plate of French toast topped with cinnamon swirl with a smaller plate of red skin potato homefries
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Review: Annamarie’s on Main

strip mall storefront with a sign that reads "Annamarie's" with tables and chairs out front

When I was working in King of Prussia, I had heard a lot about Annamarie’s Place in Royersford. By that point, the restaurant was 20 years old, cash-only, and had long since been known for its incredible breakfasts. Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to make it to Royersford for a taste.

Thankfully, Berks County has its own Annamarie’s now. Annamarie’s on Main opened in Birdsboro in early 2023, taking over the location that most recently housed Susie Q’s Breakfast & Lunch Cafe. Other restaurants that have come and gone from the space include Dino’s Wings & Things and the Maple Springs Café.

dining room full of tables for four with a large mural of a tree on the far wall

Julie and I visited the café for breakfast in May, making the short drive to Birdsboro after dropping Jakob off at daycare. We were the first customers to arrive and were seated toward the rear of the dining room.

I’m not sure how much work was done by Annamarie’s or how much was done previously, but the dining room was extremely inviting with wooden tables and chairs and brick accents on the interior walls. An oversized black and white photo of a tree loomed large on the opposite wall.

The breakfast menu for Annamarie's on Main

Our server was providing training to a new staff member so we had double the attention during our meal. They were at the table quickly, but with a large menu, we had to tell them to come back for our food order.

There are a seemingly endless number of omelets, French toast, pancakes, waffles and breakfast sandwiches to choose from, along with a laundry list of sides. Ultimately, I decided on the cinnamon swirl pecan stuffed French toast with a side of homefries.

plate of French toast topped with cinnamon swirl with a smaller plate of red skin potato homefries

The French toast came out stacked with one atop the other, but slightly askew (there was an option to get three slices, but I stuck with two).  Where the two came together was a swirl of cinnamon-sugar sticky bun filling that was drizzled on top with pecans and powdered sugar.

One look at it and I knew there was no need for the bottle of syrup that was on the table. It was sweet enough without it, though not overly sweet. The cinnamon-sugar filling had a deeper flavor than I was expecting, but one that I enjoyed, especially when mixed with the nuts.

Did I need the homefries? No. But I couldn’t resist giving them a try and was glad that I did. The homefries were made with red skin potatoes which, in my mind, make any potato dish better. They were cooked to the perfect soft inside with just a little texture on the outside. Next time, I would look for a smaller main dish and definitely order the potatoes again.

blueberry pancakes with poppyseeds from Annamarie's on Main

Because I went French toast, Julie ordered pancakes – lemon ricotta blueberry poppy pancakes. For me, these were the best that we got between us. I especially love the pairing of the tart lemon with the slightly sweet ricotta. Adding the fresh blueberries on top made it even better. Julie gave me a taste, and I stole a few more bites at the end, too, because it was so good.

Overall, Annamarie’s provides a good value. Both my French toast and her pancakes were more specialty items, but even with the homefries we spent less than $25 between us. And you could easily spend less. A plain pancake (which the menu warns is the size of three pancakes in other places) is less than $6 for a single. The highest priced item on the breakfast menu is a Cajun shrimp benedict that comes in at $16.99.

I may not have made it to the original Annamarie’s yet, but I’ve now been to Annamarie’s on Main. And I can say that for me, it lived up to my expectations.

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

Annamarie’s on Main
339 W Main St
Birdsboro, PA 19508

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Review: Shillington Farmers Market Cafe – CLOSED

menu on a sandwich board at Shillington Farmers Market Cafe

Editor’s Note: The Market Cafe at Shillington Farmers Market is now closed. After five years in business, the announcement came that September 24, 2022 would be the last day for the stand. As of now there are no updates as to what will be taking its place.

In the past year, Berks County Eats has experienced the re-emergence of the Shillington Farmers Market through great meals. We’ve fallen in love with the Brocmar taco at Brocmar Smokehouse and rekindled our love of empanadas at Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe.

Among the dining options added to the market in past 12 months is the Shillington Farmers Market Cafe, a no-frills eatery tucked in a corner of the market behind Max Crema’s Coffee.

two patrons sit at the counter at Shillington Farmers Market Cafe

The Cafe feels like a small diner. You can watch the meals being prepared in the tiny kitchen behind the counter as a wait staff of two takes care of the customers in front. It had a decent crowd during our visit, though there were tables available in the small dining room throughout our meal.

