Reading, Pa And Environs

[roryrabbitfield]

I make several trips a year to Reading, PA from NYC. They are very quick (I don't stay overnight, though I could if I had something good to do). I'd love to know what interesting foods there are in or near Reading (or even non-food attractons). I'm actually going tomorrow, and would love to find something to spice up my trip. My path does not take me through the Philly. If anyone knows of interesting things right in or very close to Reading, I'd love to hear about it! Thanks.

[Toby]

There's an excellent Vietnamese restaurant in Reading. I'm sorry, I've forgotten the name, it has two words, one of which might be Houng, or something like that. I think they might be on North 6th Street. They have excellent duck, mussels, and wonderful French-influenced desserts.

[roryrabbitfield]

Well, I found the restaurant Toby was recommending, but it's not open for lunch on Sunday and lunch tomorrow is my only meal! Oh well. For those who are interested, here's the info:

Hong Thanh

Reading's favorite Vietnamese restaurant. 

New convenient location.

6th & Court Sts., Reading, 610-374-0434

Other reading restaurant info here, on the Reading symphony orchestra's restaurant page:

http://www.readingsymphony.com/restaurant.asp

Maybe one of those other ones will be open...

Rory

[Toby]

There was also a kind of dark and unattractive Mexican taqueria place on a block in back of the smaller outlet shops that had very good chicken tacos. (Sorry to be so imprecise. I haven't been in Reading for four years and even then it seemed a dark and mysterious place to me with a great hill somewhere in it, but I have no idea where anything is in it.)

[Rail Paul]

There was also a kind of dark and unattractive Mexican taqueria place on a block in back of the smaller outlet shops that had very good chicken tacos.  (Sorry to be so imprecise.  I haven't been in Reading for four years and even then it seemed a dark and mysterious place to me with a great hill somewhere in it, but I have no idea where anything is in it.)

That big hill has a pagoda on it. Big pagoda, perhaps 5 stories high. Makes a good landmark. I've not found much to consider foodwise since Joe's (mushroom place, world famous) closed. Last two times, we've stopped at the Pretzel City Brewery (14th street at the river) for brew and bar food.

Reading is divided into four major areas, defined by the outlet centers in each. The city has thoughtfully color coded the centers, and used that color for street signage.

The 801 North Sixth street outlet is in the northeast quad of the city, and has its two blocks long outlet center. The Warnaco companies dominate here. Other outlets include Casual Male, Coach, Dooney & Burke, Footlocker, Guess!, Nine west, Hart Schaffner. If you view Reading as a clock, this is at 2

The Reading Outer Station, named after the railroad's main station, has Cole Haan, Brooks Brothers, Alan Edmonds, etc. This is at 12, and is just off PA 61.

The Vanity Fair outlet is in Wyomissing (9 on the clock) on US 422, and has the most outlets by far. Lenox, Reading Brass, Black & Decker, a dozen women's shoe places, Carole Little, Fieldcrest, Gold Toe, Swank, Woolrich, Saks, VF (Lee jeans, etc)

Edited to add stores, and reply to Toby's specific question.

In the early days, Reading's neighborhoods were defined by their (Catholic or Orthodox) ethnic churches, and by the major employers. Railroad people lived here, steel mill people lived there.

Reading was later defined by the Reading railroad (of Monopoly fame). The rail line from Harrisburg to Philadelphia created the southern boundary of a triangle. The line from Valley to Allentown split from the Harrisburg line directly behind the VF outlet, and served the huge railroad shops, reading steel, and several metal benders. That was the northwest side of the triangle. Another rail line ran parallel to sixth street connecting the east side of the Harrisburg to Philadelphia line with the Valley to Allentown line, which formed the east side of the triangle. That convergence was Outer Station, now an outlet.

At its peak, the railroad employed over 15,000 people. I'd be surprised if the number of employees exceeds 200 now. Mill-wise, it resembles Fall River, New Bedford, Portsmouth, Lowell, Paterson, etc. Jobs went south to the Carolinas, and, from there, to China, Malaysia, and the Carribean.

Edited November 25, 2002 by Rail Paul (log)

[Toby]

I'd forgotten the pagoda, also dark and mysterious because I was there at night.

The taqueria must be in the North 6th Street quadrant. It was sort of old and rundown, lots of Mexican groceries, restaurants.

