Split Rail Tavern

15 N Walnut Street
West Chester, PA 19380
(484) 999-8805
Website

Split Rail is a good place to stop in West Chester for a decent beer selection, and so I decided to try the "Split Rail Commonwealth Burger" that was talked up by the bartenders the last couple of visits I made.

On the menu, it had all of the right components. "All burgers are 6oz Dutch Meadow Farms 100% Organic Grass-fed Beef accompanied by a Russian dressing, shredded lettuce, tomato, red onion, choice of sharp cheddar, American or Swiss, a spicy pickle and house-cut french fries, served on a Big Marty's sesame seed bun." Sounds like a high-end fast food burger to me. Lovely. I ordered it with sharp cheddar, and caramelized onions ($1.50 up-charge on the onions). Which put it at $13.50. Still, when it arrived, it looked quite good, and the fries were tantalizingly golden brown.

The problem with the burger was flavor. It was bland city, the burger meat tasted like watery beef juice that had never heard of salt (and there was a hair on my vegetable toppings served on the side). The hair, well that sometimes happens, but the woeful under-seasoning, that should never happen.

I really wanted this to be awesome, look how good it looks, and is a nice medium (strong medium) which was close enough (I guess) to the medium rare I ordered so as not to offend. But I truly tasted nothing. I asked a dining mate to try it (having given no indication of my thoughts), and the immediate response- "wow, that is incredibly bland" followed by- "is that a hair?". I have been back and tried it again to be sure it was not a one off experience. And it was the same conclusion. Great components, poor execution.

Not to mention the unexpectedly dry bun. Usually these babies are soft and supple, but this bad boy was D-R-Y and crunchy, but not because it may have been toasted (it wasn't), it was stale. Even if the burger had come out medium rare and potentially dripping with jus, the crumbly bun still would have been noticeable.

The fries were the saving grace (I think they mistakenly used the burger salt on THEM). Perfectly fried, nicely seasoned, and pillowy inside, I loved them. Next time I would steer away from the burger, but perhaps try something else that was accompanied by these crispy potato dreams. That is if I venture back during dining time.

Square Bar

250 E Chestnut Street
West Chester, PA 19380
(610) 696-9825
Facebook

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.

The Classic Diner (West Chester)

16 E Gay Street
West Chester, PA 19380
(484) 947-0809
Website

Of all of the greasy meals and foods I love, I just don't have all that much love for traditional diners. Mostly, it's because they have shitty coffee. When you couple a basic breakfast platter/sandwich with Folgers, I think to myself, I should've just gone to WAWA. In the same vein, I pretty much hate brunch. It's not the brunch food that I despise, but rather the people who love brunch and the whole circus surrounding it. Also - why is it socially acceptable to drink eight mimosas, or three Bloody Marys AT BRUNCH, but when I order a shot and a beer at breakfast I get the sideways eye? Well, now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about The Classic Diner.

I had eaten bacon from the original Classic Diner in Malvern, but had not actually been there. The bacon is incredible. One day I was cruising around the burbs, butcher shopping, and looking for somewhere to grab food before heading to a party in Pennsport.

Now my love for all things Jewish American knows no bounds. But the Lox and bagel or whitefish and bagel combo takes the throne at breakfast time. Or really anytime. They had one on the menu, and I figured that would be a great starter. It was not cheap at $15, but it was also not small. And Oy Vey, that Lox was worth every penny. Served with a boiled egg topped with Salmon caviar (nice touch), a side salad, capers, caper berries, cukes, red onion, and tomato slices, this was a hell of a platter.

The bagel was nice and chewy, and the tomatoes were in good shape for being so far past season. The crispy cucumber, briny capers, and spicy red onion made every bite the "choose your own adventure" of eating.

These damn boiled eggs were incredibly good. Smooth, silky, with a "pop" of salty liquid in the caviar, I was left thinking about how I was suckered with hard-boiled, deviled eggs for all these years instead of soft boiling the things.

The "classic" eggs Benedict was just that. Fried Canadian bacon (hell yes), a nicely rich yet acidic Hollandaise, perfectly poached eggs, and a toasted buttery muffin. The potatoes were a thing of beauty. Crispy and salty outside, fluffy and hot inside, they were home-fry perfection. Not to mention, the playful olive placement let you make jokes ranging from anatomy to that emoji with the eyes looking to the side...

Look at the rich yolk, and the crispy edges of the ham. Delicious. You would be hard pressed to find a better rendition, and even I can't hate on the brunch here. Also - it is BYOB, so plan accordingly with a bottle of Yukon Jack and a 40 of Bud Ice if you want to keep it classy.

Carlino's Market

128 W Market Street
West Chester, PA 19382
(610) 696-3788
Website

Carlino's started as a DiBruno's-style shop in Ardmore, but has since branched out to West Chester. The West Chester iteration is much larger, though just as claustrophobic as the original. They offer a wide variety of pre-made Italian food, as well as cheeses, meats, coffee drinks, and two sandwich counters.