Julie, Jakob and I settled in at a table for four and menus were dropped off promptly and we were served soon after.

red and white picnic tablecloth on a table at Shillington Farmers Market Cafe

I ordered three blueberry pancakes (the plan being that I would share my meal with Jakob, my nearly year-old son who recently discovered his love for pancakes).

two blueberry pancakes with a black cup of whipped butter

The pancakes were thick and fluffy with large whole blueberries inside. It was served with a cup of butter on the side (or on top, rather) and syrup. The pancakes were very good and there was plenty of fruit, but I did need the syrup. It was sweet enough without it, but a little dry. The syrup took care of that and the pancakes were a hit with both myself and Jakob.

Two-thirds of the way through, Jakob and I both had enough. It was then that our server said, “I’ve never seen anyone eat the whole thing.” I’m half-tempted to return now just to try to take on the three-pancake stack myself.

bacon egg and cheese sandwich with hashbrowns

Julie was able to finish her fried egg, bacon and cheese on toast. From-scratch sandwiches like this are always better than the fast-food versions and Julie certainly enjoyed hers. She also was a fan of the hash browns which she said were done perfectly.

My corned beef hash – hash browns with sliced corned beef – were not cooked as perfectly. While I enjoyed the use of fresh sliced corned beef, the potatoes were burnt. Thankfully, I didn’t need it anyway.

corned beef hash

Also, and I can’t believe this, but our meal was only $15. That was with an apple juice and an orange juice in addition to our food. That’s a good value, especially considering neither Julie nor I were hungry for lunch after such a robust breakfast.

The Cafe may not be the fanciest restaurant in Berks County, and it’s only open three days a week (Thursday through Saturday) with the Farmers Market, but it’s a good little spot for a no-fuss meal.

And with Brocmar Smokehouse and Mi Casa Su Casa Cafe, the Shillington Farmers Market is definitely worth a visit.

BCE Rating
Food: Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Fair
Value: Bargain

Shillington Farmers Market Cafe
10 S. Summit Ave
Shillington, PA 19607

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cinnamon french toast with icing with a side of corned beef hash in the background
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Review: Crossroads Family Restaurant

sign along Route 61 near Reading, PA that reads "Crossroads Family Restaurant"

At the intersection of Routes 222 and 61 is one of Berks County’s busiest diners.

The stainless steel exterior of Crossroads Family Restaurant can’t be seen from 222, but driving north or south along Route 61, you can’t miss the shining building with the packed parking lot.

entrance way to Crossroads Family Restaurant near Reading, PA

We visited on a recent Saturday morning and found the parking lot almost at capacity. Lucky for us there were a few select spaces left in the last row of the lot.

Crossroads is the quintessential diner. Rows of booths and tables span the large dining area. Two private rooms – one on either side of the building – are separated by glass windows. We watched as one of the rooms emptied out, and the windows were slid along a track in the ceiling to open up the space for more seating.

bakery counter at Crossroads Family Restaurant near Reading, PA

Despite its size, Crossroads had no problem filling the tables on this Saturday morning. We had a five minute wait when we arrived at 8:30, but as many people as were beginning to wait, just as many people were filing out to pay at the register, which was flanked on either side by cases full of tempting cakes, pies and baked goods. Behind the register, I was surprised to see a fully stocked bar.

After our brief wait, we were led into the main dining room where Julie and I sat at a booth with Jakob next to us, car seat atop a high chair. As usual, Jakob was the center of attention, with waitresses and other staff stopping by to take a peek at the four-month-old with us.

pile of creamer cups and a pourer of breakfast syrup

We perused the robust breakfast menu: skillets, French toast, pancakes, waffles, eggs and an array of sides. I joked about going big with my side and ordering the 14-ounce ham steak (no joke, this is a real side dish. As is the eight-ounce black diamond steak).

I still went big, opting for the L.A. cinnamon roll French toast with a side of corned beef hash.

plate of cinnamon French toast topped with icing and powdered sugar

You may remember my cinnamon roll French toast from Jukebox Cafe in Boyertown where I enjoyed an actual cinnamon roll that was made a la French toast. This was different: two thick slices of cinnamon swirl bread with a vanilla glaze.

The glaze was light – not a thick icing but a subtle glaze that provided enough sweetness that butter or syrup would have been overkill. The cinnamon toast itself was very good with big cinnamon swirls.

