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Review: Windsor Inn at Shillington

Lighted sign for the Windsor Inn Restaurant & Tavern with the words "Thursday Pasta Night"

The best meals are always the unexpected ones.

I had zero idea of what I was going to get last week when Julie and I visited the Windsor Inn at Shillington.

The only thing that I knew was that the owner’s daughter, Rachel, reached out to me over a year ago to come in and review the restaurant.

Fifteen months later, we were finally there. Better late than never.

corner fireplace with two mantles filled with antique cameras

I’m not going to lie. The inside is a little dive-y. We walked through the bar to a tired looking dining room. On the yellow walls were photographs from when the building was a doctor’s office in the 1950s. Behind me was a fireplace, it’s mantle lined with vintage cameras.

table for four beneath a quilted wall hanging

It wasn’t a busy night; there was only one other couple in the dining room and a handful of customers sitting at the bar when we arrived. Our waitress was doing double-duty, handling orders in both rooms with help from an assistant.

The waitress also happened to be Rachel, and she was more than happy to talk to us about the food: how it’s locally sourced whenever possible, how they make a different pasta in-house every day, and how they had in-season peaches for their martinis and margaritas.

peach margarita in glass with red sugar around the rim

The last one caught Julie’s attention. She nursed her peach margarita throughout the meal, leaving nothing but a little peach pulp at the end.

The name “Windsor Inn” certainly doesn’t scream Italian the way others do, but the menu certainly gave it away. Cioppino (mixed seafood simmered with tomato and wine) and carciofi (veal sautéed with artichokes, dried tomatoes, dill and cream) were among the unpronounceable dishes for a man with Pennsylvania Dutch heritage.

I also found out I have been pronouncing gnocchi wrong all my life. Apparently it’s not NOH-chee, it’s NYOK-ee. Who knew?

two meatballs covered in red sauce with fresh parsley leaves on top

We started our meal with something easy to pronounce: gigantic Windsor meatballs.

They were certainly big — gigantic is stretching it a little — but they were delicious. There is nothing like a homemade meatball from a real Italian kitchen. The hand-formed meatballs had plenty of nooks and crannies to grab the sauce that was just as good. What little sauce was left, I made sure to soak up with some bread so it didn’t go to waste.

two small metal bowls - one with grated Parmesan cheese, the other with red pepper flkes

Along with the meatballs came the optional Parmesan cheese and red pepper, the latter being made in-house. Our waitress warned me that because it was freshly made, it would be stronger than a typical red pepper. I ignored her warning and quickly found out she was right. Tread lightly with the pepper. It’s fantastic, but it is hot.

We were happy to have ordered the meatballs because the courses were slower to arrive because so many things were made from scratch and everything was beautifully prepared. Even the salads were crafted, not made.

Salads usually don’t make it into my reviews because more often than not, it’s nothing more than mixed greens with a cup of Kraft dressing. That’s not the case here. The restaurant was serving three homemade salad dressings so Julie and I each got to try a different one. I chose raspberry herb for mine; Julie chose garlic dill for hers.

salad with creamy dressing

I really like creamy salad dressings. The garlic dill was certainly that, having the consistency of a good ranch dressing but with the very distinct flavors of garlic and dill mixing together beautifully.

salad with vinaigrette dressing

My raspberry herb was also very enjoyable: a little puckery and a little sweet with fresh raspberries scattered throughout.

By this point, we were very excited to see our main courses, both of which were daily specials and highly recommended by our waitress and rightly so.

plate with a piece of stuffed eggplant topped with shaved ham and a side of flat pasta with red sauce

The stuffed eggplant, my choice for the night, was a beauty of a dish. It was almost a shame that I had to ruin it by digging in. The eggplant was stuffed with ricotta and peppers and topped with prosciutto. On the side was fresh made pasta with the house tomato sauce.

I absolutely loved it. The eggplant was cooked so it was perfectly tender. The ricotta and the prosciutto played extremely well together. And the pasta was delicious. Even the portion was perfect. While it looked small on the plate, it was just the right amount to be filling.

bowl with gnocchi and shrimp in a wine sauce

Julie’s bowl wasn’t quite as nice to look at, but it sure tasted good. She went with the shrimp and gnocchi. Julie likened it more to a gumbo than your expected pasta dish, with everything tossed in a nice broth-like sauce. It was a heartier meal than my own, but Julie managed to finish it.

Neither of us were really hungry for dessert, but I had overheard the dessert options when they were read to the other table and upon hearing the words “flaming peaches” I knew we would be getting dessert no matter what.

plate of pound cake topped with peaches and whipped cream and a rum sauce that has been lit on fire

It was a few minutes before the dish arrive: pound cake topped with mascarpone cheese and fresh peaches in Bacardi rum (with whipped cream and a cherry on top, of course), aflame upon delivery to our table.

