small red outbuilding with sign on side that says "Potts' Top Dog" and a drive-through order window

Review: Potts’ Top Dog

small red outbuilding with sign on side that says "Potts' Top Dog" and a drive-through order window

In the Lehigh Valley, there is a hot dog war: Potts’ vs. Yocco’s. There are 14 locations between the two rival companies. And while Yocco’s has yet to find a home in our area, Potts is back in Berks County thanks to Potts’ Top Dog in Topton. 

Potts’ has been here before with Potts’ U operating in Kutztown from 2014 to 2016. That was a counter-service restaurant. The new Potts’ is very different. 

Located in a parking lot along Weis Street, Potts’ Top Dog is a small red shack facing the street. The location serves drive-through only from two lanes, one coming and one going. 

Close-up view of a sign reading "Potts' Top Dog" with cartoon hot dog

The menu is limited but there is some variety. In addition to hot dogs, the drive-through serves pulled pork, soup, pierogies and macaroni and potato salad. 

Of course the stars are the hot dogs, and you can customize yours with nine different toppings. I ordered two dogs with chili sauce and onions and a side of pierogi and took them back to Ktown Hall, the coworking space in Kutztown I was working out of that day. 

white plate with two hot dogs covered in chili sauce and three pierogies with sauteed onions

The hot dogs had been wrapped up and weren’t as photogenic by the time I got them out, but they were still good. I enjoyed the sauce, which added flavor and only a little heat. 

I thought the pierogies were really good. They came three to an order, sauteed with onions. I love pierogies so they were gone in no time. 

The price was right, too. The whole meal was $8.75 making it one of the most reasonable lunches around. 

With good food at the right price, I hope Potts’ is here to stay this time. 

BCE Rating
Food: Good
Service: Excellent
Ambiance: N/A
Price: $

Potts’ Top Dog
330 W. Weis Street
Topton, PA 19562

small wooden shack with order window and the words "Comb Coffee" over the window

Comb Coffee Co.

If you make the trip, consider stopping at the adjacent Comb Coffee Co. They offer coffee and tea as well as breakfast items like hash browns and pastries. (I grabbed a really good chai from them before getting my hot dogs). Comb also has a small outdoor seating area to enjoy your meal if it’s a nice day. 

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red tray with two baskets lined with checkered paper - one has a hot dog topped with bbq sauce, the other is filled with fries

Review: UpDog Hot Dogs

stripmall storefront with a sign over the door that reads "Updog Hot Dogs"

Starting a business is a milestone for entrepreneurs. And hopefully for them, there are many more milestones along the way. 

UpDog Hot Dogs started out as a mobile hot dog cart in 2020. Four years later, the business celebrated a milestone with the opening of a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Blandon. 

three paintings of hot dogs on a wall above a pair of booths

The location in the Maidencreek Towne Center along Fleetwood-Blandon Road was most recently Mad J’s BBQ. That restaurant closed in early 2023, leaving the space vacant. 

After some work inside including a fresh coat of paint (although the Fleetwood Tigers logo on the wall remains), UpDogs celebrated its grand opening in August 2024. 

large vinyl decal of a tiger's face on the wall of Updog Hot Dogs

I visited for a quick lunch in mid-September, a few weeks after the restaurant opened. 

The menu is focused – just hot dogs, fries and mini donuts – but there are eight specialty dogs to choose from plus a dozen toppings to customize. You can also order a regular sized hot dog or a quarter-pound “Big Dog.” 

I went with a Big Memphis BBQ dog and a side of fries. 

red tray with two baskets lined with checkered paper - one has a hot dog topped with bbq sauce, the other is filled with fries

The dog was topped with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon crumbles, BBQ sauce and green onions. First, a quarter-pound dog doesn’t sound like much, but it’s huge. And it was delicious. The hot dog was perfect and the bacon and BBQ sauce added a little sweet and salty flavor. The bacon and onions also added a delightful crunch. 

The fries were really good, too – perfectly crispy fast-food style fries with a little bit of seasoning beyond the standard salt and pepper. 

And it was a quick meal – perfect in-and-out for a no-fuss lunch on a workday – at a reasonable price for around $10 for the hot dog and fries. 

Overall, I was really impressed. I didn’t know northeastern Berks County needed two hot dog joints (the other being Potts’ Top Dog in Topton just 15 minutes up the road), but I’m glad UpDog is here. 

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

UpDog Hot Dogs
850 Golden Drive
Blandon, PA 19510

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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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