I can think of several locations around Berks County that feel like a revolving door for restaurants. Each time, I think “this is the one that’s going to stick.”
One of those locations is 100 Constitution Boulevard in Kutztown, currently the home of Saucony Cafe.
This is actually the fourth time we’ve reviewed a restaurant in this space. One of our earliest blogs was CC’s Wooden Grill which closed in 2014. We also visited Potts’ U Hot Dogs (2016) and Mad Dogs (2018).
Saucony Cafe took over the space in 2022, already outlasting its two most recent predecessors. It helps that the business began across town seven years earlier.
I arrived on a Thursday afternoon in June – the students were all home for the summer and the Cafe was quiet. It was clear they weren’t expecting dine-in guests – boxes of supplies were on a table by the front door, and the lights were dimmed at the far end of the space.
After I ordered, I took a seat at one of the three available tables. In just five minutes, my food arrived.
I ordered a rodeo burger – onion rings, bacon and BBQ sauce – with fries. I had watched as the burger was hand-patted while I paid so I knew it was fresh. And you could taste the difference in the first bite.
I’ve had many similar burgers, and this was one of the best. The twin patties were smashed thin so they caramelized on the outside. The onion rings were good, the bacon was excellent, and there was plenty of sweet BBQ sauce on top.
The battered fries on the side were perfect for cleaning up the sauce that fell on the plate. They were hot and crispy, perfect on their own or to dip.
With my Icy Tea, the meal came to about $18, a fair price for the portion sizes and quality. I would order again, but with a less-than-inviting dining room, I would probably stick to takeout.
Although this was my first visit to the Saucony Cafe, I had tried their food the prior week at the Cougar Cafe, the snack bar at Kutztown Park where Jakob was playing in a baseball tournament.
On that day, I had a chicken bacon ranch sandwich. The chicken breast patty was fried to order so it came out piping hot. It was loaded with ranch dressing and bacon. Unlike some places that put strips of bacon on top, this featured finely chopped bacon which ensured that salty and savory flavor in every bite of the sandwich.The seeded roll was a nice touch.
And on the side, I had the same delicious fries they serve at the restaurant.
They also have indoor seating with sports trophies adorning the walls around the brick structure. Just be aware that the building is not air conditioned so it didn’t provide any relief from the 90-degree heat outside.
If you’re attending an event at the park, I recommend grabbing a bite from them. And I would definitely recommend a burger from the Saucony Cafe.
With good food like this, it has a great chance to be the restaurant that finally works in this location.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Excellent Ambiance: Poor Price: $$
If there’s one thing that almost every Berks Countian loves, it’s a good deal. When you have kids, finding those deals is even more important. That’s why I have a guide on Berks County Eats highlighting all of the restaurants that offer free kids meals.
On a recent Sunday night, with Julie out of town, I found myself looking for a spot to take our boys (Jakob – 8 and Lukas – 2) for dinner.
I wanted to take advantage of a free kids meal, if I could, and we had several choices of where to find one on a Sunday night. One of those restaurants is Copperz Brewing in Hamburg.
This was not our first visit to Copperz – Julie and I had brought Jakob in 2022, when it was just the three of us. This time, I had Jakob’s little brother in tow for his first visit.
We arrived just at 5 p.m. I was surprised to see so many cars in the parking lot already as that’s usually early enough to beat the crowds. Once inside, we saw a few other families taking advantage of the Sunday special as we sat in one of the last two open tables.
Thankfully, Copperz has a fairly large dining room with tables for six along the wall, four-seaters in the middle and plenty of bar seating. Behind our table were two large brown couches. At the opposite corner, a party of eight was gathered at tables by the door. A few more tables were set up outside, but we didn’t dare brave the heat and late afternoon sun.
We made some quick decisions on dinner and when our server arrived to greet us, we already knew what we wanted. Just 20 minutes after we arrived and 15 minutes after we ordered, our food arrived.
I had decided on one of the restaurant’s signature sandwiches: the brewdaddy. It starts with a pretzel bun with either a burger or chicken sandwich (I chose a burger) topped with spring mix greens, bacon, beer cheese and “a drizzle of hot honey.”
Even though I don’t drink beer, I really enjoy beer cheese on a burger or a sandwich. This was no exception. The flavor was solid – with that little bit of hoppiness coming through. The bacon was a true star, with little hints of heat and sweet pairing well with the salty bacon.
