MaGerks – Fort Washington, PA

It is a pretty good bet if MaGerks was around when George Washington and his troops were marching by during the Revolution, they would have stopped in for a sandwich and a beer.  The former Bent Elbo Tavern reinvented itself last fall as MaGerks, the third outpost of a Maryland-based restaurant operation run by area [...]

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Franklin Fountain – Philadelphia, PA

The Franklin Fountain opened in late summer 2004 .  I made my first trip there in the waning days of 2009 and was quite fascinated by this attempt to recreate a turn-of-the-century soda fountain.  I can see myself sitting next to Mark Twain sipping a hand mixed soda when I’m inside the Franklin Fountain.  The [...]

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Elvis’ Fools Gold Loaf

I’ve always been fascinated by Elvis’s horrid southern low and slow cooking diet.  It is not what killed him (prescription drug abuse did) but he would not have likely lived to see his 70′s eating the way he did. That said, I’m a huge Elvis fan and own a bunch of cookbooks put out on [...]

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Pimp That Snack

 I stumbled across this website the other day and it’s recipe for a giant sized Twix bar.  It is a very cool way to kill a little time, offering recipes (with photos) of how to take your favorite snacks and make them Andre The Giant-sized. My favorite (so far): the gigantic Rice Krispy Treat. www.pimpthatsnack.com

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Linvilla Orchards – Media, PA

My memories of Linvilla Orchards begin as a small child.  My mother would load up the whole family and trek us out to Linvilla, which seemed like a whole other world from our city streets in Philadelphia.  We’d go each autumn to pick our pumpkins, eat candy apples, caramel apples and cider donuts and go [...]

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Salt and Pepper Cashews

I came across these tonight at CVS.  Picked up a small can.  You might think they look mighty tasty.  I did. I was wrong.  They are a lot of pepper and not much salt.  Cashews are one of those nuts I think needs the salt to complete the flavor. Stick with traditional cashews.  The salt [...]

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Jelly Top Cookies

These were my favorite cookies growing up.  My dad loved them too.  Then they disappeared from supermarket shelves.  I used to be able to get them at a farm market not far from the house.  But then they stopped carrying them. A simple butter cookie with a hardened and sticky raspberry jelly top.  These are [...]

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Weber’s Root Beer Drive In – Pennsauken, NJ

Traveling along the White Horse Pike (Route 30) in South Jersey is a bit like getting in a time machine.  You see what travel was like before the interstates existed, with kitschy roadside attractions and dining establishments galore who counted on the traffic to bring them customers. It’s a little sad to ride down Route [...]

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South Jersey Soft Pretzel and Water Ice Co. – Stratford, NJ

For the last few years the Philadelphia area has been inundated with soft pretzel stores.  The omnipresent Philly Soft Pretzel Co. franchise has opened up dozens of locations each year invading strip malls throughout the region. It is a little unfortunate.  Don’t get me wrong, Philly Soft Pretzel’s products are not bad.  Better, in fact, [...]

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Mack & Manco’s Pizza – Ocean City, NJ

Well, it is the unofficial beginning of the summer season at the Jersey Shore – Memorial Day Weekend. The Holy Trinity of Ocean City food consists of Kohr Brothers Ice Cream, Johnson’s Popcorn and Mack & Manco’s Pizza.  It is the latter which we will review today (but will get to all the others this [...]

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Coconut Chips

My sister recently returned from ten days in Hawaii and brought roadside, homemade Coconut Chips with her.  She brought two flavors:  sugar and then a salt and red and black pepper combo. These are homemade – cut into small strips – and then slow cooked over a 24 hour period.  They are very tasty, with [...]

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Carnation Malted Milk

Going out for a malted milk is something your great grandfather might have done after Hoovering the carpet and voting for Calvin Coolidge. But malted milk can still be found in most grocery stores, though these days most people’s relationship with malt as an ingredient is restricted to the center of Whoppers, the occasional chocolate [...]

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Food Memories – Clover & Clover Kitchen

Posting abut the Plymouth Meeting Mall a few weeks ago made me remember Clover, the discount store chain by Strawbridge & Clothier. There were two Clovers who were the mistresses in my life.  The first one, in Andorra (the Philadelphia region, not the country you only hear about during the Olympics) was in the Andorra [...]

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Falling Off The Wagon Is Delicious at Merrymead Farm

I have been diligently trying to cut out sugar and needless calories from my less than advisable diet to try to lose some of the pounds I’ve packed on in the last 16 months. As a lover of sweets it is tough.  Every now and then I fall off the wagon.  Tonight was one of [...]

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Another Forgotten Plymouth Meeting Mall Eatery: Strawbridge & Clothier

No, you can’t survive on the Asher’s chocolate and other goods sold at the candy counter on the ground floor of Strawbridge & Clothier.  You can’t even find Strawbridge & Clothier anymore.  It was purchased by the May Company in the 90′s.  They changed the name to Strawbridge’s and in the last year did away [...]

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