State Hill Craft opened in 2023 in the former Tino’s/Santino’s along State Hill Road. It’s always been an awkward location with limited parking. That was partially solved when the restaurant purchased the adjoining property and expanded with a new patio and larger parking lot. Even so, we still found a full parking lot when we arrived for dinner on a Friday night in December.
We had reservations, so we weren’t worried, but it turned out the crowd was for a private party on the patio and there were plenty of tables for us in the main dining room.
We were seated at a table for two at one end of a large oval-shaped banquette. Julie sat on the blue leather booth side while I took the chair. Behind me were two tables against a wall with two mirrors. More black tables with blue chairs lined the front wall.
Our first trip to State Hill came in November 2023. I wasn’t writing reviews at the time, but we were incredibly impressed with our meals that night.
I had the umami bomb pasta – a mushroom-infused pasta dish with miso cashew cream while Julie had the coho salmon. It was absolutely excellent, and while the gray-tint of the pasta didn’t make it the most appealing visually, the earthiness of the mushrooms combined with the nutty sweetness of the miso cashew was so good.
But by the time I got back to writing reviews, they had already swapped out their seasonal menu and the pasta was gone.
The menu has morphed many times since our visit, and the latest iteration came out in November. It’s a mix of large and small plates with a few sandwiches and burger options. There’s nothing quite as adventurous as the umami bomb, but even familiar items had a little bit of a unique twist to them.
For example, my billionaire smash. The traditional smashburger got an upscale makeover with wagyu beef, truffle aioli, bacon onion jam, smoked cheddar, lettuce, and tomato.
As much as I love a good aioli, it was the bacon jam that made this a great burger. The salty-sweet combination is just a great addition. I had just a few bites where I didn’t get enough of the jam, but others where it really shone through.
The fries were also delicious. It didn’t list it on the menu, but I’m guessing it was garlic, parmesan and herbs. They were addictive, and I just had to finish them, even after I was full.
Julie ended up taking some of her meal home. She had the wagyu meatloaf which came with an applejack demi glace, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus and crispy shallots.
Like my burger, the wagyu beef had a deeper flavor than regular ground beef to start. But the applejack demi-glace, with its sweetness and little bit of bite to it, was excellent. It made it feel like something more than meatloaf.
Part of the reason that she took half of it home was that we started with an order of birria bao buns.
The fluffy buns were filled with birria-style short rib, red onion, cilantro, and mozzarella. On the side was birria consomme. We found the consomme to be more like a spicy chili rather than a traditional broth, but I really enjoyed it. The bao soaked it up well and we each finished off one-and-a-half of them before our entrees arrived.
Overall, it was a great meal for a great date night.
In addition to the food, Julie had a strawberry “no-jito” mocktail that she really liked, and I had my unsweetened iced tea. We spent $65 after using a $10 off coupon. Even at full price, it felt reasonable for the quality of the food.
State Hill Craft impressed on our first visit and our latest visit, and we are looking forward to more impressive meals to come.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Excellent
State Hill Craft Cocktails & Kitchen 1 Wellington Blvd Wyomissing, PA 19610
In September, Julie and I made our first visit to the Black Sheep Tavern. As is the case with nearly all of our blogs, we went unannounced so we could get a true feel for the experience and the food. No special treatment. No free meals.
When the owners saw the review, they invited me in for a second visit to meet with them and to learn more about the history of the building. (And they did offer us a free meal this time).
So on a Sunday in early October, we drove out Fritztown Road once again, this time to meet with Darrell and Carol. From the first introduction, it was clear how much the tavern and its history means to them.
A Deep Connection
Darrell’s personal connection with the building goes back to his childhood. His father was a friend of the owner so he spent a lot of time during his childhood hanging out at what was then Die Scheier (“The Barn” in Pennsylvania Dutch).
Standing in the main dining room, he points to the patches of lighter color on the wood-paneled walls. A small strip by the bathroom door was where the pool cues hung. Photos of Italy hung in a row along the opposite wall. After the walls were cleaned, it left these small hints to old decor, the places where the wall protected from the cigarette smoke that filled the room decades ago.
Cleaning the space was no easy task, nor bringing the building back to life after 25 years of sitting vacant. Darrell said that it was 22 months from the time he bought the building until the Black Sheep opened in the spring of 2025.
And that doesn’t include the months it took just to get in touch with the right people about purchasing it. Spring Township had all but given up on finding someone to fix up the property and at first wouldn’t answer Darrell’s calls.
But thankfully they did because the owners have taken great care of the century-old property that served as a speakeasy 100 years ago.
The Original Speakeasy
While upstairs is a gorgeously remodeled bar and restaurant, the downstairs is where men gathered in secret to enjoy drinks and other illicit activities during prohibition. (The owners joke that in the 1920s, “it offered drinking, gambling, and prostitution but today it only offers two out of three, you decide which two”).
Back then, the property was owned by Ralph and Anna Riffert. They operated a legitimate business, as well, installing a gas pump to make it one of the only service stations along the stretch of Fritztown Road while Anna’s ham sandwiches drew in repeat customers. The Black Sheep upholds that tradition with Anna’s ham and cheese sandwich as a staple of the menu.
Darrell and Carol took us on a tour of the downstairs where the original bar still sits. According to Darrell, the last time the basement was used was during the 1970s, and that was only for band practice. It hadn’t served a drink for decades at that point.
The original wooden bar looked like it could use some TLC but otherwise had survived rather well. Behind it was the metal sink and a wooden back bar that was looking a little worse for wear.
