Russo Market Pizza
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Review: Russo Gourmet Foods Market

brick facade at the entrance to Russo Gourmet Foods Market

One of the places that has been on my list to try for a long time isn’t really a restaurant. It’s more of a grocery store. But it’s also so much more than that.

Russo Market is a little off the beaten path, away from Penn Ave along Bern Road in Wyomissing, near the Works, Building 24 and Gold’s Gym.

Julie has enjoyed many lunches at Russo, but never with me. I finally had the chance to change that on a recent afternoon.

The drab exterior of Russo Market had not prepared me for the vast market inside. The building opens up to aisles of pasta, imported sauces, beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), frozen treats, and other foods from Italy, Greece and beyond.

square pizzas on a counter

At the back of the market is the hot and prepared foods area. There are sheets of Sicilian pizza waiting to take another trip through the oven; a hot bar filled with meals like lasagna, meatballs and fried mozzarella; and a large salad bar that’s better than most restaurants.

salad bar featuring a variety of olives and beans

There’s even an olive bar with more types of olives than I knew existed.

seating area with orange colored booths

Guests can do their grocery shopping, grab lunch (or dinner – Russo is open until the early evening most days) and pay for everything together at the registers near the entrance. For those dining in, there’s a nice dining area with booths, tables and mini curtains to separate diners from the checkout area.

I was excited to try the pizza so I ordered two kinds: pepperoni and margherita.

square slice of pepperoni pizza

The Sicilian-style pies featured a slightly thicker dough with a small crust around the edges. Both squares were end pieces so they had nice crusts.

The pepperoni pie was your basic Sicilian pizza, but I really liked the pepperoni choice. They were a little spicier and more flavorful than at some restaurants, and it made it more enjoyable.

square slice of pizza topped with tomatoes and basil leaves

On the margherita, I was very impressed. What looked like just a pile of mozzarella, tomato and basil actually was a delicious meal. Each ingredient was fresh and full of flavor, and even though I never had a bite with all three toppings at once, I enjoyed it from start to finish.

salad bar with a variety of toppings

Across the table from me, Julie had built quite the salad for herself. Among the greens, she added carrots, mozzarella, cucumber, red pepper, pepperoni, tomato, bacon bits, croutons, tortellini pasta salad and her personal favorite, tuna salad.

plastic to-go container with a salad with tortellini

Tuna salad is one of Julie’s favorite foods, and Russo has the best around, according to her expert opinion (I am not a fan of tuna or mayo so I will take her word for it).

Her eyes were a little too big for her stomach. Declaring she was getting full, Julie started skipping the salad and eating just “the good stuff.”

It’s really no surprise that the foods at the market are so good. Russo is also a wholesale distributor, supplying ingredients to Italian restaurants all around the region.

wooden beams made to create an indoor pergola with a hanging basket and fan

For our meals, plus a water, an iced tea, and a quart of soup to take home, we spent around $25. It was only after our lunch that we explored the market more, salivating over the bakery section with homemade cannoli, tiramisu and more desserts that we could no longer fit in our stomachs.

But now that I have finally enjoyed my first taste of Russo, I have no doubt that I will be back to enjoy even more of their Italian meals (and sweets).

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

Russo Market
1150 Bern Rd
Wyomissing, PA 19610

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Italian Lunch & Dinner Reviews
plate of sesame chicken with greens a blue flower
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Review: Masa Sushi & Hibachi

strip mall storefront with stone facade and a large sign that reads "Masa Hibachi & Sushi"

One of the cool things about this blog is I have the opportunity to watch a space evolve as old restaurants move on and new restaurants arrive.

A perfect example of that sits in the center of a strip mall in the Broadcasting Square Shopping Center in Wyomissing.

The space was original home to Super King Buffet – a rather ordinary Chinese buffet. More recently, it was home to Hong Thanh, an inspired Vietnamese restaurant that left the city of Reading only to return to its original location last year (under the new name Lang Restaurant).

Large portrait drawing of a figure holding a samurai sword

Now, the space is home to Masa Hibachi and Sushi. It’s the third Asian restaurant at the location, but that’s where the similarities end.

