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​restaurant reviews
FROM BOB & ANNE POUNDS,the owners of welcome neighbor welcoming service

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6/9/2018

The Mad Greek

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​Restaurant Review:   The Mad Greek
Owners:  Debbie Beattes and Dean Grivas
Telephone:  610-494-0400
Address:  2805 Chichester Avenue, just after the church next to Produce Junction
Hours:  Monday-Saturday, 11-9 a.m.  (Closed Sundays)
Website:  www.themadgreekrestaurant.com, and they are on Facebook also
Ambiance:  The place is an informal BYOB café, with wait service and 8 tables for 4, as well as outdoor dining under bright red umbrellas in good weather conditions.  There is handy off-street parking beside the café.  One wall is attractively paneled in wood blocks, with insets of plantings.  Happy people kept arriving, bottles of wine tucked under their arms.  It’s the kind of place where you talk to fellow diners and ask how their food choice is—you know what I mean, chatty.
Service:  The two young female wait staff were charming and attentive, bringing menus and opening our bottle of wine soon after we sat down and taking other non-alcohol drink order from our son.  The only improvement I could have asked for would be to have a sharing plate for the dishes we split, the appetizers and desserts.
Experience:  The experience was so warm!  One of the owners, Dean, came over to say hello, and to further discuss one of the specials our waiters had introduced:  braised leg of lamb slices with lemon potato wedges and braised leeks.  I decided it was a must-have, though I usually like my lamb medium rare. 
But first:  another favorite Greek choice, dolmades, which are real grape leaves, filled with dill-seasoned rice and bathed in lemon juice and very good Greek olive oil.  Greek flavors are redolent of dill, lemon, olives and olive oil and oregano.  There were four on the plate, and they were gone in about a minute.
The lamb dish was luscious and generous!  The braised leeks were a good complement.  Fellow Cheap Eater Bob ordered pastitsio, which an unfamiliar American might describe as Beefaroni.  They would be so wrong! This dish is a bit of heaven, as follows:  it is layered ziti pasta, ground beef in a rich tomato-y sauce, and topped with rich and flavorful béchamel sauce seasoned subtly with nutmeg and another mysterious spice.  I love to cook, but this is one dish I don’t want to know how to make—because I couldn’t make it as well.  Just take me to The Mad Greek for my fix.  Our third diner, Jay Pounds, ordered a charred pork gyro (pronounced heero, not gyro).  It seems that a lamb gyro is not authentic, but pork and chicken are, with French fried potatoes on top of the meat, along with lettuce, tomato, onion, and a healthy dollop of Tzatziki sauce, which is a yoghurt and thinly sliced or shredded cucumbers, and garlic combo.  It is a thing unto itself, often eaten with just pita.  But in this case, piled onto the gyro—which arrives wrapped in foil, so you can keep the foil end wrapped up tight and eat from the top.  It is messy and delicious and filling. 
Dessert:  Yes, they have baklava, and we ordered (for $5.00) a giant piece shared between two of us.  It was the best baklava I’ve had, with the walnuts not quite a finely ground as they normally are, and the phyllo pastry flaky and oozing honey and butter.  It was so rich and satisfying, I was OK with just half of the most delicious pastry in the world.  They have several other pastry choices, one of which is a rich custard in phyllo pastry—another favorite.
Menu:  The selections are “something for everyone.” They have a huge Greek salad, and a mini Greek salad, which was itself huge and with a generous slab of good feta cheese.  One of their items we will try next is Shrimp Santorini served on pasta, and another is Greek-style ribs with lemon and oregano. 
In addition to their Greek and Mediterranean selections, they have Italian dishes, American dishes such as Memphis ribs and all-beef hot dogs, and a kids’ menu.   
Total Bill:  $47.70 plus tip, or $15.90 per person for three excellent and complete meals.  The wine was good, too!
Additional Comments:  I couldn’t resist the two big water carafes on the counter, one flavored with cut watermelon, and the other with cut pineapple.  I had a glass of the watermelon water.  Very flavorful.
Reviewed Saturday, June 3, 2018  by Anne Pounds
www.TheCheapEater.com,  an affiliate of www.WelcomeNeighborPA.com
 