A staircase on the right dead-ends now, hitting the floor of the dining room. A hidden door would have opened here 100 years ago, letting thirsty patrons downstairs to their true destination.
Attention to Detail, Rooted in Community
While the family is working to clean up and restore the downstairs, it won’t quite be original. That’s because much of the usable material from the basement was incorporated into the upstairs remodel. The original floorboards – the usable ones at least – are now the floor of the game room. The sink from the downstairs bathroom was also moved upstairs (the antiquated style required a variance). And wood panelling from the walls became the front of the upstairs bar.
Hearing Darrell talk about every detail, it’s clear how much he cares about the building. Restoring it has been a labor of love for Darrell, Carol, and Darrell’s 91-year-old father who has done much of the woodwork, including customizing the server stand by the kitchen door. The stand, which he cut from eight foot to six foot, came from the former American House which operated just up the road in Fritztown. (Darrell told me that the American House had its own hidden history as a stop on the Underground Railroad).
And the dining room tables? Look closely because they are made from the alleys of the former Berks Lanes, now Bowlero. The lanes were repurposed into tables for the bowling alley’s onsite restaurant then known as Gilligan’s Pub. The pub’s former cutting boards are also now serving as tables inside the Black Sheep.
The Black Sheep obviously takes pride in local history. That extends to Wilson High School where Darrell is an alumnus. (His father graduated from the former Sinking Spring High School). When they found out Julie was also a Wilson grad, they insisted that she sign the alumni book, an old black-and-white covered notebook where line after line of Wilson and Sinking Spring graduates have signed their name and year.
Another Fine Meal
The challenge for the restaurant and bar is to live up to the building’s rich history, and so far, they are succeeding. In addition to our tour, we also had another great meal.
It started with an order of sweet potato fries as an appetizer. Julie had tried them when she came with some work colleagues a few weeks prior, and they were very good. The waffle-cut fries were served with a sweet maple dipping sauce. It was almost like eating sweet potato pancakes.
Our meals came out a short while later. On our last visit, I had enjoyed the rumrunner burger but I wanted to switch it up this time. So I decided to try the Virginia Hill burger. Named for the former girlfriend of mobster Bugsy Siegel (who also has a sandwich named after him), the Virginia Hill is a blended burger with onions and jalapenos cooked into the patty, topped with pepperjack cheese.
It was flavorful, but I wouldn’t say it was spicy. The peppers didn’t overpower the burger, just adding little hints, enough that I quickly went through my glass of iced tea, but not enough that I ever felt a burning. It was a very, very good burger.
Even though we had the sweet potato fries, I still got regular fries as my side. They were crispier than last time, maybe slightly overdone, but still good.
Julie passed on chips and fries with her sandwich, the Bugsy Siegel. (Look at us making the perfect pair). Julie chose grilled chicken for the protein, saying she wasn’t feeling a burger that day. And the sandwich that came topped with pastrami and kraut.
The chicken and pastrami played better together than she expected, and everything on it was cooked well. The sandwich also came with mobster sauce, which she described as like a Thousand Island but with a little kick to it. But it was a good kick that helped pull the whole sandwich together.
Even though we were offered dessert, we had to pass, and instead spent another 20 minutes or so talking about little details about the tavern – like the original supporting posts and beams, the nearly hidden stained glass window by the front the door (custom fitted by Darrell’s father), and the digital fish tank that is framed out by the historic fireplace in the corner.
As much as we enjoyed our first visit to the Black Sheep Tavern, we appreciate it so much more now.
We will definitely be making more visits. There are more stories to hear, and a lot more food to try, too.
Original Review: September 16, 2025
Speakeasies hold a fascination in the American mind a century after prohibition came and went.
Last year, we visited A Light in the Attic, which bills itself as a “modern speakeasy.” It’s a fun concept. They did up the theme with a bookcase at the top of the stairs and a curtain keeping the restaurant “hidden.” But that’s all it is, a concept.
The restaurant and bar opened at the former Camelot Inn on Fritztown Road in the spring of 2025. The building’s story is told at the bottom of the menu. Apparently it was owned by Ralph and Anna Riffert during the 1920s, and they operated a speakeasy throughout Prohibition, “despite paying fines for selling alcohol, gambling, and other illicit activities.”
It’s certainly ironic that 100 years later, guests not only can pony up to the bar for a drink but sit down at a skills machine.
The skills machines are set in a back room off the main dining area which is filled with low- and high-top tables with a banquette along the wall. The U-shaped bar takes up most of the second half of the space.
It was quiet when we arrived for lunch on Friday, just one other table filled, though a few people arrived later during our visit. Our server was fantastic throughout, and I suspect she would have been great even if she would have had a full dining room. But she came to our table quickly to get our drink order and answered all of our questions about the menu.
And we did have a few questions because all of the sauces have names that are connected to the restaurant’s theme, like sheep sauce, rumrunner sauce, and mobster sauce.
My burger came topped with rumrunner sauce, which is their homemade version of A1. It also featured Cooper Sharp cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onion.
The burgers are listed as hand-patted, and you can tell by the thickness. It was a hearty meal, and a delicious one. The sauce was really good – I love steak sauce on a burger – and it worked well with the creamy Cooper cheese.
I opted for fries on the side which were also very good, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper.
Julie had fries with her burger, the Bulger, which came topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and sheep sauce. Sheep sauce is their ketchup-mayo mashup and Julie enjoyed every bite of her burger.
And while Julie also found the fries to be OK, she had the opportunity to go back a few days later with some of her coworkers. Her recommendation: get the sweet potato fries with the dipping sauce. They are totally worth it.
