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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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Road Trip – Zia Maria Eatery & Pub

exterior of Zia Maria in Denver, PA

Adamstown is so close to us that it feels like it should be in Berks County. It’s only 12 miles from the city of Reading and more than double that to Lancaster, yet it resides just over the county line.

It’s famous for its antique markets, drawing dealers and shoppers from all around to peruse the aisles of dozens of stores.

And when you’re in town, you have to eat. On our visit to town, that meant a stop at Zia Maria Eatery & Pub.

Zia Maria doesn’t feel like an Italian restaurant. The dining room, at least the one we were in, lacks a certain vibe that you expect.

tables set with silverware rolled in napkins at Zia Maria

The walls were a boring cream with green trim. There were art prints on one wall, Reading Eagle covers from World War 2 on another, a television on another. Around the top was a small ledge that was filled with knickknacks.

We received the largest bread basket we have seen on our Berks County Eats adventures. Four garlic bread sticks, four garlic knots and two slices of Italian bread were delivered to us.

basket of garlic knots, focaccia and Italian bread at zia Maria

For a table of two, it was way too much. The garlic knots were great and the breadsticks were really good, too. One of each would have been enough to hold us over until our meal.

It was not until our bread basket arrived that I realized how bare the table was. There were no pre-set plates so we had to use the basket for our bread in between bites.

Both Julie and I ordered a cup of soup from the daily specials – I got chicken lemon with orzo while she got Tuscan crab.

creamy chicken orzo soup from Zia Maria

There was definitely more than a hint of lemon in the soup, with the lip-puckering citrus coming through in every sip of the thick soup. I enjoyed it, but it might have been too much for some people.

Tuscan crab soup from Zia Maria

Julie’s Tuscan crab was closer to a traditional vegetable soup, but with the addition of crab instead of beef. There was not a lot of crab, but enough to give it the distinct flavor you’d expect.

Our meals arrived a short time later, and they were as generously portioned as the bread basket.

Zia Maria has a build-your-own pasta option with your choice of six pastas and multiple sauces and meats. I went simple with fettuccine, meatballs and red sauce.

fettucine with red sauce and meatballs from Zia Maria

The sauce was light with a good amount of diced tomatoes — my favorite part — and a sprinkling of basil. I really enjoyed it, especially the little bursts of flavor that came with every piece of tomato.

My meatballs, listed as homemade, were okay, but weren’t the best that I have had. I regretted not opting for the sausage.

Julie went with one of the baked pasta options: penne Siciliana. The penne pasta was sautéed with ricotta, ground beef and tomato sauce, then topped with mozzarella and baked.

baked penne topped with cheese from Zia Maria

The soft ricotta was reminiscent of lasagna, but the penne pasta and mozzarella on top made it eat more like baked ziti. It was an enjoyable cross between the two, one that Julie got to enjoy a second time for lunch the next day.

Our pastas were very reasonably priced, though our cups of soup drove up our final bill to $35. With such large portions of pasta (and overly generous bread basket), we didn’t really need the soup anyway.

Zia Maria is not a place for a fancy Italian dinner, but it is good. With so many great Italian restaurants around us, we wouldn’t go out of our way to visit Zia Maria.

But if we find ourselves in Adamstown around dinnertime, Zia Maria isn’t a bad option.

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Review: Dans at Green Hills

black leather menu cover with gold colored text reading "Dans at Green Hills"

For all the wonderful restaurants that Berks County offers, there are very few that can be called “fine dining.”

Sure, there are places that offer higher cuisine than others, but fine dining is more than steak entrees or table linens.

It’s a true experience that encompasses the menu, the atmosphere and the service. One restaurant that has earned a reputation for its fine dining is Dans at Green Hills.

Dans (there is no apostrophe) began in 1989 as one of the city’s only fine dining establishments, serving patrons from the small cellarette at the east end of Penn Street.

A new ownership group took over in 2006, and in 2012, they purchased the Green Hills Inn along Route 10 south of the city, creating the new Dans at Green Hills inside the 200-year-old building.

historic-looking dining area with a fireplace, round tables covered in white tablecloths, and wooden chairs at Dans at Green Hills

Like many restaurants in historic buildings, the dining area is spread across multiple rooms. The walls in ours had a hint of green in the soft light. Flames crackled in the stone fireplace, giving off some much-needed warmth on a cold January evening.

