price: Reasonable
The Other Farm & Forge 128 E. Philadelphia Ave Boyertown, PA 19512
Editor’s Note: Just Mom’s Elverson location is now closed. The space is now home to Leone’s Elverson BYOB.
Summer feels like it has arrived early in Pennsylvania. With sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s, it feels like the right time for summer foods and cool treats.
One place that offers a little of both is Just Mom’s Ice
Cream, Deli and Grille.
Just Mom’s is located along Route 23, between Morgantown and Elverson (but still inside the border with Chester County) and is basically next door to one of our favorite finds on Berks County Eats – Morgantown Coffee House.
The restaurant sits in a strip mall where it takes up three
storefronts – one for each of its primary businesses: restaurant, deli and ice
cream parlor.
Opened in 2017, the Morgantown/Elverson location is the
second for Just Mom’s. The original still operates a few miles south in Honey
Brook, Chester County.
Julie, Jakob and I stopped in for an early dinner on a
recent Saturday afternoon and placed our orders at the counter before grabbing
a table near the deli stand. There are more than enough seats with a
combination of booths and tables throughout the main dining room.
The ice cream parlor, which occupies the right hand side of
the building, has its own unique vibe with a checkerboard floor and stainless
steel tables and high-tops.
Just Mom’s menu doesn’t stray far from a typical pizza and
sandwich shop, though they have a few items that you won’t find too many other
places. Of course that’s what we were drawn to.
The sandwich that caught my eye was the
“parmageddon,” breaded chicken, breaded eggplant, fried mushrooms and
meatballs with marinara sauce and mozzarella. The sandwich, like many of their
hot sandwiches, was toasted to melt the cheese and create a harder roll.
I liked many of the individual items that made up the
sandwich but they didn’t go together very well. Only the chicken and eggplant
were thin enough that you could reasonable get them together in the same bite.
There was only one or two meatball halves in the sandwich. And the breaded
mushrooms were a little much. The marinara was pretty good and there was just
enough cheese, but they were both lost in the shuffle with so many strong
flavors.
If I had to do it over again, I would have ordered an
eggplant parm sandwich because the eggplant was my favorite part of the
sandwich. Or I would have tried one of their cheesesteaks.
Julie opted for their unique French dip cheesesteak that was
advertised on their dry-erase board at the counter. The beef steak meat was
mixed with fried onions, French onion crisps, Provolone and Swiss. Instead of
marinara, it featured a sweet French dip.
I actually enjoyed my taste of it. It wasn’t far off the
flavor of a French dip sandwich, though both Julie and I were expecting – and probably
would have preferred – to have a cup of au jus for dipping instead of having it
mixed in with the sandwich. Still, it was a pretty good change of pace from a
typical Berks County cheesesteak.
There’s a limited kids menu where your choice of chicken
tenders, hot dog, cheeseburger or grilled cheese comes served with fries and a
fountain soda. We decided to order a hot dog for our 18-month-old only to find
out that they were out of regular hot dogs and only had quarter-pound dogs
left. We decided to go with it, knowing that he would never finish.
It was a good hot dog, split open and grilled (the best way
to make one in my opinion). Because of its size, it was served on a hoagie
roll. We cut up both for Jakob and he enjoyed it with a little ketchup. The
fries were battered and very good.
Normally, Julie and I would have split an order of fries,
but we were saving room for dessert.
The ice cream parlor has both hand-dipped and soft-serve ice
cream and serves a variety of sundaes, twisters and other sweet treats. I went
with one of my personal favorites, the black and white milkshake.
For me, it doesn’t get much better than a little vanilla and
a little chocolate in the same shake. The soft serve shake was just what I
needed to cap off my meal.
Julie tried one of the more unique hand-dipped ice cream
flavors available: French toast. There’s not really a better way to describe it
than to say it tasted like a really good French toast but sweeter. It even had
actual pieces of French toast inside the ice cream. It’s a flavor that doesn’t
seem like it should work, but it did.