The burger was served with fries (a slight upcharge from the chips). The golden battered dipped fries were excellent, but I couldn’t finish them as large as the burger was.
Jakob happily helped me with them. He had ordered the kids’ flatbread pizza – a half flatbread topped with sauce, mozzarella and seasonings. It’s not “real” pizza, but it was solid. And it was much better than the frozen stuff we’ve found on some kids’ menus.
And with it only being a half of a flatbread, Jakob was happy to finish off the fries that I couldn’t.
Lukas got his own fries with his chicken nuggz kids meal. (The flatbread is the only kids meal that doesn’t come with a side). The chicken was more like boneless wings than generic nuggets. Of course, Lukas had to start with his fries – eating all of them so he only had enough room for two of his nuggets. Again, they could have taken the easy way out with the kids meal, but it felt like we got quality.
Jakob’s flatbread was $5, the cheaper of the two, so that was taken off our bill, bringing the total down to about $35, a reasonable price for three meals (with an iced tea for me and a lemonade for Jakob).
We loved our food and had a good time. At the end of our meal though, we found ourselves waiting for our check as our server was tending the bar. But we were still in and out of the restaurant in under an hour.
Overall, it was a great boys’ night out. And we made a great choice when we chose Copperz.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Ambiance: Very Good Service: Good Price: $$
Copperz Brewing Co. 798 S. Fourth Street Hamburg, PA 19526
A good lunch spot has to have four things: good food, quick service, reasonable prices, and a cool vibe.
Crave Cafe in Sinking Spring continues to check all the boxes.
Though the cafe got a new owner in late 2024, the cafe is still delivering in all the areas that have made it a favorite over the last decade.
We first visited Crave in 2015, and with Julie working just five minutes away, we have visited many times since.
Our most recent visit came in January 2026. We arrived for an early lunch – around 11 a.m. before the rush was in full force and still found only a couple open tables (they were a lot more scarce by noon). The fireplace is still the focal point of the main dining room, but a second dining area provides more seating in the room behind it.
We got in line and were quickly called over to a second station to place our order before taking our number back to a table for two along the wall.
The temperature in the room tends to run a little cold, and I was quickly reminded of it as we sat waiting, but it didn’t take long for our food to arrive and I was no longer thinking about anything except lunch.
I always have a hard time choosing between their paninis and flatbreads, but on this visit I opted for a panini – The Dunk. The sandwich comes with chicken breast, tomatoes, mozzarella, pesto aioli and balsamic glaze.
At it’s core, it’s a Caprese salad with the balsamic, mozzarella and tomato all working together to create a familiar flavor profile. But the pesto aioli adds nuttiness and earthiness to the dish while the chicken makes it heartier and more filling. It’s relatively simple but very satisfying.
For her meal, Julie did a soup and sandwich combo with a hearty tomato soup and a grilled cheese with the addition of bacon. Julie loves bacon and it gives the grilled cheese an added crunch and savory notes.
Both meals are between $12-15, but Julie got a matcha and I got a hot chai. Both came served in mugs from the cafe’s eclectic collection – mine a stubby US Air Force mug, hers a tall blue and white. The chai is a typical sweet style tea latte that has little resemblance to a true chai but is no less enjoyable. The matcha had the distinct green color and sweet-yet-earthy flavor to it that was a perfect go-with.
Lunch for two typically costs around $30, but we were around $35 for this one with our drinks. Sure, you can find places where we can eat for closer to $20, but it’s more than just the price – it’s the combination of everything. The price is fair, the food is good, the service is on-point, and Crave continues to be one of the coolest lunch spots around.
And we’ll keep coming back.
BCE Rating Food: Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Very Good Price: $$
Crave Cafe 4600 Penn Avenue Sinking Spring, PA 19608
There is always a buzz around a new restaurant when it opens. The trick, however, is keeping the buzz going weeks and months after the opening.
We have seen a lot of new restaurants open in Berks County in the past few years, but none have been able to sustain the buzz quite like Sinking Spring’s Crave Cafe.
Crave Cafe opened at Green Valley Nursery in November 2024, in the strip of stores off Route 422 behind the Charlotte Shoppe. It’s nearly invisible from the road, but that doesn’t stop the dining room from filling up every day at lunch.