The tables were draped in white linen with black napkins and preset with wine glasses at every setting (the wine and mixed drink list is extensive, and many diners arrived with drinks in hand, having stopped at the bar on their way in).

white plate with floral design and a small piece of crostini

Our meal started with a little taste, compliments of the chef. Julie and I were each brought a tiny crostini topped with sharp cheddar, basil pesto and walnut.

It seemed so simple, but the two bites that mine lasted were incredible. The cheddar was spread thin like butter and was perfectly sharp. The pesto had that nice sweet basil flavor, and the walnut was just the right flavor and texture to top it off. It was a great little tease for what was to come.

bowl of potato soup topped with leeks and croutons

We both started our meals with a bowl of soup. I opted for the daily special, a potato and leek soup garnished with bacon, pesto and croutons. This is how potato soup should always be. It was thick and creamy with an undertone of sweet and salty.

bowl of sweet potato soup with a dollop of cream on top

Julie, meanwhile, was enjoying the sweet potato soup. With a dollop of whipped cream in the middle and add-ins like apples, pretzel dust and sunflower seeds, it was both familiar and unexpected, but wholly delicious. Sweeter than most soups, but not too sweet that you would confuse it with dessert.

Our options for entrees were equally exciting: steaks, filets, duck breasts, scallops — all of the dishes typically associated with fine dining.

I had a hard time deciding, but the description of the New York strip steak had the magic words, “truffle butter.”

New York strip steak on a bed of potatoes and broccoli rabe, topped with truffle butter

For me, there is nothing better than a perfectly prepared steak with a smattering of rich truffle butter. Mixed with the creamy, sweet and earthy concoction, the steak just melted away. Every bite was savory and smooth.

The steak was served atop a bed of rutabaga Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and broccoli rabe with a balsamic glaze that seemed like enough food for a meal of its own. The potato and rutabaga mixture was superb. Yukon Gold potatoes are naturally sweeter and the rutabagas add a rich flavor of their own. This was counter-balanced perfectly by the more bitter broccoli rabe.

A good rack of lamb was too tempting for Julie to pass up. The Dijon-encrusted ribs were served on a bed of autumn ratatouille with rosemary reduction.

rack of lamb atop a bed of cubed potatoes with a side of green beans

Dijon is not one of my favorite flavors, but it works really well with the fatty lamb. The rosemary reduction also helped cut through the distinct mustard flavor, creating a meal that hit on several flavor notes.

The autumn ratatouille was also delightful, consisting of several types of squash with potatoes and tomatoes. It just tasted fresh, with the natural flavors all shining above the sauce.

At this point, neither of us had room for dessert, but we decided to force it anyway. And instead of sharing (which would have been the sensible thing), we each got our own treat to end the meal.

cup of bread pudding topped with berries and vanilla ice cream

Julie really wanted to try the chocolate bread pudding. Bread pudding can be rich on its own, but this was even richer with chunks of Godiva dark chocolate and a dollop of caramel ice cream on top. It was a dessert both heavenly and sinful.

cup of apple crisp topped with ice cream and drizzled with caramel

I had my heart set on the warm apple crisp topped with caramel ice cream. The base was mixed with granola for more crunch (and granola makes it healthy, right?). I found the sauce with the apples was almost too sweet, and I had to use the ice cream to help cut through it. I still managed to clear my plate, however.

Three courses as Dans is a great way to celebrate a special occasion. We were celebrating Julie’s birthday so we had no problem splurging. But with a price tag that came to nearly $150 (that includes the tip for our attentive server who was never far away), we probably won’t be going back until we have another milestone to celebrate.

Dans at Green Hills lived up to its title as a fine dining restaurant. We enjoyed one of the best meals we have had in more than 100 stops around Berks County.

The food, the service, the ambiance. It was everything a fine dining restaurant is supposed to be.

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

Dans at Green Hills
2444 Morgantown Rd
Reading, PA 19607

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Review: Crave Cafe

crave-cafe-counter

There is always a buzz around a new restaurant when it opens. The trick, however, is keeping the buzz going weeks and months after the opening.

We have seen a lot of new restaurants open in Berks County in the past few years, but none have been able to sustain the buzz quite like Sinking Spring’s Crave Cafe.

Crave Cafe opened at Green Valley Nursery in November 2024, in the strip of stores off Route 422 behind the Charlotte Shoppe. It’s nearly invisible from the road, but that doesn’t stop the dining room from filling up every day at lunch.