Of course we had to get a little dish of soft serve for
Jakob as well. He loves ice cream (we try not to give it to him often) but he
had filled up by eating a good portion of his oversized hot dog so he was done
after a few spoonfuls.
Our dinners cost around $25 while our dessert was about $10.
For $35 total, we certainly didn’t feel cheated.
Really, we had no complaints about the meal and the service
we received was excellent and accommodating. We had two servers – one behind
the counter and one who brought us our food. They were both very nice and
helpful, especially with our little guy. I don’t know if either one of them
were the “mom” in Just Mom’s, but they made us feel at home during
our visit.
With so many options closer to our home in Wyomissing, we
probably wouldn’t make a special trip to Just Mom’s, but the next time we find
ourselves at the southern tip of the county looking for a quick bite – and
maybe a little treat – we would stop in again.
BCE Rating
Food: Good
Service: Excellent
Ambiance: Good to Very Good
Price: Reasonable
On Saturday, Quintas los Cobanas Grove (formerly Blue Falls
Grove) hosted the first annual Berks County Taco Fest.
Julie, Jakob and I made the trip to the Leesport-area
campground about an hour after the event started (it ran from 11 a.m. to 9
p.m.). We paid the $5 to park and then bought $25 worth of food tickets before
descending to the creekside parking lot where the vendors were ready.
Unfortuantely there were a couple stands that weren’t quite
ready yet, including Taqueria Los Rancheros. This was a real disappointment for
me as the restaurant recently joined Instagram – and the food looks incredible.
One retaurant that was set up early was Castaneda’s. I love Castaneda’s, but because they already had a long line (and because I have already blogged about them), we decided to skip over their stand.
Instead, we started our tasting session at the Comalli Taqueria, a locally owned and operated Food Truck that is scheduled to be everywhere from Lancaster to Allentown to Philadelphia, with plenty of stops here in Berks County throughout the year.
Comalli offered five distinct varieties – el gallo
(chorizo), al pastor (pork and pineapple), el nopal (cactus), el jefe (steak)
and tinga (pulled chicken).
Julie wanted to try to the al pastor, and she really enjoyed
it. The pork was delicious and she liked the “zing” from the
pineapple. It was also topped with onion and cilantro, the traditional
toppings.
I am a big fan of cactus so I had to order the el nopal. In addition
to the grilled cactus, it also was topped with pico de gallo and fresh avocado.
I loved it. The taco had some heat to it but not too much that the avocado
didn’t tone it down.
We had also bought a tinga taco, hoping that our
18-month-old would eat it. I enjoyed it instead. The marinated chicken was
perfect. And all three tacos were served on fresh corn tortilla that were
served hot, which made them even better.
Our second stop was to Chilangos, a Lititz restaurant that
caught our eye thanks to the giant cauldron of pork that was stewing next to
the stand.
That was for the carnitas, which unfortuantely wouldn’t be
finished for another half hour. Instead we did a double order of cochinita
pibil tacos.
Cochinita pibil is another slow-roasted pork dish – I had to
look it up. Chilangos’ had DIY toppings. I went with the standard while Julie
got pico on her’s. They also had two salsas, a spicy red and a
slightly-less-spicy salsa verde.
I loved it, especially with the salsa. The meat was tender
and well-seasoned while the green salsa added a nice jolt of flavor to every
bite. The fresh corn tortillas brought everything together nicely.
Our last stop of the afternoon was to Taco Town Catering.
The Allentown-based food truck was hard to miss with its bright red and green
paint proclaiming “best tacos.”
Julie’s final taco of the day was a chorizo taco. It was
good, and the meat was very flavorful, but chorizo is always a little drier so
it wasn’t as enjoyable as the others.
What we both enjoyed were the elotes, grilled street corn.
It’s such a simple thing – corn on the cob brushed with mayo and doused in cheese
and chili powder – but it’s so good. Even Jakob loved it, though he just wanted
the toppings.