Our visit ended up being a perfect lunch. The food was out quick, too, so we were in and out of the restaurant before anyone could miss us at work. And at $40 for burgers, fries and drinks, it felt like a fair price, too.
Maybe the experience is a little different during busier times – we drove past on a Sunday afternoon and there wasn’t a space to be had in the parking lot – but we really enjoyed our experience. (Obviously, Julie already went back for more).
The history of the building is fun, but thank goodness we’re not living with prohibition because it means I can blog about it without risking a raid.
BCE Rating Food: Good Service: Excellent Ambiance: Very Good Price: $$
Black Sheep Tavern 665 Fritztown Road Sinking Spring, PA 19608
Quality is a word you’ll see in the marketing materials of many restaurants, but in Kutztown, one restaurant puts it in their name.
The Quality Shoppe is located off Main Street in the Dollar Tree strip mall on Constitution Boulevard. It takes up the corner space in the strip, the words Quality Shoppe over the door are the only hint that there’s a restaurant inside.
Quality Shoppe’s dining area is bigger than it looks like from the outside, partially because the grill is located at the counter service area at the front of the shop. The back half of the space opens into a dining room with booths lining the walls on both sides and tables spread out in between.
My first visit was for breakfast. We were seated at a booth not far from the counter seating at the front of the restaurant. The service was quick – it has to be because the food is coming in and out of the kitchen in a hurry.
The breakfast menu is fairly extensive but rooted in traditional diner favorites like pancakes, eggs, and French toast. But within each there is plenty of variety plus daily specials.
One of the daily specials on my visit was lemon cheesecake pancakes – a dish that sounded so sweet that I couldn’t resist.
Two heaping pancakes arrived topped with creamy cheesecake frosting, lemon sauce and a large helping of whipped cream on top. I immediately regretted ordering a side of potatoes, but I did not regret getting this sweet treat.
The lemon sauce had the sour notes you expect, but mixed with the incredibly sweet cheesecake and whipped cream, it wasn’t overpowering. In fact, they balanced out very well. Quality Shoppe does these special cheesecake pancakes and French toast often and I would definitely try another flavor in the future.
I mentioned the side of homefries. While I should not have had them, I was almost glad to have something non-sweet just to break up the sweetness bite after bite. They were good, too. They had a nice crispy edge to them. Nothing fancy, just a diner staple done really well. The same could be said about the crispy bacon strips. These came with the pancakes – though they were also completely unnecessary with how large the stack was.
I finished most of my meal, which totalled around $18 with a drink.
The next time I stopped in at the Quality Shoppe, in early May, it was lunchtime. Like breakfast, the lunch menu is mostly no-frills diner food with a few daily and weekly specials. There are sandwiches, wraps, burgers, and entrees.
I decided on a burger for my meal – the Texas BBQ burger to be specific. It came topped with fried onions, cheddar cheese and barbecue sauce.
It’s not the fanciest burger you’ll find in Berks County, but it was good. The BBQ sauce was simple but did the job to give that little bit of smokey sweetness.
All of the burgers come in either four-ounce patties on a regular roll (like mine) or an eight-ounce on a Kaiser roll. The four-ounce burgers also come with a side of fries, which I really liked. They’re fresh-cut and sliced thin. And there was no skimping on the portions.
The burger meal was actually a really good deal: it was less than $10 (my drink put it over that mark) and like all good diners, it came out quickly, which is exactly what I’m looking for at lunch time.
I would say that breakfast was my favorite of the two, but for a reasonably priced meal, good service, and quality food, the Quality Shoppe is a great option.
BCE Rating Food: Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Good Price: $
Quality Shoppe 45 Constitution Blvd Kutztown, PA 19530
Tucked away in the northwest corner of Berks County, the village of Bethel is a quaint little country crossroads. It feels a world away for many in the other corners of Berks County, though it’s an easy side trip for thousands of motorists traveling I-78 every day.
If you exit the Interstate, you’ll find a couple blocks of old buildings, including at least one log cabin that’s been added on to. It’s mostly residential with only a few businesses, one of those being Bouchette Vineyards & Winery.
Bouchette opened the winery in 2017. In May 2025, they added something new: an on-site food truck called the Mountaintop Bistro.
We hadn’t visited the Bouchette before, but the menu at the food truck features two of our favorite things, smash burgers and BBQ, so we had to make the 30-minute drive from Wyomissing to check them out.
We pulled in around 5 p.m. on a Saturday night, Julie and I taking advantage of a babysitter to have a night to ourselves. There was a couple waiting for food and another person waiting to order when we got into line. We had to wait a couple minutes to place our order as the food truck was a one-man show, with one person both taking and making the orders.
But that gave us time to figure out what we wanted. Then knowing that we had a few minutes before the food would be ready, we headed inside to check out the winery options.
Bottles of various varietals and vintages line the shelves inside the door. There is also an assortment of hard cider in cans in one corner.
The bar is small with four chairs and room for another person or two to stand. In addition to wines and ciders, they also offer wine slushies. (The featured flavor while we were there: black cherry merlot).
Julie sampled some of the wines and ciders and decided to pick up two cans of cider to take home while enjoying a glass (or plastic cup, in this case) of Daybreak, their strawberry wine. Julie is a fan of sweet wines, and this one was on the sweeter side but not overly so. It had a freshness to it with a subtle strawberry flavor that she really enjoyed.
She sipped it while she ate her Classic Smash smashburger. It featured two three-ounce patties on a Brioche roll with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup and burger sauce (and mustard, which Julie opted out of).
