cheesesteak topped with yellow cheese on a plate with a pile of fries.
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Review: Henry P. Robeson House

view from the sidewalk looking at a log cabin building with a white fenced porch

In more than a decade of Berks County Eats, I’ve seen a lot of restaurants come and go, and there is almost always a new restaurant ready to take its place. 

I’ve also seen many that have been an improvement over what was there before. 

And the Henry P. Robeson House would be near the top of the list. 

view looking from a parking lot to a white building with a barn-like second floor and a sign that reads "Henry P Robeson House

Located along Penn Avenue in Robesonia, the Henry P. Robeson House is named for the town’s namesake and former ironmaster of the Robesonia Furnace. Two years ago, the restaurant took over the space that has always been known as the Robesonia House (or Roby House), regardless of what the official bar name was.

interior of a building with log cabin walls and a bar on the left where two men are sitting

Years ago, when it was owned by Johnny and Hon’s, I played poker there. Back then, there wasn’t much as far as food, nor was there much of a kitchen from what I remember. But the Henry P. Robeson promised to be something much more. 

The new restaurant was first announced in the spring of 2022. It finally opened in November 2023, a full year after the original planned opening date. With a 200-year-old building, delays were bound to happen. 

interior of a dining room with log cabin walls and in the corner is a TV showing a football game.

The building’s core is a log cabin which was exposed during the renovation process. The walls alternate between dark brown slats and thick rows of plaster. Other than a single framed picture by the front door, the original walls remain bare to give the restaurant a classic feel. 

football jerseys hang on a light blue wall next to a white double-door

In the rear of the dining room, which was a later addition, blue walls are covered with Conrad Weiser football memorabilia including helmets, jerseys, jackets, and a banner commemorating the Scouts’ 12 league championships.

In its logo, the Henry P. Robeson House touts “Beef & Ale” as the two focal points. The ale is evident from the large U-shaped bar in the center of the dining room. The beef in question is pit beef, the true star of the menu and one of the reasons why the Henry P. earned “Best BBQ” in the 2025 Reading Eagle Reader’s Choice Awards. 

Both Julie and I decided to give the pit beef a try on our visit – me on a cheesesteak and Julie on a salad. 

cheesesteak topped with yellow cheese on a plate with a pile of fries.

The pit beef cheesesteak came topped with onions, peppers, and Chetty Ale sauce, the restaurant’s signature beer cheese. I know some would call it blasphemous, but I think beer cheese is the ultimate cheesesteak topping. It melts into the meat and has rich, deep undertones that pair perfectly with the meat. 

And the pit beef at Henry P. Robeson is a top-notch meat choice. On its own, it’s a savory delight. Mixed with the onions, peppers, and cheese, it made for one delicious sandwich. 

The fries were almost an afterthought, but they were good, too. Dusted with salt and pepper, they were an excellent side that I finished off despite being full long before my last bite. 

plate with French fries, cut tomatoes, chese curds and sliced pit beef

Julie’s “salad,” and I use the term loosely, started with a base of greens. But it was hardly noticeable beneath the piles of pit beef, cheese curds, fries, and tomatoes. 

It came with their house-dressing which was kind of like a honey mustard but not as thick and with a little tang to it. Everything seemed to work, except maybe the cheese curds which Julie would have preferred warmed. Otherwise, the salad had a lot of good things on one plate. 

empty wooden tables next to a long winodw

We had great service throughout the meal, and at just over $40 for our meals, I felt like we definitely got plenty of food for the money. And after being there, and seeing the kids menu, we’ll probably be back with the whole family at some point. (Another thing I would have never imagined a decade ago). 

The Henry P. Robeson House— especially that pit beef—is definitely an upgrade. 

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

Henry P. Robeson House
124 E. Penn Avenue
Robesonia, PA 19551

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Bars & Pubs Lunch & Dinner Reviews
the breakfast Bernville Special, potoates topped with egg and cheese sauce
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Review: Plum Creek Farm Market & Creamery

Order counter at a restaurant with a sign above that reads "the Creamery at Plum Creek"

If you’re a long-time follower of our blog, you’ve seen our family grow over the years. After Jakob was born in 2017, we started spending a lot more time at family-friendly restaurants. WIth the arrival of Lukas in 2023, we definitely try to make sure to find places that are great for kids. 

