Kutztown’s Main Street continues to grow. There are so many more options than there were in 2005 when I took my first class at KU.
And I would argue the options are better today than ever. One of the newer arrivals that I’ve come to enjoy is the Cottage Bakery & Cafe.
The Cottage opened in the fall of 2023, taking over a corner spot at Main Street across from Letterman’s Diner.
On my first visit to the Cottage, I found it to be a quaint place. The restaurant offers counter service with limited seating – mostly tables for two, in the narrow storefront. The tables were covered in the red and white checkered tablecloths with matching tabletops on the outside bistro seats.
The menu is large and varied. At breakfast, they offer pancakes, French toast, omelets, sandwiches, and more. At lunch – which is when I visited – it’s salads, wraps, and sandwiches, but seemingly in endless numbers. This includes regular sandwiches and double-decker stacked sandwiches.
I opted for a chicken Caprese wrap, which was one of the weekly specials. The wrap started with shredded chicken and included mozzarella, salad greens, and a cup of balsamic for drizzling.
First, I appreciated that the balsamic was served on the side. I enjoy the flavor of balsamic in small doses, and I was able to pour out exactly how much I wanted.
Second, I love the addition of chicken to Caprese. I don’t order Caprese salads often because I feel it’s too much like just eating mozzarella. With the chicken, it felt more balanced. And the addition of the savory notes really helped pull everything together. It was definitely something I would order again if I saw it on the menu.
On the side were crinkle fries. They were golden and crispy, exactly how you want crinkle fries to be served. With a little salt, they were perfect. I didn’t need to eat all of them, but I did anyway because they were so good.
My meal was impressive enough that found myself back at the Cottage the following week. This time, I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich on brioche. It was an excellent sandwich with Gouda cheese. Gouda is one of my favorites because of its mix of smokiness and creaminess, and it just played perfectly with the seasoned chicken breast. Another item I would absolutely order again.
Prior to the Cottage, the location had been home to a donut shop for years, most recently Donut Lovers Boom, and before that, the Frying Dutchman.
While the Cottage doesn’t have donuts, they do have delicious baked goods like cakes and cupcakes. On my first visit, I bought three cupcakes to take home to the family: German chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, and chocolate vanilla. All were very good. The German chocolate was mine. Topped with a nutty-sweet topping, it was decadent and delicious.
The building, itself, was showing its age a little during my second visit. There was no air conditioning, just a fan in the corner to help ease the summer heat.
Other than that, my meals were enjoyable, especially when it came to the food and the price. The sandwich specials were around the $10 mark, perfect for lunch, especially given the quick service.
At some point, I’ll get to Kutztown early so I can give the Cottage a try at breakfast, but until then, I will definitely enjoy their lunches when I can.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Excellent Ambiance: Fair Price: $
The Cottage Bakery & Cafe 236 W. Main Street Kutztown, PA 19530
For someone who lives in Wyomissing, I make a lot of trips to Boyertown. I’m a member at the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, Jakob is obsessed with the Brickworks (a LEGO store in downtown), and there are some great restaurants.
But I also drive past a lot of restaurants on my way to and from Boyertown. On a recent visit, I finally stopped at one of them – Antonio’s Trattoria.
Antonio’s operates in the former Woods Pub building along Route 73. I had driven past the building many times in recent years – and every time the electronic sign attached to the Woods Pub sign had the same message – closed.
It was pretty apparent that the temporary closure was permanent. And eventually, after a lengthy renovation process, Antonio’s opened in August 2023.
My first visit came a few months later in November. With baby carrier in tow, I stepped into the dining room for the first time and was extremely impressed by the work inside.
Outside, the building doesn’t look like much (though it looks a lot better in the shades of white and gray than it did when it was painted green). But inside, the work that was done was evident.
There were new floors throughout – some hardwood, some tile. In one corner was a quaint fireplace. And the bar had a cool factor thanks to the sheet metal base and wooden top.
I was seated near the window looking out on Route 73. It was a small annex that originally would have been a porch that was enclosed years ago.