Like two kids with trick candles on their birthday cake, we struggled to blow out the flames and dig in. Once we did get to it, it was good to the last drop. The pound cake had absorbed the melting cheese (and a lot of rum). The peaches were warm, sweet and melt-in-your-mouth good. I have absolutely no regrets about ordering it.

Even our final bill didn’t leave us with any regrets. It was about $65 for the two of us, three courses with two drinks (one non-alcoholic). I’ll gladly pay that for quality food.

The Windsor Inn at Shillington provided one of the most memorable meals of the past year for me. Before we left, we got a frequent customer card.

For every $15 you spend, you get a stamp. Five stamps equals $10 off your next meal. We’re three-fifths of the way there.

I plan to fill out that card sooner than later.

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

Windsor Inn at Shillington
38 W. Lancaster Ave
Shillington, PA 19607

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Wyomissing Restaurant & Bakery won best breakfast
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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: Bernville Eagle Hotel

sign hanging from a brick building that reads "Eagle Hotel Food and Drink since 1869"

I love the character in historic inns and hotels, the places that have been serving food and drinks since the roads were dirt and transportation was four-legged.

Every small town and village had one, and many of them are still going. The Stony Run Inn, subject of last week’s blog, is one of those places.

This week, we paid a visit to another historic hotel, one that has been at the heart of Bernville since 1869.

That’s when the Eagle Hotel opened along Main Street in the little borough (now the only borough) in northwestern Berks County.

Yards Brewing Company sign hangs behind a clean wooden bar

Nearly 150 years later, it’s still a gathering place where locals grab drinks and dinner six nights a week (closed on Sundays). Though I’m sure patrons in the late 19th century weren’t ordering from a Caribbean-inspired menu like the hotel offers today.

There is no separation between restaurant and barroom. The single dining room features a large center bar with tables lining the perimeter. The sound of crashing billiards balls echoed out of the back room.

The menu is mostly bar food, but there is a small selection of entrees (plus a few weekly specials). And everything is reasonably priced. Only two menu items cost more than $20, the full rack of ribs and my choice, the Cuban coffee crusted flat iron steak.

Round plate with maroon edging filled with rice, beans, plantains and chicken

Served with plantains and a side of rice and beans, the steak was buried beneath a mound of onions and peppers.

It certainly wasn’t the largest steak that I have ever had, but it was flavorful. I’m not a coffee drinker, but the coffee crust was subtle while adding a crisp char to the outside. I love sautéed onions and roasted peppers so I had no qualms about digging in.

The rice and beans were good, but nothing compared to the more authentic Latin American restaurants that you find closer to the city. And there was certainly nothing to complain about with the portion size.

I’m a sucker for plantains so I was going to love them no matter what.

clear salad plate topped with lettuce, onions, a cup of ranch dressing and a dinner roll

My meal was also served with a starter salad and roll. While the salad was nothing to speak of (spring mix with onions, cherry tomatoes, cheese and a cup of dressing), the roll was very enjoyable – soft and buttery.

Julie wasn’t quite hungry enough for the full rack of ribs, but she thought she could handle the half rack.

plate of ribs served atop a bed of fries, topped with pineapple with a side cups of beans and coleslaw

The ribs were also given a little twist with chipotle barbecue sauce and diced mango on top. It was a little disappointing to find the mango was not reduced into the sauce. Ribs are not conducive to toppings so most of the mango fell off with every bone that was picked out. There was also just a little kick from the chipotle, but not too much.

We both enjoyed the fries. They’re the fresh-cut, skin-on kind. That’s the way I love my fries.

The meal was also served with baked beans and slaw. The beans were OK, but nothing special. And she wasn’t a fan of the slaw which she found to be all cabbage and little slaw.

My brother and sister-in-law were along for the visit, and the four of us all had good meals. It wasn’t remarkable, but it was certainly quality bar food. For our four meals (plus drinks – one beer, one sangria and one iced tea), it came to $86 so right around $20 per person for what were some hefty portions on everything.

The Eagle Hotel is your typical local bar and restaurant. The emphasis is clearly on the bar, but you can still enjoy a good, hearty meal, just as people have been doing for a century-and-a-half.

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

Bernville Eagle Hotel
301 N. Main St
Bernville, PA 19506

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prime rib on a dark blue plate with a cup of au jus and a side of steak fries
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Review: Giannotti’s Country Manor

round table with a blue umbrella on the patio of Giannotti's Country Manor

Two weeks ago we visited Giannotti’s Italian Kitchen in Robesonia. It was an alright meal, but we were certainly hoping for something better.

(Editor’s Note: Giannotti’s in Robesonia closed in 2017).