The ambiance is truly unique. In fact, every table is unique. Each one has its own set of chairs, different styles, different colors and different sizes.

crave-cafe-fireplace

A pair of parlor chairs sit in front of a large stone fireplace. Highly sought-after, they are, at the same time, the most appropriate and most out-of-place chairs in the cafe.

Orders are placed at the counter where the cashier is set up with an iPad that’s connected to a cash drawer and credit card machine. We took our number and retreated to our little table for two (we made sure to save one before ordering, just in case).

It wasn’t long before our drinks arrived. Normally I don’t spend the money (or the calories) for a drink, but being at a cafe, I felt obligated.

crave-cafe-frozen-hot-chocolate-and-mango-smoothie

But instead of coffee or tea, Julie and I both went for frozen: a mango smoothie for me and a frozen hot chocolate for her.

Mine was good, but I was a little disappointed to see the syrup flavor going in when I was hoping for fresh fruit. Julie’s frozen hot chocolate did not disappoint, however. She happily slurped it down and was nearly finished by the time that our food arrived.

Both of us opted for the soup and sandwich combo. For me, it was a bowl of chili and an Italian chicken panini.

crave-cafe-chili

The chili thickened as the shredded cheese on top started melting. It had a good balance of flavors: not too spicy, a little sweet and plenty meaty. A bowl of it with some bread would probably make a nice meal on its own.

crave-cafe-italian-chicken-pannini

My sandwich was excellent. The Italian chicken came with grilled chicken breast, spinach, sun-dried tomato, mozzarella and basil pesto aioli.

Chicken and spinach poked out the sides of the sandwich along with the mozzarella that melted mozzarella that was oozing onto the plate.

The meat wasn’t the most flavorful I have had, but it didn’t need to be with the strong flavors it was paired with. I love pesto anything, especially when paired with sun-dried tomatoes. The mozzarella did well to keep everything together and hold most of the sandwich inside the grilled pita.

crave-cafe-soup-and-sandwich

Julie’s chicken and basil soup was the soup of the day for our visit. With little pastas and chunks of tomato, it looked like a pasta e fagioli, but there were no beans. Instead, the brothy soup was lighter with the basil providing light notes to go with the chunky ingredients.

For her sandwich, Julie went with the turkey bacon avocado. Turkey doesn’t have a lot of flavor to start which allowed the bacon, tomatoes and chipotle aioli to shine through. Likewise, the avocado took a back seat to the stronger flavors it was paired with. Overall, everything blended well together for a hearty and filling sandwich.

The soup and half-sandwich combos are very reasonably priced, but with the addition of our frozen drinks, our total came out much higher than it normally would for lunch at about $25.

Crave Cafe continues to generate buzz more than a year after it first opened. The relaxed atmosphere helps set it apart from other go-to lunch spots in the Sinking Spring area.

But it’s the food that keeps filling the tables at lunchtime.

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

Crave Cafe
4600 Penn Ave
Sinking Spring, PA 19608

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Review: Plein Air at Judy’s on Cherry

sign advertising the opening of Plein Air dining at Judy's on Cherry

Editor’s note: Plein Air has not been offered as a unique experience at Judy’s since 2019.

Al fresco dining is a tradition as old as the restaurant business.

On a beautiful day, no one wants to be constrained to a dining room. And whether it’s a full patio or just a handful of seats, many of the area’s most popular restaurants have expanded their seating area into the open air.

But there’s one Reading restauranteur that has taken the concept and created a whole dining experience around it.

The 300 block of Cherry Street is the domain of Judy Henry. She opened her first restaurant, Judy’s on Cherry, in 2002. Next came the Speckled Hen Cottage Pub & Alehouse, located in the historic log cabin on the corner of 4th and Cherry Streets.

The third piece of the puzzle came in 2009. That’s when Plein Air was born.

Located in a narrow alley adjacent to the cottage, Plein Air is an outdoor extension of the Speckled Hen. The alley is decorated to feel like a garden terrace in Europe, with a large pergola hanging over the bistro seats.

Plein Air’s location creates unique challenges. First, it’s weather dependent (though there are a handful of seats inside). It’s also small, with only a few tables and seating for 20 outside.

The alley is also uneven so they have to get a little creative in balancing the tabletops: a handful of coasters under one leg, a piece of stone under another, just to keep your plates from sliding off.