The burgers were made fresh, and the patties had good flavor on their own. And there was plenty of fresh flavor coming from the toppings, too. The Brioche roll was the perfect choice because it held everything together nicely.
Not being a drinker, myself, I settled for a can of Sunkist to go with my pulled pork sandwich. That was my choice for dinner, and it was a good one. The pork is marinated in their apple hard cider and topped with coleslaw on the same Bricoche bun.
The pork was perfect. I could taste hints of the cider in every bite, kind of like how you can taste the subtle notes of the alcohol in a whiskey BBQ sauce. The coleslaw was also very good, the cabbage adding a little crunch to the dish.
Both of our meals came served with French fries (and their French fry dipping sauce). They were absolutely delicious: fresh cut and reminiscent of the Oley Fair fries. The dipping sauce was like a Chick-fil-A Sauce. I passed on it, but Julie liked it.
There are three distinct seating areas at the winery: a pergola with cushioned chairs and fire pits; a pavilion with bistro tables and chairs; and a collection of uncovered picnic tables. Even though others came and went while we were there, we had the pavilion to ourselves so Julie and I sat and talked long after our meal was done.
We were there long enough that we decided to go back inside to pick up a couple bottles of wine to take home (including the Daybreak that she had just enjoyed).
In all, we spent $25 at the food truck and about $50 for wine and cider. And though Julie and I enjoyed our date night, the setup makes it a place where we could bring the kids if we wanted.
And maybe we will next time (I’m sure there will be a next time) because both the winery and the Mountaintop Bistro exceeded our expectations.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Very Good Price: $
Mountaintop Bistro at Bouchette Vineyards & Winery 9684 Old US Route 22 Bethel, PA 19507
I get asked all the time to name my favorites. The most common question: “What’s your favorite restaurant?”.
It’s a hard one to answer so I usually rattle off a couple names. But when someone asks me, “Who has the best burger?”, that’s easy for me to answer: Louie’s Kitchen & Bar in Flying Hills.
Louie’s opened in 2022 and we reviewed them in early 2023 (see full review below), but that review was mostly focused on brunch. Since that time, Louie’s has continued to evolve, and I can safely say that Louie’s has found its niche: it’s now the go-to place for burgers in Berks County.
At least, it’s my go-to place. And after winning best burger at the Taste of Hamburg-er Festival in 2024, Louie’s has the accolades to back it up.
The burger that won them the award is our absolute favorite: the caramel burger.
With twin smash burgers topped with bacon jam aioli, caramelized onions, American and Provolone cheeses, and caramelized bacon, the caramel burger is both an indulgence and incredibly flavorful.
The sweet and savory combination is hard to beat, especially the caramelized bacon (which is available as a side on their Sunday brunch menu). It’s crispy and sugary, adding both texture and sweetness to the burger.
Between Julie and I, we have ordered it three times and it never disappoints.
But it’s far from the only great option on Louie’s burger menu. Another is the smokehouse burger with double-smoked bacon, cheddar, bourbon BBQ sauce and onion petals.
There are plenty of places around Berks that do a similar burger with BBQ sauce and onion rings, but Louie’s just feels like it’s a level above, especially thanks to the perfectly crispy bacon.
Also, don’t sleep on Louie’s fries, described on the menu as “skin-on russet potatoes fried until golden and crispy in a combination of bacon fat and lard.” They look like other fries, but the frying oils give them a little different flavor. It’s a $3 upgrade to go from chips to fries, but it’s well-worth it in my opinion.
The restaurant also has a cheeseburger on the kids menu that Jakob really enjoyed. It’s simple, just a burger with American cheese and fries, but it’s a nice size and made with the same quality ground beef.
But Louie’s is more than burgers, and the Hamburg-er Festival was not the only competition where Louie’s has taken top honors. At the 2025 Wilson Iron Chef event, Louie’s entered the People’s Choice competition with their Bulldog Cheesesteak.
The sandwich featured a Liscoio’s seeded roll, ribeye, mushroom rice creamy mayo, sauteed onions and cheese sauce.
It got enough votes – including my own – to earn the title of People’s Choice champion. And though I only had a small sampling at the Iron Chef, I got the full experience when we visited Louie’s a few weeks later and found the sandwich on the specials menu.
I had to order it. It came as a half of a large roll, overstuffed with filling and swimming in cheese sauce. But there was something about the “mayo,” maybe an earthiness from the mushrooms, that was unexpected and made the sandwich stand out from other cheesesteaks.
I only wish the savory masterpiece was on the regular menu because I would gladly order it again. (They do have three cheesesteak options on the regular menu).
The prices are reasonable enough to keep us coming back. Even with the upgrade to fries, dinner for two will be less than $40. And kids meals are priced at less than $10 each so it’s still a reasonable night out for families.
But it’s also the quality of the food that you’re getting for the price: some of the best burgers and sandwiches that you’ll find anywhere.
BCE Rating Food: Excellent Service: Very Good Ambiance: Very Good Price: $$
Louie’s Kitchen & Bar 12 Village Center Drive Reading, PA 19607
Back in 2018, I discovered a restaurant in Lancaster County called Gracie’s on West Main. Located in the heart of Leola, it’s a fantastic place – especially for breakfast (with an entire menu section devoted to bacon). I’ve been there several times since, including taking the family there for dinner just a couple months ago.
So when it was announced in the spring that the owners of Gracie’s were taking over what was then known as Divot’s, I was very excited.
After a small update, the newly renamed Louie’s Kitchen & Bar opened in the space in May 2022.
I actually made my first visit over the summer but never wrote about it because shortly afterward, the restaurant went through some changes in the kitchen and my chili huevos rancheros tacos were off the menu.
