Mike's Brick Oven Pizza

(menu)

Anyone looking at these posts must think I have a lonely, binge eating life.  Really there are just a ton of takeout places in Pottstown.   I should grab a friend and a sixpack soon and make more of my local pizza places.  This time, though...I got takeout for myself.  Close to my house is Mike's Brick Oven Pizza.  They're right on Charlotte St., south of what I would consider the North End.  I'm sure you're all sick of my pepperoni and plain pizzas.  Sometimes I think the basics are the measure with which to judge these places, but I wanted to mix it up so I ordered Chicken Parmesan on Spaghetti, yum!

Ordered over the phone and went to pick it up.  I was a couple minutes early and it wasn't ready when I got there, but the lady at the counter was nice and said it would be out shortly.  They have an old TV in there and a couple tables.  I hung out for a few and my food came out.  Friendly service.

On to my kitchen where food would be consumed but not prepared.  The Chicken Parm came with garlic bread and a salad.  The salad looked nice.  I have to confess that I didn't eat it, but robbed it of veggies for a later meal.  It had cucumbers, tomatoes, black olives and cheese.  Pretty good for a takeout place.

The garlic bread was made from a long roll - half of one of their sandwich rolls I'm guessing.  That's typical for these takeout places.  It was toasted, nothing special, but I definitely ate it :)

A problem that I have with takeout food is that you take things that are nicely crispy or toasted and you wrap them up so their heat steams away and makes everything soggy.   I'm sure in this case that fact made the bread less than crisp and it usually would overcook the pasta as well. The pasta really wasn't overcooked like that though.  Of course it isn't going to be like it was prepared fresh and served on a plate, but it held up pretty well to the steam bath.  The chicken was real, not reformed patties.  The portion ended up lasting me for something like two more meals so it was definitely worth the price.

I would recommend Mike's. Like a lot of these takeout places, I should go back and try their specialty or something unique and report again.  I will keep you posted.

Paleromo Pizza

(menu)

Alright...I'm going to confess something here.  Please do NOT repeat.  I enjoy eating in public with friends and family, but the real secret is that I am also kind of a closet eater.  Sometimes I eat in my car or at my house where no one can see.  I make bad decisions and they are tasty.

So Palermo has been on my list as a recommendation from a friend.  It's on Charlotte across from the Redner's and North End Wine & Spirits.   They do not deliver so as I was passing through one Saturday on my way to Boyertown's Octoberfest I thought it would be a great place to pick up some dinner.

I called in my order of a small pepperoni pizza and picked it up without incident.  The people were friendly and they have a large selection of crappy domestic beer for takeout. Great if that's what you're into.

What I'm into is eating pizza in my car apparently.  This is the closet eating part.  Not sure what my issue is, but pizza in the car is a bad idea and I do it anyway.  The pizza had a great smell which caused me to eat it in the parking lot of the very building where I picked it up.  When I pulled the first slice from the pie a lot of the cheese came off.  This could have been from the temperature - it was still very hot.  Maybe it should have cooled a bit before consumption, but that didn't stop me.  For the record, the second slice also lost it's cheese in transit to my mouth.

It was a little greasy, but I feel that my vehicular indulgence may have effected the quality of the pizza.  So, that being said, I will report that the pizza was good, possibly loose and greasy, but I will do my duty and go back and report again.  Let's call this a confession and not a review.  Please don't tell anyone that I ate a pizza in my car.

Cutillo's Restaurant

(menu)

I've been to Cutillo's about a million times.  I actually lived in one of their weekly rental apartments for 6 long strange months in about 2008.  They have a fine dining/white tablecloth dining room that's 2 floors with a nice view of the creek and their landscaped gardens.  They also have a bar with more casual seating and they have outdoor seating which I haven't ever sat at.

Steve and I decided to go to Cutillo's one night.  We usually like to sit at the bar, but when I showed up the bar was very full and loud.  It looked like they were having a business mixer or something so we decided to sit in the dining room instead.

The dining room is still nice.  It's kind of traditional looking.  A great setting for a meal with your parents or grandparents, maybe a nice romantic evening when they have the harpist.  They had a fake flower in a vase on the table with light aimed at it.  Looks nice, but it was fake.

The beer list was not very extensive.  Really just the basics, one or two crafty type beers.  I ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Our dinners came with a choice of salad so I ordered the garden salad with blue cheese dressing and Steve got the Caesar Salad.