I always feel guilty about writing less-than-stellar reviews because that’s not why I write these blogs. I know that there are items on the menu that I would love, but I can only write about what I ate and the experience that I had.

On the same weekend that I visited my old hometown, I made a visit to another Giannotti family establishment: Giannotti’s Country Manor.

Giannotti’s Country Manor is just a short drive north of the city along Route 12, right next to Chatty’s, another restaurant that we’ve visited, and almost across the street from the original Muddy’s location.

pitcher and glass of iced tea

It was a beautiful Friday night so we decided to enjoy our meal out on the patio. The dining rooms were empty as it seemed everyone who came in either grabbed a seat at the bar or took their meal outside.

The traffic on Route 12 wasn’t too loud to bother us. The only time that we wished to be inside was when a guy pulled up in a bright yellow, 1930s-era pickup truck that was spitting exhaust across the patio.

One thing that’s clear right away is that Giannotti’s Country Manor is not an Italian restaurant. Sure there are a few pasta dishes and pizzas, but the menu highlighted their steaks and seafood.

basket of bread from Giannotti's Country Manor

While we waited for our meals, the first thing to arrive was our bread basket, a nice sized loaf of Italian bread. It was excellent. I always appreciate good bread before the meal, especially on a night when we were both extra hungry.

salad with a cup of ranch dressing

Both of our meals came with starter salads, but we could have easily done without them. A pair of cherry tomatoes, some croutons and a little bit of red onion were the only additions to the lettuce.

I had a hard time making a decision for my entree, but finally settled on Giannotti’s “often imitated, never duplicated” prime rib (which is only available Thursday through Sunday).

green plate with prime rib and a cup of au jus with a pink plate of steak fries and yellow dish of applesauce

The prime rib is available in two sizes – 16-ounce and the King size 24 ounce. I wasn’t feeling very regal so I stuck with the one-pounder.

It looked massive compared to the cup of au jus that shared the plate. It was also really moist, to the point where the plate was wet all around.

I sliced off my first piece and dipped it in the au jus, and have to say that it tasted better than it looked. It was on par with a good French dip sandwich. Not the best prime rib I have ever eaten, but solid.

My only problem was that there was just so much of it. Even without touching the fatty chunks, there was a half-pound of meat on the plate.

Plus all entrees come with two sides so I had a plate of steak fries and a cup of applesauce to get through as well. At this point the salad seemed completely unnecessary.

The steak fries were good, but nothing special. I’m guessing they’re not homemade, but I still made them disappear.

Normally I wouldn’t even mention applesauce when I get it, but I really enjoyed it here. It had a sweeter, almost caramel flavor to it that was better than the typical side.

lobster tail split in half with steak fries

While I went turf with my dinner, Julie went surf with hers, ordering the 8-ounce lobster tail, the smallest of the three sizes available.

Julie reminded me that she had lobster on the beach in Malibu once. This wasn’t the same, but she enjoyed it for what it was: a seafood dish served in the hills of Berks County.

Neither of us had any thoughts of dessert when we were finished. We were more concerned with divvying out what we were taking home with us.

The bill for the day came in at around $50 for the two of us (the lobster is market price so it could be more or less on any given day).

Giannotti’s Country Manor had its share of really good and okay items. That’s to be expected at a restaurant that has such a large menu.

The trick is to find something you enjoy. Because the only thing that matters is whether you enjoyed it.

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

Giannotti’s Country Manor
3118 Pricetown Road
Fleetwood, PA 19522

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Review: Infinito’s 5th Street Highway

logo for Infinito's Pizza

I love a good buffet.

There’s nothing like having everything laid out in front of you, ready to grab and go. No ordering. No waiting.

That’s a big part of the draw for a place like Infinito’s.

Tucked away near the Kmart in a shopping plaza along the 5th Street Highway, Infinito’s is an unassuming place.

It’s one of seven locations for the locally owned chain of pizza, pasta and salad buffets, and the only one in Berks County.

four varieties of pizza under warming lamps at Infinito's

Infinito’s offers 20 varieties of pizza, pasta with three sauce selections and a build-your-own salad bar. The salad bar is where Julie and I started our journey.

Options are limited: lettuce or baby spinach for the base. Then there’s your traditional toppings: cheese, onions, peppers, croutons and more with half a dozen varieties of Hidden Valley dressings.

salad with onions, croutons and ranch dressing

We both had basic salads, just to add some nutritional value to our meal without filling ourselves.

The best way to judge a pizza place is with a plain cheese slice, so my first trip to the buffet line included cheese and pepperoni.

two slices of pizza - one plain cheese and one pepperoni - from Infinito's

Infinito’s pizza features a very thin, crisp crust. The cheese was nice and bubbly. All in all, it was a good looking slice.