Masa opened at the end of 2017 after a renovation that completely transformed the space. Gone is the booth seating that ran the length of the dining room. Instead, the dining area has been broken up. There are tables for two and four by the window. Beyond that are two hibachi grills, a sushi bar, another bar and more tables.

two bars - one illuminated in red the other in purple - at Masa in Wyomissing

The hibachi grills were fired up – two young children sat with parents and grandparents, mesmerized at the show of fire and cooking skills – but we skipped the performance to try some of Masa’s other menu items.

bowl of salad topped with two pieces of shrimp and an orange ginger dressing

Julie’s meal came with a house salad, served with ginger dressing. At first glance, it looked like honey mustard, but looks can be deceiving. The ginger was ever-present in this citrusy dressing. It had a nice tang to it and was very easy on the palate. The dressing really made the difference for what was otherwise a standard bowl of lettuce garnished with a cucumber slice and a pair of cherry tomatoes.

My meal did not come with salad so I ordered a cup of coconut chicken soup. Unfortunately my soup didn’t arrive as an appetizer and instead showed up with our entrees.

blue clay bowl filled with coconut chicken soup from Masa Hibachi in Wyomissing

I had coconut chicken soup once before, in February 2015 at China Penn in Exeter Township. The two dishes were similar but with some key differences. At China Penn, there was one large piece of chicken and the broth was filled with carrots and herbs.

Masa’s version featured bite size pieces of chicken – as a soup should. There were no carrots, but there were pieces of hard-boiled egg and cherry tomatoes, the latter adding a pleasant flavor burst in those bites. The broth itself was very good, if a little sweet. I only wish that I wasn’t eating it with my main course.

black bowl with udon noodles and beef from Masa in Wyomssing

That main course was a yaki udon stir fry. Yaki literally means grilled or fried in Japanese. Udon noodles are thicker, white colored noodles. The sauce for yaki udon is soy-based, but this was not soy sauce. It was light sauce that was much less salty than I was expecting from an Asian stir-fry.

Noodle dishes at Masa are served with the choice of vegetable, chicken, beef, shrimp, seafood, or “house.” I went with the beef, which was cooked in the sauce with the noodles, greens and carrots. It was a nice dish, but the size of the udon noodles made it almost impossible to get anything else on the fork.

takeout container with clear lid showing udon noodles and beef

Some of it – a little less than half – went home with me for lunch the next day.

Julie, on the other hand, left none of her sesame chicken and rice when she was finished.

white round plate with sesame chicken garnished with broccoli, a kale leaf and a purple flower

Sesame chicken is a staple of Americanized Chinese food menus. There is something about getting sesame chicken served on a plate instead of in a box that seems to add flavor. Or maybe this was just a better version of the dish. But it still felt familiar like the comfort food that it is.

The meal may have been slightly more expensive than a Chinese take-out restaurant, but the $30 price tag was certainly a modest cost for a sit-down meal for two that included a bowl of soup and two soft drinks.

I wouldn’t put it among the best meals that I have had on Berks County Eats, but overall, I was impressed – both by the changes made to the space and with the dining experience at Masa. It was a good meal in a cool atmosphere.

But in this case, good is good enough.

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

Masa Hibachi & Sushi
2733 Papermill Rd
Wyomissing, PA 19610

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Gourmand Cafe (Via Delivery Dudes)

Editor’s Note: Reading Delivery Dudes is now Delivery.com

As you might have already heard, there is a new addition to the Berks County Eats family – a baby boy! He’s due around Thanksgiving, but chances are he will make his grand entrance a little before that. (We’re just hoping he bakes a few more weeks!)

About a month ago, I was in the hospital and since then have basically been a home-body. The good thing is, I am pretty good at entertaining myself. The bad thing? I would love to be doing more active things! But I’m not, and this is just life’s way of telling me to take some time to relax before Baby B. arrives. (That’s the nickname for our little bundle.)

Thankfully, I’m still able to go out to eat so I can still be a part of the BCE experience. But when you’re stuck at home and kind of tired of leftovers and the same old stuff, you really want to have something yummy from outside the house.

Enter Delivery Dudes. Delivery service has been around for a long time. Think about all those pizza places delivering right to your door. Or even as far back as the milk man.

