Ye Old Coventry Pub

1440 S Hanover St.
Pottstown, PA 19465
(610) 323-5790
Website

There are a LOT of beef and beer type places in the Philly area, especially the burbs. I was on a weekend drive and happened to stop by a place I had heard was one of the good ones, and decided to grab a Sunday lunch and beer.

In a place like this, a cheap domestic just seems right.

The best part is always watching the meat master at work. This was no exception. He painstakingly sliced and dipped each piece of beef off of what can only be described as a quarter cow. It was one of the largest pieces of beef I have seen in this type of setting. I was worried that might lead to tough meat, but was happy to be wrong.

As usual, they were served on a kaiser roll.

The beef was perfectly medium, and meltingly tender. You can see the au jus on the bread just helping lube things up so they can slide down. Double slices of prov were a welcome sight.

If you look through the beef crevice, you will see the layers of uniformly hand sliced meat. Just enough salt and juice to keep it moist and flavorful.

They certainly don't skimp either.

The fries were blah, but I was not here to eat fries (though now that I think of it, I should have gone for gravy fries on the side).

While this place isn't something I would leave the city looking for (it's about an hour away), it certainly adds to the charm and allure of the western suburbs. Now if only there was a way around having to take the Schuylkill expressway and 422 to get there.

Grumpy's (Handcarved Sandwiches)

137 E High Street
Pottstown, PA 19464
(610) 323-1232
Website

Pottstown is an off-the-radar little town that, like many small towns, is struggling to revive its main shopping strip/district. Luckily they have some anchors like Grumpy's to bring people back downtown. Because if there is one way to people's hearts, it's through their mouths.

This place could be mistaken for a coffee shop by the interior. But one look at the menu will assure you that it is indeed a sandwich spot that goes the extra length to cook their proteins in-house.

Pictured below is the owner/operator Grumpy himself (aka Gene "Grumpy" Dugan). Quick with a joke, or a brief complaint, he is certainly part of the charm.

The Grumpy's Sandwich, a rare roast beef served with sharp prov, sauteed onions and peppers, long hots, and garlic mayo is served on a kaiser roll, with a side of au jus.

This thing is stacked HIGH with tender roast beef. The traditional toppings all come together for a great sandwich that will certainly fill you up. The roasted hots are left with seeds in tact, so there was some definite heat coming through.

The turkey special boasts fresh house-roasted turkey, that was deliciously moist, and as fresh as you can get

Slaw and Swiss cheese round out this classic combination, but the real star was the delicious hand carved bird. No lunch meat here.

Check out the thickness on these beautiful slabs.

The seafood bisque was hearty and warming, without being overly heavy.

The roasted beets made for a deliciously unexpected side, and I don't usually dig on beets.

This is the type of place to help anchor a community revitalization, and given the attention to detail and hand made nature of the food, I suspect Grumpy's will be around for a long time.

Nick's Roast Beef Bar & Grille

16 S. 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 928-9411
Website

Nope, not THAT Nick's Roast Beef. In a confusing twist, this Old City haunt is not associated with its similarly named South Philadelphia brethren.

Located on south Second Street, most people would not even notice the dated facade amongst the doushery that is Old City.

I knew that I needed to try the roast beef, but I could not stop there. I also took a stab at the roast pork.

AND some fries, with both gravy and cheese dipping sauces.

The fries were fantastic. Fresh cut, salty, crispy, and with a clean flavor, likely due to good frying oil. The cheese sauce was fine, but the "gravy" was pretty much terrible. Grey, bland, and unremarkable. It tasted like some beef bouillon mixed with Wondra.

The roast pork and roast beef were up next.

The pork came with provolone and a side of au jus. It also had a side of pickles, hot peppers, and horseradish. This was a mighty nice roast pork sandwich. The meat was tender, moist, and just salty enough. The dip worked in its favor by preventing the bread from getting too soggy. I would definitely get this one again if I ever found myself in this area (and for some unthinkable reason wasn't at Khyber), and looking for some cheap meat eats.

The beef didn't fare quite as well. It wasn't bad, it was just less flavorful than the pork, and a bit too dry. I was longing for the rich velvety gravy of the REAL Nick's, and so maybe my comparison of a decent sandwich to the holy grail of non-cheesesteak beef sandwiches was a bit unfair.

All in all, it's not a bad spot by any means. It beats the hell out of the typical food/bars/crowd you find in this neighborhood. Just get the pork and some fries.