In addition to the taco stands there were two beer stands. Candy’s
Homemade Ice Cream also brought their food truck in from Shoemakersville to
serve dessert, but we were way too full for that by the end.
By the time we left, the number of cars on the parking lot
had more than doubled. And by the looks of the photos and videos that I saw,
the festival stayed busy well into the evening.
And that’s a great thing because I thought this was a great effort for the first year. Hopefully the event comes back next year because we had a great time – and great food – and we can’t wait to do it again.
Editor’s Note: Wild Sage closed in 2022. The space is in between tenants as of late 2025.
When it opened in Spring 2017, Wild Sage Coffee and Kitchen brought a unique vibe and menu to downtown Reading.
For the first year and a half after it opened, the cafe’s
hours were limited to weekday breakfast and lunch: great for those who live and
work and downtown Reading but not great for people like me with a long commute.
Then last fall, Wild Sage introduced weekend hours, serving
brunch every Saturday and Sunday. Now two years after Wild Sage opened for
business, Julie and I finally had an opportunity to visit the little cafe on
Washington Street.
The location is convenient to the downtown business district
along the 700 block of Washington. We arrived to find the block parked full.
Thankfully the Poplar and Walnut garage is right around the corner (the charge
for up to an hour is $2 but we actually didn’t have to pay anything when we put
the ticket in the machine).
Before Wild Sage took over, the stone town home housed a
doctor’s office. The decor inside is simple with gray walls and a hardwood
floor. The walls featured paintings and drawings from local artists. The bells
on the door jangled with every passing car. “Our ghost,” one employee
joked as the sound caught my attention.
On weekends, the full menu – both breakfast and lunch – are available
along with a select few brunch-only specials. The menu changes seasonally but
always features soups, salads, sandwiches and grain bowls for lunch with
sandwiches, toast, fruit bowls and select sweets at breakfast.
And of course they have a full menu of specialty drinks that
includes coffee, tea, smoothies and more. I decided to try the iced chai tea
while Julie went with a cold brewed tea.
Chai lattes are a favorite of mine, but not everyone offers
a cold version of the spiced tea so I was excited to see it on Wild Sage’s
menu. It did not disappoint. It had the right blend of chai spice and creamy
milk to make for a refreshing mid-morning drink. Julie also enjoyed her lavender
lemon tea – unsweetened but with a strong, relaxing lavender flavor.
For our meals, I stuck with the breakfast side of the menu
while Julie went with lunch.
My sweet tooth told me to order the cinnamon roll pancakes:
two pancakes topped with a cream cheese glaze and candied walnuts with cinnamon
sugar. They were a true indulgence.
The cream cheese glaze was delicious and the walnuts added some nice
texture. But it was the cinnamon sugar, which had been nicely caramelized, that
really hit on the perfect flavor combination.
I had also ordered a hash brown waffle, one of the sides
listed on the brunch-only menu. Unfortunately I was told that it was no longer
being offered. Instead of replacing it with bacon or a fried egg (the only
other sides listed) I stuck with just the pancakes. I probably could have eaten
something else but I really didn’t need to so in the end I didn’t miss it.
For her lunch, Julie went with a soup and sandwich combo. For the soup, she opted for their roasted red pepper soup. It was topped with feta cheese and balsamic drizzle, the former added a tang and a little creaminess.
The only complaint was that it could have been hotter. It was warm, but it wasn’t the steaming cup of hot soup that would be expected.
Her maple bacon sandwich was also a winner in her book. It
featured turkey, apple, cheddar cheese, bacon and a maple spread on thick-cut
white toast.
Turkey, bacon and cheddar always go well together, and Julie
enjoyed the addition of the maple spread -a sweet sauce – and the apples which
gave the sandwich a crunchy texture.
Our meal was very good all around. And even with our two
drinks, we spent less than $30 so I’d say it was a good deal as well.
