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: $$
More Burgers in Berks County
Original Post: June 23, 2014
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
Spuds
163 W. Main St
Kutztown, PA 19530