How was Reading defined geographically before outlets?

[Fat Guy]

Didn't somebody post long ago suggesting that Reading has the true and definitive cheesesteak, made in some sort of Italian-influenced style that is allegedly superior to the Philly style? I think I heard that here, and also from the guy at the Joel Palmer House in Oregon.

[Fat Guy]

Actually I think it was the Allentown/Easton area that was the subject of a post here. But I swear somebody vouched for Reading too.

[Holly Moore]

Somehow I remember that as being Pottstown or Norristown, but not sure. Have it somewhere in my downloads. Will try to search it out.

But also as I remember, it was a variation on a cheesesteak. Very specific ingredients.

And nothing is superior to a Philadelphia Cheesesteak. The out-of-the-city imitators are the only ones that refer to a cheesesteak as "Philadelphia Style"

[Rail Paul]

I think that cheese-steak place was in Norristown, "Prince of Steaks" or something like that

It was toward the end of a long thread on Philly places back in the spring or early summer

[Fat Guy]

http://forums.egullet.org/ibf/index.php?ac...t=ST&f=6&t=2768

[menton1]

Reading is pretty much a "food desert" when it comes to restaurants. Many years ago the town was a must stop for Joe's Mushroom Cafe for some highly exotic and wonderful food. But that has closed. Joe's son Jack opened up a small place, lunch only, Joe's Bistro 614 in West Reading, but I don't know if that is still open either. Friends in Philly who do the outl;et scene say there is a good new restaurant called Unicorn Café with an eclectic New American menu. I got the address in Switchboard.com as 116 Lafayette Street Tel. 610-929-9992. Otherwise it's just Denny's and Pizza Hut (God forbid)

[erie1]

If you take 78 right off exit 40 Dietrich's sells every type of Gibbles and Kay and Ray's chips. Impossible to find in the metro area they are the best "lardy" potato chips in my opinion.

[picaman]

Thought I'd bring up this thread and see if there were any updates. I'm in Reading visiting the in-laws every couple of months or so, and would love an expanded list of ideas. I'm tired of the Wyomissing Diner

I'll start off by mentioning this place, where I ate this past weekend:

Speckled Hen Cottage Pub & Alehouse

30 S 4th St, Reading PA, 610-685-8511

It's a English-style brew pub right across from the downtown parking garage. Lots of locally-produced beers on tap and very good pub-style food. I split a ploughman's platter (cheeses, bread, chutney, salad, cornichons) to start and had a plate of bangers and mash with peas for the main--both were very tasty. The in-laws split an order of mussels with bacon, steamed in ale, which was also pretty yummy. The house ale was good, as was a really delicious ale from a local brewer called Legacy. Service was prompt and competent.

Nothing earth-shattering, but solid, well-executed, and a good value. Dinner for four with many mug refills was around $100.

OK--I've started. Anywhere else? Half-hour to 45 minute radius around Reading counts as Reading in my book.

Jamie

[menton1]

In speaking with someone who regularly does the Outlet thing, the only top-notch restaurant in all of Berks County is the Green Hills Inn. It's also supposed to be in a fabulous 200 year old building as well. Here are the details (from Switchboard)

Green Hills Inn

2444 Morgantown Rd.

(9 mi. north of Pennsylvania Tpke., exit 22)

Reading, PA, 19607-9631

(610) 777-9611

[Lew_Bryson]

Well...I'm generally more interested in the great beer than the food...but I do notice the food! You've already found Legacy, now you need to get down on Stoudt's.

Black Angus down in Adamstown (south over the big hill on Rt. 222, turn left at the light on Rt. 472) has a good raw bar and lots of excellent Stoudt's beer right there at the source; good bread, too, made by the proprietor, Ed Stoudt (his wife Carol runs the brewery).

While I'm in a German mood (Stoudt's makes some excellent lager beers), get on down Rt. 10; just past the Angelica dam is the Alpenhof, one of my favorite German restaurants, also with a decent beer selection.

If you want some weird stuff that's gut-stuffingly good in trencherman fashion, the strange salad bar and high-mounded platters at the Douglassville Hotel (in Douglassville, natch, east of Reading on Rt. 422) aren't fancy, but they're satisfying, and the beer list is deep.