The ambiance is truly unique. In fact, every table is unique. Each one has its own set of chairs, different styles, different colors and different sizes.
A pair of parlor chairs sit in front of a large stone fireplace. Highly sought-after, they are, at the same time, the most appropriate and most out-of-place chairs in the cafe.
Orders are placed at the counter where the cashier is set up with an iPad that’s connected to a cash drawer and credit card machine. We took our number and retreated to our little table for two (we made sure to save one before ordering, just in case).
It wasn’t long before our drinks arrived. Normally I don’t spend the money (or the calories) for a drink, but being at a cafe, I felt obligated.
But instead of coffee or tea, Julie and I both went for frozen: a mango smoothie for me and a frozen hot chocolate for her.
Mine was good, but I was a little disappointed to see the syrup flavor going in when I was hoping for fresh fruit. Julie’s frozen hot chocolate did not disappoint, however. She happily slurped it down and was nearly finished by the time that our food arrived.
Both of us opted for the soup and sandwich combo. For me, it was a bowl of chili and an Italian chicken panini.
The chili thickened as the shredded cheese on top started melting. It had a good balance of flavors: not too spicy, a little sweet and plenty meaty. A bowl of it with some bread would probably make a nice meal on its own.
My sandwich was excellent. The Italian chicken came with grilled chicken breast, spinach, sun-dried tomato, mozzarella and basil pesto aioli.
Chicken and spinach poked out the sides of the sandwich along with the mozzarella that melted mozzarella that was oozing onto the plate.
The meat wasn’t the most flavorful I have had, but it didn’t need to be with the strong flavors it was paired with. I love pesto anything, especially when paired with sun-dried tomatoes. The mozzarella did well to keep everything together and hold most of the sandwich inside the grilled pita.
Julie’s chicken and basil soup was the soup of the day for our visit. With little pastas and chunks of tomato, it looked like a pasta e fagioli, but there were no beans. Instead, the brothy soup was lighter with the basil providing light notes to go with the chunky ingredients.
For her sandwich, Julie went with the turkey bacon avocado. Turkey doesn’t have a lot of flavor to start which allowed the bacon, tomatoes and chipotle aioli to shine through. Likewise, the avocado took a back seat to the stronger flavors it was paired with. Overall, everything blended well together for a hearty and filling sandwich.
The soup and half-sandwich combos are very reasonably priced, but with the addition of our frozen drinks, our total came out much higher than it normally would for lunch at about $25.
Crave Cafe continues to generate buzz more than a year after it first opened. The relaxed atmosphere helps set it apart from other go-to lunch spots in the Sinking Spring area.
But it’s the food that keeps filling the tables at lunchtime.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Good Ambiance: Excellent Price: Reasonable
When you visit West Reading, most don’t venture far from the avenue. In 2022, Takkii Ramen bucked the trend, opening in a space a block away on Reading Avenue. Despite being away from the crowds, Takkii stuck around and ultimately expanded.
In 2025, the restaurant made the move to the Avenue, opening in the former Broken Chair Brewery. Not only did they take over the location, they also took over brewing. With the expanded concept came a name change to West Brew Izakaya. West for West Reading, Brew for the brewery and Izakaya for a style of Japanese pub.
The new West Brew opened in September 2025. Julie and I made a lunch date to get our first visit a few months later in February 2026.
Not being a drinker, I never made it into Broken Chair before they closed in 2024. My only reference points are photos of the previous business. The core components of Broken Chair are still visible: exposed brick walls and a bar fronted with corrugated steel.
But West Brew has added some unique flairs. Lights in the form of paper lanterns – yellow globes beneath a row of box lights in red, blue and green – hang above the bar. On the walls, the flatscreen TVs play anime favorites Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z.
Much of Takkii’s menu has been brought over to the new spot. Ramen and rice dishes make up most of the menu. While I like ramen, I gravitate to the rice bowls, and on this trip I ordered the sukiyaki beef don.
The bowl came with white rice, marinated beef, scallions and pickled ginger. The marinated beef had a very good flavor on its own, deeper than a standard soy or teriyaki sauce – but the tanginess of the pickled ginger is what sets it apart in my book. It made for a delicious lunch, though I would have been satisfied with a smaller portion.