The waitress was very friendly and I had my food a short time after I placed my order – a Brooklyn cob pizza with a side of hand-cut fries.I ordered more food than I could eat, knowing that I would be taking some home for leftovers.
The Brooklyn cob pizza was a special offering – sharp provolone under marinara sauce, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.
With the light cheese on top combined with the sweet sauce, it had the feel of a freshly made tomato pie. But with a crust that was nice and crisp. It was a great offering, and one that I hope comes back some day because I would definitely order it again.
It was a great first impression with delicious food and friendly staff that will definitely have me coming back.
Next time, I’ll bring the family so I don’t have to eat it all alone.
BCE Rating Food: Good Service: Excellent Ambiance: Very Good Price: $$
Antonio’s Trattoria 1636 W. Philadelphia Avenue Boyertown, PA 19512
Five years ago, our family made the drive to the Oley Turnpike Dairy for the first time. The out-of-the-way diner was okay, but nothing special (the ice cream was great, though). The combination restaurant and ice cream parlor was open for 52 years before closing in August 2022.
But the space didn’t remain empty for long as the new Redvo Restaurant opened in February 2023. The restaurant is a new venture from the owners of Penn Steak & Fries, which operated in the Coventry Mall in Pottstown from 1989 until it closed prior to Redvo’s opening.
The space has certainly received an upgrade since our visit in 2018. The wood paneling has been painted a light gray and the dining area is much brighter. The wood-top tables are a big improvement over the vinyl tablecloths that I remember from our first visit.
On the other side of the building, what was once the ice cream parlor is now empty. But when I stopped in for lunch on a Tuesday afternoon, quite a few tables were full in the dining area.
The sign said “seat yourself” so I grabbed a booth at the far end of the room and was quickly greeted and offered a menu. A minute later she was back with my drink and my order was in.
With Redvo’s predecessor being Penn Steak & Fries, I was always going to order a cheesesteak. In addition to creative sandwiches like the pepperoni cheesesteak, spicy pesto chicken cheesesteak and chipotle chicken cheesesteak, Redvo has a build-your-own option with a dozen toppings, an equal number of sauces and three different cheeses.
Though I really wanted to try the spicy pesto, I decided to stick with a more traditional “Berks County” style cheesesteak with Provolone cheese, onions and marinara sauce.
After one bite, I was hooked. The sandwich was packed with perfectly prepared steak. The sauce was on the sweeter side which balanced nicely with the savory meat. And rather than a cold slice of cheese sitting on the bun, the Provolone was melted throughout so every taste was as good as the last.
The best part was that the fries were just as good. The fresh-cut style fries were crispy and flavorful – never once did I have to reach for the salt and pepper shaker. And they made for a great utensil to pick up the excess meat and onions that had fallen onto the plate.
Overall, I was really impressed by both the food and service – and the price was right at about $15 for my sandwich, fries and drink.
While the menu does offer more than just cheesesteaks (they even serve breakfast from 6 a.m. to 12 noon every day), there’s too many cheesesteak options to explore before I branch out from there.
And I can’t wait to try them all.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Excellent Ambiance: Good Price: $
Redvo Restaurant 6213 Oley Turnpike Road Oley, PA 19547
Long-time followers of Berks County Eats know how much we have enjoyed our visits to Klinger’s pubs across the county over the years.
While I will always love the original Klinger’s on Carsonia, Klinger’s at the Airport has recently become our family’s go-to for both the food and the look on our son’s face when he sees a plane takeoff outside the window.
Our most recent visit reaffirmed how much we enjoy the restaurant by the runway at the Reading Regional Airport. Jump to Original Review from 2017
We stopped in on a Friday night around 5:30. The bar was full and the restaurant was bustling but there was still plenty of seating in the dining area and we were lucky enough to get a table by the window.
Even though it was already dark outside, the lights of the planes illuminated them just enough so that Jakob could watch them take off while we waited for our food to arrive.
