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Review: The Other Farm & Forge

Sign hanging from an awning with an outline of barn and the words "The Other Farm"

I love walking through Berks County’s downtowns.

Julie, Jakob and I are fortunate to live within walking distance of West Reading and the shopping and dining district that is Penn Avenue.

But venture to the county’s eastern edge and you’ll find a downtown on the rise. Boyertown is anchored by incredible attractions in the Colebrookdale Railroad and the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles. The latter was our destination on an early spring day.

red framed windows look into the open kitchen of the Other Farm in Boyertown

With time to spare and empty stomachs, we decided to take a walk through town and find a new place to try for lunch. It was early – only 11:30 a.m. – but lunch service had begun at most places, including The Other Farm Brewing Company.

Farm & Forge is the brand used by the brewery for its restaurant and bar along Philadelphia Avenue. The tagline is “Food. Drink. Music. Community.” The first part was really the only one we cared about it.

Large wooden table with a wooden bench and three chairs at the Other Farm

Sure, we were a little early, but it was obvious that the Other Farm is not a lunch spot. There were only a handful of others in the restaurant – and that number only grew slightly during our visit. The impressive stage in the back of the dining room says that this a place for nightlife, not mid-day.

The food menu isn’t huge but there is decent variety among the salads, wood-fired pizza, “smaller plates” and “bigger plates.”

burger with the top bun off topped with cheese, cherry tomoatoes and onions with a side of fries topped with Parmesan

Among the bigger plates was a lamb burger that sounded too good to pass up. It was topped with roasted tomato chutney, sautéed spinach, fontina cheese and roasted garlic aioli.

It was an excellent burger. First, ground lamb makes an excellent base – it’s more flavorful and richer than beef. And the toppings were perfect – especially the tomato chutney which was sweet and a little tangy and made with cherry tomatoes so the big flavor came in big bites.

burger with the top bun off topped with cheese, cherry tomoatoes and onions with a side of fries topped with Parmesan

Of course any great burger must be served with great fries, and I can say the truffle Parmesan fries (an upgrade I couldn’t pass up) were truly great. They were loaded with shredded Parmesan cheese and parsley for an herby finish that was made a perfect partner for the burger.

Across the table, Julie ordered a chicken bacon ranch pizza, one of her favorite specialty flavors. It was topped with cheddar and fontina cheeses, red onion, and of course grilled chicken and ranch dressing.

wood-fired pizza topped with chicken, red onion and ranch dressing

It feels like every restaurant in Berks County now offers wood-fired pizza, but that’s not a bad thing. I much prefer the crisp crust produced by the wood-fired oven. It provides a much sturdier, and oftentimes, more flavorful base for the toppings.

The toppings on this pie were strewn about while the ranch was drizzled on in a spiral. Each bite was different, but all were very enjoyable.

Even our toddler enjoyed the slice that his mommy shared with him.

cup of cream soup and a small dish with wood-fired flatbread

One other thing that I enjoyed was my soup. I had ordered the soup of the day as an appetizer, and it came served with delicious pita chips. The soup was creamy and a little nutty – unfortunately I never wrote down the exact description and because it was the soup of the day, I couldn’t find a description anywhere.

(I did send a Facebook message to Other Farm a week after our visit but only received an auto-response. Though I can’t blame them for not answering a crazy person asking about their soup).

Everything we had was very good, and it was pretty reasonably priced at around $40 for the whole meal.

Boyertown is home to many great restaurants (some we’ve visited include Firefly Cafe, CD’s Place and Jukebox Cafe) and you can count the Other Farm among those.

At this point, Boyertown’s dining scene may be an attraction in and of itself.

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

The Other Farm & Forge
128 E. Philadelphia Ave
Boyertown, PA 19512

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Rangoli Indian Street Food Exploding Samosa
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Review: Rangoli Indian Street Food

A View Outside Rangoli Indian Street Food in Shillington

Fred’s Music Shop was an institution in Berks County for 45 years. In addition to guitars and music instruments for all genres, Fred’s also operated Tasty Licks, a barbecue supply store that served a completely different clientele.

But this blog isn’t about what once was. It’s about what is now. And since February, the former Fred’s Music Shop has been home to a new restaurant: Rangoli Indian Street Food.

It’s been quite a transformation for the storefront along Route 724 in Shillington. The old Fred’s sign has been wrapped with one promoting the new restaurant.

Rangoli Indian Street Food

Outside, the building is still rather dull with brown siding and black trim. Inside, it’s a different world with bright primary colors popping everywhere from the walls to the pillars to the drape hanging from the ceiling. Rangoli being a traditional and colorful art form in India, it is only fitting that the dining room pops with reds, blues and yellows.

Indian cuisine is nothing new in Berks County. Aayshiyana Indian Cuisine operated for several years downtown (with other restaurants coming and going in its wake) while Laxmi’s Indian Grille and Nirvana Indian Bistro operate blocks apart in Wyomissing.

Rangoli Indian Street Food Interior

Rangoli is intentionally different. “Street Food” isn’t just a marketing tagline, it’s a true differentiator for the new restaurant. There are a number of dishes that will be familiar – dal, paneer, chana and a chicken dish similar to tikka masala.