And it tasted pretty good, too. There’s nothing remarkable about it, but I enjoyed it. The pepperoni piece had plenty of slices on it to enjoy.

three slices of pizza - one pepperoni, one bacon, and one buffalo chicken - from Infinito's

Julie’s first plate included pepperoni, bacon and buffalo chicken slices, all good choices. The crumbled bacon was lumped on the slice, and the buffalo chicken had just the right amount of kick.

Full pies are roughly the size of a medium pizza at most restaurants, and with the pies cut into eights, it makes it easy to go for seconds, thirds and fourths.

two slices of pizza - one margherita and one barbecue chicken - with a scoop of pasta and marinara sauce from Infinito's

My second plate included two slices (margherita and barbecue chicken) and a scoop of pasta with Bolognese sauce.

The margherita was my favorite slice that I tried. The fresh basil leaves that were layered in with the cheese and tomatoes were perfect. The barbecue chicken wasn’t bad, but it didn’t stand out.

sauces on the warming table in Infinito's

The pasta bar has three sauce choices: marinara, Bolognese and alfredo. I went with the Bolognese, the only meat sauce option. The pasta was generic rotini, and while it was OK, I probably should have skipped it for another slice instead.

plate with two slices of pizza - one ham and pineapple, one marherita - and a scoop of rotini pasta with meat sauce from Infnito's

Julie got the same thing with her second plate, which also included a slice of the margherita and a Hawaiian. The Hawaiian was fresh out of the oven, the cheese still hot and gooey, just the way Julie likes it.

slice of rosa pizza and a breadstick from Infinito's

I was going to go for dessert but stopped when I saw a fresh rosé pie on the counter. I grabbed a slice and a breadstick. The rosé featured its namesake creamy tomato sauce with lots of oregano. It was right behind the margherita for me in terms of favorites.

three dessert pizzas and a tray of cinnamon buns under the warming lamps at Infinito's

We each had one final trip to make to the buffet for our choice of three dessert pies and cinnamon rolls.

a cinnamon roll, a slice of apple pie pizza and a slice of cookies and cream pizza from Infinito's

I went with a slice of apple, a sliver of Oreo and a cinnamon roll. The cinnamon roll wasn’t bad, though it would have been better if it were fresher (it was stuck to the pan when I tried to pick it up from the buffet). The apple was delicious, with a sugary crumb on top. And the Oreo was exactly what I had hoped, though it left me longing for a glass of milk.

a slice of s'mores pizza and a cinnamon roll from infinito's

The other dessert option was S’mores Pizza, Julie’s choice (along with a cinnamon roll). Marshmallow, melted chocolate and graham cracker crumble. It’s not exactly like eating it around a campfire, but if you like marshmallow, you should enjoy this.

Our final tally for the day: 13 slices of pizza, two salads, two helpings of pasta, two cinnamon rolls, one breadstick and five drink refills. Not a bad haul for $18.

If you’re going to go to Infinito’s (or any other buffet, for that matter), you’re best bet is to go during peak hours, when the pies are changing quickly. Be sure to grab a seat near the buffet, too, so you can hear the announcement every time a new pie arrives.

Does Infinito’s have the best pizza in Berks? No. I don’t think there are many people that would argue that. But what they offer is an incredible variety and the opportunity to please everyone.

That’s why I love a good buffet.

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

Infinito’s Pizza
3025 N. 5th Street Hwy
Reading, PA 19605

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Review: 5th Street Diner

exterior of the stainless steel 5th Street Diner in Reading, PA

I love diners. We have some great ones in Berks County, and I always enjoy trying a new one.

Whether it’s for breakfast, lunch or dinner, you have an expectation of what you’ll get: good food, fast service and reasonable prices.

That’s what Julie and I were hoping for on our visit to the 5th Street Diner in Muhlenberg Township (just north of Temple).

stainless steel highlights counter seating at 5th Street Diner in Reading

5th Street is your quintessential diner. Stainless steel covers the building, inside and out. It’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And the menu is the size of a small encyclopedia.

It’s eight pages (plus specials) filled with everything from steaks and chops to all-day breakfast. Like all great diners, the prices are very affordable, too. The highest priced entree is just $17.60 (the 14 oz. steak New Orleans).

Among the half-page inserts throughout the menu are four Greek specialties. One intrigued me more than the rest: moussaka.

moussaka - ground beef beneath a bed of mashed potatoes with vegetables at the 5th Street Diner in Temple, PA

Moussaka is basically a Greek shepherd’s pie, with layers of mashed potatoes and ground beef. The difference is the addition of eggplant where carrots, peas and onions would have been.