For my meal, I ordered Klinger’s boneless wings – half Parmesan peppercorn and half Jameson Whiskey BBQ. The boneless wings were always a favorite of mine at the Carsonia location and they did not disappoint. Klinger’s BBQ sauce is one of my favorite wing sauces I’ve found – smokey and sweet. And the Parmesan peppercorn was creamy and mild.
The best part, I ordered 10 wings and got a full baker’s dozen in my basket.
Julie had the Cadillac quesadilla. The name is an homage to Klinger’s former location in Fleetwood and is a delicious take on a cheesesteak. In addition to the steak, cheese and grilled onions, the quesadilla is drizzled with barbecue sauce.
Though it comes served with salsa and sour cream on the side, the barbecue sauce adds a sweetness to the dish that makes the other sauces almost unnecessary.
For Jakob’s meal, we got him pasta and tater tots. The pasta was curly noodles that he didn’t need to cut which made it easy for him to clear his bowl. He did the same with his tots, leaving just three left when he declared “I’m full” at the end of the meal.
It took him a little longer than the rest of us to finish his food because there were at least 10 planes landing or taking off while we were there, and for a five-year-old, each one is an event that can’t be missed.
Joining us on our visit was my mother-in-law, Peggy, who loves Klinger’s fries – beer-battered and crispy. She enjoyed them alongside her cheeseburger.
Overall, it was a great meal and a great experience – exactly what we were hoping for with this family meal. And for the four of us, our total was under $80 (and we had a $5 off coupon).
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Ambiance: Very Good Service: Very Good Price: $$
Klinger’s at the Airport 2385 Bernville Rd Reading, PA 19605
Every great movie franchise is built on the trilogy. Think Lord of the Rings, the Dark Knight and Star Wars (the originals, obviously). That formula apparently works for restaurants, too.
With the opening of Klinger’s at the Airport at the end of 2016, the Klinger’s trilogy is now complete.
Berks County Eats has already visited the original Klinger’s on Carsonia, and last year, we visited the new Klinger’s of Fleetwood.
If I were starting a restaurant, the Reading Regional Airport would not be my ideal location. The airport hasn’t had regular passenger service since 2004.
But with the closing of Malibooz early last year, the space was open and Klinger’s stepped in.
The lights were mostly off in the terminal when we arrived, but Klinger’s was alive and well, tucked in a corner on the left side of the building.
It looks like a hole in the wall, but the dining area opens up from the entrance. To the right is a 360-degree bar. A large mural dedicated to aviation history decorates the wall behind it.
The rest of the dining room is filled with booths and tables, definitely the largest dining area of the three Klinger’s restaurants.
Our table was by one of the windows overlooking the airstrip. During our visit – a Tuesday night where we played Challenge the Pub trivia – we saw exactly one plane out the window, though whether it was coming or going, I couldn’t say.
Klinger’s is known for their bar food and for me, their wings are some of the best around. So we had to start our night with a basket – five Old Bay and five Jameson Whiskey BBQ.
Both flavors can be found at Klinger’s other restaurants, the Jameson Whiskey BBQ being the signature flavor. It’s sweet, and a little bitey. When I’ve had the wings at Carsonia, the sauce is laid on much thicker. This was lighter, but the flavor was still there. And the Old Bay is exactly what it sounds like, wings rubbed down in the classic seasoning, Julie’s favorite.
The menu looks similar to the other two locations, though each one has its own unique offerings. For instance, all three feature different varieties of chili. I had an opportunity to sample the habanero chili during the chili cook-off at this year’s Fire & Ice Festival and loved it. It was a little sweet with enough heat to make you take notice, but not enough to overpower everything else.
Another twist comes with the sandwiches. All three locations have a section for steak sandwiches, but only Fleetwood and the Airport have the Lone Star Style steak sandwich featuring sautéed onions, barbecue sauce, beer cheese and bacon.
It is a phenomenal mix of ingredients. The steak meat – real cuts of meat, not Steak-Ums – is a great base. The beer cheese and the barbecue sauce blend together really well for a sweet and smoky flavor. The thick-cut bacon adds a salty note and more smokiness. And the sautéed onions are the perfect finish.
