The Whip Tavern

1383 N Chatham Road
Coatesville, PA 19320
(610) 383-0600
Website

Looking for a weekend getaway from the city without spending three hours in the car and another three hundred dollars for dinner? The Whip has you covered. I can't believe it took this long to get here, but I sure am glad I made it. The drive to The Whip Tavern takes you close to Longwood Gardens, and then cuts into stunning horse country, where it is as though time moves more slowly. Winding roads spotted with grazing equines and green rolling hills, its the Delaware Valley we all too often forget about (likely to locals delight). One of the only places around for dining is also the best, with a beautiful old structure producing English style fare.

The first appetizer was a special, and is one of my all time favorites. Pig wings. Braised, fried pork shanks. These had a sticky, sweet, and spicy glazed that punctuated the fall off the bone tenderness of the swine underneath.

Another one of my favorites, the Scotch Egg, a hardboiled egg wrapped in sausage, breaded, and fried. I can find no fault with this. The creamy egg, crunchy exterior, and salty pork are a match made in heaven.

Look at the color on that yolk.

What is British cuisine, without some bangers and mash? Two roasted pork banger sausages served with garlic whipped potatoes and onion sage gravy, simple perfection. The snap on the casing was outstanding, and the savory gravy sopped up with mash was both comforting and ethereal, I am salivating thinking about it.

The finely ground sausage wrapped in snappy casing was all I need in this world.

Not to be outdone, an order of the fish and chips featured Atlantic cod hand dipped house-made batter, fried golden brown and crispy and served with thick cut fries.

A side of coleslaw made me feel like I was eating a "salad" with it, so it basically was calorie neutral.

The fish was flaky, delicate and addictive, especially with some tarter sauce and malt vinegar fries. A tremendous rendition.

The winner of the entrees, however, had to be the weekly special, Chef Anne's Luxury pie. New England lobster, Gulf shrimp and bay scallops in a lobster-infused shellfish sauce with lemongrass and ginger, under garlic whipped potatoes. Are you kidding me? It was a flavor explosion, punctuated by rich shellfish and creamy mashed that were JUST slightly blistered from a trip to the broiler. If you are there on the week they serve this delicacy, you would be remiss to abstain.

Last but certainly not least, sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream, paired with a Wells Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale.

Everything was just right, and the atmosphere made you want to stay and drink English style ales and stoudts all night while watching some footy. I am a new fanatic, and am already planning my next trip.

Taproom on 19th

2400 S 19th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19145
(267) 687-7817
Website

The Taproom on 19th has been around for a while, but given its location in deep South Philly, it maybe hasn't gotten the hysteria that many more accessible (but inferior) places have. But that is okay by me, as it means I don't have to wait in line behind some new Fishtown resident that I would hate anyway.

The menu here is perfectly sized, and pretty much everything on it is a win. A couple of stand-outs that I very much enjoyed recently were the fried cheese curds and the Japanese fried chicken sandwich. Don't overlook the burger or cheesesteak, however. If fried curds or chicken are on a menu, I am almost always ordering them. These two were no disappointment.

The curds, sourced from "The Cow and the Curd" are little gooey sticks of magic. The breading is a light cornmeal-ish coating, and the salty stringy cheese takes me back to Wisconsin when I discovered these regional delicacies over a decade ago (along with New Glarus beer). In both cases, beer + fried curds = happiness. I would venture to say these are better than anything I have had in the Badger State. A taste of the chipotle lime dipping sauce actually gave a sharp kick of acidity and late smokey burn. Too often these aiolis are bland town. Not here.

The Japanese fried chicken sandwich was just out of this world. The shishito pepper aioli and the ginger pickles were just icing on the cake.

The brioche, which I am generally not hugely into, was the perfect vessel for this fried manna from heaven.

The chicken thighs were battered with a slightly sweet, shatteringly crunchy shell. The flavor on its batter reminded me ever so slightly of eating a corn dog. Yes, a corn dog. The sweet cornmeal flavor was the perfect bit of sass to match the tender meat inside. This was the best fried chicken sandwich I have had in recent memory. Simple perfection.

The juicy thigh was just right for the application. And there was plenty of salt to get my taste buds dancing. I am pretty sure I contemplated having Uber drop me back off here towards the end of the night for a sequel.

Although they didn't look like much, the fries were addictive as well. Sure, they might have come out of a freezer but I'm not a hater of pre-cut fries, I quite like them! The inner potato was fluffy, while the outside was crunchy and salty. Not much else you could ask for. All around, the Taproom on 19th blew away expectations.