The restaurant serves as the unofficial “19th hole” for the Flying Hills Golf Course. Located just steps from the clubhouse, I would imagine that it fills up quickly on warm days when the course is full. But with a chill in the air, the course is empty and Julie and I have the place mostly to ourselves.
Louie’s is unique to itself, but it has callbacks to Gracie’s. Most notably are the chalkboards throughout the dining room, each one adorned with inspirational quotes from sports legends like Babe Ruth, Emmitt Smith and Bo Jackson (plus fictional sports star Rocky Balboa).
The menus, however, diverge. Whereas Gracie’s is primarily known for its breakfast items, Louie’s is a lunch and dinner spot (though the restaurant did try breakfast, at first, and still does weekend brunches) so the menu is built upon burgers, wraps and sandwiches.
For my lunch, I went with chicken bacon avocado wrap with a side cup of chili.
The wrap is pretty basic and similar items can be found on menus around Berks County, but I enjoyed it.The wrap was filled with grilled chicken, red onion, lettuce, tomato, avocado and ranch dressing. It may not have been anything special, but it was done well and I enjoyed it, especially the bites that were loaded with avocado.
I was really impressed with the chili – the triple double chili, that is – which is one of the items that can also be found on the menu at Gracie’s. It gets its name because it includes three meats (ground beef, ground pork and bacon) and two beans (kidney and black). It’s hearty, for sure, and a bowl with some fries could easily be a meal. The chili, itself, was not too spicy but definitely had the familiar sting of chili pepper every now and then. Though the heaping helping of shredded cheese on top helped to tone it down.
Across the table from me, Julie enjoyed her Mediterranean pita and fries. The pita features chicken, hummus, olive tapenade, tomatoes, onion, cucumber and feta with tzatziki sauce. It was really good and really filling. The hummus was really good and helped make it a very filling dish.
The fries were a real highlight. Crisp, golden and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, Julie and I both kept going back for more even after we were already full.
Because Julie upgraded to fries and I added on the cup of chili (and splurged on a fresh fruit iced tea), our lunch was a little more expensive than we would typically aim for with our total coming in around $40.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Ambiance: Very Good Service: Very Good Price: $$
Louie’s Kitchen & Bar 12 Village Center Dr Reading, PA 19607
If you’re looking for a family-friendly place to eat, a brewery may not be the first place you think to look. But Saucony Creek’s Kutztown Brewery & Pub definitely fits the bill.
Saucony Creek is located just outside Kutztown, standing high atop a hill just off the Kutztown exit of Route 222.
The building that now houses the brewery was once a car dealership – the same one where I got Dale Earnhardt’s autograph more than 30 years ago. Today, there are no hints at the location’s former life.
Inside is an opening dining room with high-top tables down the middle and low-tops along the side. But for our meal, we were seated outside.
Saucony has one of the better outdoor dining areas in Berks County. The stone patio has coverings over the middle tables and umbrellas for the outer seats. But our favorite part is the kids’ playset with its two two-person swings, rock wall and slide. It’s a great place for the kids to blow off steam before and after their meals.
We ordered the kids’ meals first so they didn’t have too much time to play before their food arrived.
For Jakob, that meant a cheeseburger and fries. The burger was a solid quarter-pounder topped with Cooper sharp cheese. He ate nearly the whole burger but didn’t eat many of the fries.
They were really good when they came out, but Jakob said they got “hard.” He’s not wrong. Though they were delicious, loaded with salt and pepper, they cooled off and lost their consistency pretty quick.
Lukas didn’t seem to mind as he ate his. In the opposite mood as his brother, he seemingly only wanted fries and left his grilled cheese for us to take home as a leftover.
I can attest that the burgers are very good as I had the pub burger for my meal. The pub burger consisted of two quarter-pound patties and came topped with beer cheese sauce, bacon, and fried onions rings.
With two patties, it was difficult to get that first bite, but when I did, it was great. The cheese sauce made it a little messier than some burgers, but it was a delicious mess. The beer cheese had a little deeper flavor than a slice of American or cheddar. Onion rings are a favorite of mine so the fried onions were a welcome addition. And the bacon added a nice sweet and salty note to it. Overall, it was a very good burger.
Knowing how big the burger would be, I just got a side of chips with it (Good’s brand, according to the menu). And that was the right decision as Jakob ended up eating more of my chips than I did.
Julie went with a different pub staple for her meal, opting for the brisket tacos. They came two to an order, and were topped with guacamole and pickled onions.
They were good, and the brisket had some good flavor to it, but it could have used a little more guac or other sauce to add some depth of flavor that was missing.
While Julie and I finished our meals and waited for our check – which totaled $80 for the four meals plus a cocktail for Julie and iced tea for me – the boys were busy on the playset.
The food was good, the kids loved their playtime, and we left knowing that we found another spot for future family meals.
BCE Rating Food: Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Very Good Price: $$
Saucony Creek Kutztown Brewery & Pub 15032 Kutztown Road Kutztown, PA 19530
When I was in college at Kutztown University – which feels like a lifetime ago – my favorite restaurant, hands down, was Spuds.
My roommates and I absolutely loved their oversized, creative burgers and the delicious shoestring fries. And when I started Berks County Eats, it was one of my earliest reviews.
Sadly, Spuds no longer has their downtown outpost. (That’s a joy that today’s KU students won’t get to experience). A fire in 2019 shuttered the restaurant, but those burgers and fries that I loved so much back then can still be found around Berks County. You just have to look for the Spuds food truck.