I’m glad that Wild Sage added weekend hours so those of us
outside the city can enjoy this great little cafe downtown. Hopefully more
guests will take advantage of it because it seemed like a relatively slow day
during what would be considered the lunch rush.
At least I can say that we will be back.
BCE Rating: Food: Very Good Ambiance: Very Good Service: Good Price: Reasonable
Wild Sage Coffee & Kitchen 731 Washington St Reading, PA 19601
I will admit that before last week, the Heritage Restaurant
in Morgantown was not high on my list of places to visit.
I’ve passed the Heritage Restaurant many times and have never felt the urge to stop. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, a relic from the times when I-176 and the Turnpike didn’t connect and drivers were funneled along Route 10. The motel behind the restaurant certainly doesn’t make it look any more appealing.
But, as they say, never judge a book by its cover.
The restaurant has clearly been updated inside with simple
decor in the dining room. The walls are painted gray and are adorned with
photography while the seating is made up of wooden tables with darker wooden
chairs. While there were only a handful of tables occupied in the dining room,
the bar area – which has a separate entrance – was full, which explained the
jammed parking lot.
I was invited by fellow writer (and Heritage regular) Cathy
Cuff-Coffman to a prix fixe dinner at the Heritage, a new concept for the
restaurant but one that they were excited to try out and potentially make a
part of the regular offerings.
Our meal was being hosted in their new private dining area.
What was formerly the billiards room has been redone to host private functions.
One wall features exposed stones while the other three are decorated simply
with historic photos that capture the construction of the highways that connect
in Morgantown.
A single long table was set with six chairs on each side.
Five couples had won their seats through drawings in the restaurant and on
social media, having their names drawn from more than 166 entrants. And then
there were the two writers at the end of the table, reporter’s notebooks in
hand.
Before our meal service began, we were introduced to owner
Tamara King. King has owned the restaurant since December 2017 and during that
time has made several upgrades to the dining area and hired Chef Brandon Pennypacker
to update the menu. The idea for the prix fixe meal is to give Chef Brandon an
opportunity to flex his creative muscle and put together a five-course meal
with a cohesive theme. For this meal, the theme was spring: spring flavors,
spring colors and spring-inspired foods.
Chef Brandon introduced each course as it was presented, and
spring colors were on full display with the arrival of our first dish – a corn
soup with fresh pico de gallo, pork belly and avocado crema with lime.
What a great way to start the meal. The corn was reduced down
to form a base that was creamy but textured. The mix-ins took it to another
level. The fresh pico was my favorite part – especially the bits of tomato that
burst with a perfect sweet flavor. The salty, crunchy pork added a completely
different, but no less enjoyable, flavor and texture to the meal. Throughout
the dish, the avocado crema added a sweet and creamy flavor, with a little sour
lime thrown in.
It was a very impressive start and just a preview of the
great food still to come.
Our second course was a strawberry salad. It featured
spinach and kale topped with a basil poppy seed dressing, fresh strawberries, dragon
fruit and candied pecans, served with fried goat cheese.
The salad was excellent. I loved the addition of the mildly
sweet dragon fruit and the earthy indulgence of the candied pecans. The goat
cheese croquette was also good, but I didn’t care for it as much as part of the
salad. I didn’t care for how the molten cheese blended with the chilled greens.
Separately though, it was good and something that no one else in Berks County
is trying.
Chef Brandon has a diverse culinary background. Since
graduating from the Pennsylvania School of Culinary Arts, he has worked in 17
restaurants in greater Reading and Lancaster city. Stops have included the
Hitching Post, Virginville Hotel, Blackjax and Billy Burger. For the last 10
months, he has been the lead at the Heritage Restaurant and has worked to remove
canned and prepacked items in favor of creating more in-house.
All five courses highlighted what can be done when a
talented chef is given an opportunity to experiment with different styles,
techniques and ingredients. Nowhere was that more evident than our third
course: three scallops each served with its own unique accompaniment.