Delivery Dudes came into the Reading area in 2015. With so many independent restaurants popping up in Berks County, it is a much-needed service. It helps these businesses reach beyond the crowd that walks into their brick-and-mortars. And it helps busy customers that are looking for something other than their everyday lunch or dinner.

black bag with a sticker on it that reads "Gourmand"

About a month ago, I was having a craving for Gourmand. I am not supposed to be driving, and without a ride to the Gourmand Café on Berkshire Blvd. in Wyomissing, I decided to order take-out through Delivery Dudes.

I ordered the tuna melt and their featured hummus.

tuna sandwich with chips

The tuna melt arrived as an open-faced sandwich. I was pleasantly surprised because that also meant that I would be saving the second half for later. The melt is made with a house-made tuna salad, melted Swiss cheese and tomato on a toasted marble rye bread.  The salad was good and hearty, not runny at all. The rye bread was a nice addition and added a different kind of flavor to the sandwich. The sandwich is also served with their house-made potato chips which are always a favorite of mine.

The featured hummus looked amazing. I have to be honest though, as the baby is growing, it’s harder for me to eat a lot in one sitting without feeling REALLY uncomfortable. Pair that with the fact that I forgot that the sandwich comes with chips, I just couldn’t eat any more so I saved the hummus for a snack.

hummus and pita chips

When I finally got around to the hummus, I loved it! The simple hummus was garnished with (I believe) roasted red peppers sautéed onions, and spring onions. The hummus came with house-made tortilla chips which were also amazing! The tortilla chips were fried and puffed up in the process, making them even more delightful.

So how does Delivery Dudes work? You’ll find a list of all participating restaurants on the website. Click on the restaurant you want to try and browse the menu. Add items to you cart and check out.

There is a $5.00 cash delivery charge per restaurant on all orders, no matter the size. If you choose to pay by CC, there is a $2 processing fee.

When I finished check-out, it gave me a delivery window of about 45 minutes. Boy, I was glad I was thinking ahead because when a pregnant woman is hungry, she wants it NOW!

Right on schedule about 45 minutes later, the delivery person pulled up in front of the house and brought the food right to the door. I added a tip to the total, which ended up being just under $25.

I have to admit, when I’m the only one ordering, $25 for lunch is kind of a lot, but it’s all about convenience.

It’s a great service if you’re ordering lunch for the office, a meal for the family, or dinner for you and your friends. But for one person, it’s not just practical.

That said, DD is providing a service and a great service at that. I’ll just make sure to order with Zach next time.

BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: N/A
Price: Reasonable (A Little Pricey w/ Delivery)

Gourmand Cafe
945 Berkshire Blvd
Wyomissing, PA 19610

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The 20-ounce dry-aged ribeye at Willoughby's on Park
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Review: Willoughby’s on Park

Willoughby's on Park, a high-end steakhouse in Wyomissing

If you’re a long-time follower of the blog, you may remember our visit to Willoughby’s Bar & Grill.

It was three years ago that we enjoyed our first dinner at the Wyomissing restaurant. Living nearby, Julie and I had passed by the restaurant on our walks, watching the former T.G.I. Friday’s completely transformed.

When the restaurant closed for renovations in 2015, we couldn’t understand. It had just been completely redone and it didn’t make any sense to us.

Again we watched as construction workers descended on the building, filling and refilling the dumpster outside until the restaurant was once again ready for business.

This time, the transformation was from Willoughby’s Bar & Grill to Willoughby’s on Park, a high-end steakhouse that was going to have to wait for a special occasion for us to visit.

The remodeled dining room at Willoughby's on Park

That special occasion finally came this August as Julie and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary.

We arrived on a Sunday evening without a reservation, but it was no problem to get in and get a table. The dining room is still very large and with the additional outdoor seating, there was no danger of it filling up. Even on Fridays and Saturdays, the parking lot never seems full enough to equal a full dining room.

The renovated restaurant looks nothing like it did before. Previously, the center of the dining room featured a sports bar lined with flat screens. The TVs are now gone, and the bar is much more stately. The room is dimly lit by chandeliers with votive candles creating a soft glow on the back wall.

Romantically elegant is the best way I can describe it.

Votive candles line the wall at Willoughby's on Park

As for the menu, it is distinctly a high-end steakhouse, with 10 different steak cuts highlighting the entree selections. Additional choices include seared duck, rack of lamb and six seafood offerings.

There is also a range of salads, appetizers and cold bar options for starters, but we passed on those knowing we would be enjoying dessert at the end of the night.

