Penney's Pizza: The Radiation Must Be Messing With People's Taste Buds

Penney's Pizza, run out of a house on Ridge Pike in Royersford. I have heard massive amounts of great reviews, and since I was finally back in my home town, I decided it was a good idea to order it when I got the chance. 

Small White Pizza

Plain

Well as you can tell, these look a little funny...
Plain:
Cheese first, then a slather of sauce. The sauce was overly sweet and there was way too much of it. Like tomato soup with a nice douse of sugar. The cheese was rubbery and flavorless. Maybe they put the sauce on top to hide the sad excuse they would call "cheese". The crust was also tasteless, neither crunchy nor doughy or chewy. It had the consistency of a microwaved pretzel.
They used corn meal to dust the bottom of the dough which neither helped nor hurt the texture, my taste buds were annoyed.
Price: $12.00 for a large

White:
 This was a little more successful. They put ricotta cheese on first then mozzarella with a sprinkle of herbs. Perhaps a bit too much ricotta, after 1 slice I felt a sort of heaviness only a packet of laxatives and some prune juice could get rid of.
Price: $8.00 for a small

Corn Meal up Skirt

Verdict: One thing that struck me as odd was the fact the the pizzas fell apart.This could only happen from under cooking. I don't really understand why people of Limerick PA go crazy over this stuff, perhaps its the nuclear radiation? The place is always packed with cars picking up pizzas, I just don't get it. Maybe New York has spoiled me, but no way in hell would I ever get these again

Penney's Pizza

68 W Ridge Pike

Limerick PA 19468

Dinner: Craft Ale House, Best Kept Secret in the Suburbs

Living in New York City, it is easy for me to find restaurants that are made with love, that have both quality and quantity. In the suburbs of PA? Not so much. I had always been a fan of Craft Ale House with they first opened, though they only served micro brews then. Upon hearing that they started serving lunch and dinner a while back, I had to go check it out. Could this be my future go-to restaurant when I am in the area? Quite possibly so...

Unpretentious setting, this used to be Limerick Deli. Neighbors with a hardware store, I am sure many have drove past this place without a second thought.

Chalkboard wall with the daily microbrews, and spacious seating at the bar.

If you don't have time to sit for a drink, they have six pack holders you can fill with whatever custom beers you wish. Great if you just want to try different types.

Flying Fish Doggie Style Pale Ale

Buddy's dad ordered this one. He is the type to like lighter flavored beers and  with ABV 5.3%, it still had a nice hoppy flavor without being overbearing. There was a pleasant malt flavor which comes from the addition of Carastan malts.

Price: $4.00

Left Hand Imperial Stout

I  ordered this because (to be honest) of the name and the fact that it was on nitro tap. It had ABV 10.4%, and wow was this thick. The consistency reminscent of Guinness, but the taste- double the flavor. 

Price: $5.50

Stout Mustache!!

Funky Farmhouse Mussels

This was made with Farmhouse ale, leeks, bleu cheese, garlic and spinach. The mussel shells acted like little spoons to get scoops of every component in one big bite. The bleu cheese flavor was not very strong, but still nice to get little bites of cheese in my broth and twice as nice to put on the soft and buttery garlic bread that accompanied it.  

Price: $9.00

Grilled Octopus

This was made with asparagus, and a tomato chutney and garnished with micro greens. A more modest sized appetizer, I ordered it as an entree. The octopus (or as Buddy would call it Oct-op-pose) was tender, and gave easily with each bite. The tomato chutney was a nice acidic alternative to lemons but not overbearing in anyway. The asparagus was fresh and cooked to perfection. Beautiful presentation, perfect size for an appetizer.

Price:$9.00

Buttermilk Tenders

Buddy ordered this one. This was the star of the night. Too modest to call itself tenders, this was more like hardy fried chicken and undoubtedly one of the best of I have ever eaten. The breading was thick crunchy, spicy and bursting with flavor. The chicken was moist and juicy- so much so that some jumped out at me. Though the sauce was delicious, it was almost not necessary. With 7 or 8 pieces per order, this was big enough for 2 people.

Price: $8.00

Roasted Pork Sandwich with Hand Cut Fries

Buddy's dad ordered this one. It was slow roasted with garlic, herbs, beer and provolone cheese. A side of au jus, and hand cut fries. I didn't get a chance to taste the sandwich, but he seemed to really enjoy it. Massive in size, the other half was packaged in a to-go box. The fries? Best ones in PA. Soft with tough and resistant outer skin. A sprinkling of kosher salt and it was the perfect bar snack.