Chef Brandon introduced them from right to left. First, the
mint pea was a thick puree that was reminiscent of the best pea soup with just
a touch of mint to add a little brightness. In the middle was a sun-dried
tomato pesto (more on this in a moment). And on the left, a saffron orange
aioli. I appreciated the tanginess but I have never been a big fan of aioli.
But the sun-dried tomato pesto may have been the best thing
I have tasted in a long time. Instead of pistachio, it featured crushed
almonds. It had a wonderful smoky flavor throughout, and it worked so perfectly
with the buttery scallop (which were all cooked perfectly, nicely seared
without being burnt). I have never been a fan of seafood of any kind, but I
would gladly order scallops every day if they came with that pesto.
Tamara had told us that in his quest to put together the
perfect menu, Chef Brandon had gone through 15 iterations of the menu and tried
many different items. One of those, a blueberry venison sausage sounded amazing
but was “awful.” Thankfully, that didn’t make it onto our plates as
an entree.
Instead, we were treated to wagyu steak with lemon-lime finishing salt and chimichurri sauce, served with a couscous and quinoa mixture that was also topped with lemon-lime seasoning.
Wagyu beef, as Chef Brandon pointed out, is a type of beef
from Japan known for its high marbling and richness. A meat with high marbling
has more fat in the lean cuts, creating a more flavorful meat. It was clear
from the first bite that the meat was high quality. I would normally order my
food a little less pink than what was presented, but it was so good that I
didn’t mind at all.
What really set the dish apart was the lemon-lime finishing
salt. There was enough on the meat to give a taste, but there was even more
dusted in the corners of the plate. And adding that little bit of extra salt
turned this into an A-plus dish. It managed to bring out even more flavors from
the meat and was the perfect compliment.
I enjoyed the chimichurri sauce with the beef as well. It
added a tangy layer to the dish. But honestly, I would have been content with
just the sweet salt.
Chef Brandon tell us a little more about the course we’re about to eat.
When there is so much flavor on the plate, the quinoa and
couscous just couldn’t compare. It had a light seasoning, but the grains felt
boring compared to the other items on the plate and those we had already tried.
Four courses in and we were anxious to see what would be
coming for dessert. We had tried a lot of food, but the portions had been
perfect so there was still just enough room for the special treat that would
complete the meal.
The dessert course was a sight to behold. Each plate
featured a sponge cake topped with fresh strawberries, chocolate mousse,
chipotle raspberry sea salt, another layer of sponge cake, banana whipped cream
and a strawberry sugar dust.
Photo Credit: Cathy Cuff-Coffman
I don’t think there was anyone in the room that didn’t love
this. With just the chocolate mousse and perfectly baked sponge cake, the dish
would have been a winner. But the addition of the sea salt and the sugar put it
over the top.
First, the chipotle raspberry sea salt hit in so many ways.
The added salt enhanced all of the sweet flavors while the chipotle gave it
just the slightest bit of heat that was surprising and wonderful.
Then there was the strawberry sugar dust. Chef Brandon
described it as a homemade Pixie Stick. He took dehydrated strawberries and ran
them through a food processor before blending them with sugar. It really did
taste like a candy topping, a concentrated sweetness that helped highlight the
natural sweetness from the fresh fruit.
I don’t think there could have been a better way to end the
meal.
Owner Tamara King with Chef Brandon
The prix fixe dinners are a new concept for the Heritage.
Everyone received comment cards and were asked to rate every part of the meal –
but from the table talk, it sounded like rave reviews from all those in
attendance.
Now that I have experienced the Heritage for the first time,
I am looking forward to returning and bringing Julie and Jakob along. I’m sure
I won’t be getting wagyu steak or a strawberry salad, but I’m confident that I
will love the burgers, sandwiches and entrees found on the regular menu.
After my meal, the Heritage is now at the top of my list of
places to re-visit.
BCE Rating Food: Excellent Service: Excellent Ambiance: Good Value: N/A
Heritage Restaurant 6016 Morgantown Rd (Route 10) Morgantown, PA 19543