Both Plein Air and the Speckled Hen serve out of the same kitchen. And for those dining outside, the Speckled Hen menu is also available (I would imagine that this also works in reverse, though I can’t say for sure).

The two menus are vastly different. The Pub side was big on comfort foods—pot pie, shepherd’s pie, wings and the signature Scotch egg. Plein Air’s menu  is more fully developed, with tartines (single-slice sandwiches), salads and entrees, all of which feature fresh, seasonal ingredients.

One of the specialties at Plein Air is chilled soup. Gazpacho is a permanent fixture on the menu, but the standard tomato-based version had been replaced by beet for our visit.

chilled beet soup in fluted cup

Looking more like a smoothie than a soup, it was a vibrant purple with white creamy swirls and strips of basil on top. The basil helped sweeten the slightly sour soup. It was a delicious and refreshing way to start our meal.

four quarters of a small bread loaf witha red cup of whipped butter

Along with my soup, the waitress delivered our fresh-baked bread, quartered and served with a dollop of butter.

While Plein Air’s menu is quite a bit larger than the Speckled Hen, there are only a handful of large plate dinner entrees. One of those is the flat iron steak.

steak topped with butter on a bed of potatoes with greens on the side

The seared steak is topped with garlic herb butter and served with fingerling potatoes and a side salad. The butter melted quickly, coating both the steak and potatoes in a blanket of white. With the steak, it was very good. The herbs really came through and added to the seared-in flavors of the meat. With the potatoes, it was even better, turning them into miniature baked potatoes that melted in your mouth.

The side salad was topped with a citrusy vinaigrette dressing that felt right on a warm August night.

Another large plate offering is the crab cake. The rich entree is topped with a choice of lemon pesto, avocado lime butter or tomato basil corn relish, which is what Julie decided on.

crab cakes topped with corn with a skewer of zucchini and side green

Fresh was the word we kept coming back to when describing our food to each other, and that was the case with everything on Julie’s plate. The crab cake, the relish and the skewer of zucchini that accompanied the dish.

Everything at Plein Air is well-portioned, and though we would have walked away happy after dinner, we decided to splurge for dessert.

Angel food cake is not normally my dessert of choice, but when our waitress told us that it was topped with strawberry reduction and served with whipped cream and pistachio sorbet, it immediately climbed to the top of my list.

Everything was delicious, especially the sorbet. I wish I could have eaten a whole bowl of it, but I was happy enough to enjoy the other sweet delights on the plate.

Our total food bill came to $42, but being thrifty, I had purchased $30 gift certificate for $15 on LocalFlavor.com when I saw it in June so we really only paid $27 for two entrees, an appetizer and dessert.

Enjoying a meal outside is a great way to enjoy a beautiful summer night, but it is even better with great food, like what Plein Air is serving during the spring, summer and fall.

Don’t waste these beautiful days and nights sitting inside, get out and get yourself something to eat.

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

Plein Air
30 S. 4th St
Reading, PA 19602

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Road Trip: Stephen’s on State

metal stamped logo for Stephen's on State in Media, Pa

Berks County Eats crosses the county line to bring you some of the best dining both near and far. This edition takes us an hour southeast of Reading to Media, PA.

As much as I love exploring (and tasting) Berks County, sometimes life takes me to faraway places.

That was the case last week as Julie and I ventured to Media, Delaware County, where her brother now calls home, and where we met her family for dinner on the town.

Media is one of Philadelphia’s most happening suburbs with a bustling downtown and a big city feel. There’s a lot to do, but more importantly, there’s a lot of places to eat.

A restaurant they always mentioned among the popular spots in Media was Stephen’s on State. On a recent visit, they suggested it for a nice dinner. They’re the experts so we just followed along.

State Street is essentially a row of restaurants packed one next to the other, and if you look at the review sites, Stephen’s has received mixed reviews.

One of the common complaints I see about Stephen’s on State is that the service is slow, but our waitress, who introduced herself as Julie (easy enough to remember), was very attentive all evening, constantly returning to refill our water and check on us throughout our stay.

We were seated at a round table tucked in a small alcove between the bar room and the more formal dining area. It was a tight squeeze for a table of six, but it never felt uncomfortable.

steak with butter atop a bed of mashed potatoes and green beans

Stephen’s dinner menu is not very big. There are 10 entrees to go with six choices of steak. Being at a steakhouse with a manly appetite, I chose one of Stephen’s “signature steak” options, a spice crusted steak with garlic shallot butter.

