A large plate of spaghetti covered in marinara sauce
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Review: Mom Chaffe’s Cellarette

menu front that reads Mom Chaffe's with an image of a woman in glasses and the words Est. August, 1936

For such a small town, West Reading has a seemingly endless array of restaurants.

No less than 30 restaurants and cafes are packed into the town’s 1.5 square miles. From French cuisine to fried chicken and from vegetarian to Mediterranean, foodies can find a world of flavors in this tiny borough.

While most will never venture from the Penn Avenue and the vibrant downtown area, there is much more to this wonderful small town.

Tulpehocken Avenue shoots off from the 5th Avenue traffic circle. Blink and you may miss it and the hidden gem that it holds.

Mom Chaffe’s Cellarette looks like every other home on the block, except for the brightly lit sign proclaiming “Italian Food” and “Cocktails.”

A small brass plate on the front has a simple inscription: “Mom Chaffe’s Est. 1936.”

It is amazing that any restaurant could survive for nearly 80 years, especially one like Mom Chaffe’s, which still does not have a website, a Facebook page or any other online presence. What it does have are loyal customers and 78 years of history on its side.

Like West Reading, itself, Mom Chaffe’s packs a lot into a small space. At times it is too much as the wait staff is forced to navigate a maze of tables and chairs in the main dining room. Even the walls are cramped, with dozens of paintings fighting over the limited space.

What’s not cramped is the menu. It’s very limited-two pages of pasta, antipasto and entrees with a handful of specials added daily.

One of the specials on this night was the Italian fried hot peppers, which were served as an appetizer with sliced tomato and mozzarella over lettuce.

close-up photo of Italian long hot peppers

Though the dish was served cold, there was no escaping the heat. These were some very spicy peppers, loaded with heat and flavor. The creamy chunks of mozarella were a perfect compliment to the peppers, and along with the tomato and lettuce helped cool the taste buds.

While I was adventurous with the appetizer, I played it conservative with my meal and opted for fedelini with tomato sauce and meatballs.

photo of meatballs atop a plate of spaghetti

The two meatballs were massive, clearly hand-formed and full of flavor. The sauce was bright red and thick, one of the best I have found in the area. My only complaint is that there was enough of it to mix with the mound of pasta that was buried underneath.

bowl with lasagna smothered in red sauce

Across the table, my wife went with the lasagna (which is only available Thursday through Sunday). I wish I had made the same decision because the one bite of hers I tried was delicious. The lasagna featured both ground meat and thinly sliced sausage layered with pasta and cheese and topped with the same thick tomato sauce as my pasta. It was a meaty, yet balanced dish that I enjoyed as much as any lasagna I’ve tried (and was enough that she took home half for the next day’s lunch).

slice of chocolate cake on a plate with a dollop of whipped cream

The dessert tray was sitting on a table near us, and after staring at it for most of our meal, there was no way we were going to be leaving without some. It was all fairly standard cakes and cheesecakes (I would venture to guess that these were not made in house, but at another local business). I went with a chocolate cake with a filling of ricotta and dried fruit. The cake itself was very dark, but the filling was incredibly sweet, with pieces of pineapple, apricot and other fruit mixed in for added texture.

In a restaurant with such limited seating, I had expected the prices to be higher to compensate. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the prices were in line any other restaurant with entrees falling in the $15-25 range. For our appetizer, two entrees and two slices of cake, our final bill was just over $50.

Overall, Mom Chaffe’s is a great little place for fine Italian food. If you go, make sure you save room. And be sure to call ahead or there may not be room for you.

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

Mom Chaffe’s Cellarette
148 Tulpehocken Ave
West Reading, PA 19611

Classics Dessert Finer Dining Italian Lunch & Dinner Reviews
nighttime view of the Stouch Tavern in Womelsdorf
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Review: Stouch Tavern

historic home with a sign out front that reads "Stouch Tavern 1785"

(Editor’s Note: The Stouch Tavern has changed owners since this blog. The menu remains similar with a mix of Pennsylvania Dutch meals and steakhouse favorites, including their daily lunch buffet).

The business section of the Sunday Reading Eagle is not normally a place to look for inspiration – I spend less time looking through section D than I do catching up on the adventures of Prince Valiant and Hagar the Horrible – but inspiration can strike at any time.

As I leafed through the classifieds one week, one ad, in particular, stood out to me:

Historic
Stouch Tavern
Restaurant
Real Estate, Business Equipment
Liquor License, Living Quarters
Plenty of Parking
$295,000
 

I already knew the business was for sale before my last visit to the Womelsdorf establishment in February. Former owners William and Diane Crumrine passed away within a few months of each other last year, leaving the business in the hands of their children. To the family’s credit, the Stouch Tavern continues as it did in the years before, minus William playing the piano in the first floor bar room.

For more than 200 years, the building has served as an inn, restaurant and meeting place in Womelsdorf, a small town on the western edge of Berks County. Now the oldest tavern in the county, the historic inn played host to George Washington during a 1793 trip to Carlisle. Our first president now lends his name to the ghost that is said to inhabit the building’s upper floor.

