— 4 Comments

Review: Boehringer’s Drive-In

roadside sign that reads "Boehringer's Ice Cream Delicious Food n Drinks with a cartoon image of a man wearing a chef's hat

The beginning of spring is one of my favorite times of year. The weather begins to warm. The flowers begin to bloom. And Boehringer’s Drive-In in Adamstown springs to life for another season.

Located just a stone’s throw from the Berks County line, Boehringer’s is a true throwback—a seasonal spot open from mid-March to September.

Last May, the grill fell silent after a fire ripped through the kitchen. A faulty milkshake mixer was blamed for the blaze and for the first time in 70 years, the summer staple sat idle as the calendar turned to June.

But two months after the fire, Boehringer’s was back, and picked up right where it left off.

The summer flew past and September came faster than I expected. I never made it to Boehringer’s after the re-opening, which meant enduring the six-month hibernation until I could go again.

Part of Boehringer’s charm is the coziness. And by cozy, I mean it’s small. Cramming inside the building with the hungry mob is all part of the experience. There is no indoor seating, just a narrow area where everyone waits before and after placing the order.

The only place that may be more crowded is behind the counter, where about 10 workers jockey for position to take orders, scoop ice cream and build burgers, all while sharing a single cash register.

Boehringer’s is a lot like Schell’s (without the mini golf). The menu is simple: burgers, hot dogs, French fries and hamburger BBQ, with lots of ice cream.

While there are no seats inside, there are plenty of picnic tables outside along Little Muddy Creek. We were among the lucky few to find a table while many others were stuck eating in their cars in the jam-packed parking lot.

cardboard plate with a hamburger bbq and a boat of french fries

There’s nothing fancy about Boehringer’s food. It’s just simple and good. The hamburger BBQ doesn’t taste much different than you would find at a backyard picnic. The fries are typical fast food. But everything is delicious (and inexpensive) which is why so many people go back year after year.

menu board that reads Boehringer's Freezer Fresh Ice Cream with a list of flavors and sundae options

What really sets Boehringer’s apart from other places is the ice cream. The sign on the wall says it all, “Yes! We still do, always have, and always will make our own ice cream.” Twenty-one flavors of hard ice cream are available at all times, along with 12 sundaes and my favorite, milkshakes.

milkshake cup with a straw inside

Peach sounded like the perfect flavor for a spring shake, and I was right. I got a chunk of fresh peach with every few sips. It was cool, refreshing and delicious.

wooden picnic table with a cheeseburger, fries, ice cream and a soda

Julie has always had a soft spot for Boehringer’s banana ice cream, another flavor with real pieces of fruit, not syrup flavoring, which makes all the difference.

One of the reasons why people keep flocking to Boehringer’s is the how inexpensive it is. For our two meals, plus a third for my mother-in-law who was tagging along, our bill just hit $20.

Boehringer’s has been a summer tradition for more than 70 years, and its no surprise. Homemade ice cream, great food and a unique experience combine to make the drive-in a real attraction.

Just watch the calendar. September will be here before you know it.

More Drive-Ins in Berks County

More Road Trips from Berks County

Dessert Drive-Ins Ice Cream Lunch & Dinner Reviews
— 1 Comment

Road Trip: Saffron Indian Kitchen – Ambler

black awning with yellow letters that read "Saffron Indian Kitchen"

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

Every day I make the trek from my home in Wyomissing to my job in King of Prussia, a 50-mile journey down the Morgantown Expressway and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

While I wish that I could work closer to home, my job affords me the opportunity to experience some great places—and great restaurants—in Montgomery County.

A recent outing with some of my colleagues took us to one of Montgomery County’s coolest small towns, Ambler. And it’s there that we found Saffron Indian Kitchen.

Ambler is a lot like West Reading. The main street, Butler Avenue, is lined with independent shops and enough restaurants to keep a blogger busy for months.

Parking is scarce, especially on Friday or Saturday evening when it seems like everyone comes to town for dinner.  But if you are lucky enough to find a parking space (and thankfully, I was), the metered lots are free after 6 p.m.

Saffron has the look and feel of a traditional bistro. A handful of tables and chairs are set up on the sidewalk in front of the building it shares with Caffe Maida. The yellow walls and yellow tablecloths added brightness to our seats in the back of the room, away from the large front window.