But then there is everything else. The Street Food section of the menu includes “Naughty Naan,” egg rolls and a tandoori chicken burger.

It also includes exploding samosas and sassy fries, two dishes that I just had to try.

Rangoli Indian Street Food Exploding Samosa

Samosas, fried dumplings filled with seasoned potatoes and peas, are a staple at Indian restaurants. The “exploding” samosas take the dumplings and load them up with a mountain of toppings that includes chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, green chutney, tamarind and yogurt sauces and crunchy noodles. You can also choose chicken or paneer for an added topping – I chose chicken.

There were so many flavors popping in this dish that it’s hard to choose a place to start. One thing that came through strong was the yogurt sauce, cool and refreshing with a little sweet-and-sour flavor thrown in.

It was also obvious just by looking at the inconsistent sized and shaped pieces that the restaurant uses fresh chicken (the owner, who took our orders and visited our table pointed out that they have no freezer in the kitchen). And the chicken itself had a nice flavor to it – even though I asked for very low spice on my dish.

Rangoli Indian Street Food

On the side, my sassy fries were interesting. The standard French fries were coated in a special seasoning, more salty and herby than hot. They came served with the house special dipping sauce, a tangy green sauce that really enhanced the flavor and made them feel unique.

Julie does not like spice at all so she asked for no heat in her paneer dish. This also made it possible to share with Jakob, our now 17-month-old who is definitely not ready for even the mildest of Indian spices.

Rangoli Indian Street Food Paneer

The paneer – a traditional Indian cheese – came served in an onion and tomato gravy with garlic, coriander and the house blend spices. Paneer reminds me a lot of tofu in that it picks up the flavors of whatever it is paired with (and it’s a little chewy). Bits of cilantro added pops of flavor throughout.

One thing that was pointed out to us is that Rangoli does not add any “filler” to its tomato gravy. That is, there is no milk to make it creamy and no shortcuts like canned tomatoes – just fresh ingredients that are brought together to create a delicious dish, one that both Julie and Jakob enjoyed.

The dish was served with a choice of naan or white rice (Julie actually got both so she could share with Jakob). The rice is not basmati like patrons find in most Indian restaurants. Instead it is a more standard white rice – used because basmati has a higher amount of carbs. Rangoli’s naan was noteworthy because of its delicious seasoning that was heavy on the garlic.

We were joined on our visit by my friend Josh, who was visiting from Washington, D.C., and was taking full advantage of a cheat day from strict keto diet. His father has traveled to India multiple times and has hosted friends and colleagues from the Indian subcontinent at the family’s home in Oley so Josh has a much larger knowledge of the food than us.

He also has a much greater tolerance for heat and asked for his meal spicy – specifying that he wanted it spicy by American standards, not Indian standards.

Rangoli Indian Street Food Chicken

Josh had ordered the chicken off the “Village Dishes” portion of the menu. The chicken pieces were served in an onion and tomato gravy with garlic and house spices. Despite the fact that it was a similar base to Julie’s paneer, the two dishes tasted nothing alike thanks to the change in spice level.

I tried one bite, and that’s all I could handle. I was happy to try it because despite the high-intensity heat, it was a delicious dish. The peppers used weren’t just hot, but flavorful as well and I really enjoyed it. There was just no way I could have eaten a whole plate. By the time Josh was finished, sweat was visible from his brow as his faced picked up a red tint that it hadn’t had before.

Rangoli Indian Street Food Samosas

Thankfully he ate that first before moving on to two dishes that were much more mild. First, two samosas (non-exploding). The dumplings were a great way to cool off, even with the sweet and spicy chili sauce on the side.

Rangoli Indian Street Food Pav Bhaji

After that, he tackled an order of pav bhaji: mixed vegetables with buttery tomato gravy served with buttered rolls – toasted hamburger rolls that served as good vessels for the excellent vegetable mash. It was a much lighter dish than others and made a great finish to his makeshift three-course meal.

Between all of us, we spent about $70. That included two cans of Limca – India’s answer to Sprite – and a ton of food.

Rangoli Indian Street Food Limca

Another great thing about Rangoli is their commitment to community – both locally and globally. A portion of the proceeds from every meal goes to charities supporting the underprivileged. One such charity, Prasana India provides medical care, nutrition and more to the destitute tribal and untouchable communities of India.

A restaurant with great food and an even better mission? Now that’s a place I can really get behind. Hopefully others get behind Rangoli and it creates a long-lasting legacy of its own.

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

Rangoli Indian Street Food
212 W. Lancaster Ave
Shillington, PA 19607

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B2 Bistro's steak frites - steak with fries and Brussels sprouts
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Review: B2 Bistro + Bar

B2 Bistro is located in first floor of the former Narrow Fabrics factory.

In more than five years of Berks County Eats, there have only been a handful of restaurants that arrived with the hype of B2 Bistro + Bar. Recently opened in the former Narrow Fabrics building in West Reading, the restaurant had been anticipated since the first tenants moved into the Lofts at Narrows, the luxury apartments on the upper floors.

B2 Bistro has an unfinished look, including exposed beams and rough-hewn paint.