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3/30/2018

Kennett Square Inn

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Restaurant Review for Kennett Square Inn
Owner:  Steve Warner
Telephone  610-444-5687
Website:www.kennettsquareinn.com
Location:  201 East State Street, on the corner of Broad and State, in the Borough of Kennett Sq.
Ambiance:  The historic restaurant has both a tavern with a downstairs entrance, and an upstairs with a dining room and warm, friendly atmosphere with a fireplace burning in cold months, and cozy window treatments surrounding bay windows looking out on State Street.  It is warm and comfortable with original art hanging around the room.  There were round tables for six and  square tables for four, and we were near a table for six of retired teachers meeting for a small reunion.
Service:  The service (in an uncrowded lunchtime scene) was on point, and the food arrived hot and quickly.
Experience:  We were there for lunch, and we usually eat light (in anticipation of our next meal, which we don’t want to spoil), so we each ordered a soup and ½ sandwich, a perfect solution for us most of the time—both were $9 each—well priced!  I got the mushroom soup, which is exactly as it should be, thick, creamy, complex and with wild and domestic mushrooms.  So perfect!  Fellow Cheap Eater Bob got a Crab-tomato bisque, which I got to taste.  It was luscious, and again, full of interesting flavors and good amounts of crab and tomato flavor.  I wanted a cup of each!  He then got a ½ turkey club sandwich with a “barrel pickle,” as it should be.  We both chose fruit as a side instead of French fries, and the fruit was “winter fruit.”  Good, varity nice, but still not at the peak of summer ripeness.  I would like to think that as summer comes on, there would be perfect specimens of in-season local fruit, maybe from the farmers’ market which happens at the next block up.     
I got a Reuben of corned beef, swiss cheese and house-made Russian dressing on marbled rye toast, open-faced.  It was luscious!  Very satisfying. 
Menu:  The menu is ful of wonderful selections, indicating a choice of large and small plates (a favorite of the Cheap Eaters), appetizers which could be dinner (again, we’re in), traditional dishes and a selection of small place entrees and large plates.  Neither selection is anything but well priced and a good value.  The food is classical, American-Continental cuisine, and presented beautifully.  I can’t wait to go back for anything  from the Shrimp LeJon to the Shrimp and Scallops St.Stephen, to the Duck with Wild Rice.  We haven’t even sat at the inviting bar yet, but we look forward to it.
Total Bill:  $15.90 plus tip, $19.90 total.
Additional Comments:  The Kennett Square Inn has been a mainstay of Kennett since 1838, and it has a resident ghost.  It has a history, and a host-chef-owner who has been doing his work well for 40-plus years!  It is a quiet place where you can actually talk and enjoy an atmosphere for dining which is respectful of something rather old-fashioned:  talking over dinner!
Anne Pounds
TheCheapEater.com, an affiliate of WelcomeNeighborPA.com
 


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2/7/2018

Mi Cocina

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Restaurant Review for
Cocina Authentic Mexican Cuisine
 
Owner:  Senor Mayolo Martinez, Owner-Chef
Location:  5 Jenners Village Center, West Grove, PA
Telephone:  610-450-6125, 484-667-8273
Website:  www.MiCocinaMexicana.net
Ambiance:  Clean and inviting, with sparkly Mexican fiesta décor.  There were many tables for 2 and 4 and no booths.  It was empty when we walked in at 12 noon, but it filled right up on a June weekday. 
Service:  Very obliging!  We were waited on by a lovely young woman named Rosie who was polite, helpful with menu items, and fast!
Experience:  We were served delicious corn tortilla chips with also delicious salsa, which went so fast!  She brought us more cheerfully.  The dishes were attractively presented and delicious.  Fellow Cheap Eater Bob got soft corn enchiladas filled with ground beef, refried beans and (surprise!) onion rings, which were perfect.   I went with three chicken enchiladas, also on soft corn tortillas, with salsa verde and lettuce, avocado and tomato and sour cream. I asked if I could have a tiny sample of mole´ sauce, and she brought me a generous ½ cup in a pretty dish.
Menu:  The menu has a huge variety of options, including a 3-choices selection of lunch specials for $7.99.  On the printed menu, the items were well explained and ingredients given in English
Total Bill:  $21.50 plus a $5.00 tip
Additional Comments:  They even do catering and can host parties at the restaurant by reservation.  I really look forward to going back for more of that authentic Mexican food!  Cocina is in the well-traveled Jennersville Shopping Center, the dining capital of Southern Chester County.  We counted seven different dining options, including the ice cream spot and the Giant Café, which is a nice place to meet up. 
Anne Pounds
TheCheapEater.com, an affiliate of WelcomeNeighborPA.com
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2/5/2018