Indian food is something that I don’t get to eat very often. There are only a couple authentic Indian restaurants in Berks, and my only taste so far as been a sampling of Aashiyana’s delicious chicken tiki masala at the Centre Park Gourmet Garden tour.

The trip to Saffron was a chance to broaden my horizons, and being with three other people, it meant a chance to share several appetizers, starting with onion bhajai.

plate of bhajai (fried onion) with dipping sauces

Bhajai could be best described as an Indian version of the blooming onion. What made this different was the use of chickpea batter for deep frying. Amazing on their own, they were even better dipped in one of the two sauces. It was hard to choose a favorite between the two: the green sauce tasted like fresh salsa while the red reminded me of a sweet chili sauce. Though very different, both sauces worked beautifully with the fried onions.

two samosas on a plate with a small salad

Our second appetizer, spinach and feta cheese samosas, was from the “Saffron Blue” monthly menu. The large turnovers were stuffed full. One of my fellow diners said it reminded them of spanakopita. The main difference between this and the Greek dish is that the samosas had fried dough instead of filo, which gave it a little different flavor and made it feel more like an appetizer.

basket of naan bread

The final appetizer on our table was a basket of naan. Saffron offers eight different flavors of the Indian leavened bread, and I would have loved to have tried them all. Instead, we just tried rogini naan, the traditional version. Lightly buttered, I found the bread was best used for soaking up the sauce from my goat korma.

metal bowl of korma sauce with goat meat

Goat korma was another offering on the monthly menu. I had planned on ordering the chicken tiki masala (which came highly recommended), but changed my mind when I read about the goat dish served in cashew cream sauce.

Saffron will make the dish to your desired spice level—mild, medium or spicy. I went with the medium, and it offered plenty of kick. The sauce was thick and rich, with just a hint of sweetness to go with the nutty flavor of the cashew. I happily ladled all of the sauce atop my bed of rice, which we served ourselves out of communal bowls.

metal bowl of white rice

Goat is a very tender and flavorful meat, but the one problem with it is that there are a lot of bones. But there was still plenty of meat to pick at, and with the help of a couple slices of naan, I cleaned my plate.

My meal was one of the more expensive items on the menu at $20, which brought our total check to $90 for the four of us. That included four entrees, two appetizers, a double-order of naan and a bottle of Pellegrino (not my choice).

Walking from my car to Saffron, I passed about a dozen restaurants and bars, all of which looked welcoming and intriguing.

I have no doubt that I will find myself in Ambler again. I just hope all of the restaurants are as good as Saffron.

More Indian Restaurants in Berks County

More Road Trips from Berks County

Indian Lunch & Dinner Reviews
round sign with the words "Anthony's Trattoria"
— 2 Comments

Review: Anthony’s Trattoria

round sign on a pole reading "Anthony's Trattoria" with an image of a grapevine

A century ago, Carsonia Park was a destination. People flocked by the thousands to take their turns on the rides, catch a show in the ballroom or take a swim at the park in Lower Alsace Township.

Today’s Carsonia Park bares little resemblance to the grand amusement park that once thrived here. Very few reminders of the old park exist. The old Carsonia Inn (now Carsonia Park Grill & Bar) still stands, and the original swimming pool continues to draw crowds in the summer.

Also surviving is the former beer garden that was added in the 1930s, now known as Anthony’s Trattoria, one of Greater Reading’s favorite Italian restaurants.

Driving down Navella Ave toward the park, the sign for Anthony’s Trattoria stands on the corner. Behind the sign, almost against the house, stand a pair of street lamps that look oddly out of place. These lamps once lined the midway of the park.

Inside, the restaurant is cozy. Lighting is dim, but not dark in the three distinct dining rooms. With a little chill still in the air, it was too cold for Anthony’s to open up the outdoor patio.

Anthony’s menu is really two-in-one. There is the base menu, which includes typical fare for an Italian restaurant: spaghetti, linguini, pizza and seafood entrees, with a few surprises like tuna wasabi and chicken livers wrapped with bacon.