The big, beautiful cut of meat was served atop a bed of mashed potatoes and French cut green beans in a red wine sauce. And it was delicious.

The steak had a beautiful crust from the spices which helped seal in the juicy flavor. The spice combination reminded me a little of a Memphis rub—a little sweet, a little salty with the slightest kick at the end.

With every bite-sized piece that I cut, I soaked up as much of the red wine sauce as I could, especially as the steak began to shed its spicy coat.

As flavorful as the steak was, the mashed potatoes were a tad bland, but they did soak up the au jus which greatly helped.

Having few entrees to choose from and a much smaller appetite, Julie decided to create her own meal with a pair of appetizers.

crock of french onion soup overflowing with cheese

She started her meal with a cup of French onion soup. The presentation was beautiful with the bubbly cheese on top melting over the sides of the crock. It tasted just as good as it looked with a flavorful broth and plenty of onions and bread pieces throughout.

quesadilla cut in four quarters topped with avocado and diced peppers

Part two of her meal was very different, but just as cheesy: a smoked chicken quesadilla. The cheesy pocket was topped with salsa, guacamole and chipotle sauce. It was good, but we both agreed that the French onion was better.

basket of bread with sesame seed topping

Along with our meals, Stephen’s also gave us complimentary loaves of sesame seed-topped bread with olive oil dipping sauce, a delicious pairing that helped hold us over until our dinners arrived.

The other common complaint on review sites is related to price. Stephen’s is not inexpensive—my steak cost more than $30 and Julie’s pairing came to $15—but it didn’t feel unfair, especially for the amount of food and the quality of it. At the time, I did wish I had a starter salad, but I still left on a full stomach.

Stephen’s on State may not be a darling on Internet review sites, but the menu proudly proclaims 13 years in business in downtown Media. Our experience was great, and the busy bar area showed that it certainly has a loyal following among the locals.

Media is not a destination that many Berks Countians are likely to find themselves in. But those who go will surely not go home hungry. If Stephen’s on State is any indication, you’ll be going home happy too.

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round sign with the words "Anthony's Trattoria"
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Review: Anthony’s Trattoria

round sign on a pole reading "Anthony's Trattoria" with an image of a grapevine

A century ago, Carsonia Park was a destination. People flocked by the thousands to take their turns on the rides, catch a show in the ballroom or take a swim at the park in Lower Alsace Township.

Today’s Carsonia Park bares little resemblance to the grand amusement park that once thrived here. Very few reminders of the old park exist. The old Carsonia Inn (now Carsonia Park Grill & Bar) still stands, and the original swimming pool continues to draw crowds in the summer.

Also surviving is the former beer garden that was added in the 1930s, now known as Anthony’s Trattoria, one of Greater Reading’s favorite Italian restaurants.

Driving down Navella Ave toward the park, the sign for Anthony’s Trattoria stands on the corner. Behind the sign, almost against the house, stand a pair of street lamps that look oddly out of place. These lamps once lined the midway of the park.

Inside, the restaurant is cozy. Lighting is dim, but not dark in the three distinct dining rooms. With a little chill still in the air, it was too cold for Anthony’s to open up the outdoor patio.

Anthony’s menu is really two-in-one. There is the base menu, which includes typical fare for an Italian restaurant: spaghetti, linguini, pizza and seafood entrees, with a few surprises like tuna wasabi and chicken livers wrapped with bacon.

Then there is the daily specials menu, a collection of more than 30 entrees, appetizers and desserts that add depth to Anthony’s offerings like calamari tossed with white wine, olive oil and spaghetti; lasagna Bolognese; and lemon risotto.

bowl of creamy soup topped with herbs

I started my meal with a bowl of cream of garlic soup. The garlic was tempered only slightly by a hint of sweetness. Every spoonful was like a bite of a perfectly done piece of garlic bread.

basket with a variety of dinner rolls

After I finished my soup, our waiter dropped off a bread basket. In addition to the toasted Italian bread (wet with olive oil), there were two zeppolis—small balls that looked like donut holes. Essentially, that’s what these Italian pastries are: fried dough topped in powdered sugar. Served warm, these little bites melt in your mouth.