The creative re-use of the building has led to a unique atmosphere. “Unfinished” paint and exposed beams – some still with original safety warning posters – can be seen throughout the space. A large rectangular bar is surrounded by high-top tables with a couple booths along the sides. A row of stools can be found in front of the open kitchen, providing a unique experience for diners wanting to watch their chef in action.

Guests can sit at the chef's table and watch their meals being prepared.

On the opposite side of the room, large garage bay doors open to create an outdoor feel during the warm weather months.

Another smaller dining room is located toward the back of the building and features low-top tables for those who prefer them.

The best way to describe the menu is eclectic. There are shareable small plates, pasta dinners, a raw bar, pizza and charcuterie. Other mains include everything from the 50 oz. bone-in ribeye (shareable for most) and roast suckling pig to burgers and chicken.

B2 offers an oversized bowl of French onion soup

We decided to start off our meal with a couple small plate appetizers. I ordered the French onion soup, expecting a typical crock.

What I got was an enormous bowl about twice the size of what normally constitutes a “bowl” at most restaurants. It could have easily been a meal by itself, especially with how good it was. It was heavy with onion and thick chunks of bread. And there was more than enough cheese layered on top to go with every salty-sweet bite.

The beautifully presented shrimp cocktail with six interlocked pieces of shrimp.

Julie also ordered an appetizer, the shrimp cocktail. As she told me, she was craving shrimp for a while and was not disappointed.

The six shrimp were presented beautifully, each one connected gracefully. While cold shrimp are cold shrimp, these were colossal in size and even better for scooping into the cocktail sauce. Julie’s craving was satisfied.

A big bowl of pasta Bolognese from B2 Bistro.

Deciding on a main course wasn’t easy but I eventually settled on the Bolognese pasta, one of five such pasta options on the menu. The pappardelle pasta was served with a sauce of Iberico pork (an imported meat from the Iberian peninsula of Europe), veal, tomato, cream and grana cheese.

It was a good meal – very hearty and more than enough food – but I had enjoyed the soup more. I have also had Bolognese pasta other places and I didn’t find that this version stood out among the others.

B2 Bistro's steak frites - steak with fries and Brussels sprouts

For her meal, Julie had opted for the steak frites – steak in demi glace, served with fries and Brussels sprouts. The steak was cooked beautifully and the semi-sweet demi glace paired beautifully with the savory cut of meat.

The fries were good – thick, fresh-cut fries and plenty of them. Brussels sprouts are a vegetable where you can only do so much to them. They were fine but better with a little of the demi glace.

B2's focaccia bread featured thinly sliced tomato baked on top

Before our meals arrived, we were served a plate of thick focaccia bread, unique in that there were thin slices of tomato baked into the top. It was served with a cup of oil for dipping and was very good.

Take one look through the Yelp reviews and you’ll see a range of opinions, mostly centered on price and service.

A thread guide from Narrow Fabrics hangs on the wall in one of the private rooms.

As for price, our final total was around $80. It wasn’t a cheap night out, but with two appetizers, an iced tea and two entrees (both of which were enough that we took home leftovers), I can’t say we were cheated, but the price of every item was a couple dollars higher at B2 than other places. A margherita pizza, for example, costs $12 at B2; the same costs $9 at Nonno Alby’s a block away.

The service was fine during our visit. Our server was a little slow to take our food order and with our check at the end of the night, but we were still in-and-out in just under an hour so it wasn’t a long wait by any means. (And I didn’t mind that he called me “boss” throughout our visit).

Overall, I was impressed. It’s a cool spot and all of the food was good-to-great. Though I saw high chairs, it’s not a place we would take our little one (he spent the evening with his grandparents).

But for a date night or a night out with friends, B2 Bistro + Bar is a good choice.

BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Ambiance: Excellent
Service: Good
Price: A Little Pricey

B2 Bistro + Bar
701 Reading Ave
West Reading, PA 19611

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Pizza Time Pepperoni Pizza
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Review: Pizza Time

billboard with an image of a pizza and the words "Pizza Time French Fries Wings Pizza Stromboli Hot and Cold Subs"

Every October, Berks County Eats celebrates National Pizza Month with four weeks of blogging about some of the best pizza shops around. Every year, I pencil in Pizza Time for a blog. And every year, we haven’t made it for one reason or another.

I am old enough to remember when Pizza Time had a location in Wernersville (now the site of CC’s Pizza). It was one of several pizza shops in my family’s rotation while I was growing up in western Berks County. That was 20 years ago.

stucco colored building with red door and red trim around windows and a sign that reads "Pizza Time"

Most of those who know Pizza Time probably know the Lancaster Avenue location, but I had never been there until a Sunday afternoon in March.

I browsed the menu online – pizza, sandwiches, “Fat Boy” wings, Stromboli and munchies – and was excited to be able to place an order through the website. It was a really easy process and there were several opportunities to customize my pizza, from a well-done crust to the number of slices. The order was also available for delivery or pick-up.

With Pizza Time being just five minutes away, I made the quick trip to the restaurant to pick it up and check out the restaurant.

Digital menu board at Pizza Time in Reading PA

The restaurant was smaller than I had expected. There wasn’t much space between the front door and the counter. And though it is advertised as “delivery, take-out or dine-in” there were only a couple booths if you wanted to eat in the small dining area decorated in Philly sports memorabilia.