Then there is the daily specials menu, a collection of more than 30 entrees, appetizers and desserts that add depth to Anthony’s offerings like calamari tossed with white wine, olive oil and spaghetti; lasagna Bolognese; and lemon risotto.

bowl of creamy soup topped with herbs

I started my meal with a bowl of cream of garlic soup. The garlic was tempered only slightly by a hint of sweetness. Every spoonful was like a bite of a perfectly done piece of garlic bread.

basket with a variety of dinner rolls

After I finished my soup, our waiter dropped off a bread basket. In addition to the toasted Italian bread (wet with olive oil), there were two zeppolis—small balls that looked like donut holes. Essentially, that’s what these Italian pastries are: fried dough topped in powdered sugar. Served warm, these little bites melt in your mouth.

I stuck to the daily specials menu for my main course, gnocchetti al ragu biaco tartufato, ricotta and potato gnocchi in a creamy veal ragu with peas and Parmigiano, finished in black truffle butter.

blue plate with gnocchi tossed with cream, peas and veal

I’m not normally a big fan of veal, but it was perfect in this dish. It was cooked tender to the consistency of shredded chicken, but with a much meatier flavor. The homemade gnocchi melted in my mouth in every bite. The cream sauce was very dense and stuck to the pasta to ensure the rich flavors were present in every bite.

Julie followed suit and ordered another one of the daily specials: pasta al Forno alla Napoletana, a crock of baked pasta in San Marzano tomato sauce with sausage, a hard boiled egg, Parmigiano and buffalo mozzarella topped with scamorza cheese.

bowl of baked ziti topped with melted cheese and herbs

The sauce was made of crushed tomatoes and basil with a consistency more resembling salsa than the pureed red sauce at other restaurants. The simple sauce was the perfect complement to a complex dish. The fried egg that was waiting to be discovered beneath the blanket of cheese was a welcome addition to the dish, adding an unexpected element to a more traditional pasta.

slice of white cake topped with a chocolate shell

Anthony’s portion sizes left us full, but not too full that we would pass on a look at the dessert tray. After salivating over the assortment of cake, cannoli and tiramisu, we decided to share a slice of “angel food” cake. While it is true that there was angel food in our slice, it was surrounded by mousse and a layer of chocolate cake, and wrapped in a smooth chocolate shell. Every bite was heavenly.

We went into the meal expecting to pay a premium for our meals. But with a check of $55 for the two of us, it was actually a little less than we had expected.

The amusement park may be gone, but there is still a crowd around Carsonia Park, at least at dinnertime. And it will stay that way as long as Anthony’s Trattoria is around.

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

Anthony’s Trattoria
900 Byram St
Reading, PA 19606

More Italian Restaurants in Berks County

More Nearby Restaurants

Dessert Italian Lunch & Dinner Reviews
tokyo hibachi and bar exterior
— 2 Comments

Review: Tokyo Hibachi and Bar

brown colored building with red neon lights that read "Tokyo Hibachi & Bar"

Dinner is a sensory experience.

Taste is at the top of the list, but a truly great dinner encompasses all five senses: taste, sight, smell, touch and sound.

No dining experience can touch all five quite the way a hibachi can.

Wyomissing’s Tokyo Hibachi & Bar offers diners an experience that is just not available at most restaurants. Three circular seating areas with six hibachi grills are set up in what was originally a Denny’s along Woodland Road.

Tokyo Hibachi arrived in 2008, offering not only the tableside cooking show, but a large menu featuring nearly 50 different types of sushi as well as Chinese chicken and beef dinners.

But we were only interested in the hibachi.

Things started off slow at our table as we had to wait for more groups to fill around the table. Five must have been the magic number because after three more people trickled in, the waitress took our orders.

bowl of salad topped with creamy dressing

While we waited for the chef to emerge, our server brought out house salads for everyone. The simple salad consisted of a bowl of lettuce and one cherry tomato topped in the house dressing, a creamy Thousand Island-like sauce with a strong taste of citrus and just the slightest sour note from the vinegar. It was very good, and I was more than happy to have something to hold us over until our chef emerged from the kitchen with a cart full of food and equipment.