I stuck to the daily specials menu for my main course, gnocchetti al ragu biaco tartufato, ricotta and potato gnocchi in a creamy veal ragu with peas and Parmigiano, finished in black truffle butter.

blue plate with gnocchi tossed with cream, peas and veal

I’m not normally a big fan of veal, but it was perfect in this dish. It was cooked tender to the consistency of shredded chicken, but with a much meatier flavor. The homemade gnocchi melted in my mouth in every bite. The cream sauce was very dense and stuck to the pasta to ensure the rich flavors were present in every bite.

Julie followed suit and ordered another one of the daily specials: pasta al Forno alla Napoletana, a crock of baked pasta in San Marzano tomato sauce with sausage, a hard boiled egg, Parmigiano and buffalo mozzarella topped with scamorza cheese.

bowl of baked ziti topped with melted cheese and herbs

The sauce was made of crushed tomatoes and basil with a consistency more resembling salsa than the pureed red sauce at other restaurants. The simple sauce was the perfect complement to a complex dish. The fried egg that was waiting to be discovered beneath the blanket of cheese was a welcome addition to the dish, adding an unexpected element to a more traditional pasta.

slice of white cake topped with a chocolate shell

Anthony’s portion sizes left us full, but not too full that we would pass on a look at the dessert tray. After salivating over the assortment of cake, cannoli and tiramisu, we decided to share a slice of “angel food” cake. While it is true that there was angel food in our slice, it was surrounded by mousse and a layer of chocolate cake, and wrapped in a smooth chocolate shell. Every bite was heavenly.

We went into the meal expecting to pay a premium for our meals. But with a check of $55 for the two of us, it was actually a little less than we had expected.

The amusement park may be gone, but there is still a crowd around Carsonia Park, at least at dinnertime. And it will stay that way as long as Anthony’s Trattoria is around.

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

Anthony’s Trattoria
900 Byram St
Reading, PA 19606

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Review: Salute Ristorante Italiano

strip mall storefront with a sign that reads "Salute Ristorante Italiano"

There’s something about a nice Italian restaurant on Valentine’s Day. The two just seem to go together, the perfect match for a romantic night out.

Last year for our romantic splurge, we visited Mom Chaffe’s Cellarette, one of the oldest restaurants in Berks County. This year, we visited Salute Ristorante Italiano, one of the county’s newest.

Salute opened in November, taking over the former Frank’s NY Pizza in Sinking Spring, and bringing fine dining to the former take-out counter.

The aesthetic improvement is evident immediately as the entrance to the strip mall spot has been given a stonework facade. Inside, the restaurant is much-improved as well. Tables and booths line two seating areas, one raised a step above the other. When we arrived, a heart was tied to the back of each chair with lacey ribbon; the napkins beautifully folded into fans.

For Valentine’s Day, Salute offered a pared down version of its dinner menu in prix-fixe form: for $50, each person received an appetizer, entree and dessert. A small welcome cocktail was also included in every dinner.

tall glass half-filled with a cocktail

The Love Potion was comprised of chocolate vodka, crème de cacao, fresh strawberry puree, and half and half, all topped with a chocolate covered strawberry.

rectangular plate with a caprese salad

We put in our appetizer order while we pondered the entree choices. As our starters, we opted for the Carpese salad and bruschetta. The Carpese salad was good, with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, but it paled in comparison to the bruschetta which was some of the best I have had.

rectangular plate with bruschetta topped with shaved parmesan

The perfectly toasted bread was topped with mounds of diced tomatoes and shaved Parmesan cheese. It had just a hint of balsamic mixed with a very flavorful olive oil, and mixed with the tomatoes, it made for a sweet, tasty appetizer.

We were surprised to find that in addition to the appetizers, every entree also included a cup of soup or starter salad. We both opted for soup: I went with fava bean while Julie chose Italian wedding.

small cup of bean soup with a toast point

My fava bean soup was delicious. The consistency reminded me of a split pea where there is little broth to speak of and the flavor comes almost entirely from the vegetables. But the real highlight here was the homemade crouton: two pieces of fried bread. It was dark and crispy like melba toast, but absorbed a lot of flavor from the frying, giving it a unique flavor that was perfect for dipping.

small cup of wedding soup with a toast point

Julie’s wedding soup was also interesting (and excellent) as it was more of a cream base than a broth base, which made it extra hearty.