Nudy's Café

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Restaurant Review
Restaurant Review for Nudy’s Café Lunch 12-17
Location:  The Village at Painter’s Crossing, Rtes 202 and 1, Chadds Ford, PA
Manager:  Corey Thorius
Telephone:  484-320-3032
Website: www.nudyscafes.com
Ambiance: This former Friendly’s Restaurant is clean, sharp, and yet warm with nice lighting, roomy booths, tables for four, and a patio which will be very suitable for outdoor dining in warmer weather.
Service:  The service was first-class, quick and attentive, by a very smiling waitress named Judy.
Experience:  We had very good bowls of New England clam chowder, giant size.  I added a half sandwich of chicken salad which again was quite large, served with tomato and lettuce, pickle spear and chips.  The chicken salad was too bland for me, but I am the type who puts stuff like Major Grey’s chutney, curry, almonds, grapes, etc. in my chicken salad when I make it.  Bland is not a word I identify with.  In their defense, I noticed they have a Granny Smith apple, raisins and pecan chicken salad, which would have been more interesting to me if I could have substituted for the plainer choice—but I didn’t ask.
Menu:  Their menu is quite extensive and has many unique offerings for eggs Benedict varieties, such as lobster benedict, crab benedict, and eggs Florentine benedict.  They also do lox and bagel with all the trimmings, always a breakfast plus for me.  They make big and hearty burgers, a great variety of sandwiches, salads and wraps, and a hearty bowl of soup for $3.50.  Some of the sandwiches sound really tantalizing.   I did not see any mention of desserts on the menu, but sometimes it’s good to have temptation removed.
Total Bill:  The soup and ½ sandwich selection was $9.99; our total bill was $23.61 plus tip.
Additional Comments:  This can be a nice place to go, with probably no waiting line at least for now.  It is a welcome addition for a good place for lunch and breakfast especially.
 
Anne Pounds
TheCheapEater.com, an affiliate of WelcomeNeighborPA.com
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1/18/2018

Angelina's Italian Grill

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Restaurant Review for
Angelina’s Italian Grill, Concordville, PA
 
