Parma Pizza

(menu)

#14 had to be done.  When you move people send you all kinds of stupid coupons in the mail hoping to gain you as their newest customer.  Most of these I went through and recycled.  Others I set aside only to let them expire before they could be used.  This one was special though.  It was for a whole free pizza.  You don't see that every day and the expiration date was fast approaching.  I called Parma Pizza on my way home one Wednesday evening.  I waited until I was about 25 minutes out and ordered a pepperoni pizza.  The coupon was only for a cheese pizza, but I explained this and they took my order right away.

Then she said it would be an hour.  I almost argued with her because that seemed crazy.  "An hour?!"..."Yup."  So, you can't argue with an honest estimate of time and it was a free pizza after all.  What did I expect, special treatment?  Good thing my favorite bar was on the way.  I could kill the extra 35 minutes or so.

When I got to the restaurant to pick up my pizza I was waited on pretty quickly.  My pizza was sitting out, in the box but hadn't been cut yet.  I guess an hour was perfect timing.  They sliced it up and charged me less than $3 for my pepperoni and I was off.  The worst part about picking up a pizza is having to smell it the whole way home so I put it way in the back of the Prius so I wouldn't be tempted to pick on it before I could get a good picture.

Somehow the pepperonis were all askew when I opened the box.  It remained flat the entire time I had it so maybe that happened when they put it in the box.  It's fixable though and I've seen a lot worse.  The cheese was still in place.  I straightened the pepperoni and dug in.  This is everything I have wanted in a pizza plus a whole lot of extra grease.  It was tasty grease though.  The flavor of the pizza was definitely affected by the pepperoni and its accompanying grease.  The amounts of cheese and sauce were perfect in my estimate.  The dough was well done and a little crispy the way I like it, but with a chewy center on the outside.

This is probably the best pizza I have had in a while.  I didn't even try to mop off the grease.  I will return to Parma Pizza as a paying customer one day soon and I will be sure to plan on a little extra time for my order.  No wonder they're so busy.  (Best 'welcome to the neighborhood' coupon ever!)

Sakura Asian Cuisine

(menu)

Lucky #13 brings us to a BYOB in the strip mall kind of behind Friendly's.  It's one of those spots that you would forget was over there if there wasn't some great raw fish just waiting to be eaten.  Sakura is a BYOB sushi place with modern decor.  I've been there before and the dining room is usually pretty empty.  I believe they do a good amount of takeout business as well.  Normally we just get sushi and sashimi here.  This time we decided to mix it up a little.  We ordered the Sashimi Deluxe and one of the entrees, Teriyaki Steak.

The Sashimi Deluxe comes with rice and soup or salad and the Steak came with soup and salad.  Sakura gives you the option of white or brown rice.  I've had both and they're both nice and sticky and a little bland, the way a side of rice at a sushi place should be.  I ordered the miso soup which was pretty standard, cloudy and sweet.  This one had a lot of green onions though, maybe a few too many, but it was a good soup.  Steve ordered the hot and sour soup.  The salad came out.  It looked like a nice, fresh side salad with ginger dressing, but we never touched it.  Too much other food to try.

The sashimi came out first.  The presentation was nice, but pretty basic.  I have seen them do some nice arrangements that look like flowers and landscapes, but maybe you have to get the bigger order of sashimi for that.  The pieces were yellowtail, tuna, salmon, striped bass and red snapper.  Typical selections for a sampler like this, maybe next time I'll pick something crazy out.  The fish was fresh.  The wasabi didn't break up as much in the soy sauce.  I don't have extensive knowledge of what's authentic or not, etc. It just seemed to me that it was a little more like play-doh than usual.

The Beef Teriyaki came out on a sizzling platter on a bed of carrots that were somewhere between shredded and julienned.  It was accompanied by some broccoli, more carrots and zucchini.  We ordered the steak medium rare and that's the way it came out.  It looked like it was cooked as one piece and then sliced and coated with sauce. and sesame seeds.  The flavor of the teriyaki was a little sweet and it was thick.  The meat was great, but a little difficult to eat with chopsticks.  We could have been less stubborn and asked for a knife, but what fun is that?  The veggies were nice and al dente.  My only complaint is that the sauce was only on the steak and underlying carrots and not on the veg.  Half the reason to have broccoli in a teriyaki is that those little flowers soak up all the sauce and make for an awesome bite.  Easy to ask for extra sauce next time or sauce on the side.