ravioli topped with a heart-shaped slice of prosciutto

My main course arrived with a special Valentine’s Day touch. I ordered the norcina ravioli¸ a potato and ricotta ravioli with sausage and mushrooms in a cream sauce, all topped with a heart-shaped piece of dough. For added style, the plate was brushed with blue and yellow coloring. I knew what the norcina ravioli would include, but I didn’t expect it to be constructed quite as it was. There were four small ravioli buried beneath a mound of mushrooms and ground sausage that provided most of the flavor. It was a much heartier dish than I was expecting.

linguine topped with light red sauce and a lobster

Across the table, Julie decided to spoil herself with lobster. The lobster half was served atop a bed of linguine in a light sauce with tomato slices, freshly chopped basil and minced garlic. Again, the chef +went the extra mile on presentation by painting the plate red and black. The linguini had a little extra texture which allowed the sauce to better stick to the pasta, making for a delectable dish.

puff pastry drizzled with berry sauce and topped with a whole raspberry

Of course you can’t take your sweetheart out to Valentine’s Day dinner without enjoying some sweets, and Salute did not disappoint. Our waitress brought out a plate with both of the night’s featured desserts: almond parfait and a puff pastry with custard and wild berry reduction.

chocolate mousse topped with almonds and drizzled with chocolate syrup

The puff pastry was good though I would have liked just a little more custard to cut through the concentrated sweetness of the reduction. The almond parfait was on an entirely other level. Made from almond ice cream topped with chocolate and crushed almonds. The semi-bitter dark chocolate hardened atop the ice cream, creating a contrast in texture and flavor.

On a normal night, we would have never ordered so much food, and our bill would have probably been significantly less. But for our one-night-a-year splurge, it was well worth the $100 price tag.

It was a near-perfect night out: incredible food in a great atmosphere making for a memorable Valentine’s Day.

Here’s a salute to Salute, a great addition to the Berks County restaurant scene.

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

Salute Ristorante Italiano
4718 Penn Ave
Sinking Spring, PA 19608

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Review: China Penn

nighttime photo of a restaurant with an illuminated sign that reads "China Penn"

On BerksCountyEats.com, we use multiple subcategories for our reviews, including fine dining, casual dining, Italian and Asian.

What I have found since starting this blog is that Asian is a very broad term that covers a wide variety of foods. There are vast differences between Chinese and Japanese cuisine. And both are widely different from Thai food. The only real similarity is the portion of the world from which they come.

But at China Penn, you can get a taste of three different cuisines in one place.

China Penn has been in Exeter Township for more than 30 years. It has undergone some changes in that time, including an ownership change a few years ago, but it continues to thrive today with a menu that would put many diners to shame.

The menu is actually three menus in one. There is a Chinese section, with favorites like General Tso’s chicken and chow mein; a Japanese section with sushi and sashimi; and a Thai section that included pad Thai, rice and noodles, and curry dishes. It was the Thai menu that most appealed to both of us on our visit.

cup of coconut soup with carrots and chicken

My stomach was growling by the time I arrived at the restaurant so I knew I needed something to fill it sooner than later so I started off my night with a bowl of chicken coconut soup. Inside the coconut flavored broth was one large chunk of chicken breast, long slivers of carrots, and fresh herb leaves. It was a delicious combination—just enough coconut to add a note of sweetness without overpowering it. Having to cut the large piece of chicken with my spoon was more than a little frustrating, but well worth the extra effort.

purple colored flower atop a plate of stir fry

The main course was certainly one of the prettiest plates that I have received since doing Berks County Eats. Most of the plate was covered in my dinner, basil chicken. The rest was covered by a beautiful floral arrangement made out of pink cabbage and shredded carrots.

While I don’t recommend eating the flower, I highly recommend the basil chicken. The stir-fried dish featured white meat chicken tossed with basil leaves, green and red peppers, and red and yellow onions. It looked like a lot of food, it was a lot of food, but a lot of the plate was filled with vegetables so I convinced myself that I was actually eating light, despite cleaning my plate.