The potatoes were light and fluffy. The eggplant was thinly sliced and very tender. The ground beef was lightly seasoned. And the whole dish was topped off with béchamel sauce (a light dairy-based sauce).

I really enjoyed the whole dish. It was hearty and very meaty (at least a quarter-pound of ground beef on the bottom layer). The portion size was perfect, especially considering it came with two sides and a cup of soup.

cup of Italian wedding soup from the 5th Street Diner in Reading, PA

My soup of choice was Italian wedding. Like the moussaka, it was very hearty, with plenty of acini de pepe and meatballs. It was a little salty, but still very good.

small bowl of rice pilaf from the 5th Street Diner in Reading, PA

For my sides, I went with rice pilaf and applesauce. They were okay, but there wasn’t anything special about them. I just was looking to order something that wasn’t starchy to go with my potato-heavy entree.

Julie found her dinner in the poultry and pasta section of the menu. The chicken New Orleans featured two chicken breasts topped with jumbo shrimp, bacon, barbecue sauce and Swiss cheese.

chicken topped with cheese and barbecue sauce from the 5th Street Diner in Reading, PA

The flavors mixed very well together, even though there was a lot of barbecue sauce covering everything. It helped that the chicken was very tender and juicy.

The chicken New Orleans did not come with sides; instead, the poultry and pasta entrees were all served with soup and salad.

cup of chicken noodle soup from 5th Street Diner in Reading, PA

For her soup, Julie got chicken noodle. But there was a lot more noodle than chicken (it was overflowing the cup when it was came out). It was still pretty good, though.

salad with red onions and ranch dressing from the 5th street diner in Reading, PA

The salad was your basic garden salad with a cup of dressing (ranch for Julie). The problem with soup and salad was that Julie hadn’t finished both before our entrees arrived so half of the salad went uneaten.

Diners are always fast-paced, but things seemed to be moving a little too quickly for our waitress. While she didn’t make any mistakes, she seemed frazzled throughout our meal, and was confused about what did and did not come with our entrees (she thought for sure that Julie’s chicken was supposed to come with rice).

But that would be only our complaint for our meal. It was fast. It was good. It was cheap ($22 for two meals).

Our dinner at the 5th Street Diner was exactly what we were hoping it would be.

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

5th Street Diner
5340 Allentown Pk
Temple, PA 19560

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Review: Yellow House Hotel

Green sign hanging from a metal pole with yellow letters that read "Yellow House Hotel Inn & Restaurant" and "1801" with a pineapple

In August 2014, we made our first trip to Emily’s. We’ve been there twice more since then and never had a bad meal.

So when we had a chance to visit Emily’s sister restaurant, the Yellow House Hotel, we had high expectations.

Yellow House is a small village at the crossroads of Routes 562 (Boyertown Pike) and 662 just north of Douglassville. The hotel came first, built in 1801, and the community took its name from the distinctive yellow building.

menu cover with a drawing of a wooden sign that reads "Yellow House Hotel Bed and Breakfast since 1801"

The Yellow House Hotel doesn’t look very yellow anymore. In the fading afternoon sun, it looked cream or off-white. A painting inside the door showed the building with a more vibrant coat of paint.

Inside our dining room (there were at least three distinct rooms), the 215-year-old hotel has a distinct 18th century feel. Two large crystal chandeliers hung above the tables. Gold-framed mirrors hung on the white walls. And every table had a candle burning beneath a small beaded shade.

While the sun was still shining, the room was brightened by the light coming through the front windows. By the time dinner arrived, the sun had begun to fade, and the room held a more dim glow.

As we looked over the menu, both Julie and I were eyeing up the barbecued spare ribs. Lucky for us, Yellow House Hotel offers a rib sampler for an appetizer.

long white plate with a half rack of ribs slathered in sauce with a handful of sweet potato fries

The rack had six perfectly sized, fall-off-the-bone spare ribs glazed in a tangy barbecue sauce. Like the entree, the ribs were served with a side of sweet potato fries. I’m not sure how much more food comes with an entree, but if this were dinner, I would have left satisfied.

salad topped with ranch dressing and croutons

After our ribs, we still had a starter salad to bridge the gap until our dinner arrived. It was a basic salad, though it was lacking onions, my favorite part of any starter salad.

basket with two dinner rolls and two bran muffins

While we were enjoying our starters, our waiter dropped off a basket with two rolls and two fresh muffins. The rolls were exceptionally soft, and the spiced miniature muffins were excellent.

Choosing an entree wasn’t easy. Yellow House had a robust menu with a lot of delicious-sounding options. In the end, I couldn’t resist the sound of the prime pork tenderloin.

pork tenderloin atop a bed of wild rice topped with mango chutney

The pork was coated in jerk seasoning and served with mango chutney over a bed of rice pilaf.