Warm bread is a great way to start any meal.

Instead, we whet our appetite with the complimentary bread and butter – a pair of fresh-baked rolls that were soft, warm and enjoyable.

What else do you need when there’s a 20-ounce dry-aged ribeye on its way to the table?

This is hands-down among the best steaks that I have ever eaten. It was cooked perfectly to my liking (medium well) with just the right amount of pink in the middle. It lost none of the juiciness in cooking and had beautiful char marks on the outside. It was an all-around winner.

The 20-ounce dry-aged ribeye at Willoughby's on Park

Guests can add on one of six “enhancements” to any steak, an assortment of sauces and rubs to suit many tastes. I decided to try the mission fig cabernet reduction and was not disappointed.

It was more jelly than sauce, with the mission fig giving it sweetness and the cabernet adding depth of flavor and strong overtones. With the steak, it played on the sweet and savory while also having a built-in wine pairing to enhance the flavor of the steak.

The steak was so good that it almost made me forget about the sides – a few carrots and a dollop of whipped potatoes. They both served their purpose, but let’s face it, we weren’t there for the sides.

An eight-ounce filet topped with gorgonzola gratin

Julie went with the smallest item on the menu, the eight-ounce filet Mignon, with a gorgonzola gratin for her enhancement.

Her steak was also cooked perfectly and would have stood on its own without any additional enhancements, but the gorgonzola gratin gave it a very different flavor profile. It was heavy and rich with the distinct deep flavor that the cheese brings to every dish.

Neither of us really had room left after our steaks, but it was our anniversary so dessert was a must.

Our waitress brought out the dessert tray highlighting a range of offerings that all sounded amazing. We settled on the carrot cake and were not disappointed.

Carrot cake with a dollop of whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce

The slice was gigantic and was served with whipped cream, strawberries and a caramel drizzle. Could we get carrot cake anywhere? Yes. Would it have been this good? Maybe. Did we care? Nope. We were just happy to finish off our romantic evening by sharing a lovely dessert.

Going into the evening we knew two things: one, that we were going to have a romantic dinner; two, that it wouldn’t be cheap.

When we visited three years ago, we spent $40. This time, it was more than double that as our total bill was just shy of $100. Willoughby’s on Park is not priced for everyday dining, but it’s not everyday that you get to enjoy a perfectly cooked steak.

With that in mind, I can say with certainty that we will be back. But we’ll save our next visit for another special occasion.

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

Willoughby’s on Park
305 N. Park Rd
Wyomissing, PA 19610

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Review: Nirvana Indian Bistro

strip mall restaurant with the words "Nirvana Indian Bistro" above the entrance

I have a general rule of thumb about visiting new restaurants: wait at least two months for your first visit.

On more than one occasion, I have paid a visit too soon – when the service couldn’t match the demand – and left with a bad taste in my mouth (figuratively speaking).

It’s not a hard-and-fast rule, and I’m glad it’s not. Otherwise, I’d still be waiting another six weeks to visit the new Nirvana Indian Bistro.

Nirvana opened two weeks ago in the Wal-Mart shopping center in Wyomissing. It’s the restaurant’s second location (the original is in Lafayette Hill, Montgomery County).

What was formerly East Wok, a Chinese take-out restaurant, has been completely renovated into a sit-down dining room. At lunch, guests can help themselves to a full Indian buffet.

The dining room had a decent crowd, but it wasn’t full during our visit last week. I hadn’t seen any advertising around the restaurant (I stumbled upon it while browsing Delivery Dudes) but we clearly weren’t the only people who knew about it.

We were seated at a booth on the left side of the dining room. The right side is filled with tables for four with an additional row of seats down the middle of the room.

My big caution about going to a new restaurant is the service, but Nirvana was already on top of their game, at least on our visit. There was plenty of wait staff, all of them attentive, and we had our appetizer of samosas in a timely fashion.

plate with two samosas atop a bed of greens

Samosas, for the uninitiated, are fried pastries filled with potatoes and vegetables. These were served with a variety of chutneys – onion, mint and tamarind.

plate with three chutneys in metal cups

The samosas were fine on their own, but really came alive with chutney. The tamarind looks like a soy sauce or a very dark barbecue sauce and has a sweet flavor. The mint is bright and refreshing. But my favorite is the onion.

samosa cut in half to show the filling of potato and peas inside

It has a bright red color, a very mild spice and hints of sweet. I tried all three, but kept coming back to the onion chutney with my samosa.