The L.A. cinnamon roll French toast is not one of the breakfast items that is available all day, which is a shame because it would make a great dessert.

On the side, my corned beef hash was more than I needed. The hash was tightly formed and cut in half. It was good if a little on the salty side (though in fairness, I think I’m much more sensitive to salt than most). I would have been satisfied with half the order, but I finished it anyway.

plate of eggs, homefries, wheat toast and bacon

Julie went with a more traditional breakfast of eggs, potatoes, toast and bacon. While she enjoys all of the above, she ordered it specifically for the homefries, which she requested deep-fried.

After visiting Crossroads several times with some of the ladies from our church, Julie had learned of the deep-fried homefries and couldn’t wait to order them. The deep-fried potatoes were crispier and more flavorful than if they had been pan-fried.

The combo meal was only $5.95 so Julie didn’t feel so guilty about leaving a couple slices of toast.

Both of us ate enough at breakfast to skip lunch so I would say the $20 we paid (I had a $2 orange juice on the bill as well) was more than fair.

It was my first visit to the restaurant, and I left impressed and full. There’s no doubt that Berks County has no shortage of places to grab a good breakfast, and Crossroads is definitely among them.

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

Crossroad Family Restaurant
4643 Pottsville Pk
Reading, PA 19605

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Review: Brooks Cafe

strip mall storefront with a sign that reads "Brooks Cafe Breakfast and Lunch" in Douglassville, PA

It’s not often that Julie and I get to go out for breakfast.

During the week, my commute to King of Prussia is a major hindrance to enjoying a morning meal together so we end up going out for dinner much more often.

So we usually reserve breakfast trips for weekends and holidays. And on Labor Day, with Julie and I hosting dinner, we decided to treat ourselves to breakfast.

We needed a restaurant that was open, and one that we hadn’t yet checked off our list. The name at the top was Brooks Cafe.

black dry erase board with mult-colored specials

Brooks Cafe is tucked in a strip mall along westbound 422 in Douglassville. The location was formerly home to Don Julio Mexican Restaurant (whose logo still appears on the marquee along with Brooks’).

The breakfast-and-lunch joint took over the space in 2016 and has made it their own. Posters and portraits of Audrey Hepburn in her famous Breakfast at Tiffany’s style cover the walls around the dining area.

dining area with paisley patterned booths on the sides and wooden tables in the middle

The dining room itself is much larger than expected. There is seating for at least 80 – fourteen tables, five booths and one combination of the two fill the room. Audrey watches over them all.

Also larger than expected: the menu. Breakfast is two full pages, with a wide selection of bowls, omelets, eggs, pancakes, waffles and French toast.

When I say a wide selection of French toast, I’m not just talking about toppings. I’m talking about French toasted croissants, banana nut bread, cinnamon buns, and my choice – Hawaiian bread.

Hawaiian bread french toast topped with shredded coconut, pineapple and yogurt

Brooks’ Hawaiian bread French toast featured three slices of Hawaiian bread (duh) topped with stripes of pineapple, toasted coconut and yogurt.

The meal was also served with a cup of pancake syrup that I found entirely unnecessary. Hawaiian bread has a sweeter flavor to begin. The pineapple – and to a lesser extent, the coconut – added to that. And the yogurt gave it the same consistency.

It was a filling and enjoyable start to the day – quite a pick-me-up.

small plate of homefries

Not being able to help myself, I also ordered a side of homefries. Everyone does homefries a little bit differently, and these were the kind that I like best – large slices of potato that are browned on one side and perfectly soft on the other.

While I always go for the French toast, Julie leans toward pancakes. And at Brooks, it was banana nut pancakes.

The pancakes had walnuts cooked into them with slices of banana and a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

Banana nut pancakes and bacon.

I always enjoy walnuts in pancakes – for both the flavor and the crunchy texture that they add. It contrasts nicely with the soft banana slices and melt-in-your-mouth pancakes.

Unlike me, Julie was not shy about adding syrup to her pancakes. Either way, they were also very good.

She also couldn’t resist an order of bacon. Crispy, savory bacon. There’s not much else to say about them.

The only other thing left to say about Brooks Cafe is that it is priced perfectly. We both had excellent breakfasts, left feeling full (too full for a real lunch) and spent less than $20.

Everything combined to make our first visit to Brooks one to remember.