Owner:  Angela Momo
Telephone: 484-800-8081
Address:  1102 Baltimore Pike, Glen Mills, PA 19342 (behind Fulton Bank off Rte 1 North, or off Applied Card Way, the new spur off 1 and 202 which passes through Wegman’s Shopping Center.
Website:  www.angelinasitaliangrill.com
Ambiance:  It is a cozy and warm environment, and they have improved on the lighting from the original Mile High Steak House. The night we were there, early in December, there was a “one-man band musician, Dean Garofolo, singing and playing back-up music.  Although he was an enjoyable addition to the birthday party for which he was performing, it wasn’t quite appropriate to the fine dining atmosphere I craved.
Service:  We received perfect service from our seasoned server, Teal. She was attentive in every way, but not intrusive. 
Experience:  We enjoyed the meal and could have been quite happy just enjoying appetizers and a small salad, which they at $7.  Caesar salad is $8, Angelina Salad with feta cheese added, is $11, caprese salad $9, and Antipasto Italiano $15.  It is BYOB, and there was a $5.00 corkage, as indicated on the menu.  
Menu:  There were 9 appetizers, mostly Italian classics, with a chef’s special, which I ordered, called a “Stacked Tomato” appetizer ($10). I give it 5 stars!  It was a stack of breaded and fried tomato slices with melted cheese and a luscious tomato sauce on a bed of arugua.  With some jumbo lump crab and capers, it was a meal and beyond excellent, very filling.  Fellow Cheap Eater Bob ordered the Italian Sausage appetizer for $9, which came in a pool of delicious marinara sauce with onions and peppers.  There were nice touches on the table:  delicious bread and butter, small plates of red pepper flakes and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Entrees:  My Ravioli Nicola was described as a cheese-filled rav, topped with jumbo lump crabmeat, in a brandy cream sauce.  I could not find any lumps of crab, which disappointed me, and the raviolis were cold in the middle.  But our waitress quickly remedied that and brought a whole new dish, now hot.  Bob’s Ravioli Pomodoro was cheese filled ravs with fresh tomato and basil sauce, definitely a 5-star dish.  I understand their pasta and sauces are all house-made, which I appreciate.
Total Bill:  My Ravioli Nicola was $22,00, Bob’s Ravioli Pomodoro was $17.  $72.08 with $5 cockage and tax; tip added another $14.00.  Total $86.08, not a cheap night, considering we bbrought our own fine bottle of red blend.   We got no dessert or coffee, and we felt there should have been a small side salad included to round out the meal.
Additional Comments:  They were totally booked Christmas Eve, and I imagine they are also for New Year’s Eve, which is a good sign.  We will see over time whether Angelina’s can break the “curse” on the difficult location of the hidden little center behind Fulton Bank off Route 1.
Anne Pounds
TheCheapEater.com, an affiliate of WelcomeNeighborPA.com
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12/8/2017

Half-Price Burgers at the Brandywine Prime!

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​Restaurant Review for Brandywine Prime Friday Night Half-Price Burger Night
Owner: Michael Majewski
Telephone: 610-388-8088
Website: www.brandywineprime.com
Ambiance: I am a big fan of the happy hours at Brandywine Prime partly because of the ambiance and service. The tavern/lounge is a big “comfy” room with cloth tablecloths and a variety of seating, and the bar is a good old zinc top bar which winds around the accommodating bartenders. There is a long high-top table island in the middle of the bar, with high-top tables for 2 all around the perimeter of the bar. The lounge is through French doors and open to the bar.
Service: This is what separates the Prime: Their service is impeccable and caring, and they treat happy hour customers as if they were the same royalty as if I were the Queen herself. Even on this buzzy last Friday evening in December, it was jammed with happy people, and the service was customized and very quick. They brought our food as we liked it, letting us know they can give us what we want. And that burger was at half price!
Experience: We intended to go to the Christmas Parade in West Chester, and we spent two hours in traffic at 5 p.m. unsuccessfully trying to locate just one parking spot. We began to think the Brandywine Prime sounded better! But we could hardly find a parking space in the lot there! The Prime is very popular, and I recommend starting as early as you can—which can be from 5 p.m. to 7, but half-price burgers are all night long. Our waitress asked how we want our burgers—a full quarter-pound prime beef on brioche roll, with jack or bleu cheese, carmelized or raw onion, the works if we want it, mushrooms if we want them. It was huge, and I couldn’t eat it all, but I enjoyed trying. We have split a burger in the past. It is kind of a knife & fork meal OR juices running down, which is another kind of happy. She asked how we wanted our beef, and it came rare, as ordered—and hot! The burger comes with a hearty serving of skin-on frites. There was a spinner with all the condiments we like, right in front of us. We had classic martinis first, with Beefeater’s gin and two olives—perfect. I got a glass of house cabernet sauvignon, and Bob got an interesting draft pint of IPA, perfectly pulled and with nice head. The drinks are not on special on Friday nights, but they were as good as always
Menu: Happy Hour Specials are shown below, to make it easy for you to pick your best night. We’ve done ‘em all. By the way, the wine list is excellent, including their house wine, which changes regularly. Monday is BYOW with no corkage fee, but any other night you are free to BYOW with a $6 corkage.