It had been just a little more than 10 minutes since I placed my order, but both my pizza and fries were ready to go when I arrived and I was back home a short time later.

Pizza Time offers two sizes of pizza: a medium 12-inch and large 14-inch. For the medium pies, customers can choose between traditional and pan pizza.

pizza with thick crust topped with cheese and pepperoni with a cup of garlic sauce for dipping

We chose a pan pizza with pepperoni. It was still hot when I got home and we took our first bites. The first thing we noticed was the crust. It was soft and spongy but not undercooked. It gave the pizza a different feel that we both enjoyed.

pizza with thick crust topped with cheese and pepperoni

The toppings – the cheese, sauce and pepperoni – were all good. None of them stood out, but I thought they all worked well with each other to make a very solid pie. I also appreciated the addition of the cup of garlic butter for dipping the crust.

battered fries in a foil wrap

We also ordered fries just to have a little something extra on the side. They were battered, crispy and golden. It’s probably my favorite style of fries. Julie noticed from her first bite that they were salty – maybe a little overly salty – but that was just one fry. The rest of the one-pound order wasn’t salty at all.

In any case, it’s hard to find fault in a $16 meal that was ready in 10 minutes.

It’s been so long since I have had Pizza Time that I can’t say how it compares to all those years ago, but it was a good meal that was very convenient. That’s the hallmark of a long-lasting pizza shop.

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

Pizza Time
640 Lancaster Ave
Reading, PA 19611

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Liberty Ale House G.O.A.T. Burger
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Review: Liberty Ale House

small outdoor dining area with string lights in front of the entrance to the Liberty Ale House in Reading, PA

Recently, I wrote about our second blog visit to an Alebrije restaurant and how it compared to our initial visit five years earlier.

Unintentionally, history repeats itself this week. You see, in 2016, Julie and I visited the Liberty Taproom in Exeter Township. We loved everything about our meal there and we were very excited when plans were announced for a sister restaurant, the Liberty Ale House, to be opened later that year.

L-shaped bar with black leather stools

The Liberty Ale House sits in a small building along Lancaster Avenue in Reading (the restaurant is within the city limits, but barely). From the outside, it looks more like a house than a restaurant, except for the enclosed porch filled with chairs and the string lights above the outdoor seating area.

When Julie and I visted in December, we were on our own (Jakob was spending some quality time with his  grandparents). We were seated at a high-top table for two just inside the door on what was a quiet Friday evening.

Edison bulbs on the wall of Liberty Ale House

The menus at the Ale House and the Tap Room are similar. Both offer a selection of tacos, burgers and sandwiches, but there are noticeable differences. The Ale House menu is a little smaller with no pizza or Stromboli like the sister restaurant has.

One thing both offer is wings, but there are even differences here. During our visit to the Taproom, the standout of the night were the wings. Coated in Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce, they are among the best around.

Liberty Ale House Jerk BBQ Wings

The only BBQ options at the Ale House were sweet jerk BBQ and pineapple Siracha BBQ (there is also a Memphis dry rub, for those who like their barbecue without sauce).

We ordered five of the sweet jerk BBQ wings,  and I have say that I was a little disappointed. That’s not to say that they weren’t good – they were – but they weren’t as good as the Taproom, in my opinion. The sauce was fine, a little less thick, with a little sweet and spicy profile. They were good wings, but I was hoping for great.

Thinking back on our visit to the Taproom, I remembered how much I enjoyed the burger. So when I saw something on the ale house menu called the G.O.A.T. burger, how could I resist.

Liberty Ale House G.O.A.T. Burger - burger toped with bacon, goat cheese and red onion

The Angus beef burger was topped with bacon, goat cheese, red onion and cranberry aioli.

It’s definitely not the “greatest of all time” but it’s a good burger. I love goat cheese on a burger – it adds a creamy element that you don’t get from sliced cheese and the tang works well, epsecially with bacon. I was a little let down by the cranberry aioli. It wasn’t bad, but I just didn’t feel like it added as much flavor as it could have.

Overall, though, I was happy with my selection – and with my decision to upgrade to fries. Sure, they are a little greasy, but they are good.

Liberty Ale House Thai Chicken Tacos (w/ Lettuce Wrap)

While my meal packed on the Calories, Julie went the other direction, ordering Thai chicken tacos while opting for the lettuce wrap instead of a tortilla.

The tacos featured tempura fried chicken, sweet Thai chili, shiso cucumber slaw, avocado and cilantro. We were both impressed. The Thai chili sauce was flavorful and it had some heat, but not too much. The slaw was very good. And the lettuce wraps actually added to the flavor in a way that a flour tortilla wouldn’t have. They also made the the order of the three tacos less heavy and more manageable.

In all, we spent about $35 on the night. It was a good meal, though I would add that our server was less than attentive considering how early we were and how few tables she was handling at the time.

Three years ago, our meal at Liberty Taproom set the bar high. My meal at the Ale House didn’t quite reach that bar, but I would definitely go back.

And I’m sure I would enjoy my meal even more the second time.