The jerk seasoning was what sold me on the pork, and I wasn’t disappointed. The meat was tender with a flavorful crust of seasoned salt and spices.

I loved the pork, but the pilaf was a little boring until mixed with the mango chutney. Mango makes everything better, and the soft bites made for sweet flavor bursts.

A side of snap peas, the vegetable of the day, was also on the plate. There wasn’t much to them, but I really didn’t need much after the ribs and the pork.

The restaurant had two entree specials for the weekend, including the brie, asparagus and fig stuffed chicken.

stuffed chicken atop a bed of mashed potatoes with snap peas in a cream sauce

Served atop a bed of whipped potatoes (Julie’s choice of side), the plate was covered in spring onion cream sauce. The chicken was good, but it was the sauce that made this dish so enjoyable. It blended so well with everything on the plate, especially the sweet filling.

We would have loved to have tried to dessert (we heard our waiter run off the list to the table next to us, and everything sounded amazing), but we both were stuffed after finishing our plates.

Our total for the evening was $55, right in line with what we spent for our meal at Emily’s two years ago.

We had certain expectations going in to our meal at Yellow House Hotel, and we were not disappointed. The hotel has a different vibe than its sister restaurant — it felt a little older without the added ambiance of additional creekside outdoor seating.

But the food was everything that we had hoped it would be. And that’s what really matters.

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

Yellow House Hotel
6743 Boyertown Pk
Douglassville, PA 19518

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Review: Vincenzo’s

two stone pillars with a sign in between reading "Vincenzo's"

It’s been a while since the Google Street View team rolled through the village of Amityville, just north of Douglassville.

The images are dated 2008. In today’s world, that’s an eternity. The low-resolution photos were outdated five years ago.

Just navigate along Route 662 north of the intersection with Old Airport Road. On the right-hand side you’ll see Focht Mower Service, a business that closed half a decade ago.

Drive along the road today and there is no sign of Focht’s storefront nor the wooden barn that stood behind it. In its place is a large stone-faced building with red clay roof tiles reminiscent of an Italian grotto.

Vincenzo’s opened in this spot in 2011. The brand-new building was meant to evoke images of Italy. It succeeds, but the whole thing seems out of place in the middle of Pennsylvania Dutch farmland. What feels like the middle of nowhere is actually just five minutes from Route 422.

The interior still looks brand new. The restaurant is split into two dining rooms with frosted glass windows separating the two.

basket of dinner rolls next to a small plate with a dollop of butter

While the decorations lean toward elegant, the booths that line the rooms make it feel like the neighborhood diner. And like a diner, the first thing to arrive at our table was the basket of dinner rolls.

The two rolls looked more like small loafs, warm puffs about five inches around. Not only were they big, they were light and tasty.

salad with croutons and ranch dressing from Vincenzo's

Our salads were next to arrive. There was nothing especially noteworthy about the salad, but the mixed greens provided the perfect bridge to dinner. As soon as I laid my fork down from the salad, our entrees were at our table.

Vincenzo’s menu is a large one, with 13 pasta selections, a half-dozen homemade ravioli dishes and more than 20 dishes of seafood, chicken and veal.

When in doubt, I tend to choose the dish named after the restaurant, which is how I decided upon the chicken Vincenzo.

chicken smothered in mushrooms and mozzarella with a slide of asparagus from Vincenzo's

The chicken Vincenzo is two chicken breasts topped with asparagus, mozzarella, red peppers and mushrooms in a white wine sauce.

The chicken breasts themselves were fairly basic: no breading nor seasoning. And while I loved all of the flavors they were cooked with — the sweet wine sauce, the rich mozzarella, the pronounced flavors of the asparagus — it never really soaked into the chicken, making it feel separated from the rest of the dish that I enjoyed so much.

fettucine tossed with mushrooms from Vincenzo's

A side of pasta, prepared the same as your meal, is included with every entree. For my side, I opted for linguine. The pasta did a much better job of soaking up the sauce and complimenting the mushrooms and peppers. Mixing a forkful of pasta with the chicken and cheese made all the difference, creating a tasty meal.

Though I enjoyed my plate, I found myself feeling jealous toward Julie and her crab ravioli. Vincenzo’s raviolis were listed as homemade on the menu. From the small sampling of Julie’s meal that I got, I believe it.

crab ravioli and asparagus in a cream sauce from Vincenzo's

The pasta had a unique texture — a little chewier, but not unpleasant — and fuller flavor than my linguine. What really made this dish was the sauce, a white wine cream sauce that was much thicker and heavier than my own. The crab meat brought its distinct richness to the dish, but it blended well with the sauce to create a very enjoyable meal.