And while Julie and I may not dine out for breakfast as often as we would like, Brooks is on my way to work. So I will definitely stop in again.

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

Brooks Cafe
1139 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy
Douglassville, PA 19518

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Review: Cheers American Bistro

sign at the entry way for Cheers American Bistro shows the retaurants hours

There are many great reasons to visit downtown Reading, but none are as high profile as the 18-month old DoubleTree Hotel.

The DoubleTree is a big deal. The hotel brings meetings, conventions and visitors that would otherwise be staying outside the city. And it also brought a highly regarded restaurant.

I have eaten in a lot of hotel restaurants, very few of them offering anything remarkable, but Cheers American Bistro gets high marks across all of the major review sites (4.5 stars out of 5 on both Yelp and TripAdvisor).

While I have wanted to go in for dinner, my first opportunity to try Cheers was a Sunday brunch with Julie and 10 members of our church congregation.

buffet table with various breakfast items including toast, potatoes and eggs

Because of our large numbers, we were seated in the Boscov Executive Board Room, a private space normally reserved for small meetings.

It was a different experience from the dining room – private and quiet with desk chairs around a boardroom table.

The brunch buffet was on the other side of two small sets of stairs. On my two trips to the buffet, I peeked into the dining room – lots of tables for two, a combination of booths and tables (and some seats that were a mix of both). If not for our large numbers, we wouldn’t have needed reservations as there were plenty of seats available.

plate with a southwest omelet and a dollop of salsa

The buffet was fairly standard. It was dominated by breakfast foods, the lone exception was the tray of meatballs in marinara sauce. After surveying the landscape, I went to the made-to-order omelet station.

Mine was stuffed with onions, red bell peppers, spinach, tomato and cheese. On the side, I had a dollop of fresh made tomatillo salsa (the three salsas were labeled – hot, hot and very hot).

The omelet was very good. The ingredients were fresh and vibrant. But the hot salsa made it memorable. It had heat but also a great flavor that accentuated the vegetables instead of hiding them.

plate with a slice of French toast, a biscuit covered in gravy and a serving of cubed breakfast potatoes

On my second trip, I loaded up on breakfast buffet staples: French toast, home fries and a biscuit with cream chipped beef.

The French toast was just a small piece, but it was rich and tasty, if a little crispy from sitting in the warming dish. The home fries were well-seasoned and enjoyable.

But the most remarkable item on the plate was the cream chipped beef. It was very rich with a buttery note. On the buffet, it seemed runny, but it thickened up nicely atop the biscuit and I found myself really enjoying it. The biscuit, like the French toast, had been on the hot bar for a little while, but it wasn’t bad.

buffet station with various pastries next to a selection of fruits

If I have one regret, it’s that I did not have room to indulge in any of the dessert pastries. The strudel bites, cinnamon rolls, Danishes, muffins and assorted breads all looked delicious.

Overall, everyone was very happy with the experience and food at Cheers. It wasn’t the variety that Wyomissing Restaurant & Bakery offers, but it was enough to please everyone at the table.

And the $14 per person price tag was in line with what I would expect to pay for a good breakfast buffet. (And you don’t have to pay to park because the restaurant will validate the parking for you, as long as you use the DoubleTree’s lot).

The DoubleTree Hotel will continue to bring thousands of people to downtown Reading year after year. Those people will come to stay, to explore and to eat.

And it will bring me back to try dinner.

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

Cheers American Bistro
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
701 Penn Street
Reading, PA 19601

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Review: CD’s Place – CLOSED

cup-shaped building housing CD's Place in Boyertown, PA

Editor’s Note: CD’s Place closed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The business continues on with catering and occasional pop-up dinners, but the restaurant is no longer open for regular dine-in or takeout meals.

Waiting is the hardest part of every meal. The long wait I had for my meal at CD’s Place had nothing to do with service.

Allow me to explain.

The restaurant prioritizes its catering business, closing the Boyertown restaurant whenever they have a catering engagement.

It must be working for them because there have been many Saturdays that I have wanted to visit, only to see on Facebook that they are closed for catering.

Good for them. Bad for this food blogger.

Finally, the stars aligned and I saw the following post on Wednesday: “HEY! We’re actually gonna be open our regular hours this week!!”

I knew where we were going to lunch.

wall lined with photos of celebrities

Julie and I arrived in Boyertown a little before noon and pulled in behind the distinctive cup-shaped building.