Hibachi grilling is part dinner, part show. And the show began with quite a flash.

flame rising from a hibachi grill

Following a display of Ninja-like moves with the spatula, the chef oiled up the hibachi and set it ablaze. The eggs, which were to be chopped and toss with the fried rice, were the first to hit the grill, after a bit of juggling on the spatula. Then came a pile of rice, enough for all five of us at the table.

hibachi grill with sliced onion mounded to look like a volcano with flame coming out the top

After throwing on the vegetables, it was time to play catch. Everyone at the table took turns trying to catch a piece of broccoli that was flipped to us off the grill. I failed (twice), taking one sprout off my chest and another in the face. Julie didn’t fare any better, but two of our tablemates caught there’s in one shot. Being first and second in line, I’m going to say the chef’s accuracy got better as he went along.

Items were dished out one at a time as they were finished so our plates gradually filled, giving me a chance to taste everything hot off the grill.

plate of fried rice

First came the fried rice. It was, hands down, the best fried rice I have ever tried. From the fresh cooked egg to the nicely browned rice, everything was perfect. If I didn’t have that salad to hold me over, the rice would have been gone before anything else hit my plate.

plate of fried rice with two pieces of shrimp

With every hibachi dinner, you get a two-piece “shrimp sampler.” I’m not a big seafood fan, but I gave them a try, and I have to admit that they weren’t bad. And seeing them transformed from the raw, gray blobs into the nice pink pinwheels was pretty impressive.

plate with a stir fry of steak, rice, broccoli and onion

The final pieces to the puzzle were my NY strip steak and mixed vegetables (thankfully no game of catch was involved for these). The steak was nicely caramelized from the oil and sauces that it was cooked in. It was just a little greasy, but the strong flavors made up for it.

plate of shrimp with lo mein noodles

Julie decided to go a different route for her meal, opting for a side of noodles instead of rice for her shrimp. Everything on the plate really absorbed the soy sauce, but somehow the sauce did not overpower it.

two chambered bowl with two dipping sauces, one light brown and one dark brown

Everyone at the table also gets two dipping sauces: mustard and ginger. The mustard was a little more complex that your store-bought brand; it reminded me a little of a Carolina barbecue sauce, but not as sweet. The ginger sauce was my favorite, though. The namesake spice was very strong and I thought it went perfectly with the steak.

With the hibachi dinner, you are paying a premium for the experience, but at $44 for the two of us, it was still a good deal considering the sheer amount of food (and entertainment) we received.

We could have gone to the restaurant and sat at a booth and had the exact same food. But I know it wouldn’t have been the same.

Instead of having plates of food delivered to us, we got to watch our dinner crafted from scratch, feel the heat of the hibachi (and the broccoli hitting my face), hear the sizzle of the grill and smell the aromas of everything that was prepared.

The fact that the food was outstanding made it all the more enjoyable.

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

Tokyo Hibachi & Bar
960 Woodland Rd
Wyomissing, PA 19610

More Asian Restaurants in Berks County

More Wyomissing, PA Restaurants

Asian & Pacific Islands Lunch & Dinner Reviews
sign above a restaurant reads "Kutztown Tavern"
— Leave a Comment

Review: Kutztown Tavern

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

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

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

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

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

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

bottle of Kutztown Red Cream Soda

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

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

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

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

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

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

brisket sandwich and fries from Kutztown Tavern

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

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

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

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

Kutztown Tavern
272 W. Main St
Kutztown, PA 19530

More Bar Food in Berks County

More Restaurants in Kutztown, PA

Bars & Pubs Breweries & Wineries Lunch & Dinner Reviews
— 1 Comment

Review: Jambalaya J’s – Fairgrounds Farmers Market

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

paper plate with crab cakes topped with remoulade and dirty rice

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

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

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

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

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

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

More Muhlenberg Township Restaurants

Farmers Market Meals Lunch & Dinner Reviews
— 5 Comments

Review: Salute Ristorante Italiano

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

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

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

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

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

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

tall glass half-filled with a cocktail

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

rectangular plate with a caprese salad

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

rectangular plate with bruschetta topped with shaved parmesan

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

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

small cup of bean soup with a toast point

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

small cup of wedding soup with a toast point

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

ravioli topped with a heart-shaped slice of prosciutto

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

linguine topped with light red sauce and a lobster

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

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

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

chocolate mousse topped with almonds and drizzled with chocolate syrup

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

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

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

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

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

Salute Ristorante Italiano
4718 Penn Ave
Sinking Spring, PA 19608

More Italian Restaurants in Berks County

More Sinking Spring Restaurants

Dessert Finer Dining Italian Lunch & Dinner Reviews
— 3 Comments

Review: Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

rice topped with beans from Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe

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

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

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

plantain chips from Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe

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

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

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

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

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

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

More Latin American Cuisine in Berks County

More Restaurants in Reading, PA

Caribbean & Latin American Lunch & Dinner Reviews
— 1 Comment

Review: China Penn

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

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

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

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

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

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

cup of coconut soup with carrots and chicken

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

purple colored flower atop a plate of stir fry

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

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

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

cup of brothy egg drop soup

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

glass of orange colored Thai tea

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

plate of chicken topped wtih slivered carrots and peppers

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

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

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

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

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

China Penn
4203 Perkiomen Ave
Reading, PA 19606

More Asian Restaurants in Berks County

More Exeter Township Restaurants

Asian & Pacific Islands Lunch & Dinner Reviews
Best Diner: Exeter Family Restaurant
— 2 Comments

Review: Exeter Family Restaurant

stainless steel diner with a large sign that reads "Exeter Family Restaurant Open 24 hours"

In November, the Reading Eagle handed out its annual Reader’s Choice awards where subscribers voted for their favorite local businesses. Exeter Family Restaurant earned the title of “Best Diner.”

A month later, Berks County Living Magazine handed out its annual Best of Berks awards, and once again, “Best Diner” honors went to Exeter Family Restaurant.

It’s hard to get Berks Countians to agree on anything (i.e. Christmas Trees) so the fact that Exeter Family Restaurant was such a clear favorite to win Best Diner from two publications, I knew it was a place that Berks County Eats needed to visit.

Exeter Family Restaurant is a shining example of a traditional diner, literally. The chrome exterior helps the diner stand out from among the boring brands that surround it.

The parking lot was filling up when we arrived for lunch, but there was plenty of seating spread among the two dining rooms. Once at our booth, I took a look through the whole menu, and what caught my eye wasn’t an entree, but the Exeter Family Restaurant Declaration:

We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men and women are created with equal appetites; That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are:

The right to eat breakfast whenever the heck they please (like 4 in the morning);

The right to wear running shorts, pajamas, or last night’s clothes to Sunday breakfast;

And most importantly…The right to eat out in Berks County without breaking the bank.

Now those are words I can stand behind.

At first glance, there isn’t much to distinguish Exeter Family Restaurant’s menu from other diners. Burgers and sandwiches are plentiful, comfort food abounds, and breakfast is served 24 hours a day.

I’m always looking for something a little different from the norm, and I found it under the “Fiery Sauté Pan” section.

bowl of steak tips over rice

My Memphis steak tips were seasoned pieces of sirloin laid on a bed of dirty rice, topped with barbecue sauce. The rice could have served as a meal in itself as it was “dirtied” with bits of ground beef and bacon. The steak was cooked to order and came out nicely seared. I only wish there was a little more of the sauce. I didn’t get it in every bite, but when I did it added a sweetness that brought the whole dish together.

Another original menu item is the cheesy mac and pulled pork panini, which caught Julie’s eyes right away. The panini was piled high with tender pulled pork, six-cheese mac and cheese, pickles, gouda and barbecue sauce.

pork sandwich topped with mac and cheese and pickles

Despite it’s name, the sandwich was not overly cheesy. Instead, the flavor of the pork was the star, with just hints of sauce and cheese. The macaroni added a unique texture to the sandwich that helped it stand out.

cup of orzo soup

All sandwiches come with a cup of soup, while entrees come with a trip to the salad bar which has everything you could want including multiple greens, nearly every salad dressing you could ask for, and three fresh-baked loaves of bread from which diners can cut their own slices.

As the Exeter Family Restaurant Declaration implies, our meals were also very affordable, coming in at just a tick more than $20 for the two of us.

While I have a long way to go before I can say I have tried all of the diners in Berks County, I can tell you that Exeter Family Restaurant earned those Best Diner titles honestly.

And I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more in their future.

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

Exeter Family Restaurant
4800 Perkiomen Ave
Reading, PA 19606

More Diners in Berks County

More Exeter Township Restaurants

Breakfast & Brunch Lunch & Dinner Reviews