At lunchtime, West Brew runs a special combo of an entree, appetizer and drink so we decided to share an appetizer of chicken gyoza – Japanese-style dumplings with soy dipping sauce. They were a very good start to the meal with the soy sauce giving a bright pop to each bite.
In addition to the beers, West Brew is also serving boba drinks from their other business, Winnie Tea Bar. I ordered my favorite – brown sugar milk tea – to accompany my lunch.
Julie got a taro milk tea, which is her favorite boba drink. Taro is a purple cousin of the potato with a slightly sweet profile. I don’t know how much of the real vegetable is involved in creating the boba, but it makes for a good drink.
For her entree, Julie ordered the teriyaki chicken ramen. The bowl was filled with a pork-based broth with noodles, bamboo shoots, beansprouts, corn, and scallions. On top with a grilled chicken breast marinated in a teriyaki glaze.
It was a delicious meal. As she ate it, Julie decided she liked the heartiness of the broth more than the lighter pho we had a few weeks before at Saigon Banh Mi (though that meal was still very good). The chicken was nice and flavorful with sweet and salty notes from the glaze. But it was too much to finish, especially at lunch.
Overall, it was a great meal. Service was a little slow on the day as the restaurant was full at the lunchtime rush, but our server was attentive (and had great recommendations for the flavor of bubbles to match our tea). But we were still done in a little more than an hour.
Our total bill came in between $50-$60 which was expensive for lunch, but we were also enjoying dinner-sized portions and splurging on boba.
And we really did enjoy our meal and our time at West Brew, and we will be sure to be back.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Good Ambiance: Very Good Price: $$
West Brew Izakaya 424 Penn Avenue West Reading, PA 19611
Over the years, the Shillington Farmers Market has been home to some of our favorite spots. Brocmar Smokehouse and Matt’s Chicken were favorites before they closed while Eve’s Thai Kitchen remains one of our go-tos.
And now, I can add That Burger Place to the list of great offerings at the market.
That Burger Place opened in late 2023 as Shillington Burgers and More in the former Matt’s Chicken stand. It became That Burger Place in early 2024, and last year, the business moved to a larger stand at the north end of the market.
I visited for the first time in early January. The stand was hopping at lunchtime with a line of people waiting for their food and another two people in line in front of me waiting to order.
The menu is written out on blackboards on the front of the stand. It starts with cheeseburger combos – quarter-pound burgers with fries and a drink for $8. Other options include grilled chicken, pulled pork and chopped cheese.
Normally, I would have started with the basics but not knowing when I’d make it back, I couldn’t pass on the January burger of the month: the French dip burger.
Roast beef and Cooper sharp cheese topped the burger which came with a side cup of au jus for dipping. After about a 15-minute wait (all burgers are made to order), I got my food and headed to the upstairs seating area.
To say I was impressed would be an understatement. The burger, itself, was delicious: perfectly cooked and flavorful on its own. The roast beef on top was also flavorful and the Cooper sharp was a great choice for the cheese – melty, but not overpowering in flavor. That Burger Place couldn’t have made a better first impression.
The fries were also good. Though they weren’t anything particularly special, they were hot, golden yellow, and perfectly satisfying while allowing the burger to be the rightful star.
I enjoyed the meal so much that I had to go back for another taste. This time, it was a simpler burger.
The standard toppings are cheese, mustard, ketchup and pickles. I prefer the classic lettuce, tomato and onion so I passed on those toppings and spent the extra dollar for the veggies while also adding some BBQ sauce. It was about a 10-minute wait while they made everything fresh, then I made the short drive home rather than eating at the market.
Everything traveled very well. The burger was excellent again with the patty showing a nice caramelization as it hung out the sides of the bun. It was good from the first bite to the last. The fries also held up well on the trip home and remained crispy.
The prices are excellent, too. The French dip special was $13 for the combo while my custom burger combo was still less than $10. Two meals for less than $25 is a great bargain, but the best part is that That Burger Place doesn’t sacrifice quality for those prices. These are some of the best burgers in Berks at half the price of a sit-down restaurant.
