white plate with an order of spagehtti with red sauce and a large piece of chicken topped with sauce and cheese.
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Review: Tony’s Family Restaurant – Robesonia

Facade of Tony's Family Restaurant in Robesonia glowing against a dark night sky.

The local pizza shop is a time-honored tradition. Every town has one. And growing up in Robesonia, our local spot was Tony’s Family Restaurant. 

Ironically, we didn’t order much pizza when I was kid. Instead, Tony’s orders usually consisted of hoagies for mom and dad, chicken fingers and fries for me and my brother. 

Sign that reads "Tnony's Family Restaurant with a cartoon-like image of a pepperoni pizza

In December, between family visits, Julie and I took the boys to my childhood stomping grounds for an easy, relaxed meal. 

restaurant dining room with wooden tables and a large clock on the brown wall

We arrived for an early dinner and had our choice of table in the dining room. There were about a dozen to choose from, mostly rounds but there were a couple high-tops and a few rectangular tables pushed together for larger parties. I don’t remember what the room looked like 30 years ago, but I have to imagine it wasn’t much different with tile floors and wood paneling on the bottom half of the walls. 

water color painting of a restaurant with a white front, red roof and large yellow sign.

I do remember what the outside of the building used to look like – white with a red tile roof and a bright yellow sign. A painting in the dining room perfectly captures what the building looked like before a renovation brought a stone patio and matching stone facade. 

Our server was attentive throughout, even after the dining room filled up. She took our order and had our drinks and a basket of garlic bread on the table quickly.

white bowl with a salad with courtons and a cup of ranch dressing from Tony's in Robesonia

Next up were salads for Julie and I. They weren’t anything extraordinary, but I appreciated the presentation in the tall-sided bowl as opposed to the simple salad plate. 

clear plastic bowl with a large meatball in red sauce

The meals arrived a short time later, and our server set them on the table behind us so we could prepare Lukas’ meatball for him. The single meatball was huge so we had to cut it up for our two-year-old before he could dig in. But it was good, as was the sauce it came in. 

basket with red and white checkered paper holding a kids order of crinkle fries

The kids’ meal came with a side so we got him some fries to go with it. When I was younger, I ate more fries from Tony’s than I would care to admit, and Lukas seemed to enjoy them as much as I did when I was his age.

white plate with an order of spagehtti with red sauce and a large piece of chicken topped with sauce and cheese.

For my meal, I ordered chicken Parmesan with spaghetti. It was a huge portion of chicken, much more than I could finish, but it was very good. The sauce is solid, not too sweet but still with plenty of flavor. 

There was also a nice size serving of spaghetti on the side. I finished that, and a little less than half the chicken before taking the rest home to have as a chicken parm sandwich the next day. 

white plate with an order of lasagna smothered in cheese from Tony's Family Retaurant in Robesonia.

My meal was one of the specials for the evening, a regular menu item but with a couple dollars off, and the same was true for Julie’s lasagna. She got a heaping helping of layered noodles and cheese. The top layers slid off before the photo, but though it didn’t look pristine, it was still really good. 

white round plate with spaghetti topped with red sauce and a large meatball

Jakob ordered the kids’ portion of spaghetti with one large meatball on top. His portion would probably have been enough for many adults. He devoured it, as eight-year-olds do, and still managed to sneak a few of his brother’s French fries.

At around $65 for our meals, the price felt reasonable, especially for the portions. 

Four solid dinners with quick, friendly service, and a good price: it’s exactly the kind of meal I expect from a place like Tony’s. And I know there are plenty more places like it yet to discover. 

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

Tony’s Family Restaurant
460 W. Penn Avenue
Robesonia, PA 19551

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old-fashioned diner counter with stainless steel stools in dark red motif
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Review: Mark’s Sandwich Shop – Kutztown

beat up wooden sign that reads "Mark's Steaks Subs Fries"

Earlier this year, I visited Esterly’s Sandwich Shop in Bowers. My post about the little hole-in-the-wall sandwich joint received more engagement than any other Facebook post I had done in more than 10 years of Berks County Eats. 

While almost all of the posts were locals attesting to their love of Esterly’s, there were a few who suggested that maybe Esterly’s wasn’t the best in the area. 

Those commenters pointed me to Mark’s Sandwich Shop in Kutztown. 

order counter with a sign above it that reads "Mark's" in red script

Mark’s has never really been on my radar. Even back when I was in college, I was loyal to Spuds. But with so many recommendations, I decided to check it out. 

The shop is one of the many eateries along Kutztown’s Main Street. On the outside, it’s an unassuming, rather dull looking building – pale yellow with dark red trim.

old-fashioned diner counter with stainless steel stools in dark red motif

Inside, I was surprised to find a little bit of a diner vibe with counter stainless steel counter seats to go along with a much larger dine-in section than I expected from the outside. It does have the same colors as the outside so I wouldn’t say it’s the most appealing dining area in the county.

I had ordered my food ahead of time and it was ready for pickup right on time. 

Of course, for comparison’s sake I had to order the same steak sandwich that I ordered at Esterly’s – that meant a steak sandwich with sauce and onions. 

white plate with a cheesesteak with sauce and potato chips

I have to say that I liked it, but it wasn’t my favorite. Specifically, the sauce was a little too tangy for my taste. But the steak meat was good and done well. I would just prefer to go a little lighter on the sauce next time. 

(Even the admin for Mark’s Facebook account agreed, saying they order it with light sauce).

The best part about Mark’s, though, is the fact that they have Dutch fries as a side option. There’s only a couple places that serve Dutch fries outside of the Kutztown Fair, and Mark’s is one of them. 