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9/30/2017

Queen Cuisine

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REVIEW OF Queen Cuisine Asian Restaurant
 
Old Ridge Village, Rte. 202 at Ridge Road, Chadds Ford, PA
Telephone:  610-358-COOK (2665), 610-358-2488
Website:  http://queencuisinechinese.com
 
Ambiance: Pleasant and clean, but the phones are constantly ringing loudly, which was a definite disturbance to the diners' peace of mind (at least at my table, anyway).  I would suggest headsets to answer while they are filling the many take-out orders and pick-ups.
Service:  The service was very good, timely and well performed by Emily, our wait person.




Szechuan Beef was our favorite entree

Experience:  We were served a plate of fried noodles and a red dipping sauce.  The noodles were on the stale side, and the dipping sauce was quite sweet-could have used more vinegar and complexity.  This was true of all the sauces:  too sweet.
We had eaten there only once before and had a less-than-good experience, right after they opened.  One aspect then has been corrected, in that we didn't have to stand at the counter and place our orders.  This time we actually sat down and had Emily come to take the order-as it should be!  
But the other issue has not been resolved, and it needs to be:  the meats previously and at this most recent experience have this terrible "spongey" consistency which is a real turn-off.  I can only guess that the meat is soaked in a solution of meat tenderizer of some sort.  I would so prefer if they could change this policy!  If the meat is sliced thinly and cooked quickly, most all meat is tender when done this way!   Since I cook Asian food a lot, I know this works fine.  There is no need to adulterate the texture (and possibly the flavor) by tenderizing meat
Since I am on a weight management plan, I ordered lettuce wraps, which were less than wonderful, because they lacked the "peanuty" flavor one usually finds, and the meat was so crumbly it kept falling out of the lettuce.  Also, we ran out of lettuce.
We shared crab wontons (not on my diet), which had been favorably reviewed on the web.  They
were good, but mostly creamed cheese and no discernible crab taste or texture.  And the sauce was the same one, too sweet. 
 
Read Entire Review on Facebook
 
By Anne Pounds at  
TheCheapEater.com, an affiliate of WelcomeNeighborPA.com
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4/11/2017

Zoes Kitchen

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Restaurant Review for  Zoës Kitchen
 
General Manager:   Jim Kelly
Telephone:  484-800-8914
Location:  1751 Wilmington Pike, Concordville, PA 19342, at the opposite end of Mod Pizza and the Wine & Spirits Shop in the strip in front of Wegmans
Website:      zoeskitchen.com
 
Ambiance:  This could be a place easily missed, because the name recognition is fairly low in this part of the country, but they have many locations in other areas.  I’m glad we found it.
The layout consists of a variety of seating options both indoors and outdoors, which looks like it will be very inviting in a month or so.  Inside there are hi-top tables, big group tables, intimate tables for four.  Outside, tables with umbrellas.  On the right is the “pathway” to ordering and a view of the overhead menu.  The “pathway had a little bit of a “cattle chute” feel, and I felt somewhat uncomfortable approaching the ordering area, because I felt somewhat trapped.  I think posting the menu in a large colorful format at the front windows would be a great idea.  I know I always enjoy checking out the menu BEFORE I enter—and I am not easily intimidated!
 
Service:  The service all around was smiley and helpful with explanations of the theme and options offered well covered.  A team member asked if it was our first time at Zoe’s, and then asked if we’d like to sample hummus flavors.  We tasted 3 different flavors!  They pointed out where utensils and extra condiments and drinks were.  They staff carried our meals to a hi-top table we had chosen when it was ready.  The general manager introduced himself, and was so friendly.
 
Our Experience:  Excellent place!  The food was so attractive and utterly delicious.  There for a late lunch, we had gone there on a friend’s recommendation, but we had no idea why she love-love-loved it.  Once we started tasting, we found out why. It is a Mediterranean menu, oriented toward Greek, I would say.  We decided we would share so we could taste a good sampling of dishes.  I ordered a Greek salad (bottle of house-made dressing right on each table), basil-flavored hummus, pita wedges, Kalamata olives, and a small cup of what they called raita (Indian word for tzatziki, to use the Greek moniker) a fine addictive concoction of Greek yoghurt, finely chopped cucumber, onion and garlic.   Fellow Cheap Eater Bob got beef kabobs (two skewers of delicious steak tips, char-grilled with red peppers and onions on the skewers), roasted root vegetables and grilled potatoes.  I got one of the skewers!  We each had interesting San Pelligrino sodas, prickly pear and blood orange.  The sodas were delicious, but to me the meal called out for a bottle of red—just a few doors away! 
Both Jim, the general manager, and a female wait staff person (is that what you say instead of “waitress” these days?) asked how our meal was.  
 