This is no Philly cheesesteak, but it is one of the best sandwiches that I have tried in more than three years of Berks County Eats.
One of the only-at-the-airport menu additions is Stromboli – seven varieties made with beer dough. Julie decided to try the Classic – pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, mozzarella and marinara.
Klinger’s did a good job with this. The doughy shell is very good, though I couldn’t taste anything uniquely “beer dough” about it. What really stands out though is the sauce. It’s a thick, deep red sauce that is quite enjoyable for a place that doesn’t qualify as an “Italian restaurant.”
We were joined on our visit by our friends Matt and Hannah, who were very excited to see a cookie sundae on the dessert menu.
I have to say, after the meal, the sundae was a bit of a letdown. The chocolate chip cookie, though it looked cute with a faux face made of chocolate chunks – was disappointing. It was hard so it was difficult to cut and share. We finished off the ice cream and chocolate syrup but left some of the cookie behind.
For Julie and I, our total bill was around $30 (that included our two entrees, wings and an iced tea as Matt and Hannah picked up the tab for the cookie). Good luck coming in under $30 for dinner at PHL.
The new Klinger’s, despite its location, should prove successful. It follows a similar formula as its two sister restaurants: a cool atmosphere, rotating craft beers for the bar crowd, and great food.
Now that they have the three-peat, will Klinger’s try for four?
BCE Rating Food: Good Service: Good Ambiance: Very Good Price: Reasonable
Klinger’s at the Airport 2385 Bernville Rd Reading, PA 19605
Five years ago, I posted about La Cantina Restaurant, an Italian restaurant and bar along New Holland Road that I was frequenting during my poker-playing days. Fast-forward to July 2021 and La Cantina closed its doors.
While the barroom at La Cantina was very much of a dive, Doc & Bubba’s is anything but. The new restaurant is gorgeous and gives off a finer dining ambiance with dark wood tabletops and gray metal chairs with a modern flair.
The bar, itself, has been set apart. Assorted bottles peek out from windows above the bar, watching over customers and the high-top tables that flank the bar area. (Our visit came in October so the bar was also adorned with ghosts that hung from the overhead liquor cabinets).
The outside patio – open year-round thanks to heat lamps – is the more casual space with a mix of standard dining tables along with Adirondacks and more relaxing seats. A second bar serves those sitting outside.
Julie and I visited for lunch and were among the first to arrive after it opened at 11, allowing us our choice of seats. We settled in at a table in the back of the dining room where we could look out the large picture windows and admire the back patio.
The lunch menu at Doc & Bubba’s consists of sandwiches, burgers, salads and pizza (with a few shareables). The menu is seasonal so items rotate on and off. During our visit, the sandwich calling my name was the South Philly roast pork – a traditional roast pork sandwich with broccoli rabe, Sharp provolone, but with the addition of pizzaioli sauce and roasted garlic aioli.
It was good and hearty. Roast pork sandwiches typically aren’t served with sauce, but I liked the addition of the pizzaioli sauce on this. I actually wished there was a little more of it spread throughout so I could have gotten the flavor in every bite.
Julie really enjoyed her salmon BLT. Served on perfectly toasted bread, the salmon blended well with the traditional BLT. And it was perfectly portioned for lunch – not too light to leave her hungry, but not too heavy either.
We both enjoyed the fries which were served in their own little fryer basket along with an individual sized bottle of ketchup – a nice little added touch. The fries were topped with sea salt and pepper, but I found myself adding just a pinch more salt to them. Otherwise, they were nearly perfect.
At $40, our lunch was on the expensive side (I did also have an iced tea), but it didn’t feel like we had overpaid because the food was definitely a higher quality than we would get at many other lunch spots.
The dinner prices are a little higher, but most entrees fall in the $20-$30 range with steaks and select seafood dishes coming in higher.