The salads came out with a small basket of warm rolls.  I try to avoid bread, but if it comes out uninvited, I'm not going to turn it away.  The butter was in those little, gold, paper wrappers.  The wrappers are terribly annoying.  Your hands get all buttery when you open them and they can rip when you try to get butter onto your knife.  Why not bring out a plate with some unwrapped butter?  The bread was very good, it had a little bit of a raw taste inside, but I didn't mind it.

The waitress offered fresh grated parmesan for our salads and Steve took her up on the offer.  The croutons on both salads were very light and airy.  They must have been made from a less dense bread. Not a big winner for either of us, but just a matter of opinion. The Caesar was pretty standard, not especially exciting and the garden salad was good with romaine lettuce, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.  The blue cheese dressing was pretty good with lots of small pieces of cheese.

I ordered a special. It was a salmon dish.  The specials came with a complimentary dessert, creme brulee.  It was a nice feature for the price, but didn't influence my decision.  The way the dish was plated was a real turnoff.  Everything was sort of shifted to the right side.  It was like they forgot to put something on the left side or like the person plating paid zero attention.  I know plating does not effect the taste of the food, but it felt wrong, especially in a white tablecloth restaurant.  The salmon was cooked well with capers, tomatoes and artichoke hearts in a white wine sauce.  The potatoes and green beans were standard.

Steve ordered the broiled sea scallops.  The plating of his meal was similarly unappetizing.  The scallops were just kind of dropped on the plate.  There was nothing outstanding about the scallops either.  They weren't over or under cooked, but they didn't have a perfect sear on them or anything.  The white wine, lemon butter, lobster cream sauce was unimpressive. Tasted a little like a seafood bisque.  Not delicate, just one, flat seafood flavor.

Like I said, I'm not a big dessert eater, but the creme brulee was well torched, nice and crispy on top.  It was a little too sweet - even more than usual I think.  Nice presentation here though.

I was kind of disappointed with Cutillo's.  The service was good and the view is nice, but the food - the most important part - left some things to be desired.  I'm not going to rush back there for the next special occasion.

Carousel of Flavor

Carousel Website

Some more pics from the Pottstown Mercury

On Sunday, September 14, The Carousel at Pottstown held its 11th Annual Carousel of Flavor.  11th?  Yes, the 11th.  I have been living in the general vicinity for about 11 years and I only started hearing about this event a couple years ago.  This year I almost missed it and it was on my list of events I wanted to go to.  I'm not sure why I didn't hear about it until a couple days earlier, but it is frustrating to me that such an inclusive community event is not better advertised.  Also, their website is not very detailed or well updated.  If you're looking for a volunteer opportunity maybe you should give them a call.  Or maybe I'm dense, or maybe I blocked out the image of that terrifying rabbit on their poster.  In any case, I got word just in time this year and even though I had a few other things scheduled I was able to stop by for a couple hours.

The carousel is an historical tourist attraction in process of being restored and this event raises money for the project.  You can read more about it on their website.  Carousel of Flavor is held on the 100 block of High Street.  The street itself is closed and a couple of those big tents are set up.  Out in front of borough hall they sell tickets for $1 each to purchase food and drinks and you can also catch a trolley ride there to go see the carousel which is located on King Street across from Memorial Park.  There are vendors selling crafts and things which I did not visit.  Then there are food vendors and then a tent for beer and wine vendors.  The vendors are all supposed to offer small dishes so people can come and try several different things.  Unfortunately the items weren't that small and we only got to try a few.  Not all of the vendors are from Pottstown, but they are all in the general area from King of Prussia to Douglassville.  So as far as my 19464 restriction, I am reviewing this event and not the individual establishments necessarily...

Steve and I started with some brisket tacos from Talk's Tavern and OMG Mac n Cheese from Oscar's Catering.  The brisket tacos were pretty awesome.  They were served in soft flour tortillas with caramelized onions.  The white sauce or liquid the beef was in was very thin and made for messy eating, especially when the breeze was blowing.  Better keep your taco upwind.  The flavor was not Mexican in any way like I was expecting, but the beef was tender and savory.  Really good.

The OMG Mac n Cheese was good.  It looked like it had been baked and had been made with a roux like good homemade mac n cheese is supposed to be made.  I thought the flavor was good, but not bold.  It needed more salt at least.  I'm one of those people that like a little overdone crunch on the edges.  There wasn't any of that, maybe that's good for some people.  It was good though.  The portion was nice for the price and it was served hot.  