The service was good.  The waitress was not familiar and she mentioned that she hadn't tried the hot and sour soup yet so I gather she was somewhat new.  She said she was working her way through the menu and I think that's a great idea for any server so they can get to know the menu and it also implies that she enjoys the food.  Although the place is usually empty I think the service and ambiance are good and it;s a great spot to go to before a movie up the road.



  

Pub 990

(menu) 

I've been waiting years for #12 to reopen.  The former Jack Cassidy's Irish Pub has been closed since the end of 2011 when they had a fire that shut down the business.  There were constant rumors of ownership change and updates on renovations and repairs since 2011, some true and not so true.  They finally opened again on June 9, 2014 with the new name, Pub 990.  The bar seems to be much like I remember it from when it was Cassidy's.  They have lots of TVs so there is one in view no matter where you sit at the bar.  There are tables as well.  I think they will get a nice crowd when football season starts up in September.

We sat at the bar and were happy to find a couple craft beer selections.  They definitely don't specialize in craft beer, but they are trying to have something for everyone.  We ordered Troegs Perpetual IPA and the pumpkin ale from River Horse Brewing, Hipp-O-Lantern.  They also had the IPL from Magic Hat on draft which one could argue is or isn't craft beer, but the bartender made an  effort to explain what type of beer it was.  I appreciate that.

Steve ordered the Prime Rib Sandwich.  I was worried because Steve's not one for excess fat and connective tissue that I sometimes see in a prime rib sandwich, but good for him for taking risks.  One thing I liked about the menu was the option of choosing one side with most items.  I'm not much of a french fry girl and I hate asking to sub a side salad all the time.  The sides included fries, mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, veg, applesauce, coleslaw or salad.  Steve chose rice pilaf - another risky choice in my eyes, but why not?

Sometimes risk-taking pays off and this was one of those times.  The sandwich was good.  I found it a little greasy, but the flavor and au jus were solid and the steak was tender without too much fat.  Maybe it could have used a little salt.  The rice pilaf came out and looked a lot like plain rice, maybe a little brown in color.  I should learn not to judge.  I remember there was a radio show I heard where they were talking about the different styles of pilaf in different cultures - they don't all have peas and carrots cut into neat little squares.  I guess this is the Pottstown version of pilaf.  On a closer look I could see there were some onions and maybe celery that blended in with the color of the rice.  The rice was pretty good.  After a couple bites there was a nice spiciness that grew.  I still think it's a peculiar side for a prime rib sandwich, but I love that there were options.

I chose the Cuban which I ordered as a panini.  I could have gotten it as a wrap as well.  The Cuban was listed as being prepared with spicy mustard.  I usually see Cubans with yellow mustard, but if Steve could take chances so could I.  I ordered coleslaw as my side.  The panini was good.  There was plenty of meat and the bread was nicely toasted from the press and not greasy at all.  I still think I prefer yellow mustard to accompany the pickles in a cuban, but the spicy was acceptable too.  I really loved the coleslaw.  It was a little on the creamy side and a little sweet.  It didn't have that sweet/sour pickled flavor that some coleslaws have, but a different sweetness.  I would definitely order that again, even with the other sides as choices.

So, verdict is that it's a bar, with bar food, but the bar food was good.  The service left a little to be desired.  We were there for a late lunch so it was that odd time when there isn't much of a crowd, but maybe the service is still slow.  There were two girls and a guy behind the bar.  The guy took our initial orders, but didn't stay real close.  I assumed that the ladies behind the bar should have been taking care of us as well, but the service from them was slow and it took me a while to get my check and cash out.  I'll definitely go back to catch a game sometime and I hope the service is a little better next time.

Mannino's Pizzeria & Eatery

(menu)

#11. This is turning into a takeout tour. So, in this area there are several restaurants that are shaped like cups, like soda cups. From a little looking up, it sounds like they were built in the 1940s as outlets for a local dairy to sell milk and ice cream. There are two others in the area. One of them is on Charlotte Street in the North End of Pottstown and it is operating currently as Mannino's. I ordered a small Vegetarian Stromboli over the phone. The guy that took my order asked me to hold a couple times. I understand he was new. Nothing bad, but it was a little confusing. I ordered sauce on the side. He assured me that all strombolis come with a side of sauce.