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

Liberty Ale House
1501 Lancaster Ave
Reading, PA 19607

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Kwik Shoppe Pulled Duck Sandwich
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Review: Kwik Shoppe Drive-In

Kwik Shoppe Drive-In Shoemakersville, PA

In October 2018, Arby’s tested a very unique sandwich at one of its Berks County locations. The Arby’s in Spring Township sold – and sold out of – the one-time-only duck sandwich.

It was a very different concept, especially for a national fast food chain. But it was met with positive reviews, and the line that morning when Arby’s opened up said there was a demand for it.

That’s where the Kwik Shoppe in Shoemakersville comes in. They saw opportunity and capitalized on it, introducing duck on their menu in November.

Kwik Shoppe Drive-In Shoemakersville, PA

While duck is normally found on finer dining menus – five-spice duck breast at Savory Grille and ravioli with duck ragu at Salute come to mind – it’s not the first time I’ve had it in a more casual setting.

At the Liberty Taproom, I enjoyed a duck confit burger topped with duck sausage. And my first real taste of duck came at the relaxed Canal Street Pub.

But fast food is a different story. Walking into the Kwik Shoppe – a quintessential drive-in with hexagonal tile floor, booth seating and a claw machine behind the door – duck just doesn’t seem to fit.

The Kwik Shoppe has three different duck items on their menu: the pulled duck sandwich, duck fries and a duck sausage sandwich. All of them sounded good, but a photo of the pulled duck sandwich on the restaurant’s Facebook page had me sold before I got there.

Kwik Shoppe Pulled Duck Sandwich

The sandwich was topped with an onion ring and pineapple papaya sauce (barbecue sauce was also an option).

Before diving into the sandwich, I tasted the meat on its own. It was similar to a pulled pork but fattier with a deeper flavor. I was impressed.

On the whole, the sandwich was very good. There wasn’t a lot of sauce, but there didn’t need to be. It added some sweet and tangy notes that came through after the meat. The onion ring was a reminder that I was eating fast food. It wasn’t necessary, but I certainly didn’t mind it either.

I would go back for another.

Kwik Shoppe Drive-In Cheeseburger

Julie went with the much less exciting cheeseburger. It wasn’t bad, but it’s not going to win any best burger contests. It was also around $2 so we’re not going to complain.

Kwik Shoppe Drive-In French Fries

Both of us did enjoy our fries. They weren’t anything special, just a really good fast food-style French fry. They were cut small so you could pop several of them at a time. I think their small size allowed them to retain more flavor from the fryer. After adding a little salt and pepper, they were just what we hoped they would be.

Kwik Shoppe Drive-In Mac and Cheese Bites

Jakob, our now one-year-old son, is now at the point that he can have his own food when we go out. So we got him an order for mac and cheese bites. He enjoyed them, eating two out of the five in the order (along with some fries and some duck). Again, nothing special, just a typical fried fast food side.

None of us really needed anything else to eat after our dinners, but the ice cream was right there, and we just couldn’t pass up the chance to indulge.

Kwik Shoppe Drive-In Ice Cream

I am a sucker for flurries so my go-to on this night was a brownie dough flurry. The flurry was actually mixed to the point that much of the brownie had broken off into small bits, making it look more like cookies and cream than brownie dough. But there were still some larger chunks that were definitely brownie. It was delicious, but a small was more than enough for me, especially after indulging at dinner.

Julie’s new favorite dessert is the dusty road sundae. Kwik Shoppe loaded theirs up with chocolate syrup, malt powder, whipped cream, crushed peanuts and the obligatory cherry on top. The soft-serve vanilla was very good and they didn’t skimp on the toppings. Julie couldn’t finish it, but made sure to eat “all the good stuff.”

We spent about $32 on our visit – $22 on dinner and $10 on dessert. The duck items are a little more expensive than the rest of the menu so we easily could have spent less and we easily could have spent more. But overall, it felt like a good value.

The service isn’t great (a little slow but not bad), but that’s to be expected when a group of four high school students are handling all of the orders behind the counter.

I went in to the meal with an open mind when it came to fast food duck. After eating the pulled duck sandwich, I think you can count me among the believers.

And I hope there are more believers out there because this was a sandwich I would like to have again.

BCE Rating
Food: Fair to Very Good
Service: Fair
Ambiance: Good
Value: Reasonable

Kwik Shoppe Drive-In
555 Shoemaker Ave
Shoemakersville, PA 19555

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Review: Scoupe DeVille

white building with the front of a turquoise antique car sticking out above the door and a sign that reads "Scoupe DeVille"

Driving along Route 724 near Birdsboro it’s hard to miss Scoupe Deville. The building, with its distinct half-car sticking out the front, was built in the 1950s as a service station.

First opening as an ice cream parlor in 2001, Scoupe DeVille’s current owners took over the space in 2017.

retro toys on shelves next to the order counter at Scoupe DeVille

The 1950s has been brought back in all its kitschy glory inside Scoupe DeVille. Reproduction signs, old photographs, an old jukebox and a retro gas pump are among the hundreds of decorations found throughout the building.

Early rock ‘n’ roll played through speakers inside and outside the building. A small TV in one corner showed clips of the Three Stooges and I Love Lucy on rotation.