While Dutch fries look like potato chips, they are fried, not boiled, and they are served hot. Some of the fries get crispy, others stick together and come out softer. Both are absolutely delicious. 

piece of alumninum foil unfolded to show a chicken parm sandwich, cut in half, and a bag of chip-shaped fries.

Again taking my queue from Facebook comments, I headed back to Mark’s, this time for a chicken parm sandwich. I have to say, it fell a little flat for me. It wasn’t anything special, and I didn’t think the roll held up very well. But at least I had a nice big bag of Dutch fries with it. 

My total was about $15 each time, just a couple dollars more than Esterly’s. I would still say Mark’s is very reasonably priced, though. It’s kind of the perfect price point for a grab-and-go meal in a college town. 

And the food is good enough with excellent service that I’m not surprised they have the following that they do. 

BCE Rating
Food: Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Fair
Price: $

Mark’s Sandwich Shop
123 West Main Street
Kutztown, PA 19530

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An order of chicken Paremsan, featuring an extra large chicken breast topped with red sauce on a bed of spaghetti, from Temple Family Restaurant.
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Review: Temple Family Restaurant

A view of the entrance to Temple Family Restaurant.

I have always enjoyed a good diner, but I’ve found that I appreciate them even more since becoming a father because I know they are a safe bet for a night out with my son.

Diners always have plenty of seating (including high chairs), the service is quick and there are always kids options on the menu.

So when we were struggling to decide on a place to go for a family dinner on a Sunday in December, my mind went to diners. And that’s how we ended up at the Temple Family Restaurant.

A view of Temple Family Restaurant's large dining room, featuring tables, booths and blue accent lighting at the ceiling.

It had been years since Julie and I last visited Temple Family Restaurant – at least five because we hadn’t been back since Berks County Eats became a thing. We had always enjoyed it, but with so many places to visit, it had fallen off our radar.

Julie, Jakob and I arrived around 5 p.m. and found the restaurant to be busy, but not crowded. The dining area is very large with booths lining every wall and free-standing tables in the middle.

Our waitress was very attentive, arriving at our table within moments of being seated. She was happy to help as we worked to keep Jakob occupied – providing us with an extra menu for him to entertain himself with and also ensuring that his applesauce arrived with our salads.

Mixed greens topped with croutons, cheese and red onions, served with a side of Ranch dressing at Temple Family Restaurant

The menu is large and varied, but all of the “American Classics,” “Pasta Specialties,” and “Steaks and Chops” are served with a choice of soup or salad.

The salads were simple, mostly greens and croutons topped with shredded cheese, onions, green pepper slices and cherry tomatoes. It also came with more than enough salad dressing – at least twice as much in the cup than we usually see with diners.

A pair of dinner rolls in a basket with 10 packets of butter

Our meals were also served with fresh rolls and butter. The rolls were served warm and were very good. They also came with a pile of butter packets (I think I used half of a packet for mine).

For my entree, I chose the chicken croquettes. I have always enjoyed the fried chicken dish, but it’s not something I order very often. I was, however, very glad that I ordered it here.

Two chicken croquettes and a side of potato filling, smothered in gravy, from Temple Family Restaurant

The croquettes were delicious. The breading was nicely seasoned and the chicken had a great flavor to it. And as simple as it was, the bed of mashed potatoes the croquettes were served on were a perfect complement. And the croquettes were huge. I decided to save one for later rather than overdoing it at the restaurant.

Was it a steak dinner at a five-star restaurant? Absolutely not. Was it delicious comfort food? Absolutely.

Not taking the time to study the menu as much as I should have, I ordered potato filling as a side – even though the meal already came with mashed potatoes. (Full disclosure: when I was a teenager, I would do this on purpose when we went to diners. That was not the case here). The filling was fine, but nothing special. I actually enjoyed the mashed potatoes a little bit better.

An order of chicken Paremsan, featuring an extra large chicken breast topped with red sauce on a bed of spaghetti, from Temple Family Restaurant.

Julie had ordered the chicken Parmesan (both of our meals were listed as “homemade” in the menu and had pictures to further sway us on our decisions). It, too, was very good. The chicken breast had a crisp breading on the outside. The sauce was a little sweet and a little thicker than some places. But I thought it all came together very well.

And it was also huge. The chicken breast covered nearly the full length of the oblong plate. Julie didn’t even attempt to finish the whole thing, bringing home half for a later meal.

Her meal also came with a slice of garlic toast. It was not as good as the dinner roll. I thought it tasted more like Texas toast. Either way, it was completely unnecessary given the size of the chicken breast and the fact that we already had bread at the table.

The kids personal pan pizza at Temple Family Restaurant

The kids menu isn’t huge, but there are enough choices to keep most children happy. Jakob was pleased with his personal pan pizza. It didn’t look like anything I would eat, but Jakob finished every bite so I guess it served its purpose well.

He did not want his applesauce, though, so I ended up giving him my buttered corn, which he happily ate for me.

A small cup of rice pudding topped with whipped cream and dusted with cinnamon from Temple Family Restaurant

At the end of the meal, having saved a little bit of room, Julie decided to splurge for some rice pudding for her and Jakob. It came topped with whipped cream and was dusted with cinnamon. Rice pudding is not my favorite – it’s a texture thing for me, mostly – but Julie loves it, especially at diners. Jakob didn’t have much interest in anything other than the whipped cream so I ended up eating most of his share.

We certainly got a lot for our money during our meal as our two entrees, kids meal and rice pudding cost us $31.

It was an enjoyable meal, and kid-friendly at that. Mommy, daddy and Jakob all enjoyed our food and were happy with our decision.

Diners are once again moving to the forefront for me. And Temple Family Restaurant has earned a place near the top of our list.

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

Temple Family Restaurant
4949 N. 5th Street Hwy
Temple, PA 19560

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