(You can read our original review of the restaurant below).
We’ve found them at various stops throughout the region, including events like the Taste of Hamburg-er Festival and Art on the Avenue in West Reading.
But Spuds also has some semi-regular locations in and around Kutztown, including pop-ups at the Kutztown Fire Company.
That’s where I found them on a late spring afternoon.
The truck is rather plain – painted white with the Spuds logo, a cartoon potato in a cowboy hat holding a burger in one hand and fries in the other, gracing the space at the back next to the order window.
While the truck may be bland, the food is anything but. In addition to the “plain” cheeseburger there were three specialty burgers on the menu for the event: the California cheeseburger, the wild mushroom burger, and the chipotle slaw burger. In addition, they were offering a chicken sandwich, pierogies, and fries – regular, loaded, garlic herb, and truffle.
I opted for the chipotle slaw burger and a side of regular fries.
The chipotle burger comes topped with a homemade spicy slaw and arugula (I skipped the cheese). The slaw had a good kick to it, a pleasant burn to complement the creaminess. The slightly bitter arugula was there to provide some subtle flavor notes.
But even a plain burger from Spuds is a great offering because the thick patties, probably around half-pound each, are grilled to perfection and are solid on their own. With the addition of the slaw, it’s one of the best burgers around for my money.
And then there are the fries. With the size of the burger, they are a completely unnecessary indulgence. But I will always indulge because they are that good. They’re fresh-cut style and fried to a perfect crisp. I can – and have – eaten them long after I was already full.
I mentioned before about Spuds’ appearances at local events, and we’ve had the the opportunity to check them at out several around Berks County. At a recent Taste of Hamburg-er Festival, we had the wild mushroom burger, which comes topped with mushrooms, melted brie, arugula, and balsamic drizzle.
At home, we often make blended burgers with both chopped mushrooms and ground beef. They don’t come close to this burger which hits the right notes at every turn. The balsamic drizzle has the right balance of sweet and sour, mixing perfectly with the earthy flavors of the brie and mushrooms. All around, an excellent offering.
So too are the fried cheese curds. We had those during Art on the Avenue last year.
Cheese curds are one of our favorite apps, and Spuds’ did not disappoint. The curds were a beautiful golden hue, served with a delicious pepper sauce for dipping.
While I may not be able to walk into a downtown storefront to get my Spuds fix, I’m very glad that they are still around and still serving those same great burgers, fries, and more.
And we’ll keep enjoying them wherever we find them.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Very Good Price: $$
Editor’s Note: Spuds is now closed. The restaurant suffered a fire in the summer of 2019. Instead of reopening a brick-and-mortar store, Spuds now runs a food truck serving burgers and fries around Berks County.
Berks County is a land of extremes when it comes to food.
On one hand, you have the finest dining establishments, places with white table linens, strict dress codes and suits and ties.
On the other, you have the celebrated greasy spoons, locally renowned holes-in-the-wall serving great food without any of the frills.
There may be no better, or greasier, greasy spoon in Berks County than Spuds in Kutztown.
Spuds doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. There are no fancy decorations on the walls, only the photos of those brave souls who have conquered “The Beast,” the restaurant’s three-pound burger challenge (the current record holder finished it in a very impressive 13 minutes).
The menu, a single piece of paper printed front and back, is headed by the “Assembly Line,” where you build your own burger, hot dog, steak or chicken sandwich from a list of toppings and “over the top-pings” which include corned beef, ham, mozzarella sticks and onion rings.
A handful of salads appeal to those who want to trick themselves into thinking they are eating healthy, though I doubt the cheeseburger salad (which includes, you guessed it, a freshly grilled cheeseburger) or The Mob (topped with ham and pepperoni) have much redeeming nutritional value.
And then there are the famous fries from which Spuds takes its name. The original fries and curly fries are great, but why settle when there are 30 topping options, including Sweet Heat (Cajun seasoning, sweet chili sauce and mozzarella), San Antonio (ground beef, fried onions, cayenne ranch, mozzarella and bacon) and Lonely Hearts (mushrooms, peppers, onions, parmesan pepper sauce and mozzarella).
I decided to splurge on the burger, topping it with barbecue sauce, onions and pulled pork. The quarter-pound burger on its toasted bun would have been plenty filling, but not nearly as much fun. The pulled pork was tender and moist, and it would have made an excellent sandwich on its own. Together, it was a deliciously messy dish that no bun could contain.
Of course no meal at Spuds is complete without fries. The Chesapeake fries, which are tossed in Old Bay and olive oil, are one of the simpler creations available, but sometimes less is more. The thin-cut fries were dripping of oil and doused in seasoning. The cook could have probably held off on the extra salt, but the fries were as good as any that you are going to find.
Taking the opposite approach, my wife went with a simple cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise while loading up on the spuds, literally, with an order of loaded fries. The “gall bladder goodness,” as my wife calls it, is like eating a fried baked potato, with cheddar, ranch, bacon and chives.
A fork is a must as the cheese hardens atop the potatoes, but it is worth the extra effort it takes to eat the extra special fries.
Though reasonably priced (with drinks, our meals came in at under $25.00), don’t confuse Spuds with fast food. All of the burgers and fries are made to order, which can mean long waits during the dinner rush, especially when class is in session a Kutztown University. Of course, you can always call in your order (and probably should if you need more than two or three meals).
Spuds is a favorite of students, especially those looking for a late-night meal. But the food is too good to dismiss it as a college town dive.
So if you’re in the mood for a burger and fries, and if you have a few thousand calories to spare, skip the fast food and gorge on some greasy gourmet instead.