Pictures of Elvis and historic photos of Birdsboro, PA on a wall in Scoupe DeVille

In addition to ice cream, Scoupe DeVille does offer a very limited food menu that includes burgers, hot dogs, fries and barbecue sandwiches.

red tray with a boat holding a chili dog, a boat of crinkle fries and a coney island cheesburger

I ordered a Coney burger with onions and no cheese. I was a little puzzled when the young lady behind the counter told me that the Coney burger came smothered in gravy, but I rolled with it. Just like I rolled with it when the burger came out with a slice of white American cheese on top.

Coney burger in a basket with checkered paper

It was an okay burger. There’s no grill (at least that I saw) so I’m sure it was a pre-done patty that was just reheated.

chili cheese hot dog

Julie’s hot dog was a little better, though it was absolutely loaded with cheese and chili – probably a little overstuffed. It was good enough, if a little messy.

One thing we really enjoyed was the use of potato rolls for the hamburger and the hot dog. It’s a small touch, but it does make a difference in flavor.

crinkle fries in a paper boat

Another thing we enjoyed were the fries. The crinkle-cut fries were no different than you would find at similar places, but that didn’t make them any less enjoyable.

If I was going to grab dinner there again, I would either opt for a bowl of chili or a barbecue sandwich.

But we weren’t really there for the food. We were there for the ice cream.

various historic automotive memorabilia in a dining room with stainless steel tables and stools

The ice cream menu is vast, with hard and soft ice cream, four types of banana splits, milkshakes, sundaes, shimmies (kind of like a Blizzard but not copyrighted), and the Fat Elvis Ice Cream Challenge: a 10-scoop sundae (five scoops of banana ice cream, five scoops of peanut butter ice cream), seven toppings, whipped cream, a brownie, a banana and cherries. Eat it in 30 minutes, and you win.

I don’t know how long the challenge has been in place, but there was only one photo on the wall of fame.

Julie and I were only looking for one scoop each. Scoupe DeVille primarily serves Nelson’s Ice Cream (we most recently saw Nelson’s ice cream at Oley Turnpike Dairy), but they also offer select flavors from Schuylkill County favorite Leiby’s Dairy.

waffle cone with raspberry swirl ice cream

And it just happened that the flavors that caught our eyes were both from Leiby’s.

For me, it was cashew and raspberry. Not to be confused with black raspberry, the cashew and raspberry was a vanilla ice cream with raspberry swirl. No, this was better than any black raspberry. It was sweet and rich. If I had one criticism it would be that there weren’t enough cashews and I would have liked the nuts to have been salted. That would have put it over the top in my book.

ice cream cone dipped in chocolate and sprinkles with pink colored ice cream

Julie went with red velvet cheesecake, a new flavor (according to Scoupe DeVille’s Facebook page). The decadent ice cream featured chunks of red velvet with graham cracker crust. It was a unique flavor, and quickly became one of Julie’s favorites. She also splurged on a chocolate-covered waffle cone dipped in sprinkles. It’s hard not to love that.

Between dinner and ice cream, our total was just over $20. And while dinner certainly didn’t wow us, the ice cream had us leaving extremely satisfied.

BCE Rating
Food: Fair
Ice Cream: Excellent
Ambiance: Very Good
Service: Good
Value: Very Reasonable

Scoupe DeVille
3365 Main St
Birdsboro, PA 19508

Note: Scoupe DeVille is only open seasonally

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Review: Stampede Barbecue

sign with an image of a bull and the words "Stampede Barbecue Established 2012"

I love to see a business prosper and grow, especially when its a local eatery.

One of the local restaurants that has grown and seems to be thriving is Stampede Barbecue.

Wooden building with wooden picnic tables with red umbrellas and an arrow-shaped sign pointing right with the words "Main Entrance"

Stampede Barbecue, formerly known as Stampede Smokin’ Barbecue, opened at a new location along Route 10 in Plowville. Technically, Berks County gained a new restaurant with the opening (the former location was a few hundred yards across the line in Lancaster County).

The restaurant now sits in what was once a garden store. It has been completely transformed into a two-story barbecue joint that looks like it could have been plucked out of the South and dropped in south-central Berks County.

staircase painted black with the words "no youngin's allowed unaccompanied on stairs/loft" on one of the risers

The new location, unlike the old trailer, will operate year-round. And so far it also seems to be a boon for business. The line was nearly out the door when Julie, Jakob and I arrived with her parents on a recent Wednesday evening.

Our wait time to get to the front of the line was about 15 minutes. By the time we ordered, we were told that the pulled pork and ribs were both sold out. I looked behind us at a line that was now out the door and wondered how these customers were going to feel about it.

man ordering from the counter at Stampede Barbecue

But that is the chance you take with barbecue – when you’re serving meats that are smoked for 12 hours or more, it’s not like you can just make more. It’s also a sign that the restaurant serves great food. And there was no denying that during our visit.

tray with two barbecue sandwiches, a boat of macaroni and cheese, a boat of coleslaw and a disposable Coke cup

Most of my visits to the previous location – a stationary food truck with more parking than seating – were grab-and-go, as I bought meals to take home with me. This was a rare opportunity to sit down and enjoy everything at its freshest.

close-up of a sandwich with smoked turkey on a potato roll

I had really wanted a pulled pork sandwich but instead “settled” on smoked turkey. The sliced turkey breast was dipped in an au jus before being set on the potato roll (think a Martin’s roll, only a lot larger and more fresh).