Menu:  No microwaves, no fryers!  Food is all fresh and freshly prepared, even their limeade with cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup.
The menu, once you digest it, is full of happy surprises.  Examples:  Hummus trio, with pita bread and chips, and cukes, cherry tomatoes and bell peppers, $6.99.  Soup, $3.69 a cup or 5.29 a bowl.  There are lots of vegetarian selections, from Tabouli salad to Veggie Kabobs to spinach roll-ups, and so much more.  Menu items are marked as vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free.  They also have a selection of Mediterranean family meals to serve 4-6, with one or two entrees,  and various sides and salad selections, well priced at $29.99 to $39.99
 
Total Bill:   Our cost for two quite full meals came to $25.51, no tip needed!    It was really satisfying.  We could have done a cup of soup for $3.49 and a side Greek salad for $3.89 to be really cheap; or a Pick 2 (soup, side, salad, or dessert) for $7.39; but it’s hard to beat a great meal for $12.75 a person!
 
Additional Comments:
Next time I’ll try the tabouli salad at $7.99 and shrimp kabobs Note to self:  Next time have a bottle of red wine handy, and try sitting under an umbrella outside.
 
Anne Pounds
TheCheapEater.com, an affiliate of WelcomeNeighborPA.com
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2/22/2017

The Original Spence Cafe

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​131 N. High Street, West Chester, PA 19382
610-918-1272

www.spence.cafe
Andrew Patten, renowned West Chester chef and restaurant owner, has emerged again in the charming café formerly known as The Three Little Pigs near the corner of High St. and Chestnut Sts., across from the Hotel Warner.
Ambiance:  Warm and casually elegant, with butter-colored tablecloths, nice cutlery, terrariums decorating both the tables and the walls.  Oh—and there was hot sauce on the table, but no personal pepper grinder.  Just ask the wait staff.  There is lots of room, and an outdoor patio for warmer weather.
Service:  Very good and personal.  I liked that the owner, Andrew, came around to each table when he had a breather.  Our coffee cups were regularly refilled, and the food was brought hot and came quickly.
Experience:  We were there for lunch on a weekday, and I opted for a salad of house-roasted turkey, which proved to be really flavorful with big, thick and tasty slices of it, along with dollops of goat cheese, almonds, and fresh sliced strawberries and plump blueberries.  The poppy seed dressing was served on the side, and I didn’t leave a drop of it behind.  Generous portion and delicious!  There was no bread served, but the salad was so big, I was fine with that.  Presentation was nice:  the salad arrived in a huge shallow white ironstone bowl filled with spring greens and all the other goodies.
Fellow Cheap Eater Bob got a “Pick Two” lunch from three selections of soups or chili, salads and ½ sandwiches.  He chose a ½ sandwich and a cup of chili.  The chili was a very good chicken and black bean variety, and for once Bob didn’t miss beef.  The sandwich was a generous whole wheat pita with albacore tuna salad stuffed full, with lettuce.  The coffee is a locally roasted coffee and was quite good—we drink it black, so good coffee is easily detected. 
Then I made the mistake of spotting the cookies.  We each had one for the modest price of $1.00—for two!  Honestly, they were ambrosial, with big chunks of white chocolate, whole macadamia nuts, and were perfectly baked—by Andrew himself. 
What we paid:  I should mention that Spence Original Café is BYOB, but it was a working lunch for us, so we abstained.  Our lunches were $12 each, coffees $4, cookies $1.00 and a fairly generous tip (for us).  Total, with tip, $37.74.  More than we usually pay for a lunch out, but a whole lot classier than a slice of pizza eaten on the run.
The full menu for lunch and dinner will be posted on the website TheCheapEater.com (Selections/prices subject to change.)
Disclaimer: The Original Spence Café is a sponsor of Welcome Neighbor’s welcome basket for new homeowners, and they provide a very generous gift certificate. 