Next, we visited the beer and wine tent.  One of our favorite bars, Craft Ale House was serving beer.  They were pouring local Pottstown brews from Sly Fox (one of my favorite hangouts in Pottstown) as well as Dogfish Head Punkin.  The owner, Gary and his wife Melissa were pouring and Patrick was there from Sly Fox talking up the crowd and helping with the taps.  Tilted Kilt and Pub 990 had beer in the beer tent too, but it was Rolling Rock and Miller Lite if I recall accurately.  That's not really my kind of beer - I guess it's good they had something for everyone.  Manatawny Creek Winery was there pouring wine which I did not try that day.  They do a decent job for a local PA winery.      

After a beer or two I was on to Grumpy's where I was greeted by Sheila, one of the owners.  They had a Sloppy Thanksgiving Sandwich that was an open-face turkey sandwich.  It had cranberry sauce, filling and a think slice of turkey all covered in a turkey gravy.  I love that salty/sweet/tart thing you get when you mix all those flavors together.  It was pretty traditional and the flavor was good.  I had to find a seat so I could eat it with a knife and fork, but that wasn't much of a problem.

Steve decided on the Hot Beef Slider from CD's Place.  There was more than one example of a pulled pork slider among the food vendors and I think that's a pretty typical offering for walking around and eating outside.  I'm sure they all varied in style and quality as well, but the beef slider was something I don't normally see.  It was really good too.  It wasn't barbecue flavored like a lot of pulled meats are so that was a plus in the unique department too.  It was juicy and tender the way things get when they have been cooked all day.  The bun was standard.  CD's does catering, they might be worth a look.

The participating restaurants were apparently tasked with decorating their tables which I didn't see much of.  Some of them seemed to be really into the event and excited to be there and meet people while other restaurants didn't make much of an effort to be creative or even show up on time.  

There were also a lot of desserts at the event.  I imagine part of the reason for that is because they can be made in advance and they don't need to be kept hot or even cold for most of them.  I'm not much of a dessert eater so I didn't try any, but if you have a sweet tooth I bet you would have been satisfied here.

Next year I am going to try to skip breakfast and sample more food.  As an event I think it is a good format.  There is no charge to be there so all types of people and their dogs and their babies could attend.  The tickets were only a dollar and the food selections were as little as 2 tickets so you could spend as little or as much as you wanted really.  Anytime I get to stand outside and drink is a good time too.  Love the fresh air and chatting.  

China Bar

I didn't ask for a menu and I can't find one online so I will add it here sometime in the future.

I've seen this place lots of times in my travels but I had never been there until this past Thursday night.  Steve and I ventured out and drove past it a couple times before actually getting there.  We parked on the left side of the building and walked in.  You walk into the dining room and the bar is in another room further in. It was a little dark and no one greeted us.  We decided to head into the bar.  The place is a little shabby, but clean.  Not modernized or anything, I wouldn't take a date here until after we were already drunk.

We sat at the bar and were greeted by the bartender who I believe may have been the owner as well.  I saw quickly that only the standard beers were on tap: Bud, Miller Lite, Coors Lite, Yuengling, some kind of line up like that so I asked about bottled beers.  There was a takeout cooler on the other side of the bar and we were directed there to peruse the selection.  Steve made the trip over (I was not so optimistic) and he reported back that there was nothing more interesting than an entire shelf of 4Loco.  Wasn't that stuff banned?  I asked for white wine and the bartender said they had White Zinfandel.  Then he found a bottle of Moscato.  Neither is my cup of tea so I ordered a Stoli and club with a splash of cranberry.  Steve got a Lager.  For the record, the beer prices were pretty good with $2 mugs and $3 pints.  We were carded and the bartender used our first names when returning our cards and followed up to make sure my drink was made properly too.

We asked for food menus and they were pretty standard for a chinese place.  They have lunch specials that looked ridiculously cheap.  That's worth a look on another day.  They have all the regulars, soups and egg rolls, chicken, shrimp and beef with different sauces and veggies, bean curd and steamed options and then a back page with specialties.  Steve didn't want to go with the standard so he ordered Braised Duck with Lychee.  I ordered Beef with Spicy Garlic Sauce.  We both got Wonton Soup and an Egg Roll. The additions were a good deal at only $1.99/person.

I think it at least twice as long to get the food than it should have.  Our bartender may have been cooking it as well as getting our drinks.  There were two other guys at the bar though and it turns out they were quite good conversationalists and both had some opinions about the current state, past and future of Pottstown.  I love chitchat about Pottstown - certainly everyone has something to say.  I was sad to learn in this conversation that the bar closest to my house, Brian's, was shut down last weekend.  Too bad I didn't get to try their food yet, I hear they had goat.