I tried both of Stampede’s signature sauces – one sweet and one sweet and spicy – on the sandwich. I liked the sweet, but I didn’t think it fit very well with the turkey. But the spicy sauce mixed with the potato roll (which itself was already sweet) and the smoked turkey made for a delicious combination. However, the au jus was enough on its own and I would have been happy eating it without any sauce.

chopped beef brisket sandwich on a potato roll

Julie’s beef brisket sandwich was no less enjoyable. The brisket was sliced fresh and very juicy. For my taste, the brisket was better with the sweet sauce. I also can’t speak highly enough about the rolls and how much they did for enhancing our meals.

boat of fresh-cut French fries

We decided to split an order of fries, something that I don’t remember being on the menu at the other location (if it was, I don’t remember it. I do remember getting bags of Charles Chips, which I didn’t see at the new place). While the rest of the meal was ready when we paid, the fresh-cut fries were delivered fresh a short time later. To me, they were worth the wait.

boat of macaroni and cheese

Julie and I also ordered sides of our own. She really wanted to try the mac and cheese and I wanted some of their slaw. Both were very good, though I wouldn’t say they stood out among others that we have tried.

boat of creamy coleslaw

I did have an opportunity to try some of the BBQ beans that my in-laws had ordered, and they were great. It was closer to a chili than baked beans as far as flavor (my mother-in-law found them to be a little too spicy for her. I didn’t find them to be very spicy).

For Julie and I, our two meals with drinks ran us right around $30. That’s about average for a good barbecue place. Stampede’s entire menu is a la carte, there are no meals, per se, but the sides are reasonably priced so it all works out.

hand-written sign on a door that reads "pickins are slim, folks. We will have everything tomorrow"

By the time we left around 7 p.m., they were hanging a sign on the door that read “Pickins are slim, folks. We’ll have everything tomorrow.”

Good thing we didn’t arrive any later than we did or we may have been very disappointed.

But selling out is a good thing for Stampede. It reflects well on the food, and it means that the restaurant is doing a great business.

And that’s always a good thing for Berks County.

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

Stampede Barbecue
4372 Morgantown Rd
Mohnton, PA 19540

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pulled pork sandwich topped with onions with a side of slaw
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Review: Smokehouse Food Truck

Smokehouse Food Truck

The Conrad Weiser Homestead in Womelsdorf, Pa., has always had special meaning for me. Growing up in the Conrad Weiser Area School District, we had many field trips to the site. In college, many research papers were dedicated Conrad Weiser the man (a pre-Revolution German immigrant who rose to prominence in the local community as an interpreter with local native tribes) and Julie and I had our engagement photos taken there seven years ago.

In 2016, a new event debuted called Artisans in the Park, bringing local crafters to the historic site on the first Saturday in May. This year was the first time Julie and I (along with Jakob) were able to attend the festival as it was our first time in recent memory that we were home on the first weekend in May.

small child in a bucket hat holding a stuffed fox
Jakob modeling his new bucket hat at the event

While we loved browsing the craft stands, and Julie picked up several nice Mother’s Day gifts, what you all want to know about was the food. Part of the draw of the event this year was the addition of food trucks, including The Perk-Up Truck, one of our favorites. The other two trucks in attendance were Fultz’s Pretzels and Smokehouse Food Truck.

The Smokehouse is a newer food truck, having debuted in 2017, serving Berks and Lehigh Counties from its home base in New Jerusalem.

(A few people at the festival also confused the truck with Johnny & Hon’s Smokehouse, located just a block from Conrad Weiser Park, but the two businesses are unrelated).

There was a long line for the truck around noontime when we arrived. It wasn’t surprising as the only other option for lunch food was pork barbecue and hamburgers from Zion Lutheran Church in Womelsdorf (my childhood church, which I love dearly, but a review of their food would be rather short).

Smokehouse Food Truck

What we didn’t realize was that the line was also so long because the truck was completely understaffed. As far as we could tell, there were only two people working. The owner, who was taking orders, and a cook was putting everything together, one at a time. Julie and I took turns standing in line to order, then took turns waiting even longer for our order to be ready.

In all, it was nearly an hour wait from the time we entered the line – we were probably about 10th in line to order – until our food arrived. And when the order came out, we were handed only half of it (thankfully, the other half was done and sitting on the counter and retrieved in short order).

I had the pulled pork sandwich; Julie had a beef brisket sandwich, and we shared a pair of sides – seasoned fries and cole slaw.

Smokehouse Food Truck Pulled Pork Sandwich

The pulled pork sandwich came topped with pickles, onions, Swiss cheese and Carolina gold sauce on a Kaiser roll. The menu listing the toppings was printed out and hanging in the window, but orders were being placed at the door where the sign board merely said “pulled pork.” We were only close enough to read the window sign while we waited for our food (which was served out the door as well).

I pulled off the pickles and the cheese – not my style when it comes to barbecue – and dug in. Maybe it was the hunger talking, but once I finally got to take my first bite, I thought it was a fantastic sandwich.

