World of Beer

Main Street at Exton
102 Main St #100
Exton, PA 19341
(610) 991-2863
Website

World of Beer is a smallish chain that has been in Exton since 2016. They offer 50 beers on tap with all kinds of variety, including many limited releases. The venue itself is large with plenty of seating, and a large wrap around bar. The outdoor area has fires going with cornhole, jumbo Jenga and inviting couches for extended lounging.

Photo by Pete Bannan / DailyLocal.com

Most importantly, they have tater tots. Specifically, tater tots topped with homemade beer cheese, jalapeños, crispy bacon, scallions & sour cream. The tots were perfectly fried, and the beer cheese was incredibly addictive.

It was an unusually refreshing pile of fried potatoes.

The wings were next up. I got a mix of Garlic Parmesan and Korean Spicy, which is basically a thick and slightly sweet gochujang sauce. The garlic parm were rendered out and left a crispy skin. The sauce itself was nicely flavored without being a garlic bomb. My personal favorites (as usual) were the gochujang version. Sticky, sweet, and packing heat, the scallion greens were a nice contrast and added some cooling crunch.

Are those garlic or parm flecks? Who knows. Just eat them.

The Chimay burger ($5 on Monday nights) comes with a fresh Angus beef burger piled high with Chimay Classique cheese, sautéed mushrooms, & caramelized onions. Served on a brioche bun with house-made Chimay sauce.

Although my medium rare was over cooked, the flavor the was still there. The sauce was rich and the brioche held everything together.

The apple and kale coleslaw was a nice variation on the fries, tater tots, wings, and burger I had already consumed. Crunchy, fresh, and just enough dressing.

I was not finished yet, however. The crispy chicken sliders came with beer-brined chicken breast, fried crisp, southern style with dill pickles & local IPA sauce served on two toasted brioche buns. Yet another winner. These were perfect if you didn't want to overdo it on food (but still wanted to overdo the beer).

The IPA sauce helped keep this from being dry, and the pickle cut the fried breading and bread itself with some acidity.

The street tacos were also pretty good (there was definitely no beer-fueled favoritism going on at this point). Below is the beef barbacoa, beer battered shrimp, and beer brined fried chicken from the left. They are offered with either the house made ranch (fried chicken) or the Sriracha lime aioli (the rest). All did the trick, and it was a fair deal at $11. Plus they were not stingy with the queso fresco.

As if there were not enough food at this outing, the Guinness-infused Bratwurst with sauerkraut, sautéed onions & peppers and  house mustard in a toasted hoagie roll was the grand finale. This, like the burgers, is $5 on Monday nights. The sausage was hearty, juicy, and had a nice snap to the casing. Nothing to complain about.

Basically, this place is great if you are looking for an alternative to Victory in Downingtown, who has consistently fallen off with their food execution. Plus you can drink most of the special Victory brews here for cheaper. What's not to like?

Gleason's Place

1973 Clayton Williamstown Rd
Franklinville, NJ
(856) 629-7470
Facebook

Gleason's Place is one of those bars you might be planning to visit for the first time, but when you near your destination, you continue on out of fear. But in this case, I urge you to not judge the book by its cover. I hadn't been there in a year or so, but like to stop by on my way to the shore (backroads). They have great wings, and good drink specials. Don't let the exterior fool you, this place is staffed by great people, and the regulars are mostly friendly.

They actually have an expansive menu, and they offer little known favorites like hoagie dip, and stuffed long hots.

The wings are the main draw, and I settled into some "Gleason's Sauce" style pretty quickly. The sauce is a buffalo sauce that has oregano and some other spices in it, for a unique and delicious twist on the original.

They were well rendered, and plenty tender. I was licking the sauce off of the plate. It was like they took a dry rub mix and threw it right into the sauce, best of both worlds.

Crispy skin is what good wings are all about, and these did not disappoint.

Even though I was stopping for a light lunch, I also tried the loaded tots. This platter is ridiculous. It's tots for ten, or at least four. The tots were fried hard and smothered in cheese sauce, sour cream, nacho cheese, and bacon. Not for those on a diet.

I could not even get close to eating this whole platter. However, I did my damnedest.

It was dead while I was there, but it WAS a holiday weekend on an early Friday. Still – shuffleboard, pool, lots of tvs and large portions of great fried food. If you go, don't sleep on the cheesesteak. Also, they have some ridiculous lunch specials like $3 sandwiches, just depends what day you are there.

The Corner

102 S 13th St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 735-7500
Website

I was alerted to a special offer at The Corner a couple of weeks ago, as advertised by Foobooz, and after checking out the deal, it completely slipped my mind to share my experience. My bad. If you are looking for The Corner, you will probably be able to figure out precisely where it is, if you can remember the last time you went to McGillin's, which often times people cannot. Anyway, at the corner of Drury and 13th, you will find The Corner. Honestly, I only went because I wanted to try it out and that reasonable special was the perfect opportunity.

This place is pretty sleek inside, and I was certainly the only person (besides the waitstaff) wearing a tee-shirt and jeans. I wasn't too worried about it. When the server came to take the drink order, I asked if they had the special I had heard about on Foobooz. She replied that she thought they might still be doing it. Which was incredibly annoying. That being said, I asked for an order of the tots, and an order of the wings, shamelessly.

The masa tots were first to arrive, made with jalapenos and onions, and served with chipotle clam dip. I was pleasantly surprised by the masa interior. It was relatively light, and complexly flavorful. I got mostly a scallion or perhaps cilantro taste out of them, but either way, they were addictive. The smoky clam dip was an interesting accompaniment, and it worked well with the crispy little cylinders.

The sweet and spicy chicken wings were also a hit. The outside was nicely crispy, while the interior was juicy and succulent. The sauce itself was also delicious. It hit the sweet, spicy and salty notes that I crave in fried wings right on the money.

I also ordered the fried calamari, over hot and sweet peppers and tomato sauce. This was the best dish of the night. The calamari was excellent, perfectly fried, yet tender. But the sauce was where it really made the money. The tomato sauce was so light, slightly chunky and fresh tasting, with sweet and spicy notes from the peppers. The presentation left the squid resting on top, crispy, until ready to be dipped into it's delicious partner. Some of the best traditional style calamri I have had in the city.

All in all, I would definitely go back to The Corner. There are some main dishes on the menu that looked awfully tempting (I'm looking at you, cider-brined fried chicken), and its swank atmosphere belied the reasonable prices.