Price: $8.00

F.Y.I

If you can't decide on a beer, they are happy to give you little shot sized tastings. After 4 or 5 shot tasting, they only charge $1.00 for each additional taste. A great (and economical) way for trying different types of beer.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Of course we had to get dessert and this was house made! The "bread" seemed more crepe like with chunks of melted chocolate in its folds. Essentially, a disfigured chocolate crepe.

Price: $5.00

Banoffee pie

The owner's (Gary) wife made this at home. This is basically a banana cream pie, but she calls it a bafonte. Either way- it was delicious. The lighter dessert out of the two, the whipped creams airiness was refreshing on such a hot day. There was a hint of alcohol in it...perhaps Grand Marnier? The bananas perfectly ripened and the the pie crust crumbly.
     * upon speaking with the owner, I found out that this dessert is an English dessert made from bananas, cream, toffee and boiled condensed milk

Price: $5.00

Verdict: New York quality food and drink at PA prices. How can you beat that? The perfect place to come and eat when you want a more relaxed atmosphere then a rowdy bar. I can not wait to come back... a great reason to go to Royersford and visit parents!

Craft Ale House

708 West Ridge Pike
Limerick, PA 19468

www.craftalehouse.com

Dinner: Limerick Diner's Menu Tells Lies

Buddy and I had planned on seeing Toy Story 3 in IMAX 3D (which was AMAZINGGGGG) last Friday, and so we wanted to go to a place to eat on a budget. Seeing how Limerick Diner was re-done and now serving alcohol, we figured to give it a shot.

Ample Parking....high school memories anyone? This was the place to come after school and pig out on their massive omelette's, milkshakes, and pancakes.

An enticing display of petite desserts. You know I was going to come back for some after dinner!

Yeungling on Tap and  a Dirty Martini

First, the drinks took FOREVER to get to the table. Second I suspect.... that they didn't put any alcohol in my drink!! Sure I asked for a dirty martini, but it was definitely all olive juice. After finishing the drink, I didn't feel a nice buzz....I felt like I wanted 7 glasses of water because I just drank pure salt juice. Plus this gave me indigestion. If you do wish for alcohol with your meal, stick with the beer (which came out icy cold) 

Yuegling: $3.50

Olive Juice: $5.50

Vegetable Minestrone

This came with free with Buddy's meal. Overly salty but the vegetables were plentiful and melted in your mouth. The noodle in this were overdone.

Clam Chowder

This came free with my meal. Sure this soup looks like someone vomited in my bowl, but it was still pretty tasty. I'm not sure why I like this soup, there a few clam chunks, and the potatoes are well done, but it has an unusual gummy texture, overly salted and I'm pretty sure it's a couple of days old. Yet for some reason I continue to eat it. 

Corned Beef Sandwich

Buddy ordered this one. The beef was dry, cold and the dressing was purely coleslaw, not even a hint of russian dressing. The best part of the sandwich? The rye bread. He ended up only eating half the sandwich and stealing my dinner instead.

Price: $ 6.75

Chicken Carbonara with Linguine

So I don't know about everyone else out there, but when I think of pasta carbonara, I think linguine, scrambled eggs, pancetta, olive oil, and lotsa fresh cracked pepper. 

On the Limerick diners menu they subbed the pancetta with bacon, and no pepper or olive oil. Im fine with that, its a diner after all. They do say eggs. If you look at the picture, there is clearly hard-boiled eggs in my dish... for the love of all things Italian, why?! Were they too lazy scramble eggs into my pasta? This was very off putting. To top it off they added a massive amount of  tasteless cheese sauce. If I wanted cheese sauce,  would have gotten chicken alfredo. Instead of tiny bits of bacon, they literally took stripes of bacon, cut them in half, and threw it in the pasta. On the plus side, this thing was big enough to feed a village, with 4 large pieces of chicken breast hidden in the folds of the sauce. The chicken was surprisingly moist and perfectly cooked. The pasta was also perfectly cooked al dente- just the way I like it. This monster lasted me 4 separate meals after I brought the leftovers home.