The main event arrived shortly after our empty appetizer plates were cleared. My choice for dinner was the chicken vindaloo (though I chickened out when offered the choice of mild or hot).

metal bowl of chicken vindaloo

I was glad that I did because the mild was still kicking, but it was pleasant. The vindaloo was reddish brown with chunks of chicken and potatoes throughout. The potatoes really soaked up the sauce, turning a shade of red themselves.

The communal pot of rice was plenty for Julie and I to share with our dinners. It made a great bed for my vindaloo and also helped tone down the spice, which seemed to build with every bite.

skillet with chicken, a cup of tikka masala sauce and a metal bowl with rice and peas

Normally, Julie is a chicken tikka masala kind of girl. But she expanded her horizons (a little) by ordering the chicken kabobs.

The chicken was not served on skewers but was instead served with onions and peppers on a sizzling skillet as you would expect for fajitas with sauce on the side.

The sauce was what made the dish. It was a creamy sauce, not hot at all, but with a nice mix of herbs and spices that brought the chicken to life. And she brought home quite a bit of the chicken, unable to finish it at dinner.

woman drinking a glass of mango lassi

Julie washed her meal down with a mango lassi, her favorite part about any meal at an Indian restaurant.

For our entrees, samosas, mango lassi and my iced tea (a can of Brisk with a glass of ice), our total was just under $40. It was a very good price for a lot of food.

Nirvana is located just a few blocks away from Laxmi’s Indian Grille, which we visited in a previous blog. Both were very impressive and I would be hard-pressed to choose between the two.

But there’s plenty of room for two, especially in the restaurant-rich suburbs where there are never enough tables to go around.

I was glad to have Laxmi’s. I’m glad to have Nirvana.

And I’m definitely glad that I didn’t wait.

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

Nirvana Indian Bistro
1137 Berkshire Blvd
Wyomissing, PA 19610

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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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Mikura was named Best Chinese in Berks.
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Review: Mikura Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar

exterior of Mikura in Wyomissing, PA

Since starting weekly blogs in 2014, I don’t get much opportunity to make return visits to restaurants. It’s much more exciting to try someplace new than revisit the old.

That doesn’t mean I don’t like the places that I visited in the past. I just have to be more selective with where I go on a weekly basis.

One of the restaurants that I haven’t been able to visit in a long time is Mikura Asian Bistro and Sushi Bar.

I first visited Mikura almost four years ago, not long after it opened in a strip mall along North Park Road in Wyomissing. At the time, I was able to get there for the small weekday lunch buffet. I had enjoyed my meal but never had a chance to return, despite the fact that it’s just a five-minute walk from my house.

wooden seats in the dining area of Mikura

So finally, after Julie and I had taken countless walks past the restaurant, we stopped for dinner.

There are two sections to the restaurant. The main dining room and sushi bar are on the left. To the right is the hibachi space (where the lunch buffet was on my visit).

Mikura was actually the second restaurant for the owner of China Penn, and it shows with the extensive menu.

It includes a combination of Chinese, Japanese and Thai dishes. It’s great until you have to make a decision.

two tall glasses with smoothies from Mikura

Thankfully Julie and I had one easy decision: smoothies. (We did walk there so we could afford a few extra calories). I’m not sure why so many Asian restaurants that I’ve visited offer smoothies, but I’m not going to complain about it because we always enjoy them.

Dinner was a harder decision. After looking through everything at least three times, I settled on the Thai Panang curry.

panang curry with chicken and vegetables from Mikura

I’m not an expert by any means, but the dish didn’t look like curry to me. It was very thin in texture and a lot lighter in color than any I have seen before. The lighter color was owing to the coconut milk base, but even Panang curry usually has a reddish brown tint to it.

That’s not to say that it didn’t look appealing in its own way. The chicken, broccoli, snap peas and peppers all looked appetizing, especially with the red chili flakes.

The coconut milk and the chili were definitely the predominant flavors. It was spicy, especially the after taste. I was glad to have my smoothie handy to cool down after every bite.

bowl of shrimp, mango and vegetables in sauce with a cup of rice from Mikura

Julie also went with a Thai-inspired dish, the Thai mango shrimp. The shrimp and mango were stir-fried with snow peas, bell peppers and asparagus in a mango sauce.