While I had never been to China Penn before, the restaurant was an old favorite for Julie and her family, at least while it operated a second location on State Hill Road in Wyomissing. Wanting to relive her past, she ordered one of her favorite menu items to start: egg drop soup.

cup of brothy egg drop soup

It’s a little weird to think that it’s basically just chicken broth and eggs, but it’s still really good, and it’s easy to taste why it’s a go-to dish for so many people.

glass of orange colored Thai tea

After our trip to Thaiwat last year, Julie developed a taste of Thai tea. And when she saw it on the China Penn menu, she could not resist the creamy, sweet drink.

plate of chicken topped wtih slivered carrots and peppers

For the main course, Julie went back to the Thai menu at the Thai BBQ chicken. Instead of the chunks of white meat that were stir-fried in my dish, Julie’s meal was served with a whole sliced chicken breast plus dark meat, layered among vegetables like green peppers, cabbage, onions and carrots.

The name is deceiving because there really is no barbecue sauce to speak of. Instead, the dish is served with a bowl of peanut sauce for dipping. The thick sauce had a heavy peanut flavor, but more natural than peanut butter. It made the perfect accompaniment for the dish.

Our meals totaled about $35, a little more than we were expecting, but we also weren’t expecting to get two bowls of soup and a cup of tea. All-in-all, it felt like we got more than our money’s worth.

It’s cliché to say that China Penn offers a world of flavors, but with three distinct menus featuring three distinct cuisines, maybe in this case, the cliché fits.

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

China Penn
4203 Perkiomen Ave
Reading, PA 19606

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Best Diner: Exeter Family Restaurant
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Review: Exeter Family Restaurant

stainless steel diner with a large sign that reads "Exeter Family Restaurant Open 24 hours"

In November, the Reading Eagle handed out its annual Reader’s Choice awards where subscribers voted for their favorite local businesses. Exeter Family Restaurant earned the title of “Best Diner.”

A month later, Berks County Living Magazine handed out its annual Best of Berks awards, and once again, “Best Diner” honors went to Exeter Family Restaurant.

It’s hard to get Berks Countians to agree on anything (i.e. Christmas Trees) so the fact that Exeter Family Restaurant was such a clear favorite to win Best Diner from two publications, I knew it was a place that Berks County Eats needed to visit.

Exeter Family Restaurant is a shining example of a traditional diner, literally. The chrome exterior helps the diner stand out from among the boring brands that surround it.

The parking lot was filling up when we arrived for lunch, but there was plenty of seating spread among the two dining rooms. Once at our booth, I took a look through the whole menu, and what caught my eye wasn’t an entree, but the Exeter Family Restaurant Declaration:

We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men and women are created with equal appetites; That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are:

The right to eat breakfast whenever the heck they please (like 4 in the morning);

The right to wear running shorts, pajamas, or last night’s clothes to Sunday breakfast;

And most importantly…The right to eat out in Berks County without breaking the bank.

Now those are words I can stand behind.

At first glance, there isn’t much to distinguish Exeter Family Restaurant’s menu from other diners. Burgers and sandwiches are plentiful, comfort food abounds, and breakfast is served 24 hours a day.

I’m always looking for something a little different from the norm, and I found it under the “Fiery Sauté Pan” section.

bowl of steak tips over rice

My Memphis steak tips were seasoned pieces of sirloin laid on a bed of dirty rice, topped with barbecue sauce. The rice could have served as a meal in itself as it was “dirtied” with bits of ground beef and bacon. The steak was cooked to order and came out nicely seared. I only wish there was a little more of the sauce. I didn’t get it in every bite, but when I did it added a sweetness that brought the whole dish together.

Another original menu item is the cheesy mac and pulled pork panini, which caught Julie’s eyes right away. The panini was piled high with tender pulled pork, six-cheese mac and cheese, pickles, gouda and barbecue sauce.

pork sandwich topped with mac and cheese and pickles

Despite it’s name, the sandwich was not overly cheesy. Instead, the flavor of the pork was the star, with just hints of sauce and cheese. The macaroni added a unique texture to the sandwich that helped it stand out.

cup of orzo soup

All sandwiches come with a cup of soup, while entrees come with a trip to the salad bar which has everything you could want including multiple greens, nearly every salad dressing you could ask for, and three fresh-baked loaves of bread from which diners can cut their own slices.

As the Exeter Family Restaurant Declaration implies, our meals were also very affordable, coming in at just a tick more than $20 for the two of us.

While I have a long way to go before I can say I have tried all of the diners in Berks County, I can tell you that Exeter Family Restaurant earned those Best Diner titles honestly.

And I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more in their future.

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

Exeter Family Restaurant
4800 Perkiomen Ave
Reading, PA 19606

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