Doc & Bubba’s may not be weekly stop for me like La Cantina was at one time, but it’s we will definitely return – whether for an elevated lunch or a nice dinner.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Ambiance: Excellent Service: Good Price: A Little Pricey
Doc & Bubba’s 4312 New Holland Rd Mohnton, PA 19540
Piero is wedged in on the corner of Route 183 and Upper Van Reed Road in Leinbachs, just a short drive north of the Reading Airport and Route 222.
The location has limited parking in the front and on the side of the building, more than enough especially if you’re just stopping in to grab takeout (though Piero does have a decent size dining area for those who would prefer to dine-in.)
Our order was prepared quick and was ready to go by the time we made our way from Wyomissing to pick it up.
Piero’s, like many Italian family restaurants, offers a little bit of everything on their menu, including pizza, subs, salads, fried appetizers, burgers and Italian dinners.
I was in the mood for pizza but didn’t want a whole pie so I opted instead for a calzone.
All of Piero calzones are stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella and served with a side of marinara sauce for dipping. I decided to add meatballs to mine, creating something between a pizza and a meatball sandwich.
I was not disappointed. It was really the ricotta that sets the calzone apart. The lighter and creamier cheese adds a different element than just mozzarella (as would have been in a Stromboli).
The calzone was also the perfect size for one, though I couldn’t help but order a side of fries. They were the battered kind, fried to a golden crisp and perfect for eating one after another without thinking about it.
Julie, meanwhile, had a tuna melt – her favorite sandwich order. The sandwich was stuffed with tuna and overflowing with lettuce and tomato. The roll was toasted perfectly. It was a very good sandwich, and Julie gave it her stamp of approval.
And our toddler approved of his slice of pizza. Jakob enjoyed his pepperoni pizza. The thin crust pie was a solid offering, and Jakob even ate the pepperoni slices. (He has been known, in the past, to not eat his pepperoni because it is “too spicy”).
We also couldn’t help but order a half dozen of Piero’s ham puffs. Ham puffs are basically pepperoni rolls – rolls of dough filled with cheese and meat – but with slices of ham instead of pepperoni inside. Piero’s uses a very good dough for all of their items and it was just as good in the ham puffs.
Our meal was enjoyable across the board. It wasn’t anything earth-shattering, but Piero delivered on everything that we tried.
For everything we got, it was right around $30, not a bad price at all for so much food.
And good food, at that.
BCE Rating Food: Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Good Price: Reasonable
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
Who wants ice cream in the cold of winter? This guy.
I’ve never believed ice cream to be a summer-only treat.
It’s year-round goodness. Especially on special occasions – like when mommy has
to go away for work and leaves daddy home alone with a two-year-old.
But where to get ice cream – and a meal – in January? One option is Pop’s Malt Shoppe in Kutztown.
Pop’s Malt Shoppe takes on the look and feel of a 50s/60s
diner and soda fountain: the checker board floor, the red tables with stainless
steel accents, the Elvis music playing through the speakers.
It’s not a unique concept in Berks County – Bel-Air in
Bechtelsville and Scoupe DeVille in Birdsboro both have similar concepts. But
unlike those, Pop’s is open year-round. So even when there’s snow on the ground
and the temperatures are below freezing, Pop’s is open.
That was one of the reasons I decided to stop in on a Sunday
night in January – that and the fact that they had recently posted about their
newly renovated dining area. It was just Jakob and I, and it took him a few
minutes to realize where we were. “Ice cream shop?” he asked. My
two-year-old is obsessed with our collection of Curious George books, including
Curious George Goes to the Ice Cream Shop. I guess Pop’s has a look that’s
easily recognizable.
Julie and I had actually never visited Pop’s while we were
students at Kutztown. But we did stop in for ice cream a few years ago.
Photo from 2016 visit to Pop’s
We were only in the take-out area, but it still had the same
vibe as the dining room with pink walls covered in retro signs.