All of the ingredients were slathered in a glaze-like sauce, but it was the mango that provided most of the flavor, complimenting the shrimp quite nicely. The vegetables, cooked to al dente, added a crunchy texture.

Both of our entrees were served with a bowl of white rice on the side, which was very helpful in sopping up the runny sauces.

It was a good meal and the service was very quick. We were in and out in less than an hour.

plate with four orange slices and two fortune cookies in bags from Mikura

Our smoothies made it a little pricier than it otherwise would have been. The final bill was nearly $40, but $10 of that was the smoothies.

I was glad to finally make a return trip to Mikura. We both enjoyed our meals and look forward to returning again. And with such a large menu, there are plenty more dishes to enjoy.

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

Mikura Asian Bistro & Sushi Bar
840 N. Park Rd
Wyomissing, PA 19610

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Review: Laxmi’s Indian Grille

exterior of a strip mall business with a sign that reads "Laxmi's Indian Grille"

Berks County has been going through a restaurant boom for well over a year now. It seems like new restaurants have been popping up constantly in recent months.

And nowhere is that more evident than Wyomissing. For a while it felt like I was reporting weekly on a new restaurant coming to or opening in the Reading suburb.

Among those restaurants are a Philly-area sports bar, an Irish pub, a retro hamburger chain and two barbecue restaurants. But to me, the most intriguing of all of the new openings had to be Laxmi’s Indian Grille.

The State Hill Road location is the third for the Philadelphia-based operation. The first location in Manyunk led to a second in East Falls in 2013. Now, the micro chain has expanded west, all the way to Berks County.

Laxmi’s opened in January in a State Hill Rd strip mall that also included Mama’s Original Pizzza and Alebrije Mexican Restaurant (which has since moved).

A surprisingly large number of seats are squeezed inside the restaurant. Booths line the outside with four-person tables running through the middle.

brass holder with three small bowls of chutney - one gree, one red, and one dark brown

The tables are all pre-set with plates for appetizers and cloth napkins. Three chutney sauces are set in in the middle of the table waiting for the complimentary basket of papadum, a wafer-thin dish that is similar to a tortilla, but crispier.

a basket with two papadum from Laxmi's Indian Grille

It was light and airy, but did well to soak up the flavors of the chutney. Chutney is a very general term for a lot of different condiments, and the three on the table could not have been more different.

The first was a dark, reddish-brown sauce that was very runny. It was similar to a chili sauce, but thinner and with a little bit of fruity flavor to it. The second was the green chutney, which was close to a green taco sauce but the spice was more tolerable. The third, my favorite of the three, was tomato based and closer to salsa, but with bits of carrots. It was more sweet than spicy and the chunky texture was great for the papadum.

Laxmi’s menu is not very big, but it is diverse in its offerings. There are nine curry dishes, all of which can be served with vegetables, paneer (a type of south Asian cheese), chicken, lamb or seafood. There are also several tandoor-prepared items including kababs and tandoori chicken.

All of the items sounded delicious, but I finally decided on one of the curries: chicken jalfrezi.

metal bowl of chicken jalfrezi in red sauce with sliced peppers

Jalfrezi looks very similar to the more well-known tikka masala, but the two are very different dishes. Despite its red color, jalfrezi is onion-based. Green peppers, ginger and garlic are also listed as ingredients in the menu description.

The dish was very flavorful. The onions were easy to pick up, but more for the sweetness they added than for any potency. I dumped every last drop that I could onto my plate, dousing my pile of rice in the sweet red sauce.

white bowl with white rice topped with two green peas

Back in April, when I took a road trip to Saffron in Ambler, I thoroughly enjoyed their korma. I guess it sounded good to Julie because at Laxmi’s, she ordered the chicken korma.

metal bowl of chicken korma with slivered nuts on top

The two versions of the cashew-based dish were very similar. Both were creamy with a nice nutty flavor. The spices were a little stronger with Laxmi’s dish, making just that much better than what I tried a month ago.

Along with our main dishes, we ordered a side of naan. While Laxmi’s offered eight versions of the bread, but we went with the plain version.

basket with four pieces of buttered naan

It was anything but plain. It was soft and buttery, like pillowy pitas. They were perfect for soaking up the last of the jalfrezi on my plate.