I know I’ll be paying more attention to their monthly burger specials, looking for an excuse to return. Not that I need one, the burgers at That Burger Place are just that good.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Excellent Ambiance: Good Price: $
That Burger Place Shillington Farmers Market 10 S. Summit Avenue Shillington, PA 19607
As much time as I have spent in Kutztown over the years, I’ve spent very little of it at Renninger’s Farmers Market.
The Friday-Saturday schedule makes it tough. And with excellent markets in Wyomissing, Shillington, and Muhlenberg, Renninger’s is often an afterthought.
I did stop in back in 2023 when Heart & Hearth first opened, but visits have been few and far between. I decided to change that back in October, and after weighing the options, I decided to give Fry Daddy’s a try.
As the name implies, Fry Daddy’s is a stand with a singular focus: deep-fried foods. The menu includes French fries (of course), fried pierogies, chicken fingers and sandwiches, fish and chips, and deep-fried hamburgers and hot dogs.
I decided to try a combo meal of chicken fingers and fries. The price is unbelievable. For $6.50, I got four large chicken tenders, an order of fries, barbecue sauce for dipping, and a small side of coleslaw.
(For another $1.50, I got a Brisk iced tea bringing the total to $8.00).
For the price, I didn’t expect the portion size I got – almost enough to feed two. And I also didn’t expect the quality that I got. The chicken may not have been the most outstanding that I’ve ever had, but they were good. The fries, though, were excellent. They were fresh-cut style with skin-on cooked to a crispy golden color. The small, bite sizes fries were easy to eat a handful at a time. They’re definitely hard to top.
I enjoyed my meal enough to return in early January. This time, I opted for the chicken sandwich combo meal. Once again, it came with fries and coleslaw for $6.50. (I skipped the drink this time).
Topping options are limited – cheese and mayo – and I decided all I needed was a little bit of mayo.
Again, it’s simple, but I really enjoyed it. The sandwich, while still hearty, was more manageable than the chicken tenders and I didn’t feel as overly full. The fries were excellent again – some of the best around.
The coleslaw is also solid. It’s not the most flavorful, but it’s creamy and made for a nice addition to the box.
There’s nothing fancy about Renninger’s. It’s a no-frills farmers market inside and out. Fry Daddy’s feels like the perfect fit. It’s not that they take shortcuts, they just keep things simple. In doing so, the food is good, the service is strong and the prices are among the lowest in Berks County.
It’s a mix that will keep me coming back.
BCE Rating Food: Good Ambiance: Fair Service: Excellent Price: $
Fry Daddy’s at Renninger’s 740 Noble Street Kutztown, PA 19530
The local pizza shop is a time-honored tradition. Every town has one. And growing up in Robesonia, our local spot was Tony’s Family Restaurant.
Ironically, we didn’t order much pizza when I was kid. Instead, Tony’s orders usually consisted of hoagies for mom and dad, chicken fingers and fries for me and my brother.
In December, between family visits, Julie and I took the boys to my childhood stomping grounds for an easy, relaxed meal.
We arrived for an early dinner and had our choice of table in the dining room. There were about a dozen to choose from, mostly rounds but there were a couple high-tops and a few rectangular tables pushed together for larger parties. I don’t remember what the room looked like 30 years ago, but I have to imagine it wasn’t much different with tile floors and wood paneling on the bottom half of the walls.
I do remember what the outside of the building used to look like – white with a red tile roof and a bright yellow sign. A painting in the dining room perfectly captures what the building looked like before a renovation brought a stone patio and matching stone facade.
Our server was attentive throughout, even after the dining room filled up. She took our order and had our drinks and a basket of garlic bread on the table quickly.
Next up were salads for Julie and I. They weren’t anything extraordinary, but I appreciated the presentation in the tall-sided bowl as opposed to the simple salad plate.
The meals arrived a short time later, and our server set them on the table behind us so we could prepare Lukas’ meatball for him. The single meatball was huge so we had to cut it up for our two-year-old before he could dig in. But it was good, as was the sauce it came in.
The kids’ meal came with a side so we got him some fries to go with it. When I was younger, I ate more fries from Tony’s than I would care to admit, and Lukas seemed to enjoy them as much as I did when I was his age.
For my meal, I ordered chicken Parmesan with spaghetti. It was a huge portion of chicken, much more than I could finish, but it was very good. The sauce is solid, not too sweet but still with plenty of flavor.
