The Ranch House is known for it's a-frame roof and orange neon sign
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Circle S Ranch House – CLOSED

The Ranch House is known for it's a-frame roof and orange neon sign

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.

Inside, the decor is wood-on-wood, like this wooden Ranch House sign with wooden adornments mounted on a wood-paneled wall.

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.

Wooden booths with green cushions at the Ranch House in West Lawn

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.

burger with top bun removed and fries

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.

pretzel sandwich and fries

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.

We took this picture of Jakob's hot dog and baked beans halfway through his meal.
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.

sundae topped with a pretzel and a cherry

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

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Review: Bernville Eagle Hotel

sign hanging from a brick building that reads "Eagle Hotel Food and Drink since 1869"

I love the character in historic inns and hotels, the places that have been serving food and drinks since the roads were dirt and transportation was four-legged.

Every small town and village had one, and many of them are still going. The Stony Run Inn, subject of last week’s blog, is one of those places.

This week, we paid a visit to another historic hotel, one that has been at the heart of Bernville since 1869.

That’s when the Eagle Hotel opened along Main Street in the little borough (now the only borough) in northwestern Berks County.

Yards Brewing Company sign hangs behind a clean wooden bar

Nearly 150 years later, it’s still a gathering place where locals grab drinks and dinner six nights a week (closed on Sundays). Though I’m sure patrons in the late 19th century weren’t ordering from a Caribbean-inspired menu like the hotel offers today.

There is no separation between restaurant and barroom. The single dining room features a large center bar with tables lining the perimeter. The sound of crashing billiards balls echoed out of the back room.

The menu is mostly bar food, but there is a small selection of entrees (plus a few weekly specials). And everything is reasonably priced. Only two menu items cost more than $20, the full rack of ribs and my choice, the Cuban coffee crusted flat iron steak.

Round plate with maroon edging filled with rice, beans, plantains and chicken

Served with plantains and a side of rice and beans, the steak was buried beneath a mound of onions and peppers.

It certainly wasn’t the largest steak that I have ever had, but it was flavorful. I’m not a coffee drinker, but the coffee crust was subtle while adding a crisp char to the outside. I love sautéed onions and roasted peppers so I had no qualms about digging in.

The rice and beans were good, but nothing compared to the more authentic Latin American restaurants that you find closer to the city. And there was certainly nothing to complain about with the portion size.

I’m a sucker for plantains so I was going to love them no matter what.

clear salad plate topped with lettuce, onions, a cup of ranch dressing and a dinner roll

My meal was also served with a starter salad and roll. While the salad was nothing to speak of (spring mix with onions, cherry tomatoes, cheese and a cup of dressing), the roll was very enjoyable – soft and buttery.

Julie wasn’t quite hungry enough for the full rack of ribs, but she thought she could handle the half rack.

plate of ribs served atop a bed of fries, topped with pineapple with a side cups of beans and coleslaw

The ribs were also given a little twist with chipotle barbecue sauce and diced mango on top. It was a little disappointing to find the mango was not reduced into the sauce. Ribs are not conducive to toppings so most of the mango fell off with every bone that was picked out. There was also just a little kick from the chipotle, but not too much.

We both enjoyed the fries. They’re the fresh-cut, skin-on kind. That’s the way I love my fries.

The meal was also served with baked beans and slaw. The beans were OK, but nothing special. And she wasn’t a fan of the slaw which she found to be all cabbage and little slaw.

My brother and sister-in-law were along for the visit, and the four of us all had good meals. It wasn’t remarkable, but it was certainly quality bar food. For our four meals (plus drinks – one beer, one sangria and one iced tea), it came to $86 so right around $20 per person for what were some hefty portions on everything.

The Eagle Hotel is your typical local bar and restaurant. The emphasis is clearly on the bar, but you can still enjoy a good, hearty meal, just as people have been doing for a century-and-a-half.

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

Bernville Eagle Hotel
301 N. Main St
Bernville, PA 19506

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Stampede Smokin’ BBQ – MOVED

mailbox with the words "Stampede Smokin BBQ" sits in a planter outside a small building

Editor’s Note: Stampede Smokin’ BBQ has relocated to a new, permanent location along Route 10. The restaurant is now known as Stampede Barbecue. We visited for a blog shortly after it opened in June 2018.

Barbecue is hot.

The food industry is one of trends, and barbecue has been trending for some time now.

Grocery stores have entire aisles devoted to gourmet barbecue sauces, restaurants are serving more slow-cooked and smoked meats, and entire television shows are being devoted to the art of the ‘cue.

Berks County has always been a place that is known for chicken pot pie and other Pennsylvania Dutch specialties, but thanks to the success of places like Muddy’s Smokehouse Barbecue, slow cookers have started to pop up along the road throughout Greater Reading.

Stampede Smokin’ BBQ is a place that has taken the Muddy’s model and made it their own.

red food trailer with a sign out front advertising wing specials

The bright red trailer sits along Route 23 in Morgantown, just across the Berks border in Lancaster County. The entry way is all stones, with a small patch of grass marking the parking spaces.

An actual house sits on the property, an extended front porch serving as the seating area with brand new picnic tables, oversized umbrellas serving as sun shades on hot summer afternoons.

Stampede’s trailer has been parked full-time at this spot since last year, serving up beef brisket, pulled pork, sausage, ribs and chicken.

The menu is scribbled on a chalkboard. In the center, boxed out from the rest of the items is Stampede’s specialty sandwich, the Dude.

red tray with checkered paper filled with food including a barbecue sandwich, baked beans and a bag of chips

The Dude is aptly named as it takes a hungry dude to finish a sandwich that includes heaping portions of both smoked sausage and beef brisket. After squirting it with a stream of sauce and tossing on a cup full of chopped onions, I dug in.