The building is a real throwback, an example of roadside architecture that you just don’t see anymore. But it also has its drawbacks, including an awkwardly small seating area with tables for two and the longest counter seating area that I have ever seen.

Somehow it all just adds to the charm of the place.

Now that I was finally there, there was really only one question remaining: what the heck was I going to eat?

omelet with homefries and white toast from CD's Place

It was lunch time, but breakfast is served all day. I think I found the perfect way to do both: the Jamaican omelet. It’s a hearty omelet filled with jerk chicken and fried onions, served with a side of homefries.

First surprise, the chicken was chunked, not shredded or pulled. I’ve never had jerk chicken that was cubed before. Second surprise, it was really good jerk chicken.

Not too spicy, not too salty, it was the right blend of spice to fill an omelet. And fried onions, as I’ve mentioned before in this blog, make everything better for me.

The homefries were simple, just fried red-skinned potatoes. Nothing fancy, but it doesn’t need to be when you use the more flavorful potato variety.

hash topped with over easy eggs with wheat toast

Julie, meanwhile, couldn’t stop raving about her meal of two eggs over baked corn andouille hash.

Eggs are eggs, but the hash was definitely worth talking about. She only allowed me one bite, but it was a great bite.

The hash is an original, unlike anything I’ve found anywhere else. The sausage was tasty choice, but what really stood out was the corn that added an unexpected sweetness to the dish. It was a delicious, hearty breakfast that made for a great lunch, too.

In true diner fashion, the food was fast and reasonably priced. Our two meals were just $17 (full disclosure, we only had water to drink).

Finally, I have tasted CD’s Place and it is everything I had hoped for and more. It’s one of the most unique, funkiest joints (sorry, I’m watching Guy Fieri as I write this) in Berks County.

Just be sure to check ahead to make sure they’re open.

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

CD’s Place
237 N Reading Ave.
Boyertown, PA 19512

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Review: Wyomissing Restaurant and Bakery

exterior of Wyomissing Restaurant & Bakery

“Shady Maple north east.”

Those are the words of Hamid Chaudhry as he described his vision for the Wyomissing Family Restaurant to the Reading Eagle in December, shortly after he became the new owner.

Lofty goals, indeed for a restaurant that had fallen on hard times in the years before. On our walks and drives through town, we could see the number of cars in the parking lot slowly start to shrink.

But new ownership has breathed new life into the location, and spawned a new name, the Wyomissing Restaurant and Bakery.

griddle station with chalkboard signs reading "pacncakes and french toast" and "bacon, scrapple, toast"

When Julie and I visited for Sunday brunch a few weeks ago, the parking lot was fuller than we could remember seeing in a long time. Thankfully, despite the crowd, there was no wait for a table for those of us doing the brunch buffet.

We were seated with all of the other buffet-goers in what would be the banquet room. With no large groups closing off the space, it was the closest seating to the all-you-can-eat  smorgasbord.

buffet station with various breakfast and lunch items

Five stations of varying size waited for me and my fellow eaters. On the left sat a small table where I found my orange juice and assorted breads for toasting.

Against the back wall was the griddle, where pancakes, French toast and omelets were made to order. A hot bar in the middle featured breakfast favorites: scrambled eggs, ham, bacon and three kinds of potatoes, as well as a couple lunch options like mac and cheese.

I started among these three stations, choosing cream chipped beef over toast, homefries and French toast for plate number one.

plate with cream chipped beef on toast, French toast triangles and homefries

I was expecting one slice of French toast with my order. I got three, and loved them. The powdered sugar was there for you to sprinkle on yourself so I added just the right amount of sweetness for myself.

The chipped beef was also very good (had I known I was getting three slices of French toast, I probably would have skipped it, though). It was rich, but not too much. The homefries were good, though I had to add a little salt and pepper to them.

plate with French toast triangles, red skinned potatoes, mini sausages, scrambled eggs and a cup of syrup

Julie’s seasoned potatoes were quite the opposite. If anything, they were a little oversalted. She enjoyed her French toast as well (throwing a few chocolate chips on for good measure). The bite-sized sausage links were very flavorful, and the eggs were also nicely done.

Not a bad first plate for either of us.