And it’s more than just seeking out the best kids menus. It’s visiting places where the food is good, the wait times aren’t bad, and we don’t have to feel guilty about having our kids heard and seen. 

One place that ranks near the top of our list these days is Plum Creek Market & Creamery in Bernville. 

We first visited Plum Creek in 2018 around the time it opened along Route 183 as a small market with a takeout window for hot food and ice cream. (See the original post below).

Inside seating area at Plum Creek Farm with leather chairs and a large fireplace

The market has only grown since then. In 2020, they opened a brand new space, half of it devoted to a true market with fresh produce, bulk foods, baked goods and prepared items, and half devoted to indoor seating for the creamery. 

child playing with sand toys in an outdoor playground at Plum Creek Farm.

Outside, Plum Creek now boasts a large play area with swings, slides and a sandbox full of shovels and trucks for digging. 

With the expansion came an expanded menu – more options for lunch, dinner and dessert. Then in 2024, Plum Creek added breakfast to its offerings. 

At first, it was only on Saturday mornings though they have now added daily breakfast. But it was on one of those early Saturdays when we made our first visit for breakfast. That’s when I had my first taste of their breakfast burrito that has kept me coming back. 

breakfast burrito cut in half and stacked one on top of the other to show the eggs inside

The burrito comes filled with your choice of meat (sausage for me), egg, cheese, and homefries. It’s delicious on its own – the inclusion of the crispy pieces of potato is excellent – but what makes it one of my favorites is the chipotle sauce. It has just the right amount of heat, and it really brings the whole dish together. 

It’s also the closest I can find to my all-time favorite from the former Squawk Cafe in Wyomissing. 

the breakfast Bernville Special, potoates topped with egg and cheese sauce

One of Julie’s favorite dinner items is the Bernville Special – pit beef over fries with barbecue sauce, cheese, scallions and sour cream. So of course she had to try the Breakfast Bernville Special. 

The breakfast version features a bed of potatoes topped with cheese, eggs, bacon and Hollandaise sauce (with scallions and sour cream). It’s a great skillet-type meal for those with a big appetite at breakfast – very hearty and full of flavor. 

plate with a large pancake next to a cup of syrup.

No breakfast menu would be complete without classics like pancakes, and that’s exactly what Jakob ordered. The thick pancakes are as wide as the plate and served with two per order – more than enough for adults, let alone a kid. But they are very good, nice and fluffy, and a worthy meal. 

Two milkshakes and a glass bottle of orange soda on a table at Plum Creek Farm

Of course, Plum Creek has stayed true to its roots, and we still enjoy stopping in for dinners, especially when we save room for dessert. Their Creamery treats, like their Twisters (their version of a Flurry or Blizzard), are always delicious. The regular menu has great options like Oreo and Peanut Butter, but watch for their monthly specials featuring their soft serve of the month. 

And for Jakob and Lukas, Plum Creek’s play area is the perfect place to get out some of that energy before dinner or after dessert. 

Food, fun, and family time: three things that all make Plum Creek one of our favorite spots. 

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

Plum Creek Farm & Market
5035 Bernville Road
Bernville, PA 19506

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Original Post: July 2, 2018

people lineup in front of two windows at a wooden building with the words "The Creamery" on digital menu boards

Last summer, my brother clued me in to a new ice cream place called Plum Creek Farm.

The small place had recently opened, and they were serving homemade soft serve ice cream. We checked it out and quickly fell in love with both the ice cream and the small farm market store.

Plum Creek operates seasonally so we got our last taste of it in the fall and awaited its reopening in April. This year brought an expanded menu of hot food items, new hard ice cream (not homemade but locally made) and more treats.

The hot food menu was definitely something we wanted to try. Last year, it was an evolving menu but it finally seems to be set, with sandwiches that include pulled pork, smoked sausage, pit beef and hot dogs; fresh-cut fries; homemade soups; and soft pretzels. (There are also salads if you want to save Calories for dessert).

Three digital menu boards above two order windows with a logo that reads "The Creamery" behind the menu items

We stopped by on a weeknight in early June and the line to order showed that the word is definitely out about Plum Creek.

It was a long wait for our dinners. That wasn’t the case for ice cream cones as an efficient ordering system had cones delivered before the customers even had paid. But for hot food, and for specialty desserts, it took time.