There was also a nice size serving of spaghetti on the side. I finished that, and a little less than half the chicken before taking the rest home to have as a chicken parm sandwich the next day.
My meal was one of the specials for the evening, a regular menu item but with a couple dollars off, and the same was true for Julie’s lasagna. She got a heaping helping of layered noodles and cheese. The top layers slid off before the photo, but though it didn’t look pristine, it was still really good.
Jakob ordered the kids’ portion of spaghetti with one large meatball on top. His portion would probably have been enough for many adults. He devoured it, as eight-year-olds do, and still managed to sneak a few of his brother’s French fries.
At around $65 for our meals, the price felt reasonable, especially for the portions.
Four solid dinners with quick, friendly service, and a good price: it’s exactly the kind of meal I expect from a place like Tony’s. And I know there are plenty more places like it yet to discover.
BCE Rating Food: Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Good Price: $$
Tony’s Family Restaurant 460 W. Penn Avenue Robesonia, PA 19551
Earlier this year, I visited Esterly’s Sandwich Shop in Bowers. My post about the little hole-in-the-wall sandwich joint received more engagement than any other Facebook post I had done in more than 10 years of Berks County Eats.
While almost all of the posts were locals attesting to their love of Esterly’s, there were a few who suggested that maybe Esterly’s wasn’t the best in the area.
Mark’s has never really been on my radar. Even back when I was in college, I was loyal to Spuds. But with so many recommendations, I decided to check it out.
The shop is one of the many eateries along Kutztown’s Main Street. On the outside, it’s an unassuming, rather dull looking building – pale yellow with dark red trim.
Inside, I was surprised to find a little bit of a diner vibe with counter stainless steel counter seats to go along with a much larger dine-in section than I expected from the outside. It does have the same colors as the outside so I wouldn’t say it’s the most appealing dining area in the county.
I had ordered my food ahead of time and it was ready for pickup right on time.
Of course, for comparison’s sake I had to order the same steak sandwich that I ordered at Esterly’s – that meant a steak sandwich with sauce and onions.
I have to say that I liked it, but it wasn’t my favorite. Specifically, the sauce was a little too tangy for my taste. But the steak meat was good and done well. I would just prefer to go a little lighter on the sauce next time.
(Even the admin for Mark’s Facebook account agreed, saying they order it with light sauce).
The best part about Mark’s, though, is the fact that they have Dutch fries as a side option. There’s only a couple places that serve Dutch fries outside of the Kutztown Fair, and Mark’s is one of them.
While Dutch fries look like potato chips, they are fried, not boiled, and they are served hot. Some of the fries get crispy, others stick together and come out softer. Both are absolutely delicious.
Again taking my queue from Facebook comments, I headed back to Mark’s, this time for a chicken parm sandwich. I have to say, it fell a little flat for me. It wasn’t anything special, and I didn’t think the roll held up very well. But at least I had a nice big bag of Dutch fries with it.
My total was about $15 each time, just a couple dollars more than Esterly’s. I would still say Mark’s is very reasonably priced, though. It’s kind of the perfect price point for a grab-and-go meal in a college town.
And the food is good enough with excellent service that I’m not surprised they have the following that they do.
BCE Rating Food: Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Fair Price: $
Mark’s Sandwich Shop 123 West Main Street Kutztown, PA 19530
I never would have thought that Berks County would become a hotbed for halal food, but it’s starting to feel that way.
In a little over a year, at least four new halal spots have opened in the county: Sajal Hot Chicken & Gyro in Kutztown, NYC Deli in Reading, Zaytoon in Wyomissing, and the newest addition, Sizzling Bites in Muhlenberg Township.
Sizzling Bites Halal Grill got its start in Bethlehem in 2024. Their Berks County location is the third for the chain, which opened in Easton earlier in 2025. (Scranton has already been announced as the site of their fourth location, coming in 2026).
The Muhlenberg location is along the 5th Street Highway in the Plaza 222 shopping center (the same strip mall that was home to Alebrije until it closed in 2025).
And the new Sizzling Bites already has a strong following, as evident by the stream of people coming and going during the lunch rush on my visit. One person was ordering from the kiosk, another was studying the menu, three people were waiting for their orders, and a handful of tables were filled with those who already had their food.