Someone said Dietrich's...this is not an eating place, but a meat market, just off the Krumville exit of I-78 west of Allentown. It's become a regular stop for us on our annual beer-hunting expeditions, even when it's not even remotely on the way (we left Quakertown (PA) for Syracuse (NY) one year and wound up there). Whole smoked poultry, everything from cornish game hens to turkeys (some year we're going to get a duck and eat it in the parking lot...), smoked meats and sausages, bottles of local birch beer and Moxie, corncob pipes for after, and some of the weirdest food you'll see in PA: pickled chukkar kidneys, pickled pheasant hearts, smoked pig trachea... Bejayzus. Worth a stop just to take pictures, but get some of the hot stix and jerky to go.

If you're that far, might as well go on out to Shartlesville and Haag's Hotel, one of the last great Pennsylvania hotel dinners. Not as good as the Shartlesville Hotel used to be, but still monumental. If you don't want to go quite that far, just follow Rt. 737 north from Krumville till you get to Kempton; the Kempton Hotel is right across from the feed mill, and they sometimes have real PA Dutch delicacies: chicken gravy and waffles, pig stomach stew, hickory nut pie. Not to forget the artwork on the ceiling.

Hmmm...there's also good eating down in Lancaster that you can get to pretty quickly, but that's kind of cheating.

[picaman]

Thanks again to everyone for their helpful suggestions. I recently had occasion to visit the in-laws on successive weekends (don't ask ) and had some very good meals based on the advice I received.

menton1: Green Hills Inn was seconded by the in-laws as well as my partner as being a great place to dine; unfortunately, Mr. In-Law is somewhat averse to dressing up to go to a restaurant. Kirk and I are saving this place for our own special Reading occasion.

Lew_Bryson: We went to the Alpenhof on Friday, July 2 and had a marvelous meal. Crudites to munch on while deciding; I got Gefulltes Kalbskotelette (veal chop stuffed with bleu cheese, asparagus puree, and topped with apricot slices.) The chop was butterflied and stuffed with the sauce and the asparagus puree, was perfectly done and came with an old-school abundance of extra sauce.

I had bites of some of the others' entrees, and my favorite of these was the Alpenhof Schnitzel (veal sauteed with morels, wine & demi-glace); the veal was again perfectly cooked and the sauce balanced well.

The meal came with sides, and we got a variety: red cabbage (good but perhaps a smidge too sweet for me); sauerkraut (a great house-made flavor and my favorite side); potato salad (good but nothing out of the ordinary) and my least favorite, a bread pudding-y ball that was merely OK.

Desserts were very nice if somewhat typical: black forest cake, blueberry cheesecake, hot raspberries, and a triple chocolate cake.

Service was friendly, prompt, and professional. Total with beer and coffee was ~$120 for four people; I thought it an excellent value overall and would not hesitate to return or recommend it.

You are completely right about Haag's in Shartlesville. I've been there several times, though always for the immense and marvelous breakfast. How can one argue with a breakfast that begins with, among other things, a big bowl of tapioca pudding? Is lunch/dinner as good?

We debated Black Angus but the dressing-up issue occasioned a trip to Hoss's Steakhouse. Kirk and I split a 28-ounce porterhouse that was nearly half inedible gristle. If it had been just the two of us on home turf it would have gone back immediately, but given the situation we just ate what we could. I don't know how they would have handled a request for another steak, so I hesitate to give this place a complete thumbs-down. But I do know that anyone competent looking at the steak on the platter would have known not to serve it. Dinner for four with unlimited salad bar and dessert bar was ~$80.

We were there for the Kutztown fair and had a great time. At the fair, we had a great all-you-can-eat family-style dinner at a hall run by a local church--$11.95 (?) for more good food than I can mention in a reasonable space. Took home an entire shoo-fly pie ($5) from them as well. Also had many funnel cakes at any number of the "original Kutztown fair funnel cakes" stands, and was tempted by many more things that I'm saving for a return trip: fried bologna sandwiches, a sandwich from the ox-roast, and more. Dietrich's was there with a somewhat modified version of the items Lew_Bryson mentioned. I almost bought a jar of pickled pig snouts (I've been fascinated since I missed out on having a pig-snout sandwich at the New York Barbecue Block Party ) but settled for a picture instead.

All in all a great couple of trips, and I look forward to trying more of the places listed in this thread.

jamie