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131 N. High Street
610-918-1272

 


Lunch Menu
 

Soups
Soup du Jour.............................................. 4
Today's Chili.............................................. 5
 
**Salads
Served w/French or multigrain baguette
Baby Kale Caesar, house made dressing,
croutons and asiago cheese.............................................. 10
    Fall Harvest, mixed greens, apples, dried
cranberries, walnuts, gouda cheese, cider
vinaigrette....................................................................... 10
The Med, mixed greens, hummus, feta cheese,
cucumber, roasted peppers, blush wine
vinaigrette....................................................................... 10
Spinach, Bacon, egg, grape tomatoes, bleu
cheese, mushrooms, poppy seed dressing……………….10
**add to any of the above salads;
Grilled chicken........................ 3
Salmon.................................. .4
Shrimp................................... 4
 
Roast beef and aged gouda cheese with
creamed horseradish, roasted peppers on
French baguette.................................................. 10
Roast Turkey and muenster cheese, cranberry
herb mayo arid baby spinach on multigrain
baguette....................................................................... 10
Black forest Ham and brie with creamy Dijon and baby spinach on French baguette....10
Tarragon chicken salad with toasted walnuts
and red grapes with mixed greens in whole
wheat pita................................................................... 10
Albacore Tuna Salad with dill pickle and sweet
onion with mixed greens in whole wheat
pita............................................................................. 10
*Sandwiches come with bag chips or side salad of the day.
**substitute LOW CARB PROTEIN WRAP for bread choice on any sandwich......2
*Pick 2 Combo........................................................ ....12
Choice of 1/2 sandwich, cup of soup, or 1/2 salad- garden or Caesar salad
 



131 N. High Street
610-918-1272
 

 
 
 
 

Dinner Menu
 
STARTERS
 Root Vegetable & Crab Soup $8
Mushroom Bisque $7
Steamed Mussels chorizo & fennel tomato broth $12
Crispy Pork Belly Napa cabbage slaw $12
Duck & Mushroom Eggroll sesame dipping sauce $10
Flatbread sweet sausage, spinach, roasted peppers, fontina cheese $12
Baked Blue Point Oysters bacon, spinach, Pernod $15
SALADS
Romaine Wedge cucumber, tomato, bacon, and creamy bleu cheese dressing $10
Baby Spinach and Kale roasted butternut squash, sunflower seeds, feta cheese, cider
vinaigrette $10
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dinner Menu
 
STARTERS
 Root Vegetable & Crab Soup $8
Mushroom Bisque $7
Steamed Mussels chorizo & fennel tomato broth $12
Crispy Pork Belly Napa cabbage slaw $12
Duck & Mushroom Eggroll sesame dipping sauce $10
Flatbread sweet sausage, spinach, roasted peppers, fontina cheese $12
Baked Blue Point Oysters bacon, spinach, Pernod $15
SALADS
Romaine Wedge cucumber, tomato, bacon, and creamy bleu cheese dressing $10
Baby Spinach and Kale roasted butternut squash, sunflower seeds, feta cheese, cider
vinaigrette $10
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ENTREES
 
Almond & Three Seed Encrusted Chicken spaghetti squash, marinara, ricotta $26
Braised Short Ribs root vegetable puree, cabernet demi-glace $27
Pan Seared Striped Bass crispy sushi rice, sweet soy & ginger beurre blanc $28
Pan Seared Swordfish & Petit Crab Cake roasted potatoes, herbed tartar $32
8oz. Filet roasted potatoes, candied shallots, bleu cheese butter $35
Pan Seared Salmon Mediterranean style sautéed calamari, roasted potatoes $27
Toasted Peppercorn Grass Fed Ribeye Sheri jus, celery root gratin $32
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2/5/2017

