Square Bar

250 E Chestnut Street
West Chester, PA 19380
(610) 696-9825
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West Chester is a college town, which generally doesn't equate to to great food. But West Chester is also an exception, with some genuinely delicious cheap eats. Square Bar is a hidden gem of a drinkery, but they also offer a surprisingly good cheesesteak.

The bar itself is a huge wrap around, which leads to many conversations with strangers, a sure sign of good times.

I decided to skip the wings this time, because I saw someone eating a cheesesteak. Believe me, it had nothing to do with the "sweat" teriyaki flavored "souce." I'll be back sooner than later to give you a full report there...

Boy, was I glad that I went this route. The meat was very finely chopped (big fan), and the serving was hearty. Extra cheese and fried onions were all this needed, and I preemptively knew that. I usually always order that way.

The gooey cheese punctuated the well seasoned meat, with the soft roll soaking up all of the grease. It was close to perfection. Yes, I did just say that. Nearing cheesesteak perfection. Nowhere near downtown Philadelphia.

Not even an inkling of chewy gristle stuff in there.

And just look at that perfect ratio of meat to cheese to onion to roll.

They use Amoroso's rolls, which do the job just right. You may know that I have a soft spot for Liscio's above all others, but I will give the former a pass here because whoever's in the kitchen here knows what they're doing.

Cheap drinks, good people, and an amazing interior might just make the Square Bar my new spot.

DCity Smokehouse

8 Florida Ave NW
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 733-1919
Website

I had a chance to hit up the DCity Smokehouse on a recent trip to . . . DC. It is a hole in the wall that cranks out some amazing BBQ. Definitely a breath of fresh air from the usual DC eateries (Ben's Chili Bowl aside).

This place gets packed. You get in line, order, and shuffle aside to wait for your food.

It smells so good in there.

The "Tommy Gun" comes packed with house smoked turkey, crispy fried onions, melted cheese, BBQ sauce, and cilantro ranch on buttery, griddled Texas toast.

The turkey was very moist, and the sweet BBQ mingled with the creamy ranch just about perfectly. I was surprised I liked this sandwich so much, as getting turkey at a smokehouse seems like sacrilege. Let's just say there might have been someone else involved in that ordering process...

Look at the beautiful onion rings.

The "Brisket Champ" comes with onion straws and house made pickles, with a healthy serving of brisket. The meat was very tender, the pickles gave some crispy snap, and the fried onions added to the salty deliciousness.

Very well cooked brisket with a nice smoke ring. It was almost a shame to eat on a sandwich.

Perhaps my favorite was the fried brussel sprouts. These were shredded and deep fried to a crispy, paper thin result.

Even if you don't like brussel sprouts, you would probably devour these without a second thought. It is like a fried salad. Finally, someone made a salad that actually tasted good. All it took was a bath in hot oil and generous seasoning of salt.

House made pickles were another side. These were quite good as well.

A side of hush puppies erased any doubt that this was a glutton-fest. I will just finish with some fried dough please. Again - well salted, nicely cooked and they were oh-so tender inside. Highly recommend checking this place out if you are in DC looking for something that doesn't suck for lunch.