The inside of the restaurant had some sit downs tables and a counter up front where I went to pick up my order. It was clean and the man who brought my order was nice. They had a wall of fridges filled with takeout beer. Nothing very exciting, but a couple selections that could be considered craft beer. They were all labeled on the wall above the fridges with prices.

My stromboli was affordable and I was considering measuring it, but I was really hungry. I'm going to call it 10 - 12 inches. The side of sauce was a nice size. Usually you get those tiny cups. This was more substantial. I like lots of extra sauce.



Upon internal inspection there were lots of veggies including broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms & peppers. The flavor was really excellent. There was a lot of mozzarella cheese but that didn't mask the fresh flavors of the veg, especially the bitter flavor of the dark green broccoli and spinach. The broccoli was still firm too which added texture.

Maybe a half-eaten piece of stromboli isn't the most appetizing image so I apologize, but I thought this picture showed the veggies the best. I really enjoyed this stromboli and I'm ashamed to admit how much of it I ate. I will tell you that both ends were mostly bread, but I'm not sure if there is a way to make a stromboli without that happening. Looking at the menu and thinking of the upcoming colder season, I think I will be making use of their delivery services soon. Yum...

Tornetta's Pizzeria

(menu)

#10: Double digits, more takeout.  I stopped by Tornetta's on my way home one afternoon.  I have been to Tornetta's plenty of times and they were also my go to delivery place when I lived in Gilbertsville.  Maybe it's cheating to get takeout from a place I'm so familiar with, but I did say every place in Pottstown.

I suppose it's a little gluttonous to order a pizza all by yourself, even if they don't know you're going to eat it in one sitting.  You do get more pizza per dollar with the larger sizes, but I went with a small pepperoni pizza for my conscience.  I even threw in a house salad to convince myself further.  I ordered over the phone and they said it would be 20 minutes.  It was a little more than 20, but close.

The salads at Tornetta's are pretty excellent.  Better than you would expect from a pizza place.  Their House Misto salad is a mix of romaine and iceberg lettuces and comes topped with cucumber, tomato, red pepper, red onion and sweet peppers.  I'm not a big fan of sweet pepper, but I appreciate that this is not your typical container of iceberg with a couple shaved carrots on top.  The ingredients are fresh and the dressing was good - ranch in this case.  The description of the salad says it contains olives but I honestly don't remember there being any in there.  

I have seen Tornetta's do a better job on the pizza.  It was cooked well, but it looked like someone picked up the box sideways and let the ingredients slide off a little.  The pepperoni was bunched up together leaving sections without any.  I rearranged the pepperoni and ate the pizza.  I like the sauce on their pizza, it isn't too sweet.  The pepperoni was decent, but nothing special.

Overall this was not Tornetta's best performance, but based on past experience I will definitely be back.  I think they make the best buffalo chicken around which you can get on a sandwich, on a pizza or in a stromboli.  I'm getting hungry thinking about it.  Their takeout beer selection is excellent with standard brands and a selection of craft beers that is impressive for the size of the place.  For Eat In you can order single beers, but most craft beers have to be purchased by the six-pack or in the large bomber bottles.  Their history of delivery service has been consistently good.  Not the most glowing review for today, but they are definitely on my recommended list.

iCreate Cafe

(menu)

Number 9 on the Pottstown tour was some takeout for a change.  I had noticed this place a couple times driving on King Street, I saw their Facebook page and finally two people mentioned it to me directly so I stopped in.  Just the decor at iCreate is enough of a reason to swing by.  They have a couch and a couple cafe tables with different types of seating in the front, a small bar/counter and loads of other tables with traditional seating as well as upholstered chairs and couches in the back.  It is very eclectic and comfortable like someone's home with a little extra cafe seating.

I was a little awkward on my first visit.  There were a couple other people in there that were apparent regulars so they were chatting and ordering from the owner, Ash, at the front counter from memory.  After a minute of probably looking confused Ash offered me a menu.  They were sitting right there, I just didn't see them.  I ordered a combination meal, #4.  "Healthy Box" whole veggie panini, syrian salad, 4oz hummus and pita.  I also ordered a 8oz container of hummus because why not?  I took a seat on the couch in the front room and waited for my order.