It was love at first bite.

The brisket was so tender, falling apart with every bite while the sausage had picked up all of the flavors from the grill, making it extra smoky and satisfying. But the sauce was what brought it all together. It was sweet and tangy and just blended perfectly with the meat to create an outstanding sandwich.

Equally impressive were my side of barbecue beans. Though they were clearly baked in barbecue sauce, the flavor was closer to that of a meatless chili thanks to the inclusion of kidney beans and a few dashes of chili powder.

label on a Charles Chips bag

I was prepared to order a side of fries as well, but once I saw the bags of Charles potato chips hanging on the side of the trailer. I could devote an entire blog to my love of Charles chips, and how “The Chip Man” used to deliver tins of them to our door each week when I was a child. As I ripped open the bag, all of those childhood memories came rushing back to me. Unlike other local brands like Good’s and Dieffenbach’s, Charles chips are light and airy, and I savored every bite.

This was, as a whole, one of the best barbecue meals I have had. And though $14 had seemed a little high when I was rung up, I can say that it was money well spent.

After finishing my meal, I grabbed one of Stampede’s take-home menus. On it are four things that the business strives to do: to provide excellent smoked meats, sides and service, to be consistent, to carry forward a good name, and to shine a light in a barbecue world.

To shine a light in a barbecue world.

A barbecue world is exactly the kind of world I want to be living in.

And after my visit, I can confirm that Stampede Smokin’ BBQ is shining a bright light.

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Road Trip: Shady Maple Smorgasbord

Maple-leaf shaped sign with the words "Shady Maple Smorgasbord"

Berks County Eats crosses the county line to bring you some of the best dining both near and far. This edition takes us 23 miles southwest of Reading to East Earl, PA.

I think everyone has a birthday tradition.

For myself, and many people who live within driving distance of Lancaster County, that tradition includes a birthday feast at one of the best buffets in the entire country.

Every year on May 30, my wife and I make the short drive south to East Earl to join the throngs of thousands that pour into Shady Maple Smorgasbord daily.

East Earl, a community of just over 1,000 people, doubles in size during the evening dinner rush. That’s the way it has been since Shady Maple expanded its smorgasbord more than a decade ago to create the glorious food paradise it is today.

The only exceptions are on holidays and every Sunday when the restaurant is closed, perhaps so we can all atone for committing the deadly sin of gluttony during our visit.

people standing in line to fill up their plates at a buffet

It’s easy to get lost among the food, which is why signs point the way to both the east and west buffet. Combined, there are 10 islands, four carving stations and three drink stations. A pair of dessert stands bookend the room. Walking from one end to the other is nearly impossible as you bob and weave your way around a hundred other people, all seemingly waiting in line for the same thing you are.

But with limited stomach to work with, scoping out the entire buffet is a must. Otherwise you may miss the carved-to-order prime rib or the ICEE machine.

As much as I appreciate a good salad, the two stations full of greens are off-limits during my visits. I can get a free salad with a meal anywhere.

plate with a cup of tomato soup, dinner roll, meatball and a piergoi

Instead, my first plate included a cup of tomato basil soup, broccoli, a pierogi and a sweet and sour meatball. The soup was a beautiful shade of light orange, a result of the added cream that gave it its rich flavor. A heaping helping of peppers and onions came along with the pierogi, but it could easily stand on its own. And the meatball was more like a miniature meatloaf, packed with spices in a ketchup-based barbecue sauce. I also added on an onion biscuit, just for good measure.

plate with a slice of roast beef, carrots and potato filling

Plate number two was all about the meat as I took a slab of beef brisket and a heaping helping of roast beef. A fistful of carrots and a drop of bread filling helped balance out the plate. The brisket was a featured meat at one of the carving stations. Unfortunately the heat lamps at carving stations rarely keep meats hot, and this was no exception. It was lukewarm, and the fact that it was oven-roasted made it taste more like an ordinary slice of beef. The actual roast beef, however, was amazing. It was tender and moist, everything the brisket was not.

A plate with sweet potatoes, baked beans, dried corn casserole and mashed potatoes

My third plate was my “healthy” vegetable plate. It featured baked lima beans, which were done in a very nice, thick barbecue sauce (I wish I that for the brisket); mashed potatoes; mashed sweet potatoes, which were topped with raisins and nuts; and some of the best (and wettest) dried corn I have ever tried. All the juice you see on the plate was from the dried corn, and it was excellent.

a plate of pecan pie next to a bowl of soft serve raspberry and vanilla swirl ice cream

Dessert was a (small) slice of shoofly pie and a dish of raspberry and vanilla soft serve. The wet-bottom pie was alright, but it had obviously been chilled which hurt the filling a little bit.

After dinner, Shady Maple encourages their guests to work off their dinners and shop off some dollars in the expansive gift shop, located beneath the smorgasbord. The store is as large as the buffet, filled to the brim with everything from wind chimes and bird houses to Elvis collectibles and Pennsylvania Dutch cookbooks.

If you’re looking for a little taste of Shady Maple to take home, the farmer’s market offers a large selection of fresh produce and many of the smorgasbord’s famous desserts.

Even if you don’t have a birthday coming up, Shady Maple is worth the price of admission. Dinner buffets vary depending on the featured entrees, but average around $20.00 per person. If you do happen to be celebrating, all you need is your ID and a paying guest and you’ve got your very own birthday feast on the house.

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