the Gables at Chadds Ford

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REVIEW OF The Gables of Chadds Ford, 423 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, PA
January is a quiet month for dining out, but we ventured to The Gables twice last month, for both dinner and a big family brunch. So I’ll share comments on both, covering just dinner this month.
Ambiance: The setting is a converted former dairy barn going back to an original William Penn grant. Most everything about the Gables invites you to relax and soak up the country atmosphere. The patio to the left of the main entrance features big Adirondack chairs, a firepit, and outdoor heaters (all of it snow-covered now). To the right is a fieldstone retaining wall and garden with a hidden plaque indicating near proximity of a Revolutionary War battle, and lush plantings in warm seasons. In fact, there are green and flowery views calling to you at every turn, including the walled garden/grotto with water features for outdoor dining and wedding settings in season.
As you step inside the foyer, a turn to the right takes you to the maître-d stand and the bar and lounge and restaurant seating beyond; a turn to the left will take you upstairs to the huge banquet room (they just won best wedding venue 2016) or to outdoor seating.
Back to the bar: Huge antique windows, upholstered chairs and cozy tables, and a long and inviting copper-topped bar, with a pianist delivering really listenable jazz on Friday and Saturday nights. Everything is right—just about. The dining room beyond can definitely use more lighting to warm it up since it lacks direct light from windows, but they’ve worked hard at reducing noise in the big space. Aside from the lighting, the tables are dressed in cloths, and cloth napkins with good-weight cutlery and Gables-embossed glasses make a diner happy.
Service: On point, maybe even a little over the top, with coffee cups and water glasses constantly being filled. At dinner service, the food was delivered quite quickly and was very hot!
Menu: The dinner menu offers plenty to choose from, but it’s not a “Chinese menu” of endless selections. I would say it is a “curated” menu with a rounded selection—emphasis on quality, not quantity. We selected the wine, and I was thrilled to find a very nice bottle at a good price—quickly changed our minds when we learned the price was per glass! We lowered our standards and each went for glasses of Penfold’s Shiraz at $9 a glass—it tasted like a million bucks, due to the power of the mind. No, really, it was very good. Their wine list is excellent and pricey, but they also are comfortable with byob.
Experience: Since we were treating our son to a birthday dinner, we urged him to order whatever his heart desired. So we both began with Whiskey Ginger Shrimp at $10: lovely plump shrimp in a sauce which was slightly bitter but interesting enough.
Son Jay then got a very unusual dish, which he loved: Pork Volcano Shank with brown sugar and bacon fat popcorn, arranged in a generous bed of local wild mushrooms and chestnut puree. The popcorn was fun and tasted good, he loved the pork (falling off the bone, as they say), and I got the mushrooms and puree.
Fellow Cheap Eater Bob and I both ordered the wood-fired smaller filet mignon ($26 vs. $37), which was presented with a red wine reduction demi-glace, roast fingerling potatoes with shallots, truffled baby carrots (I ate the little green stems—very good), and perfect fresh green beans. I only needed to eat half of my filet to be totally satisfied, so it became a lunch sandwich at home. It was quite generous, and done just as requested, medium rare.
We skipped salads, as our meals were more than adequate, and I make salads virtually every night at home.
Yes, we all went for over-the-top desserts, and they were just that: the men got Ann’s Chocolate Espresso Cake (2015 winner at Kennett Chocolate Lovers Festival) and I chose Ann’s Chocolate Banana Cake, which arrived enrobed completely in chocolate. Both were so luscious we didn’t want to share even a bite. I think Bob got a cognac, which I got to sip also.
Total Bill: Since it was a pull-out-all-the-stops occasion, our check was just over $100. We skipped cocktails, had only one wine each, Bob got no appetizer, so you could say we economized somewhat. Divided 3 ways, it was a reasonable splurge. Next month I’ll discuss the brunch at The Gables of Chadds Ford.
Anne Pounds
TheCheapEater.com
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    Anne & Bob Pounds, the owners of Welcome Neighbor, the new home owner personal visitation, community orientation service and deliverer of special housewarming gifts from sponsoring business owners,  enjoy having the best eating out experiences... at the lowest prices, hence thecheapeater.com   They love sharing their "finds" here and in their monthly newsletter: the Neighborly News. Enjoy!

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