BCE Rating Food: Good Service: Good Ambiance: Fair Price: Reasonable
When I was attending Kutztown University, the Airport Diner was one of my favorite places. The food wasn’t outstanding, but where else could I get French toast at midnight?
Of course, everything changes. I no longer seek late-night breakfasts. And even if I wanted one, I wouldn’t find it at the Airport Diner. The restaurant has changed hands since I was in school and it’s no longer open late.
But APD, as we affectionately called it, is still very much a classic diner.
We visited for a family meal and found it much like I remembered it. There was the old-fashioned counter surrounded by stainless steel inside the diner car. And there was the larger dining area with both tables and booths.
The host sat us in a booth by the window overlooking a grassy area with criss-crossing macadam paths of the now-defunct airport. (Only the helicopter pad used for emergency medical transport is still used).
We were there at lunchtime, and while breakfast is served all day, it’s a more limited menu in the afternoons so we all ended up ordering from the lunch and dinner options.
I had the Greek burger. It came topped with feta with a cup of tzatziki on the side. I thought it was a solid burger – not my favorite burger I have had, but enjoyable, nonetheless. And it was plenty big, a solid quarter-pounder.
The fries were your average diner fries, fast-food style but a little thicker. I certainly didn’t leave any when I was done.
Julie opted for tuna, one of her favorites, on a wrap. It was wrapped with Swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato. The wrap, itself, was good. It was grilled slightly to give it a crisper outside. It was a good wrap, exactly what you’d expect from a diner.
Of course Jakob had to have a kid’s portion of mac and cheese. It’s called the Spiderman on their menu, and that just happens to be Jakob’s favorite superhero, to go along with his favorite food. It was basically a bowl of Kraft mac and cheese, but he happily slurped down every last noodle so I guess we can’t complain.
The total for our meal was around the $30 mark, and I certainly won’t complain about that.
The Airport Diner is not the same as it was when I was in college, but neither am I. But we had a good meal at a great price, and in the end, that means a lot for us today.
BCE Rating Food: Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Good Price: $
Airport Diner 15110 Kutztown Road Kutztown, PA 19530
Now that Berks County has entered the green phase of reopening, restrictions are starting to be lessened for area restaurants and eateries, but restrictions remain in place.
The new rules and regulations have forced businesses to adapt and innovate, from the way the food gets from kitchen to consumer (contactless delivery, curbside pickup) to how seats are arranged – inside and out.
One of the innovations that has come out of the restrictions on dining is Truck N Brew, a weekly event at Willow Glen Park in Sinking Spring.
Willow Glen is best known as the site of Shocktoberfest, the Apple Dumpling Festival, weekly outdoor flea markets and countless other events throughout the year. But on Friday and Saturday nights, Willow Glen is now home to Truck N Brew, an outdoor dining and entertainment venue with food trucks and concessions.
Not being ready for a dine-in experience quite yet, Truck N Brew seemed like a great alternative for a Saturday night dinner.
We arrive at 5 p.m. just as the stands were opening. We weren’t the first ones there, but there weren’t too many others around as we bounced from food truck to food truck and stand to stand in search of our meals.
The lineup of food trucks changes every week – this week featured wood-fired pizza, tacos, Cuban sandwiches, barbecue and more – but the venue is owned and operated by Konopelski Katering, and their concession stands are the anchors of the event.
One of those stands is Fat Jack’s, which operates out of a large kitchen at the end of the row of eateries. The menu was also the most varied of all the options with burgers, sandwiches, fried foods and more.
We both opted for burgers – Julie got the guac and bacon burger while I went with the fajita burger.
For Jakob, we stopped at a food truck called The Biggest Cheese where mac and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches dominate the menu. Actually, there’s mac and cheese in the grilled cheese sandwiches, but they were accommodating and made a plain old grilled cheese for our toddler to enjoy.
Seating was plentiful. There is a large pavilion with picnic tables spread out (it’s also where the bar is set up – the brew in Truck N Brew). And many more tables surrounding the pavilion. There’s also some wooden counters set up along the lawn’s edge, a place to stand and enjoy your drinks.
We snagged one of the tables outside the pavilion. Despite our car’s thermometer reading 90 degrees, the shaded picnic area felt very comfortable. And we were well-distanced from the nearest occupied table, making it easy to enjoy our delicious burgers.
My fajita burger came topped with grilled peppers, grilled onions lettuce, tomato and jalapeno cheese.
I personally love grilled peppers and onions on my burgers (they are among my go-to toppings at Five Guys), but I wasn’t sure what to expect with the jalapeno cheese. It added only a little heat to the dish, but it certainly added some flavor.
Overall, it was a very satisfying burger.
Julie was also satisfied with her guac and bacon burger. As you might guess, the featured toppings were guacamole and bacon (with lettuce and tomato). You can’t really go wrong with either of those on a burger.
Both of us got a side of fries with our burgers. The small, fresh-cut fries were very good though a little on the salty side (not too salty to stop me from eating them).
Meanwhile Jakob seemed to enjoy his grilled cheese (Julie tried some and said it was good. The bread was toasted well – not burnt – and was nice and buttery). However he was a little distracted because from his seat, he was looking directly at the Sweet Ride Ice Cream truck.
I ventured over and grabbed us some dessert, a cup of vanilla ice cream for Jakob, a cup of banana peanut butter chip ice cream for Julie and an orange cream float with chocolate ice cream for me.
Sweet Ride has always been good, but we’ve enjoyed them even more since they started making (most) of their own ice cream. Julie loves their banana peanut butter chip with the creamy banana base so there was never a doubt as to which flavor she would get.