Photo from 2016 visit to Pop’s
On that visit, we both ordered sundaes: a brownie sundae and
a cookie monster sundae. The latter featured Pop’s fresh-baked cookies with
choice of ice cream. Photos of fresh-baked cookies have been a staple on Pop’s
social media accounts and taste as good as they look – especially with ice cream.
Photo from 2016 visit to Pop’s
Similarly, the soft, chocolatey brownies were baked in-house
as well. It’s a nice touch that helps to set Pop’s apart from other places.
For Jakob and I, ice cream would have to wait until after
dinner.
Pop’s food menu is what you would expect – burgers, dogs, a
handful of sandwich options, lots of fried foods and salad, in case you want to
feel a little less guilty about that ice cream afterward.
I decided to order Pop’s homemade barbecue sandwich with
fries. It was a standard sloppy Joe – ground beef with onion and tomato mixed
in with a little barbecue sauce. The roll was smaller than I was expecting,
though that could have just been from its obvious trip to the panini press. It
was good, but nothing to write home about. The meat was falling out of the bun
so it was still a hearty meal, too.
The fries were good, as well. They were crinkle-cut and done
well, though I needed to add a little salt for some extra flavor.
One cool thing that I only picked up on because I heard
another table mention it is that the food is served on plates made of melted
vinyl records (or at least are made to look that way).
Jakob’s meal also arrived in style. Kids meals are served in
paper models of classic cars, and Jakob’s grilled cheese and mac and cheese
bites cruised in on a Ford Fairlane.
He enjoyed the grilled cheese. The kids meal is actually a
half sandwich using a single slice of bread which actually works out well
because it means less crust, which Jakob is currently rejecting.
But he certainly didn’t reject the mac and cheese bites. The
meal came with four of them, and he happily finished them off without leaving a
trace. They were a simple, kid-friendly side not unlike anywhere else, but
Jakob enjoyed them, and that’s all that mattered to me in the moment.
With our meals finished, I couldn’t resist ordering us a
treat (this is what happens when dad is left in charge for the night). We got a
soft-serve sundae with Oreo cookies, strawberries and chocolate syrup (plus the
obligatory whipped cream and cherry on top).
It was wonderful. The vanilla soft serve was nice on its
own, but the toppings are what made it. There were 22 toppings to choose from
so narrowing it to three (the first topping is free, the rest are 50 cents
each) wasn’t easy, but they were all good decisions.
There wasn’t an overwhelming amount of any single
topping. The Oreos were concentrated on
one side and the strawberries on the other so every bite was a little
different, but no less enjoyable. The ice cream was easily the best part of the
meal.
During our visit, the dining room was filled mostly with
college students (a few had family members with them) returning for the spring
semester, but Pop’s is certainly a family friendly destination in the college
town. The price is right for a family meal as well. With dessert, it was about
$25.
Our service was good as well. Two different waitresses
helped us at different times as they worked as a team to cover a fairly busy
dining room. At one point one of them apologized for the wait and said there
was a mix-up with my meal. I honestly would not have even known because it was
only about 15 minutes from the time we ordered until the food arrived.
It wasn’t a gourmet meal, but it didn’t need to be. We were there for the ice cream, and that didn’t disappoint.
BCE Rating Food: Fair Ice Cream: Very Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Very Good Price: Reasonable
Pop’s Malt Shoppe 208 W. Main St Kutztown, PA 19530
In the first five years of Berks County Eats, we’ve seen a
number of restaurants come and go, and more than once we’ve revisited old
locations that now have new restaurants.
Oliviero’s is located in a strip mall along Route 422 just
west of Douglassville. The location is a challenge for two reasons. One, it’s
located along a part of 422 that is a divided highway. Two, the strip sits
perpendicular to the highway with the restaurant at the far end.
The last time I was at the location, it was Kathryn’s Grille, a short-lived BYOB that we visited in late 2017. Kathryn’s closed in early 2018. Oliviero’s debuted a few months later in July with a menu that features pizza shop standards with a few additions including a selection of Chicago deep dish pies and artisan pan pizzas. They also offer a selection of pastas, including weekly specials.