When I eventually return, I will be certainly be ordering ravioli. In addition to the flavor, it was also a much more manageable dish. A full chicken breast and half of my pasta ended up going home with us to enjoy for lunch the next day.

Of course with such large portions, there was no room left for dessert. This is a common occurrence at Vincenzo’s, at least according to our waiter who dropped off our bill (about $45) shortly after we had finished our meals.

He had been diligent and attentive all night, not an easy task with the seemingly endless stream of customers that were coming through the restaurant on this Saturday evening. (The parking lot was not an easy place to navigate before or after dinner, with several cars parked on the grass behind the Vincenzo’s sign on Route 662).

Vincenzo’s may not be fine dining, but they clearly have a loyal following. My meal was good; Julie’s was great. It’s not surprising that it has become a popular place in just a few years.

I have no doubt that the next time the Google Street View team does visit Douglassville, Vincenzo’s will still be going strong.

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

Vincenzo’s
1333 Old Swede Rd
Douglassville, PA 19518

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wings in sauce with carrots, celery and ranch for dipping
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Review: The Westy Bar & Grill

exterior of the Westy Bar & Grill in Hamburg

It’s always hard to compare one restaurant to another. I get a lot of questions like, “what’s your favorite?” or “which one’s better?”

But for me, it’s never been about picking sides. It’s about finding something to like about every restaurant I go to.

This week, I found more than a little something to like at the Westy Bar & Grill in Hamburg.

The Westy is actually located in West Hamburg, across the river from the downtown. It had been years since I was there, and I forgot just how big it was. The building is three floors tall (apartments, I assume, fill up the top two floors) and there are three separate dining spaces.

chalkboard sign above a bar with names of craft breweries scrolled out in fancy lettering

We were seated in the largest room, at a small table near the bar. The current draft list was artfully written on a chalkboard above the bar stools—about 20 of them, and nearly all filled. Despite the bar, the restaurant feels more like a diner, with number cards on every table and an expansive menu that includes fried apps, burgers, salads, subs, entrees and more.

One of the things that came highly recommended to us was the Westy’s wings.

The Westy has more than 20 flavors to choose from. Most of them are standards like mild, BBQ, ranch and honey mustard. But there are a few that are a little different. Sriracha, red chili and something called “boom boom” sounded a little too intense for us, but the kickin’ bourbon molasses sounded perfect.

basket of wings with carrot sticks and celery and a cup of ranch for dipping

Dripping in reddish brown sauce, the wings looked amazing when our waiter set them in front of us. The first bite confirmed that they tasted as good as they looked.

Each bite took me on a mini flavor journey. First came the sweetness of the molasses, then the unmistakable hint of bourbon, finished with a mild after burn.

close-up of a salad with croutons and a cup of ranch dressing

The heat wasn’t overbearing, but I was still glad to have a cup of ranch dressing with my salad for a little cool relief when I was done.

Earlier in the day, I mentioned to a co-worker that I was going to the Westy. His response sold me on my decision. “The chicken parm!” he said, “It’s just…they cover the whole plate in sauce and cheese.”

two big pieces of fried chicken topped with cheese with a bed of spaghetti

It was not an exaggeration. If anything, he undersold it because beneath the pool of red and white was not one, but two six-inch chicken breasts fried to a golden brown, waiting to be uncovered.

I knew I was never going to be able to finish both, especially with a plate of spaghetti waiting on the side.

bowl of spaghetti topped with marinara sauce

While I was eating an Italian dinner, the Westy is not an Italian restaurant. That doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. The fried chicken was delicious, the bright red sauce was beautiful, though it was a little runnier than an Italian restaurant. And the cheese—so much cheese—covered everything, ensuring it was in every bite.

Just as the Westy is not an Italian restaurant, it’s also not a Mexican restaurant. But that didn’t make Julie’s Cuban quesadilla any less enjoyable either.

quesadilla cut into quarters with cups of sour cream and salsa

The half moon on her plate was filled with pulled pork, ham, honey mustard and Swiss cheese. The quesadilla was a little inconsistent as some slices had more ham, some had more pulled pork. But the honey mustard was consistent, adding a sweetness throughout.

slice of quesadilla opened up to see the ham and cheese inside

Even with a full chicken breast set aside to take home, there was no way either of us could force any dessert.

Our final total came in at $32, nearly exactly what we spent at Cafe Sweet Street. But it’s impossible to compare the two meals: one was a gourmet lunch with dessert, the other a hearty dinner with an appetizer.

When it comes to any restaurant, it’s best to let it stand on its own merits. The Westy provided very good food, and a lot of it.

And with a large menu to choose from, it won’t be hard to find something to like.