Our total for the visit was just over $30, but we were probably closer to the low end of the price range (some of the tandoori entrees are in the $20-$25 range). Still, the food packs flavor that is well-worth the price.

Laxmi’s Indian Grille is one of many restaurant chains that have expanded into Berks County, but it may be among the best. If all of the new restaurants are of the quality of Laxmi’s, there’s going to be a lot of happy customers to go with them.

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

Laxmi’s Indian Grille
1806 State Hill Rd
Wyomissing, PA 19610

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tokyo hibachi and bar exterior
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Review: Tokyo Hibachi and Bar

brown colored building with red neon lights that read "Tokyo Hibachi & Bar"

Dinner is a sensory experience.

Taste is at the top of the list, but a truly great dinner encompasses all five senses: taste, sight, smell, touch and sound.

No dining experience can touch all five quite the way a hibachi can.

Wyomissing’s Tokyo Hibachi & Bar offers diners an experience that is just not available at most restaurants. Three circular seating areas with six hibachi grills are set up in what was originally a Denny’s along Woodland Road.

Tokyo Hibachi arrived in 2008, offering not only the tableside cooking show, but a large menu featuring nearly 50 different types of sushi as well as Chinese chicken and beef dinners.

But we were only interested in the hibachi.

Things started off slow at our table as we had to wait for more groups to fill around the table. Five must have been the magic number because after three more people trickled in, the waitress took our orders.

bowl of salad topped with creamy dressing

While we waited for the chef to emerge, our server brought out house salads for everyone. The simple salad consisted of a bowl of lettuce and one cherry tomato topped in the house dressing, a creamy Thousand Island-like sauce with a strong taste of citrus and just the slightest sour note from the vinegar. It was very good, and I was more than happy to have something to hold us over until our chef emerged from the kitchen with a cart full of food and equipment.

Hibachi grilling is part dinner, part show. And the show began with quite a flash.

flame rising from a hibachi grill

Following a display of Ninja-like moves with the spatula, the chef oiled up the hibachi and set it ablaze. The eggs, which were to be chopped and toss with the fried rice, were the first to hit the grill, after a bit of juggling on the spatula. Then came a pile of rice, enough for all five of us at the table.

hibachi grill with sliced onion mounded to look like a volcano with flame coming out the top

After throwing on the vegetables, it was time to play catch. Everyone at the table took turns trying to catch a piece of broccoli that was flipped to us off the grill. I failed (twice), taking one sprout off my chest and another in the face. Julie didn’t fare any better, but two of our tablemates caught there’s in one shot. Being first and second in line, I’m going to say the chef’s accuracy got better as he went along.

Items were dished out one at a time as they were finished so our plates gradually filled, giving me a chance to taste everything hot off the grill.

plate of fried rice

First came the fried rice. It was, hands down, the best fried rice I have ever tried. From the fresh cooked egg to the nicely browned rice, everything was perfect. If I didn’t have that salad to hold me over, the rice would have been gone before anything else hit my plate.

plate of fried rice with two pieces of shrimp

With every hibachi dinner, you get a two-piece “shrimp sampler.” I’m not a big seafood fan, but I gave them a try, and I have to admit that they weren’t bad. And seeing them transformed from the raw, gray blobs into the nice pink pinwheels was pretty impressive.

plate with a stir fry of steak, rice, broccoli and onion

The final pieces to the puzzle were my NY strip steak and mixed vegetables (thankfully no game of catch was involved for these). The steak was nicely caramelized from the oil and sauces that it was cooked in. It was just a little greasy, but the strong flavors made up for it.

plate of shrimp with lo mein noodles

Julie decided to go a different route for her meal, opting for a side of noodles instead of rice for her shrimp. Everything on the plate really absorbed the soy sauce, but somehow the sauce did not overpower it.

two chambered bowl with two dipping sauces, one light brown and one dark brown

Everyone at the table also gets two dipping sauces: mustard and ginger. The mustard was a little more complex that your store-bought brand; it reminded me a little of a Carolina barbecue sauce, but not as sweet. The ginger sauce was my favorite, though. The namesake spice was very strong and I thought it went perfectly with the steak.