In the summer, Oliviero’s satisfies everyone’s sweet tooth with
an outdoor ice cream shack and year-round with tiramisu, cannoli, cheesecake,
and other sweets available in the restaurant.
The dining area has been updated to add color. Yellow booths
with wood-grain seats have replaced the dark wooden tables and vibrant posters
pop against the gray walls. The space feels brighter and more inviting than it
felt before.
But on this visit, I didn’t get to enjoy a sit-down meal.
Instead, I was grabbing our dinner and taking it back home to Wyomissing.
It’s about a 20 minute drive (because when you have pizza in
the car, you trigger every red light on 422), but the food traveled well. As
hungry as Julie and I were until I got home, neither of us was as excited as
our toddler who could barely contain his excitement at the sight of the pizza
box.
We ordered a medium house special pizza. It comes topped
with pepperoni, sausage, onion, mushrooms and peppers. All three of us really
enjoyed it.
The sauce was on the sweet side, and the use of red onions
added to the overall sweetness of the dish while the pepperoni and sausage
provided the savory side. I appreciated the use of thin-sliced sausage which I
prefer to the ground topping at other places. The cheese was pretty standard as
was the crust, but overall it was enjoyable.
We really didn’t need the fries – we had two slices of pizza
left after dinner – but we couldn’t help ourselves. They were pretty good, more
of the battered style fries than the fresh-cut style, and made a nice
complement to the pizza.
As is the case with most pizza places, the price was right.
The pizza and fries came in just under $20. It was also ready for me less than
20 minutes of calling in the order, but we had ordered a little after 4 p.m. so
not their busiest time. I imagine if I had waited an hour or two, the wait
would have been longer.
Oliviero’s made a very good first impression on us, and it
has passed the one-year mark at this point, a milestone always worth
celebrating for a restaurant.
Here’s hoping that it will anchor the strip mall for many
years to come.
BCE Rating Food: Good Service: Very Good Ambiance: Good Price: Very Reasonable
Oliviero’s Pizzeria & Restaurant 101 Park Ln Douglassville, PA 19518
Editor’s Note: Saucony Creek Franklin Station Brewpub is now closed. The brewery now operates the space as a special event venue. The brewery’s flagship location, Saucony Creek Kutztown Brewery & Pub, remains open.
One of the most exciting developments in Downtown Reading in
recent memory is the reimagining of Franklin Street Station as a brewpub.
Saucony Creek Brewing Company’s Franklin Station Brewpub opened in July to much fanfare. Plans for the restaurant had been revealed in early 2018 but the project was delayed until the proper permits and zoning were in place. Other than a brief stint as an inter-city bus terminal in 2013 and an interactive art installation in 2017, it’s the first life this former passenger rail station has seen since the last SEPTA train rolled out 38 years ago.
We made our first visit on a Saturday afternoon in September,
arriving before 5 p.m. for an early dinner. We got the last parking space on
the restaurant’s parking lot (there is plenty of additional parking in the
adjacent garage – and it’s free if you spend more than $10) and were seated
right away.
The building is impressive inside. It retains the feel of a
classic train station with high ceilings and large windows. Rows of benches –
like the ones that would have been used by waiting passengers 90 years ago –
are the anchors of the dining area. The tables and chairs are arranged to
utilize the long benches, creating wide aisles for the wait staff and patrons.
In the far end of the room near the kitchen is a small display case filled with
model trains, Monopoly game pieces (for the Reading Railroad, of course) and
other railroad memorabilia.
We had plenty of time to admire the building, too, because
though we were seated promptly, no server stopped by for more than 15 minutes
to even bring water. Our toddler was ready to eat so the wait was not very welcomed
at our table.
The restaurant seemed to have both not enough and too much
help simultaneously. While we were waiting, servers continued to congregate
near the host stand (including our eventually server).
Once we ordered, it only took about 10 minutes for our
appetizer and Jakob’s kids’ meal to arrive. From there, the meal was much
easier.