My float was also very good. The chocolate ice cream was rich and I always enjoy the mix of chocolate and orange. It was definitely worth the extra calories.
It wasn’t the cheapest night out we’ve had but it was still pretty reasonable. Our burgers and fries were less than $25. Jakob’s grilled cheese and bottle of water were around $7. And the ice cream added another $12, bringing our total for the night to right around $45. That’s not bad for three meals and three desserts.
We kept our expectations low going into the evening, but were pleasantly surprised all around. There was more than enough seating to spread out (even at 6 p.m. when we left). There was a great variety of food, and what we had was very good. While I would say the majority of the other patrons weren’t wearing masks, a few were. And all of those working, at least the ones I could see that were interacting with customers, were wearing masks and gloves.
Really, it’s a great idea, one that was obviously fueled by the restrictions of the yellow phase of reopening. But it’s an idea we hope keeps going because we enjoyed it and would definitely go back.
Truck N Brew 94 Park Rd Sinking Spring, PA 19608
BCE Rating Food: Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Good Price: Reasonable
Editor’s Note: Beer Wall on Penn is closed. The restaurant closed in September 2024 after a five-year run. The space is now home to Taqueria Comalli, which moved into the space in Fall 2025.
Oftentimes, a bar is just a bar. It’s a place to get a
drink, eat some fried food and watch a game.
But sometimes, a bar isn’t just a bar. West Reading’s Beer
Wall on Penn is not just a bar. In fact, it’s one of the few places in Berks
County that can truly be called, “unique.”
Sure, there’s a bar. And dining room seating. And table
service. But then there are the 38 self-serve taps where anyone (over the age
of 21) can pour their own beer. Each beer is priced per ounce and customers are
in complete control over how much beer they pour. A card is swiped at the tap,
adding up your tab as you go.
The taps are a sight to behold – all of them in a single row along a wall (except for a few stragglers located on the top floor – more on that later). I don’t drink, but I brought along my buddy Josh to test out the taps. He lives in D.C. but was back in the area for the week (and who enjoys a good beer or two on his cheat days).
“This is cool,” he said. “I can’t believe they don’t have one of these in D.C. yet. It would do really well.” It is a cool concept, and one that actually puts Berks County on the cutting edge.
But the Beer Wall isn’t just about the booze – the
restaurant is serving up a unique food menu that includes tacos, burgers,
sandwiches, fried appetizers and a handful of large plate entrees.
Josh and I both opted for appetizers. For me, it was the
duck fat fries.
For the duck fat fries, Beer Wall takes its thick-cut fries
and cooks them in duck fat, topping them with truffle zest, shaved Parmesan and
scallions. It also comes with a side of roasted garlic aioli for dipping.
I love the richness of duck and it definitely adds another
layer of flavor to fries. I also appreciated the large parmesan shavings. But
for me, it was the scallions that really took everything to the next level.
That strong, concentrated onion flavor was the perfect addition and paired
nicely with the fries and the tangy aioli.
Across the table, Josh was enjoying an order of pretzel
nuggets. He graciously allowed me to try one of the parmesan and parsley-coated
pretzels, and it was delicious. But what really surprised me was the lager
mustard dip. I don’t like mustard and I don’t drink beer, but somehow this
combination worked so well and made for a perfect complement to the pretzels.
Both our appetizers left a great first impression.
I passed on the tacos and burgers in favor of one of Beer
Wall’s entree plates, the brisket mac-n-cheese. It featured braised brisket, sautéed
onions and cavatappi pasta in a white cream sauce, all topped with bread
crumbs, chives and parmesan cheese.
This is a case where I thought the individual ingredients
were better than the dish as a whole. I really liked the brisket. It had a
nice, smoky flavor, but I thought it was masked by the cheese sauce.
On the flip side, I thought the bread crumb mixture was a
welcome addition and brought out the best flavors of the cheese. It was a good
meal, but personally, I would have enjoyed everything just a little bit more if
the brisket had been served on top of, or beside the mac. (It was also a lot of
food, especially after finishing off the duck fat fries. I took half of it home
in a box at the end of the meal).
Josh had decided to go with one of the burger options, the banh
mi. It featured an eight-ounce patty of beef and pork (Beer Wall’s standard
burger base) topped with pickled vegetables, fried pork belly, seared tomato,
cilantro, a fried egg and balsamic reduction.
He and I argued over whether pork belly belongs on a banh mi
(in my world, it certainly does), but there was no arguing about the beauty of
the burger in front of him. Unfortunately Josh is one of the unfortunate souls
who suffers from an aversion to cilantro and somehow forgets until he tastes
it. That kind of marred what was a good burger.
The prices for food at the Beer Wall are pretty reasonable
for the amount and quality of the food. I spent about $25 for my entree, fries
and an unsweetened iced tea. For those who enjoy craft beer, you can expect to
add 50 to 70 cents per ounce to your tab at the end of the night.
When our meal was finished, we ventured upstairs where Beer
Wall not only has additional taps, but also vintage arcade games that you can
play for free. Mortal Kombat and the Simpsons are among the machines you’ll
find. Before we left, I schooled Josh in a game of NBA Jam, dropping 3s from
the corner with Scottie Pippin.
Maybe the novelty of pouring your own beer will wear off. Then
again, maybe not.
Either way, Beer Wall on Penn is not just another bar. It’s
something different, and different is a good thing for Berks County.
BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Very Good
Price: Reasonable
Beer Wall on Penn
619 Penn Ave
West Reading, PA 19611