I stood and watched as cone after cone was handed off. Then a cup of soup. Occasionally, a sandwich. Finally, after what seemed like hours (it was probably 20 minutes), my name was called and our sandwiches were ready.

We dined at one of many picnic tables that make up the “dining area.” There are also Adirondack chairs, benches, all outside.

pulled pork sandwich topped with barbecue sauce

Maybe I was just really hungry, but from the first bite, I really enjoyed my pulled pork sandwich.

Now, I fully recognize that this pulled pork will never win a barbecue competition. But it was still very good. The sauce was sweeter than most, almost a little too sweet, but I think what really made the sandwich was Plum Creek’s seasoning. It was sprinkled on as the sandwich was constructed. The basic salt and pepper were there with additional spices. It wasn’t spicy, but it added little hits of flavor to every bite.

pit beef sandwich topped with cheese sauce and barbecue sauce

The seasoning was even better, in my opinion, on Julie’s pit beef sandwich. She thought it was a little salty, but I thought it worked.

Her sandwich was served with cheese (that’s the standard at Plum Creek; I opted for mine without). It’s not the norm for barbecue, but Julie enjoyed this change of pace.

Both sandwiches were served on Kaiser rolls that served their purpose, holding in all of the meat and sauce without crumbling.

clamshell package with fries

We both really enjoyed the side of fries that we shared. They most closely resembled the shoestring fries that you’ll find locally at Austin’s and Coastal Grille. The fries were cut very thin and short, making it easy to pick up a handful at once. And they came out piping hot – I can only assume this was what delayed our order.

Of course we couldn’t come to Plum Creek without getting ice cream. And even though we were comfortably full after dinner, we couldn’t resist trying some of their signature desserts.

clear plastic plate with a slice of shoofly pie topped with whipped cream next to a helping of vanilla soft serve

My sweet of choice was the pie a la mode. I chose the shoo-fly pie (strawberry is also available) and have to admit that I was a little disappointed in the pie. It drier than it looked with a rather plain crust. But the homemade vanilla soft serve was excellent. It’s a heavy ice cream that is better and more flavorful than your typical soft serve mix.

I probably would have been happier – and certainly more comfortable – had I just settled for a cone of vanilla.

cup with strawberry shortcake and ice cream topped with whipped cream

Julie was not disappointed with her strawberry shortcake, though she would also admit that she didn’t need that much food.

The shortcake was topped with strawberries (you can buy Plum Creek’s fresh-picked strawberries from their store), strawberry sauce, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Everything about this was excellent, but there’s just nothing better than fresh strawberries and a homemade strawberry sauce on a shortcake.

smiling baby wearing a monkey bib holding a stuffed fox

One downside of the way we did things was that we had to go through the line a second time. While Julie stood in line for dessert, I gave Jakob a bottle so it worked out. But we spent a long evening – and around $35 – at Plum Creek.

Last year, I could have argued that Plum Creek Farm was a hidden gem. But with long lines on an ordinary weeknight, I’d say the word is already out.

But those crowds won’t scare us away this summer, and they shouldn’t scare you away either.

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

Plum Creek Farm
5035 Bernville Rd
Bernville, PA 19506

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PA BBQ Fest 2017

Editor’s Note: PA BBQ Fest is no longer held with 2023 being the last year.

One of my favorite events of the year, the PA BBQ Fest in Leesport offers a chance to sample some of the finest barbecue restaurants, vendors and food trucks from Berks County and beyond.

Now in its third year, the festival is an annual tradition for Julie and I. We have had this year’s edition marked on our calendars since the date was announced and while we weren’t the first people in line when the gates opened at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, we were there by 11 for an early lunch.

This year there was a $3 cover charge to enter the event. I don’t mind paying because I know that in addition to the barbecue there is live entertainment throughout the day, and those bands aren’t showing up for free.

Festival goers can order from their favorite barbecue stands ala carte, or for $10, they can pick up a Pit Master sample card. The sample card includes six tear-off tabs that can be redeemed at one of about a dozen stands for two-ounce samples.

tent with a sign that reads "Backwoods Brothers"

Our first stop was to Backwoods Brothers Authentic Texas Cuisine. I’m sorry to say that they had the most disappointing sample of the six we tried.

sample cup with a small piece of smoked sauasage

Now, I love Backwoods Brothers (you can read about our visit to the restaurant here), but the sample cup they gave us had a half-bite of smoked sausage. And it was cold. At $10 per sample card, that means Julie and I each paid $1.67 for that.