The wait was a little long.  Ash prepares all the food right in the front of the cafe and he was working the whole time.  I usually don't mind a wait so much if you can tell they're working on it.  He asked me how I heard of his place and engaged me in some conversation.  He did apologize for the wait and also offered me some pita bread for my 8 oz hummus which I accepted.  My car smelled excellent on my drive home.

The panini was not quite what I expected.  It was almost more like a pressed wrap because the pita was thin.  The veggies were rolled up and pressed in a George Foreman grill according to the menu and the nice, crispy outside of this panini makes me wonder why I got rid of my own GF grill.  The texture of the pita was pretty much the perfect contrast to the veggies inside.  Eggplant can get mushy so that's important.  The mushrooms in the sandwich were also a great, meaty texture.  The flavor of the panini reminded me of this fire roasted baba ghanoush I've had.  There was this roasty, smokey flavor that was really excellent.  Whatever that 'special garlic sauce' is, I want more.  It was tangy and no vampire was going to bother me at least for the rest of the week.

I think Ash makes all the hummus to order.  I saw him back there with a blender, mixing it up.  I will have to ask him next time.  It was good hummus, topped with olive oil.  With all the wacky, flavored hummuses (what is more than one hummus?) out there this one came across as a little ho hum, but a good, basic hummus.  I was also eating all these other amazing flavors so my palate could have been overwhelmed too.  Mostly I wish the pita was toasted.  I'm sure I could request that next time.

The Syrian Salad had the most amazing smell and flavor.  I wish I knew what herbs he used in it...I wonder if his recipes are secret.   In addition to the romaine lettuce there was a lot of parsley in the mix.  I thought that balanced the acidic and herbal dressing perfectly.  There were big chunks of cucumber and tomato as well.  If you're looking to experience some new, fresh flavor combinations I would recommend this salad for sure

And here's my takeout hummus, for another day.

Go to iCreate and check it out.  He does have glasses if you want to bring beer or wine.  The food is really excellent and it's all vegetarian.  They are currently applying for a zoning variance in Pottstown so they can remain where they are.  Please support them in this and if they move, visit them at their new location.

Ice House Steaks & Pizza

(menu)

I have to say I was skeptical.  I know Ice House for it's pizza, wings and 40's, not breakfast.  Apparently they have been serving breakfast for a while now, though and the donuts were highly recommended so we had to try it.

It has been years since I made a trip to Ice House.  They deliver so it's not even necessary to make the trip if you want their food.  Since I was there last the building has been renovated.  They have nice seating in booths and spots at the counter to sit as well.  Check out their About Us section on their website for some historical information about the restaurant and building (It was an old Ice House believe it or not).  The donuts are a nod to the first restaurant that was in that space.  We got there during the week at about 10am.  The restaurant was full, but not crowded and there was no wait.

Let's start with the donuts.  They are your basic, small-ish, plain, powdered sugar or cinnamon donuts that you would normally get from a box in the grocery store, only these are way better.  We tried a powdered sugar and a cinnamon because, really, what is the plain one for?  These donuts are cooked fresh every morning and I hear that if you get there early they are still warm.  Ours weren't warm, but they were moist and kind of melt in your mouth.  If you're a sweets fan, don't miss these.

I ordered the Grilled Veggie Skillet - trying to change it up a little from my customary veggie omelet I guess.  You get a choice of toast, biscuit or English muffin - love the choices there - and I went with the English muffin.  The muffin was cooked on the flat top with some butter and not just toasted so there was good flavor from that.  The skillet itself was good with a variety of veggies.  Spinach and mushrooms are my favorite.  The potatoes are mixed right into the skillet so I couldn't order them crispy like I normally would.  I think this caused the dish to lack some texture.  Something crunchy in there would have really made it for me.

Steve ordered the King Street Sandwich with a side of thick cut bacon.  It was not a disappointment.  They delivered a sandwich you would expect from a place that has been serving and delivering "Steaks & Pizza" for years.  This was the small, 6 inch one.  It also comes in a 12 inch version.  The bacon was good, but since it was 'thick cut', you only get two pieces.  As a side it runs $1.99 so double up if you want.

The final surprise was the orange juice.  They have a pretty rockin' juicer where the oranges go in the top and it magically makes great orange juice.  It's like Willy Wonka meets oranges.  The juice was great and not over priced like a lot of fresh squeezed juice can be.

Definitely check out the Ice House breakfast, you won't be disappointed!