With the hibachi dinner, you are paying a premium for the experience, but at $44 for the two of us, it was still a good deal considering the sheer amount of food (and entertainment) we received.

We could have gone to the restaurant and sat at a booth and had the exact same food. But I know it wouldn’t have been the same.

Instead of having plates of food delivered to us, we got to watch our dinner crafted from scratch, feel the heat of the hibachi (and the broccoli hitting my face), hear the sizzle of the grill and smell the aromas of everything that was prepared.

The fact that the food was outstanding made it all the more enjoyable.

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

Tokyo Hibachi & Bar
960 Woodland Rd
Wyomissing, PA 19610

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Review: Isaac’s Famous Grilled Sandwiches

menu cover for Isaac's Famous Grilled Sandwiches featuring a flamingo in the logo

A soup and a sandwich. It’s about as stereotypical a lunch as you will find. That’s probably why so many restaurants offer soup and sandwich specials during the midday rush.

But just because it’s simple, that doesn’t mean it has to be to boring. Some places have taken it beyond grilled cheese and tomato soup.

One of those places is Isaac’s Famous Grilled Sandwiches.

Isaac’s began more than 30 years ago with a single location in downtown Lancaster. From there it has grown into a successful and popular regional chain with 17 locations across six Pennsylvania counties: seven in Lancaster, three each in York and Cumberland, two in Dauphin, one in Chester, and a single location in Berks County.

A bright pink flamingo beckons customers into the Village Square Shopping Center along Broadcasting Road in Wyomissing.

What makes Isaac’s unique from other restaurants is the simplicity of its menu. There are no “dinners,” no smattering of side dishes. Instead, it’s all about soups, salads and sandwiches.

That doesn’t mean the menu lacks variety. On the contrary, there are plenty of options, especially for sandwiches where you can order flatbreads, pretzel sandwiches, French bread sandwiches, Reubens, clubs and more.

Soup offerings are more limited. The creamy pepperjack tomato is available every day, along with one other flavor that rotates daily. According to Isaac’s website, there are more than 100 flavors in rotation.

cup of potato soup with a toast point

On our visit, the soup of the day was potato garlic. With the main ingredients being two of my favorite things, I could not resist ordering a cup. While not overly garlicky, you could definitely pick up its flavor. Every bite it seemed had a sliver of potato skin, which only enhanced the delicious flavors. The soup was complimented by a piece of toast, which did more than just add to the presentation.

As it was December, I decided to be festive with my sandwich choice and order from Isaac’s holiday menu: the swan club.

club sandwich arranged in four corners around a pile of chips

No, there is no swan in the swan club. Every sandwich at Isaac’s is named for a type of bird, and the swan club was the name given to Isaac’s version of the Pilgrim sandwich (better known around here as the Wawa gobbler). The club was stacked with  turkey, brown gravy, bacon, mayo, tomato, lettuce, cranberry sauce (I decided to hold the cheddar). With it soaked in gravy, the middle slice of bread served as a stand-in for stuffing, creating an entire holiday meal in one sandwich. The bacon was a nice addition, adding saltiness and a crunchy texture. What could have been a soggy mess was instead a delicious, cohesive sandwich.

While I was looking for a more substantial sandwich, Isaac’s offers a combo of a bowl of soup and half of a sandwich. Julie decided on a mix of Isaac’s tomato soup and the hoopoe: tun salad, melted cheddar, bacon and tomatoes on multigrain bread.

cup of tomato soup with croutons

The pepperjack cheese gives the tomato soup a completely new flavor, adding both a little spiciness and a little creaminess to the bowl. The homemade croutons only add to it, providing a zesty crunch to compliment the soup.

half a tuna sandwich on multi-grain bread on a plate with chips

The tuna in the sandwich was very flavorful, and mixed very well with the cheddar cheese. And as you know, bacon makes everything better, and it was a welcome addition. Multigrain bread seems odd, but it worked really well to compliment all of the ingredients.

When we finished with our sandwiches and piles of homemade chips, our final food bill was right around $20 (the addition of a couple speckled lemonades brought the total up a little higher).

With a menu that consists almost exclusively of soup and sandwiches, Isaac’s is not your traditional restaurant.

And with soup and sandwiches that are anything but traditional, it’s a great place for lunch or dinner.

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

Isaac’s Restaurant
94 Commerce Dr
Wyomissing, PA 19610

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