For our appetizer, we ordered the avocado tacos. The order
consisted of two tacos: corn tortillas topped with beer-battered avocado
slices, roasted corn, tomato, onion and cilantro. On the side was a cup of
thick salsa that was very good and had a spicy after-taste. The tacos, by
themselves, were a little bland compared to a Mexican restaurant, but with the
spicy salsa, it was much better. It needed that little kick to bring everything
together.
Jakob certainly enjoyed his food. Their kids menu isn’t
huge, but it does have a decent variety. In the end, though, we went with
Jakob’s favorites – a quesadilla with corn on the cob. The corn lasted all of
about five minutes (at least it felt that way) as he ate through it in a hurry.
The quesadilla was a little more work for him but he managed to eat about half
of it at the restaurant with us taking the rest home.
Our dinners arrived just a short time later. The menu of large
plates – “Masters” as they are called on the menu – features a
diverse selection that leaned toward higher-end dishes. For example: my coconut
braised beef cheek.
Beef cheek is not found on a lot of menus, probably because
it is a tougher cut of meat that has to be slow-cooked. It’s also very rich, as
I discovered with my first taste. It reminded me a little of duck – not in
flavor – but in the richness. The flavor, though, was very good. It was braised
in one of Saucony Creek’s signatures beers so it picked up some of those flavor
notes with subtle hints of coconut.
It came served in a bowl of sweet potato puree that added a
sweet and savory contrast to the dish. It was also topped with a watermelon
radish that served more for garnish than flavor. As I look back on the menu, it
also said it was to be served with creamy blue cheese. There was definitely no
blue cheese on the plate. I’m not sure how it would have changed what was a
very good dish, but now I’m curious.
Nothing was missing from Julie’s plate. She ordered the Franklin
Station Burger which came topped with bourbon bacon jam, Boston Bibb lettuce
and Swiss cheese.
It was an awesome burger where the bacon jam really shined.
The salty, savory and slightly sweet spread is always a great burger topper.
This version had a deeper flavor thanks to the bourbon, and it really shone
through on the burger.
The burger was served with fries on the side. As our server
described them, they are boardwalk-style fries: skin-on and well-seasoned. They
were a little peppery at times, but very enjoyable, especially paired with the
homemade ketchup. The ketchup was not as sweet or as thick as the store-bought
variety, but it perfectly complemented the already flavorful fries.
While Julie and I did not save room for dessert, Jakob’s
kids meal came with a scoop of ice cream. His generous scoop of peanut butter
ice cream (vanilla, chocolate and strawberry cheesecake were the other flavor
choices) was topped with a mound of whipped cream and a cherry that elicited a
loud, “ooooh,” from our son when he saw it.
I think Jakob ate most of the whipped cream while Julie took care of the ice cream that he didn’t finish. It was around this time that we heard the unmistakable air horn of a freight train approaching.
Norfolk Southern trains frequently use the former Reading
Railroad tracks and a train’s arrival is a big deal at the bar. Upon hearing
the horn, doors were opened and everyone cheered loudly until the engines
passed. Jakob, like all young boys, loves trains. He joined in with a loud, “Choo
Choo!” as the train rolled past.
If there’s a downside to the building, it’s that the
cavernous dining room echoes. It can get loud quickly. That’s a good thing when
cheering on a passing train, but it can be a little distracting if you’re
trying to have some quiet conversation.
We paid our bill – $61.01 – and went outside to watch the
tail end of the train from the old station platform. The scene would have
looked a lot different 90 years ago when a steam engine would puff into the
station to pick up and drop off passengers.
While the hungry diners aren’t at the Franklin Street
Station to grab a train to Philly, the historic building is once again bustling
with people.
Sure, there are some issues to work out as there are with
all new restaurants. But Saucony Creek could keep the passenger benches full at
Franklin Street Station for a long time to come.
BCE Rating Food: Very Good Service: Fair Ambiance: Very Good Price: A Little Pricey
Saucony Creek Franklin Station Brewpub 690 Chestnut St Reading, PA 19602