Our food did eventually come out.  It was preceded by a bowl of straggly, fried Chinese noodles.  You can almost see them in the upper left hand corner of this picture.  They were super tasty.  Both Steve and I could see ordering just those after a couple of drinks.  We were also given a sweet sauce - my guess is duck sauce and a spicy mustard, one that would certainly clear your sinuses.  The bowl of soup was a nice size.  It was flavorful enough, a pretty standard Wonton.  The pork inside was maybe a little dry.  The egg roll was fried crispy with a thick shell and it was good with both sauces.

The duck came out with lots of lychee which was the reason Steve ordered it in the first place.  There were maraschino cherries too which I wasn't personally excited about.  The dish overall was very sweet, too sweet even to kill with the plate of white rice.  The duck was cooked so much that it was almost impossible to cut.  It was dry like when you overfry wings to the point that you can chew through the bone.  It was so unnatural I wondered if maybe the duck had been freezer burned and that's how it got so dry.

The beef and garlic sauce had a surprising variety of vegetables including broccoli, carrots, celery, asparagus & string beans.  I can't say for sure if they were fresh because of the sauce, but they were nice and firm.  The beef was typical of American Chinese Food, sliced thin and tender in that odd way.  The sauce was a little thick for my taste, but spicy which is what I was looking for.

So, my curiosity has been satisfied.  I know what China Bar is all about now.  The service was friendly and personal even if it was a bit slow.  I recommend sticking with the standard offerings on the menu and not ordering something from the 'specialties' menu.  If you're looking for a snack, the egg roll was good and those little Chinese noodles were totally awesome.  I may swing in there again for the nice conversation.

Proximity Cafe

(menu)

I owned a Keurig for a few months and recently decided to trade it in for a french press.  I sold the Keurig on Craigslist and realized that the press I want is currently out of stock.  That was over a week ago and my point is that it has been at least that long since I've had a good cup of coffee.  So, I was out yesterday morning and remembered that I saw a 'now open' sign on Proximity Cafe which is on the corner of E High St and Moser Rd, kind of over near the hospital.  I wouldn't normally review a place I had just stopped at for a drink, but it's a coffee shop and I was getting coffee, so what the heck.

Part of my thought process that morning was, "Where can I get a good cup of coffee to go in Pottstown?"  I couldn't think of a place.  Whether you like the company or not, Starbucks makes good coffee and there isn't one of those...takeout coffee from a diner is questionable and Dunkin' Donuts is not what I was looking for.  I honestly had no idea what Proximity was going to offer but it was worth a shot considering the alternatives.  There was also a 'drive-thru'; how convenient.

I pulled onto Moser Rd where there is an entrance to the parking lot, but no visible sign of this 'drive-thru'.  I kept going and made a right around the building into the alley where I found the 'drive-thu', but I was at the wrong end of it.  I kept going around the block which ended up being quite a detour, but I was determined.  For the record, the entrance is on High Street, before the building if you're headed toward Sanatoga / Limerick.

I pulled in after locating the entrance and on the wall above the speaker is an abbreviated version of their menu.  Just coffee drinks.  There was a drink listed called the Montana which is a cup of coffee with a shot of espresso.  That sounded pretty awesome and maybe that extra shot would make up for all the dumb tea I'd been drinking at home.  They use Tall, Grande and Magnum for their sizes which I absolutely despise.  Tell me how freaking big they are, not their useless, fancy names.  In any case, I ordered a large and I believe I got a Magnum.  I was charged $3.50.  

I pulled up to the window and was greeted by a friendly barista who took my money, made change and brought my coffee quickly.  It's a funny window and she had to kind of stoop to reach through, but she did it with a smile.  There was no place to leave a tip at the window and I'm not even sure of the standard for a coffee with espresso anyway.  

I was on a conference call for work, so I actually pulled into the parking lot to park and listen.  It also allowed me to take pictures safely.  The coffee was a little on the acidic side, but roasty and strong.  It looks like they have a variety of coffees if you want.  I assume what I got must have been the house blend.  It was definitely higher quality and strength coffee and just what I was looking for.  The packaging is simple and unbranded, maybe to keep costs low.  

While on my call I looked up the rest of the menu for Proximity and read some other reviews.  It turns out this place has breakfast and lunch and live music and they have a philosophy and believe in building a strong community.  Read their mission.  It's not specific, but it sounds genuine to me.  I can't wait to go back and spend a little more time there, meet the employees, have a breakfast sandwich and use the free wifi.