Brewster River

(Smuggler's Notch Resort)
4087 Vt Route 108 S.
Jeffersonville, VT 05464
(802) 644-6366
Website

A long weekend in Vermont led to some delicious food and far too many hoppy beers. Brewster River is located by Smuggler's Notch, and is a great bar to grab some food after a day on the slopes. Unfortunately I don't  have any pictures of what is most certainly the best thing on the menu, the teriyaki duck wings. I forgot I was writing about the damn place and failed to gather photo evidence of EITHER order of the drummettes. They were fried perfectly and were so good, I ordered a second round upon completion of the first. I'll also admit that there were a few drinks involved before arriving, so that didn't help my photo taking skills...

They had a "Pittsburgh sandwich" which was based on the famous and over-rated Primanti Brothers "sandwich". As underwhelmed as I am with putting french fries and vinegar slaw on your thick bread and claiming it as your regional identity, I was willing to give it a go, as I had been drinking and it sounded filling.

Brewster executed a great version, but as the Achilles' heel lies in the sandwich itself, it was just kind of okay. The fries were crispy and salty, the pastrami was tender and the slaw was well seasoned. But the sandwich was just a bit dry and flavorless. Too much bread and potato is usually the culprit. Again, I am not criticizing the bar, but rather the city. And the hockey team.

The Godzilla burger was over the top. Pastrami, pulled pork, Beef Brisket, pork roll, smoked bacon, fried egg, hash brown, pepper jack and cheddar. The meat sweats were soon to follow. My biggest complaint, was that the fried egg was fried hard. The whole point is a runny yolk.

I guess the burger was good? You can see the egg yolk, a solid yellow. Otherwise a glutton's dream. And a big fat high five for including pork roll. That is a rarity outside of our area, and a solid breakfast meat underdog.

After gorging on the pub food, we proceeded downstairs where they have an executive-size pool table. It was a lot of fun. Great place to warm up after a cold day on the mountain.

Victory Brewing Co.

650 W Cypress Street
Kennett Square, PA 19348
(484) 730-1870
Website

Already well known for their beer, Victory has a Downingtown location with quite passable food for a brewery. They opened another eatery/brewery down in beautiful Kennett Square, and it makes the flagship location pale in comparison (at least food wise). They built this giant brick building to house the brewery (located on the first floor).

As you can see, they are not hurting for tap options either.

The kitchen at this location has a lot more freedom to experiment, and my word!, can they come up with some dishes. Take for instance the fried cauliflower small plate, on a bed of tahini, za'atar, and olive oil.

The cauliflower is crispy, perfectly cooked inside, and the dusting of spices worked in perfect harmony with the nutty, creamy, sesame laden dip. This is a fantastic starter. And healthy, which I usually would treat with some level of caution.

The Kennett burger, medium rare of course, came with thick sliced, perfectly crispy bacon and a nice melted blue cheese topping. To finish it off, they included world famous Kennett Square mushrooms.

Look at the temp on this burger. Quality, well-seasoned ground beef met with perfect timing.

The second (and favorite of the day) was the Hand Crafted Burger. Cooper sharp, shredded lettuce, red onion, fry sauce, and thick sliced pickles on a sesame seed bun. It was like what a Big Mac could be, if it was made out of actual food and not whatever shit they serve these days. In a word, it was perfect.

Again, they cooked the meat spot-on, and the loosely packed meat was heavenly. I LOVE this burger.

The fries are another winner. Very well salted, expertly fried (and every time I have been back since has been the same), and served with a dynamite malt vinegar aioli. If you dare, ask for an order of the Hop Devil beer cheese to go alongside. You won't be sorry.

I have now eaten here four times, and each time I am blown away at the output. This review is a whole-hearted endorsement of the food at this brewery. It sets the bar very high for brewery grub, and I now consider it the gold standard.

Pic-A-Lilli Pub

231 S. Tennessee Ave
Atlantic City, NJ 08401
(609) 344-1113
Website

Atlantic City is a lot of things. Notably, it's the dive of the two big casino towns in the US. Therefore I figured there had to be a dive bar there that was classic, not just terrifying. Although some of the patrons were preserved in ethanol, there wings were fresh and delicious.

They are also open 24 hours. I have been there late night/early morning, but I wanted to see if what I remembered about the place was correct. That the wings are as good as blurry memory served.

Beers were about $2 a mug, and if you texted some bullshit number they gave you a free one. Done.

There was actually something green in this place, and they served plenty of it. You can tell the wings rule the roost, because the celery was crisp and fresh.

The end bones were basically Frenched on these things, which gave you an extra handle to wrestle these saucy flappers into your mouth. The sauce was a thick, spicy, vinegary paste that was perfect for your wing cravings. And at $17 for 25, they didn't break the bank, unlike the craps table. . .

They were also served in an endearing clear glass casserole type dish. I must admit, I am a big fan of this place. It's nice to get out of the casinos, get something delicious, and not get robbed.