From the moment you walk in, you can feel the building’s history. A steep staircase rises in front of guests at the main entrance. Portraits of former owners peer down on diners in every dining room.  The wooden floor creeks with every step.

Tables are shoehorned into the narrow rooms, fitting as many patrons as possible. It’s a lesson in how not to design a restaurant, but the building has lived through four centuries, and sometimes you just have to forgo modern luxury.

cup of asparagus soup

Our waiter weaves between tables and the salad cart to deliver my first course, a bowl of cream of asparagus soup, the soup du jour for the night. I love asparagus so I loved the soup. Though it was a little thinner than most cream soups, and a little saltier than I would have preferred, I still lapped it up quickly.

steak topped with mushrooms with a side salad

Then came the main course. a juicy filet mignon, cooked to my liking (always medium well), covered in mushrooms. There are no choices for the sides. Every entree is served with the fresh vegetables of the day. Our waiter used the back of two spoons to grab the potatoes, squash and carrots and place them, one at a time, on our plates. It’s an awkward process, but the vegetables are fresh and cooked to a perfect al dente.

steak topped with fried onion ring and cheese with a side of assorted vegetables

As good as my food was, I suggest any first-time visitor try the Specialty of the House – beef medallions and a slice of ham, smothered in mushroom sauce and Monterey jack cheese, topped with a fried onion ring (a surprising addition considering it’s the only fried item on the menu). Everything melts together into one meaty, cheesy, salty dish. It’s a unique combination of flavors only available at the Tavern.

server making bananas foster in a pan with a large flame
bowl of bananas over ice cream

No true Stouch Tavern experience is complete without dessert. More than just a sweet final course, dessert is a show. The bananas foster (as well as the cherries jubilee) is made tableside. Start with a heaping helping of butter, add brown sugar, bananas, rum and fire, and you get part dessert, part performance art. The gooey bananas mix is then poured over a giant bowl of ice cream. The sugar rush is worth the wait.

The late William Crumrine used to make the bananas himself. “I do the easy jobs,” he said. “I play the piano and make the bananas.” The Crumrines can never be replaced, but hopefully a willing buyer can be found, preferably one who is willing to make bananas foster.

The Stouch Tavern is open every day except Tuesday for dinner, and open for lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. In addition to its regular menu, the Tavern offers a buffet during lunch hours.

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

Stouch Tavern
138 W. High St
Womelsdorf, PA 19567

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Review: Christine’s Creekside Inn

Nestled along the Allegheny Creek south of Gibraltar, Christine’s Creekside Inn seemingly appears out of nowhere on Green Hills Road. Built originally as a grist mill, the 18th century building was transformed into a restaurant in the 1970s, and finally became Christine’s in 2008.

On a Thursday night in December, my wife and I made our first visit to the Christine’s. Three chandeliers hung from the center of the ceiling, their light revealing the beauty of the nearly 250-year-old building. Every table was covered in white linen, with red napkins that matched the upholstered chairs. One original stone wall remained untouched on the far side of the room.

Dimly lit dining room with chandeliers and white tablecloths

It was disappointing to see such a beautiful room nearly empty as only one other couple was in the dining room with us for most of our meal. The waitress’s footsteps on the hardwood floor echoed through the cavernous room.

Maybe it was because it was a slow night, but our service was incredible.  Our waitress doubled as the bartender, and she went out of her way to make sure we enjoyed our dinner.

To add to the ambiance, all diners receive a warm towel to freshen up with before their meal. It’s a nice touch that really makes it feel like you are not just eating out, you’re dining.

I started my meal with the soup du jour, a tasty ham and bean soup, which like the rest of the menu, is made from scratch. The dinner rolls were also fresh and still warm from the oven when they arrived at our table.

My main course for the evening was the “Touch of Italy,” which features grilled chicken, sausage, peppers, mushrooms, onions and linguine tossed in a light tomato sauce.

plate of spaghetti with chicken, sausage, peppers and onions

The “Touch of Italy” could easily have fed two people. The waitress brought it out in a large serving bowl, and after filling my plate it looked like the bowl had barely been touched.

The natural sweetness of the fresh tomatoes came through in every bite. Unlike a thick marinara sauce, the oil in this sauce helped it stick to everything, blending flavors perfectly. My side of vegetables tasted like they were picked from the garden that morning. The bright orange color of the carrots glowed in the room’s soft lighting.

My wife ordered the Steak Alexander, served with red onions in a confit sauce, a balsamic base that was still sweet, which added a unique flavor to the choice cut of steak. The home fries were more like potato wedges, deliciously seasoned with an herb blend.

The only downside to our meal was the portion size left us no room to try any of the Inn’s homemade desserts.

Our bill totaled about $65, but we took advantage of a restaurant.com coupon for $25.00 off. Christine’s website also offers coupon promotions throughout the year so be sure to check before you go. Because the food is made fresh, reservations are highly recommended, so try to plan your visit in advance. It’s definitely worth the visit.

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

Christine’s Creekside Inn
1250 Green Hills Rd
Birdsboro, PA 19508

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