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

The Westy Bar & Grill
279 W. State St
Hamburg, PA 19526

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Review: Cafe Sweet Street

large block letters spell the word "Cafe" above a small garden area

If you live in Berks County, chances are you’ve indulged in a Sweet Street dessert at least once.

Sweet Street’s cheesecakes, pies, cakes and other tasty treats are well-known around here, and with distribution in more than 60 countries, it’s safe to say that they’re known worldwide.

But what is less well known is Cafe Sweet Street.

Steps lead to the front door of a building with four windows with awnings that say "Cafe Sweet Street"

The Cafe is attached to Sweet Street’s corporate office building on Hiesters Lane. While the parent company is all about the sweets, the cafe is more in-tune with savory foods, offering a range of hearty options for breakfast and lunch.

That doesn’t mean it escapes its roots altogether. Just inside the front door, you are bombarded with the desserts that have made Sweet Street famous. In addition to serving fresh-prepared meals, the cafe serves as a retail store, with tables full of temptations.

We saw dozens of customers come through the door while we were there, and the vast majority of them were passing through simply for the desserts.

But we were there for something more, and when it comes to lunch, there are plenty of options to choose from.

The dessert counter at Cafe Sweet Street in Reading, PA

The menu is scrolled across the entire wall, only broken up by a tall TV screen that displays the weekly specials. The wall was filled with burgers, sandwiches and salads, each one sounding more tempting than the next.

It was hard to know where to begin until we saw a sign on the counter telling of the in-house flavored sodas. The first decision was made.

While Julie grabbed a high-top table by the window, I watched as our cashier became a barista of sorts. Our drinks were not pre-made but mixed on the spot. After scooping a full cup (16 oz.) of ice, she poured in the flavored syrup. Then she sprayed in the unflavored soda and stirred it with our straws.

two plastic cups filled with red-colored sodas

I was a little put off when I saw the cups full of ice, especially after paying $3.00 ea. for the sodas, but I was actually glad to have it once I started drinking. The sodas were a little too syrupy at first, but once the ice began to melt, it helped tone it down. By the end, the flavors were just right and only a few ice cubes were left sitting at the bottom of my cup.

After a short wait, my food was the first to arrive. I had decided on the lamb gyro with a side of fries. It was something completely different for me—I had never so much as thought about eating a gyro before—but yet it seemed like the right thing to order on this day.

a gyro wrapped in foil with a bag of fries from Cafe Sweet Street

The pita was packed with grilled lamb, tomatoes, and a mound of onions. And the whole thing was oozing with tzatziki, the white Greek sauce that I mistakenly took to be melted cheese when I first saw it.

gyro meat topped with tzatziki sauce, onions and peppers

Instead I found that tzatziki is actually a yogurt-based sauce that is quite refreshing, especially given the hints of mint that work so well with lamb. It was a messy meal for sure, but one that I happily devoured.

The fries were much more familiar, but Cafe Sweet Street put a unique twist on it. The menu touted them as world famous, hand-cut, double-fried and seasoned to perfection. While I don’t know about “world famous” (I had never heard about them), they were certainly seasoned to perfection and quite addicting.

As much as I loved eating them, I was still happy that I only got a “baby” order because the regular order is a full fryer basket.

Julie munched on a few of my fries while we waited for her Caprese salad. After a few minutes, she went back to the cashier to check on it and was told “they are still working on it.” That’s restaurant code for, “sorry, we forgot to make it.”

caprese salad with red and green tomatoes drizzled with balsamic

When it arrived, it looked beautiful: red and yellow heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella slices and a balsamic drip. There’s no denying that it was delicious, but we were both expecting something a little bit more for the money ($9.00).

The one saving grace about having such a light lunch was that she had more than enough room for dessert.

Ordering dessert was another cause for confusion as there was a dessert counter (sparsley filled) with individual servings plus all of the aforementioned desserts at the entrance: the whole pies, cakes and sheets. In between is the cash register which had a list of the week’s featured desserts.

As it turns out, the featured desserts are the latter, not the ones meant for consumption at the table (though it would have been quite entertaining to watch us open an 8-inch square box of the salted caramel stack and dig in).

chocolate bundt cake topped with chocolate sauce and pecans from Cafe Sweet Street

Once we got this figured out, we ordered a turtle Bundt cake to share. All previous grievances disappeared with the first bite.

The cake was topped with pecans and caramel and drizzled with chocolate sauce. The molten center was rich and gooey. In a word, it was divine.

Cafe Sweet Street, like the desserts they serve, is an indulgence. Our lunch was more than $30.00, certainly not a bargain by Berks County standards.

But there’s no denying the quality of the cafe, the same quality that goes into every goodie that rolls off the assembly line next door.

Besides, it’s good to indulge sometimes.

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

Cafe Sweet Street
722 Hiesters Ln
Reading, PA 19605

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