I walked up the counter to order, which ended up costing me $6 more because I grabbed a pack of baklava out of the fridge next to me. I took the dessert and my bottle of iced tea to a table to wait for my lamb platter.
Only about five minutes later, they were calling my name. I decided to stay and eat at the counter near one of the front windows.
The menu at Sizzling Bites is very similar to Zaytoon, the Wyomissing restaurant that has quickly become one of our favorite lunch spots. The lamb platter is my go-to at Zaytoon so I had to see how Sizzling Bites’ compares.
Sizzling Bites uses diced lamb meat on their platter, which is different from the shaved lamb that Zaytoon serves. I was a little nervous about how the consistency would be, but the meat was incredibly tender. The bed of yellow rice underneath was very similar, and so was the delicious white sauce on top.
The biggest difference in their platters isn’t the meat, it’s the sides. While Zaytoon’s meat and rice platters are served with a side salad and pita, Sizzling Bites’ is served with a side salad and French fries.
I liked the fries, but it was more food than I needed, especially at lunchtime. I still ate it all, though – it was just too good to stop.
The baklava went home with me so Julie and I could share it that night. The two long rolls were each cut in half and topped with crushed pistachio. The pistachio added a unique flavor to them, but the real star was the honey, which was used in abundance giving them an addictively sweet flavor.
My actual lamb platter was about $15, but with my drink and the baklava it ended up being close to $25. The fact that it was a dinner portion – and the fact that everything was delicious – made it well worth the money.
Halal has found a home in Reading, and I’m here for it.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Very Good
Sizzling Bites Halal Grill 3225 N. 5th Street Highway Reading, PA 19605
Seemingly every day since it opened in late 2024, Julie and I have driven past San’s Sushi, Poke, Ramen along State Hill Road in Wyomissing without stopping. Sometimes we would comment, “we need to go there.” Other days, we’d just go right past without a second glance.
For more than a decade, the small corner spot was home to Bella’s, a pizza and sub shop. Even then, the space was seemingly in a blindspot. I can’t tell you how many times we passed by in favor of neighboring Mama’s Pizza. Part of it is the parking which is limited compared to the neighboring strip mall. And part of it is that the building is just easy to overlook.
But on a November afternoon while both of us were home, Julie and I decided a lunch date was in order. And San’s was the right spot.
We walked in a little before 1 p.m. for a late lunch. There were two people sitting at a table when we arrived and another woman filling out a build-your-own poke bowl order slip. That gave us time to look over the menu and look around.
The restaurant has always been a tight fit, but San’s squeezes three tables and a counter by the large front window into the dining area. There is also a nice sized deck with seating for the warmer months.
The order counter is accented in a light-colored wood. More wood paneling serves as the backdrop of a dark five-canvas print of a poke bowl. Another image of a poke bowl hangs on an otherwise bare white wall.
Julie decided that the poke bowl sounded good so she built her own. Each bowl comes with a choice of rice base (sushi or white), protein, up to five mix-ins, sauce and garnish.
For her bowl, Julie started with sushi rice and tempura shrimp. Sesame dressing was the sauce choice. Mix-ins included edamame, mango, avocado, corn, and scallion. She topped it with crispy onions.
It was a very good dish. It was light and fresh, sweetened by the mango and the sesame dressing. At the same time, it was filling – a combination of the sticky rice and the protein from the shrimp and avocado.
As good as it was, Julie could only finish half of it with the remainder going home with us so she could finish it at dinner.
Wanting to do something different, I opted for the yaki soba (lo mein) with chicken. The egg noodles were thinner than a lot of lo mein that I have had in other places.They were stir-fried with onions, carrots, and shredded chicken in a soy sauce.
It wasn’t a daring dish, but it was very well done. There was plenty of chicken, and because it was shredded, it didn’t feel processed like at fast food-style Chinese restaurants. It felt like it was high-quality, and it tasted high-quality.
Both of us would happily order our meals again. We paid cash, saving 15% and bringing our total check down to $27 for our two meals and two bottles of water. Not only is the food good, but it’s a great value.
And we were in and out in less than an hour, perfect for a workday weekday.
Lunch or dinner, San’s is a great choice. Don’t overlook it.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Good Price: $
San’s Sushi, Poke, Ramen 1912 State Hill Road Wyomissing, PA 19610