After that, we were a little more selective.

tent with a large orange banner that reads "Fire & Spice Competition BBQ and Catering"

Our second stop was Fire and Spice Competition BBQ and Catering, a Fleetwood based company that we have only ever experienced at the PA BBQ Fest.

sample cup with pulled pork topped with barbecue sauce

They were serving up pulled pork – the go-to sample for most restaurants – with your choice of sauce. Julie went sweet, I went bold. Both were excellent, but I especially liked the bold sauce and its molasses base. It gives it a sweetness but with bigger flavor and thicker texture that I love.

blue trailer with a cartoon image of a corn on the cob and the name Ziggy's Roasters

Stop #3 was certainly unique among the festival’s offerings. Ziggy’s Roasters, a food truck based in Harleysville, Montgomery County, was serving samples of their “Krazy Korn.”

Normally served on the cob, Krazy Korn is corn smothered in mayo, parmesan and Cajun seasoning. For their samples, it was taken off the cob and topped with pulled pork in barbecue sauce.

sample cup with pulled pork atop a bed of cream corn

It was like nothing that I have ever tried before. I won’t say that it was the best barbecue that I had all day, but the corn was so different. It was creamy with a little bit of heat. And with the sweet and savory mix of the pulled pork, it just worked. There was a lot of flavor packed in that little sample cup.

Both of our next two stops were offering barbecue that went beyond pulled pork.

tent with a large gray banner with blue letters that reads "Jake's Place 1927 Hamburg, PA"

First up was Jake’s Place, a Hamburg restaurant that was offering pit beef. I have never had the opportunity to visit Jake’s Place nor had I encountered them at other festivals before.

small sample cup with pit beef in barbecue sauce

I was pleasantly surprised by the pit beef. It was cooked perfectly – tender, juicy and all of the other adjectives that you use to describe well-crafted beef. I will definitely have to pay a visit to the restaurant sometime.

Large beige banner with maroon letters and the words "K'Town Pub Taphouse & BBQ"

The next stop was another restaurant that I had never visited before, the K’Town Pub Taphouse & BBQ.

When I was a student at Kutztown University, the Pub wasn’t much to speak of. At best, it was a dive. But the restaurant is all-new from the place I remember and now barbecue is the focus of the food menu.

black sample cup with a meatball topped with barbecue sauce

Their offering at the PA BBQ Fest was a barbecue meatball. It’s not on the regular menu (according to their website), but it should be. It was a delightful mix of meats, including beef and pulled pork. Topped with a shot of barbecue sauce, it was stellar. I would eat this as a sandwich any day.

tent with a yellow banner with a pink cartoon pig and pink words that read "The Pink Pig"

Our sixth and final stop for our Pit Master card was an old favorite, It’s Just Barbecue (aka the Pink Pig). We got a sample of their pulled pork, something that we have tasted many times before at similar events.

sample cup of pulled pork with barbecue sauce

After we finished with our Pit Master cards, it was time to find one more thing for lunch. Julie loves the Pink Pig so much that she jumped into their regular line to order a beef brisket sandwich.

beef brisket sandwich on a Kaiser roll with the top off and barbecue sauce slathered on the meat

The brisket is thick, not thin sliced, making the sandwich feel more hearty. She layered on plenty of sweet barbecue sauce for a deliciously satisfying sandwich.

For my course, I had to go back to Ziggy’s for more of their corn. When I got there, I saw that I could order either corn on the cob or a cup o corn that could be topped with pulled pork. There was never any doubt that I would get the option with the barbecue.

styrofoam bowl of pulled pork on top of corn

I also got to choose my add-ons for the corn. Instead of the Krazy Korn standards, I went with one of my favorite flavor combinations: garlic and Parmesan (with butter, of course). Both the corn and the pork were great, though I think I should have stuck with what I had previously because it didn’t quite have the same affect when it was mixed together.

Still, I didn’t regret my decision and I will definitely seek out Ziggy’s in the future.

And there is no doubt that we will be back next July for the fourth annual PA BBQ Fest. We’re already looking forward to it.

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