Price: $13.95

Key Lime Pie Cheesecake

Before we left for dinner, I was watching a special on Food Network about cheesecakes. This got me craving one. After finishing my meal, I wanted to top it off with something tart and small. I opted for their key lime pie cheesecake. It had a lemon filling in the center, which was more sweet than tart. I was surprised by how much more cakey than dense this was. It was bordering almost to the point of angel food cake. The custard on top was also sickeningly sweet. I would get something else next time.

Price: $ 3.75

Verdict: Get the beer, not their mixed drinks. Want pasta? go for it, but maybe get one of their more traditional choices than a fancy one.  I would also  stick to my Kosher restaurants for corned beef or pastrami. However this place is still a vast improvement then what it used to be. Would I come back? Of course, there is still about a million things to try on their menu one is bound to be a jackpot. It's Limerick Diner after all!

Limerick Diner

411 W Ridge Pike

Limerick, Pa 19468

Quick Bite: Pretzel Depot

I love finding little special bakeries like this one. Just over the train tracks going through Spring City, this store is one of those "must stop" places.  I always come here whenever I'm home and visiting my parents. These pretzels are a great tasty carb filled treat.

The Outside View

The place is spacious with tables inside as well as benches and tables along the train tracks. Great to grab a bite, sit and chat outside on a nice breezy day.

The Pretzels

Taste: Nice and well salted, these egg yolk glazed pretzels pair perfectly with scallion or raspberry cream cheese, or even honey nut peanut butter. I am not a huge fan of mustard on pretzels and frankly I have know idea where that pairing even came from. I find that mustard is too strong of a flavor.

Texture:  You are lucky if you get them fresh from the oven. The outside has a thin crunchy skin and the inside is soft, hot and ultra light and fluffy. Its got a doughy chewiness, but not so much that its tough. These pretzels are by far my favorite in texture.

Price: $0.50 for 1 $3.00 for a dozen

Verdict: I definitely prefer these pretzels over Philly Soft Pretzel Factory (which I find way too doughy and tough). Actually, it is safe to say that these are the only pretzels I would eat. I have also tried their cinnamon sugar pretzel bagel; which is really fun to eat ( I do this by unraveling the roll until I hit the center, which is my favorite part!)  They also make breakfast and lunch sandwiches which is priced reasonably form 3-5 dollars.  I am very eager to try the rest of their twists, knots and sandwiches, so I will update you when I do : ). If you are passing through Spring City, don't forget to stop here!

Royersford Train Station

145 Main Street

Royersford, PA 19468

www.pretzeldepot.com

My first blog... EVER.

Hmm... what did I eat this weekend you ask? Well of course I started off with doughnuts!

Classic Glazed

Taste: Soft, buttery, melt in you mouth. Each bite is airy, and the sweet glaze lingered in your mouth long after your first bite.

Texture: Smooth, with little bits of hardened glaze

Smell: An aroma only love handles could adore

Blueberry Filled with Vanilla Frosting

Taste: It was like biting into a sweet roll topped with classic blueberry pie filling. A little too sweet with the Vanilla frosting. The aftertaste of "fried" flavor was faintly apparent

Texture: A little chewy on the outer shell, and too doughy on the inside

Smell: Like baked blueberry pie. Yum.

Boston Creme with Chocolate Frosting

Taste: The classic Boston Creme. The filling was not too sweet, which balanced out the sweetness of the chocolate glaze.

Texture: Again, a little chewy on the outer shell, and too doughy on the inside, which actually seemed to meld well with the thick pudding like texture of the creme

Smell: Hershey's milk chocolate bar

Peach Filled

Taste: It was like eating a piece of fresh cut potato bread with peach jam

Texture: The doughnut shell on this one seemed to be more "bready" than the other filled doughnuts. There were apparent decent chunks of peaches. I wish they had filled the doughnut up more however.

Smell: Like someone sucking on a peach flavored Jolly Rancher

Verdict: Suzy-Jo's is a great addition to the Royersford community. I have always wanted to try their pastries and I am glad I did. Will definitely come back for more of their fun flavors (they have Peanut Butter Fluff!!). The quality of doughnuts surpassed ones of the Dutch Bakery and Dunkin Donuts. At $4.75 for half dozen, I say that is a pretty good deal. The classic glazed is still my favorite!

Suzy- Jo Donuts

http://www.kingofprussia.com/suzyjodonuts/

61 S Lewis Rd, Royersford, PA - (610) 792-5441

49 E 4th St, Bridgeport, PA - (610) 279-1350