With plate two, we both migrated to the middle island and lunch. The full salad bar was open with two kinds of soup and two pasta options (the soup, salad and pasta buffet station is available for lunch every day).

plate with a bowl of borccoli soup, vegetable lasagna, ziti in sauce and a small dinner roll

I had a bowl of cream of broccoli soup with a helping each of vegetable lasagna and penne pasta with clam sauce.

The vegetable lasagna was delicious, with layers of pasta, cheese and plenty of veggies (broccoli, carrots, and more). The cream of broccoli soup was good, too, though if I wasn’t blogging, I probably wouldn’t have needed both the soup and the lasagna. I’m also not a fan of clams, but I tried the pasta and actually enjoyed it. It wasn’t too clammy, though you could definitely taste it.

plate with a salad topped with hard-boiled eggs with two cubes of jello

Julie’s second plate was a little lighter as she went for the more traditional salad options. She was happy to see that her favorite item from the old salad bar was still there: Jell-O. The options were actually very impressive, with a wide variety to build a nice side salad or even make it an entree.

The final station was serving up sweets: waffles and soft ice cream. For research purposes, Julie and I both made mini sundaes to cap off our brunch.

two cups of ice cream - one chocolate covered in ranbow sprinkles and chocolate syrup, the other vanilla topped with Oreo cookie crumbles

For $15 per person (discounts for seniors and children), the brunch buffet is definitely priced right. The buffet definitely seems like the way to go, with reasonable prices for breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the week.

While we were at the ice cream station, we had a chance to chat with Hamid Chaudhry. In between hosting duties, he was greeting regulars and striking up conversation with newcomers.

“What do you think of the changes?” he asked.

Julie and I both agreed, the changes are positives.

It’s not Shady Maple, but as long as the restaurant holds on to those aspirations, it will be a great buffet.

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

Wyomissing Restaurant and Bakery
1245 Penn Ave
Wyomissing, PA 19610

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Review: Jukebox Cafe

sign that reads "Jukebox Cafe" with a drawing of a jukebox

Growing up in the far western reaches of Berks County, Boyertown always felt like a world away. I only remember going there once when I was younger (for a double-digit loss in a Junior Legion baseball game). Even through more than a year of weekly reviews on Berks County Eats, the map of my visits had a noticeable gap in that part of the county.

It’s not for lack of wanting: a combination of bad timing and poor planning on my part had left the area as uncharted territory. I knew I had to make an extra effort to get there so my wife and I carved out time on a Saturday morning and headed east for a late morning visit to one of the more popular spots in town, the Jukebox Cafe.

The Jukebox Cafe sits along Reading Avenue to the south of downtown. The two-tiered parking lot was nearly full when we arrived, but we grabbed one of the few remaining spaces and took the stairs down to the front door.

The diner plays up on the jukebox theme with a decor reminiscent of a 1950s drive-in with a checkerboard trim, musical notes and records on every wall. Inside the front door was the namesake jukebox, though I have no idea if it actually works. With a number of groups waiting ahead of us for seats, no one would have been able to get to it if they wanted to.

We took a number and I grabbed a copy of the Boyertown Bulletin and passed the time reading about Amelia Earhart’s connection to Boyertown and brushing up on my Pennsylvania Dutch with an article on planting potatoes.

There is not a lot of seating in the dining area, but the tables were turned over quickly so we did not have to wait long before we were escorted to a corner booth.

Going in, I had every intention of ordering lunch; a burger and fries was sounding really good. I decided to take a look through the breakfast menu anyway (because like all great diners, they serve breakfast all day).

That’s when my eyes spotted four words I had never before seen together: cinnamon bun French toast. I realized then that my burger would have to wait another day.

cinnamon roll french toast topped with strawberry syrup and whipped cream

I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting until the plate was laid in front of me. It turns out that it is exactly what it sounds like: two cinnamon rolls that have been put through an egg wash and grilled like French toast. A layer of whipped cream was sandwiched between the two rolls, and the whole thing was swimming in strawberry syrup with more whipped cream on the side.