When you look at the layout below, it seems like there is plenty of space. But when you are actually there, the mere presence of five people in the below area causes chaos. In my half hour of shopping and eating, I was in the way, or annoyed at someone in the way at least a dozen times. One of the issues is the islands displaying additional goods for sale scattered around the store. It broke up the flow of traffic, and led to bottlenecks at every turn.

There is no question they offer quality goods, the cured meats alone could occupy me for hours. Plus they offer illustrations by Hawk Krall himself, one of my favorite local artists/food experts. See illustrations below.

One of the best things they offer is the tomato pie. It is thick, chewy, has great acidity from the tomatoes, and is just simple perfection. I am a big fan. It was the best thing I ate on this trip by far.

The "Ultimate Italian" was not so ultimate. It came on a decent roll, though it was no Liscio's, and held prosciutto, mortadella, Calabrese hot salami, hot capicola, rosemary ham,and aged sharp provolone. While the meat was definitely all high quality, the cheese was lost, and it was pretty dry overall. In a different geographic location, this would be a fantastic hoagie. Around here, it was good, not great.

The bread left a LOT to be desired...

The mortadella had beautiful pistachios studding it, and the hot salami was a nice touch. The cohesive package was just nothing special.

The beef meatballs "Sicilian Style" held fried eggplant, ricotta, and grated locatelli. This was the most disappointing of the bunch. The meatballs were under-seasoned, the locatelli was sparse, the eggplant soggy, and the bread fell apart in the three minutes from receiving to eating. Would not recommend this one.

I felt there should have been more salt and a bit of spice to really make this sandwich worthwhile. In addition, the bread was not hearty enough to contain the ingredients without ripping.

It was like they got their rolls backwards here: the Italian was dense and stiff, almost stale and the meatballs were in a spongy, seeded roll. So maybe if they were swapped, I'd be writing with a different opinion. But alas, my one experience at Carlino's will likely remain my only.

Billy Burger & Bakery

2 N 5 Points Rd #4
West Chester, PA 19380
(610) 431-3100
Website

A couple of friends had told me I needed to get out to Billy Burger in West Chester, and it admittedly took me much longer than it should have.

Billy Burger (and Bakery) is a busy operation, with staff members all happily buzzing about, keeping things moving. They also offer an extensive baked goods section, and I was blown away at how good the baked goods at this burger bar were.

Husband and wife duo Bill and Sally are the heart and soul of the operation. Bill has cooked every single burger that the place has put out since opening three years ago. Every. Single. Burger. His attention to detail and love are what make the burgers fantastic. Sally, on the other hand, is the mad genius behind the baking end of things. My god, can she bake.

The burgers are cooked on a gas fired indoor grill, and it gets hot enough to char the burgers perfectly.

Billy working his burger magic below.

I was informed that they were prepping for a local burger competition (hosted the next day) while I was there, and was asked if I would like to try their offering. Obviously. The below burger is topped with Mermaid BBQ sauce (a personal favorite), pineapple sambal, grilled ham, shredded lettuce, and cheese. Unfortunately, the slow roasted pork that was going on the official entry instead of the ham was still in the oven. The charred ham was so good, I don't think I missed the pork!

This burger was sloppy. Up to your elbows in pineapple teriyaki goodness, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I absolutely loved the sweetness of the sauce and sambal mixed with the smoky flavor that both the charred burger and ham contributed. This one was a winner in my book.

The waffle fries were also delicious, fried crispy and well seasoned. Billy Burger has true soul, something lacking in a lot of new restaurants, and you could certainly do worse than to go in there and order anything on the menu (try the chili dog). The owners were incredibly cool, and I have to say, this place rules.

Don Gabriel

611 W Strasburg Rd.
West Chester, PA 19380
(610) 431-3212
Website

I was told West Chester had some great Mexican spots, so I thought I would start with the popular Don Gabriel. It's located in what was obviously a WAWA in it's former life.

It had all of the makings of a great spot. No frills seating, a small grocery store inside, and chips and salsa.

A kitchen with various pots of bubbling sauces and stews.

And fresh guacamole.

The guac was good. The chips were medicore. But they were not a show stopper. The salsas, while plentiful, all lacked acidity and salt.

The pork tamale was decent, nothing to write home about. Confusingly, I had a previously frozen sweet corn tamale sample at Trader Joe's recently that far surpassed this offering.

The sope was good, like a salad on a masa disc. I liked the cotija, but again, nothing was too impressive with this item.

I felt the taco trio would be a good way to try some of my favorite meat varieties. The chorizo was good, the barbacoa had all the trappings of good 'coa, but the chicken was extremely bland and dry. In addition, why were they served with lemon slices? The lime shortage?

The torta was the biggest winner of the group. I got the al pastor, and although the bread could have been better, it had all the necessary requirements. I would order this again, if I were ever forced back here.

Probably the biggest disappointment was the mole. It had a couple of whole pieces of chicken in a rather bland sauce, lacking the complexity and depth of traditional mole. I would pass next time.

I just didn't find anything to love at Don Gabriel, and ended up spending over $40 in disappointment. I have heard West Chester has great Mexican, so where is it?