The pork was really well done with a decent spice rub. The caramelized onions were delicious. And the Carolina gold was a surprising hit. I normally shy away from mustard-based sauces, and probably would have passed on the pork had I known, but I thought it was the perfect sauce for this sandwich.

As hungry as I was, though, I didn’t take time to savor the flavor and instead finished off the sandwich very quickly.

Smokehouse Food Truck Beef Brisket Sandwich

Julie’s brisket sandwich was also a hit. It was topped with cheddar – not Swiss – and a sweeter, less tangy sauce. The meat was melt in your mouth tender and the sweet sauce really shone.

I think what I enjoyed most about my own sandwich was that it was different (at least from my usual). The brisket sandwich was good, but much more in line with what I would expect. Still, I can’t think of another barbecue joint in the area that puts cheese on their sandwiches.

While the mains were solid, the sides were a bit of a letdown. The cole slaw had a little pepper, but not a whole lot of flavor overall. It looked more flavorful than it actually was.

And the “seasoned fries” were generic French fries that were lightly salted. Maybe there were other spices, but I didn’t taste them.

And the fries were probably what slowed down our meal and others as they were the +only item on the menu that would be made to order. Unless the fries get a makeover, they’re just taking up space on an otherwise solid menu.

In the end, we spent about $30 on our two meals. Was it worth the wait? Probably not. But the barbecue, itself, was a definite hit. With a little faster service and a little more organization (and without the fries), it could be one of the best food trucks around.

But it’s not quite there yet.

BCE Rating
Food: Good to Very Good
Service: Poor
Ambiance: N/A
Value: A Little Pricey

Smokehouse Food Truck
Serving Berks and Lehigh Counties

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A&M Pizza and Grill – CLOSED

small statue of a chef holding a sign that says "welcome" sitting atop a counter

Update: A&M Pizza in Wernersville closed in October 2018. The location is now home to 10 West Pizzeria which opened in 2022.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “You can never go back again?”

The idea is that no matter how good things were, you can’t replicate the success years later.

Ironically, this exact thing happened twice last year with Berks County restaurants. Dino’s Wings & Things reopened a second location in Birdsboro. And A&M Pizza returned to Berks County and to its former location in Wernersville.

Dino’s is closed less than a year after it reopened.  As for A&M? The Wernersville location is still going. Again.

exterior of an old freight railroad station that has been turned into a restaurant with red letters on the side that says "A&M"

A&M was a staple of my adolescence in western Berks County. I remember many stops at the old freight-station-turned-restaurant just off Penn Avenue in Wernersville.

All good things must come to an end, however. A&M moved out and the old station was home to a rotation of less-than-successful restaurants including The Trolley Stop, Feliciano’s, and DiCarlo’s.

The only way to satisfy a craving for A&M’s food was to make a road trip to Lebanon. The Cumberland Street location became a go-to for me, and eventually, Julie.

A highlight of every visit was listening to the owner mumble the order numbers over the restaurant’s PA system.

But the other highlight was always the food – especially the sandwiches. A&M has a signature roll that’s flatter and more rectangular than a standard hoagie roll. The shape of the roll means that the sandwiches are almost always overflowing.

meatball sandwich and fries from A&M Pizza

I love their meatball parm sandwiches. The meatballs and sauce are both very good (though I wouldn’t call them the best), but mixed with the roll, it is one of my favorite sandwiches.

As loyal A&M customers, you can imagine how excited we were when the Wernersville location reopened in 2017. An old favorite, back where it belonged.

It’s hard to remember what the restaurant used to look like inside, but the new incarnation of A&M is a cute little spot with a surprising amount of seating. There’s a TV on the back wall, a few assorted pictures and wall hangings, and a Coke dispenser with a sign asking to limit refills to one per customer.

drink machine and condiment stand at A&M Pizza

We stopped in to pick up a couple pizzas to take to my parents’ house in Robesonia. And while take-out is probably the majority of the business at A&M, it’s certainly a place where you can sit down and enjoy a meal.

One pie was an old stand-by: pepperoni. The other was a little different, the Caprese.

takeout box with pepperoni pizza from A&M

The pepperoni pie was standard fare for a pizza place. The cheese was nearly covered with mild pepperoni. And it was greasy. This is what childhood dreams are made of.

As an adult, however, I much prefer the Caprese pizza. It most closely resembled a margherita pizza with fresh mozzarella instead of shredded cheese and fresh basil leafs on top. The biggest difference is the use of tomato sauce instead of fresh tomatoes that would be found on margherita pies.

takeout box with a margherita pizza from A&M

The basil is what really makes this pizza. Bites that had leaves of the herb were sweeter and more rich in flavor than those that didn’t. More than anything, it accented the tomato sauce, making it taste sweeter than those bites without it.

Our two medium pies cost about $25. We didn’t place the most cost-effective order, but with six of us sharing the two pies, we had exactly enough slices for everyone. And $25 split six ways isn’t bad at all.

So, is the old adage true? Can you truly never go back again?

In our case, it’s not true. There’s no question that we will be going back to A&M again.

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

A&M Pizza and Grill
10 W. Penn Ave
Wernersville, PA 19565

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