With every forkful, the warm cinnamon filling oozed out of the center. Somehow it managed to taste both like a cinnamon roll and French toast without sacrificing either flavor. The strawberry topping was something I never tasted along side a cinnamon roll before, but those sweet, fruity notes were a perfect match. The whipped cream was just the icing on the cake (or cinnamon roll, as it were), adding one more layer to an already divine dish.

red skin potato homefries topped with fried onions

To temper the sweetness of the main course, I also ordered a side of home fries with onions. For its home fries, Jukebox Cafe uses red skins potatoes which are so much more flavorful than yellow potatoes to start. With the mound of fried onions on top, it was a delicious, though unnecessary add-on as the cinnamon roll French toast would have been more than satisfying on its own.

omelet with red peppers on a plate with red skin potatoes and wheat bread

Julie also opted for breakfast during our visit, ordering the Little Richard: an omelet filled with bacon, tomato and cheddar. The ingredients were finely chopped with a pool of cheddar inside to ensure a flavorful bite every time. Her meal also included home fries and toast for a hearty breakfast.

Everything we had was enjoyable and made the trip to Boyertown worthwhile. With a check totaling less than $20, the prices are pretty good too.

Whether the jukebox plays or not seems irrelevant because the real star at the Jukebox Cafe isn’t the jukebox, it’s the food.

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

Jukebox Cafe
535 S. Reading Ave
Boyertown, PA 19512

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Brakeman’s Cafe

Breakfast & Brunch Diners Reviews
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The Tomcat Cafe – CLOSED

awning over the entrance to a corner restaurant that reads "The Tomcat Cafe"

Edito’r’s Note: The Tomcat Cafe is now closed. The family that owned the restaurant relocated to Viriginia where they now operate a mobile food truck. The location is now home to Origen Latin Fusion, which opened in late 2021.

Breakfast is probably my favorite meal of the day. There’s something special about sitting down to a homecooked breakfast of french toast or pancakes, homefries or corned beef hash. Top it off with a big glass of orange juice and you have the perfect start to the day.

There’s plenty of places in Berks County to get a good hot breakfast. Let’s face it, it’s hard to screw up french toast.

By the same token, it’s hard to find a place to eat a memorable breakfast. Pancakes and eggs are essentially the same from one place to another.

That’s why The Tomcat Cafe is so special.

Located right on Penn Avenue (Route 422) in Sinking Spring, The Tomcat Cafe does breakfast better than anyone else because that’s all they do. The restaurant discontinued their lunch options in early 2013 to concentrate on making some of the best pancakes, omelets, crepes and more.

Blues rock pumps through the speakers. Leonard Cohen’s “Old Ideas” record hangs prominantly on the wall. An Elvis Presely cat stares down from above the door.

Even the menu, with specials like the Rhiannon, Hey Joe and Don McLean, is as diverse as the decor. And man is the menu is expansive.

There are are 56 different topping combinations for pancakes alone, allowing you be as adventurous as you choose. Enjoy a simple order of pancakes with blueberry topping, or try something a little different, like the Paradise City: fried eggs and Gouda sandwiched between bacon cheeseburger pancakes.

French toast topped with strawberries and fruity pebbles

I opted for the Dazed and Confused: two thick slices of French toast dipped in Fruity Pebbles and topped with strawberries, bananas, strawberry syrup and whipped cream.

If you want to satisfy your sweet tooth at breakfast, this is the way to go. The Fruity Pebbles made the French toast that much sweeter, while the fresh fruit on top tricked me into thinking that there was some redeeming value in the sugary shortstack in front of me.

plate of pancakes topped with mini marshmallows and powdered sugar

My wife decided on one of the unique pancake offerings. The No. 27 comes complete with bananas, peanut butter, chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. If the ghost of Elvis walked through the door, I’m pretty sure this is what he would order, and he would not be disappointed.

Of course no breakfast is complete without an order of homefries. For the extra dollar, I added grilled onions and peppers to my order. What I got was a small mountain.

plate of homefries piled high with sauteed peppers and onions

The homefries could stand on their own, but the peppers and onions were worth every penny. They were sauteed perfect, soft enough to slide right down while adding a hit of extra flavor to the meal. It was the perfect counterbalance to the sweetness of the main course and are easily sharable between two or more people.

Many area restaurants try to make up for the lack of flavor in their foods, especially at breakfast, by giving giant portions. Tomcat is just giving you more of what you actually want, a unique breakfast you can’t get anywhere else, all for around $10.00.

A trip to Tomcat takes a little bit of planning. The Cafe is open limited hours, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. But for breakfast, lunch or brunch, it’s well worth the trip.

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

The TomCat Cafe
3998 Penn Ave
Sinking Spring, PA 19608

Breakfast & Brunch Reviews