Smoked Fish Platter

Wayne Tea Room turns British Gastropub (BYO) after dark!

A Taste of Britain in Wayne has opened 3 nights a week for dinner! The British tea house now hopes to attract all age groups, men and woman and families for dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. They have designed a traditional British menu and their BYO policy allows you to bring your favorite ales, stouts or wine to compliment your meal.

I recently went to try out some of the dishes. As I reported in an earlier post, their focus is on utilizing local purveyors. Sugartown Smoke House provides the fish for the Smoked Fish Platter above. All of the dishes we sampled were very good, but the biggest surprise of the evening for me were the minty peas that were served with the Sheppard’s Pie. They are visually not that appealing, and I tried them because I felt the need to, more than I wanted to try them. I could not stop eating them. They were bizarrely addicting! The other major note is the homemade gingerbread with home made lemon curd. Oh. My. God. ( I hear Usher in my head!)

Here is the full Menu:

Delicious Cheddar Cheese Scones start the meal

Starters

Soup of the Day

Carrot Ginger Soup

English Stilton, Apple and Candied Walnut Salad Tossed with Balsamic
Vinaigrette

Roasted Beet and Warm Goat Cheese Salad, Tossed with a Champagne
Vinaigrette

Chef’s Selection of Flatbread

Smoked Fish Platter
Sugartown Smoked Salmon and Smoked Trout- Prepared on Pumpernickel and
Potato Rosti, Served with Traditional Accompaniments

Entrees

Shepherd’s Pie
Made with Ground Lamb, Chopped Carrots and Onions, Topped with Creamy
Mashed Potatoes. Served with Smashed Minty Peas

Chicken Curry
Served over Basmati Rice and Paired with a Crisp Apple Salad

Salmon En Croute
Atlantic Salmon Nestled in Homemade Pastry with a Spinach Mascarpone Dill
Sauce

Bangers and Mash
Traditional English Sausage, Served with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Union Jack

Their Version of the Croque-Madame.

Prepared with Toasted English Crumpets,
Tavern Ham, Gruyere Cheese and Topped with a Fried Egg. Served with a Side
of Heinz Baked Beans

Dessert

English Sticky Toffee Pudding with Whipped Cream

Chocolate Truffle Torte

Warmed Gingerbread with Lemon Curd

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with Irish Cream Sauce

Warmed Baked Cookies with Milk

Comfort food is served in a comforting setting. Add your own libations, and you’ll have a perfect evening on The Mainline!

For reservations: 610-971-0390

Banner at the Elkins Park location

If you live in the Chestnut Hill area, chances are, by now you have heard of Yo Dogs in Wyndmoor. If you have visited, surely, you have fallen in love! If you do not live in the Wyndmoor area, have no fear! As fate would have it, Yo Dogs will be opening their second location within the next few weeks in Elkins Park on Montgomery Avenue.

Yo Dogs Spa Dog

If you have already tried their “dogs,” you know there will be lots of toppings and fixin’s for any type of taste buds.  One of the more popular items is the Double Dog Dare…yup, you guessed it…two hot dogs on a bun with mustard or ketchup (or both), onions, and your choice of cheese.  Hard to say no to this one!

We thought we would give you a little peek inside to see what is going on as the construction and other preparations are taking place.  The space, both inside and outside,  is much larger than the Wyndmoor location, with approximately 50 seats, so it will be perfect for birthday parties, teen nights and private events.

Counter in new location

As you can see already, the space has lots of light and feels very cheery and comfortable.  Even the restroom offers a bit of whimsy!

Dining room in new location

Bathroom in Elkins Park store

So, stay tuned and we will keep you posted on their progress!!

El Limon Taqueria

The long anticipated small taqueria on Fayette Street in Conshohocken quietly opened their doors last week. The large front window sported a “Grand Opening” banner; the artwork of the owner’s children, thus illustrating the local, family owned sentiment of this new eatery.

After months of dealing with difficult permit issues, the taqueria and grocery store opened for a soft opening in order to allow staff to gear up for busy weeks ahead. No such luck! El Limon has been busy from the beginning.

Why? Well, for starters, they opened on a Thursday and once the bar crowds from The Boathouse realized they could get pork carnitas for $2.50 at 1:00AM on Friday and Saturday night, the damage, so to speak, was done!

Pork Carnitas

That’s right, El Limon is open until 3AM on both Friday and Saturday, midnight on Sunday and 11PM weeknights. Their goal is two-fold. They hope to cater to the after bar crowd with low priced authentic Mexican fare, as well as, become the go-to spot for mom or dad when they need flour, sugar or hot sauce at 10 o’clock at night.

Groceries

The grocery part of the operation was so busy in their first week that the shelves were near bare when we arrived last week to snap pictures! We angled our cameras to take some of the fuller section in the photo above! But, enough about that and on to important matters…..

The owners hail from other local Mexican establishments such as Coyote Crossing and Tamarindo’s, the latter being the inspiration for the free margaritas which we reported on in an earlier post. Unlike Tamarindo’s you will not wait until after you have ordered to receive your freebie! No siree Bob! The folks at El Limon are liberally pouring these delicious libations!

A Thing of Beauty ~ The Free Margarita

That being said, the tacos are $2.50, and it’s a family owned biz, so don’t go all hoggish on them and expect to buy a taco and drink for free all night! ~ editors note ~

Seriously though, when you arrive, the server graciously offers you a margarita. The owners understand that a burrito is filling and is a great value at $7.95 based on its size. Most people probably won’t order much more than an order of guacamole, which is delicious by the way, and an order of tacos or a burrito. They are not going to force you to spend a certain dollar limit to receive the free margarita, and that is the point I am making in a long-winded kind of way!

The dining room is small, yet cozy. Offering seating for approximately 25 people.

Tomatillos were being grilled as we arrived

The menu includes the traditional enchiladas, sopas (a terrific value at $3), guacamole, Caesar salad, and the like.

Chicken Sopa

Steak Burrito

You can view the complete menu HERE.

El Limon

103 Fayette Street

Conshohocken, PA 19428

610-567-0120

Delayed Until Beginning of July MOST LIKELY…. will keep you posted!

Exterior of El Limon

While the exterior of this soon to be Conshohocken taqueria and Mexican grocery store remain virtually unchanged, much improvement has been made inside in the time since we first told you about the opening.

Counter Area and Refrigeration

The installation of the counters on both the grocery side and the taqueria side had been partially installed as of these photos and were to be completed by this past weekend.

Kitchen Counter at taqueria

Closeup of side and counter top

Closeup of tile used throughout taqueria

The space will be small but as the tile indicates, the owners are looking to present an upscale, comfortable space with high quality products at low prices. And in case you missed the first post, the free margaritas for dining-in customers is still in the plans!

The menu is still being finalized and the opening date has been pushed back from 5/31 to somewhere in the neighborhood of 6/15, but we’ll keep you posted on both!

Previous Post

It looks like Conshohocken is getting it’s second Mexican restaurant.

Site of El Limon, Coming Soon

El Limon, is due to open at the end of this month at 103 Fayette Street. This is the old space of the soft pretzel store that recently closed.

Karina Vargas and Manuel Carbajal are hoping to open this combination taqueria/Mexican grocery store before June 1st.  Karina is a longtime Coyote Crossing alum and Manuel spent many years at Broad Axe’s Tamarindo’s. Construction is well underway at the location. The menu, although still in development will include traditional Mexican favorites, prepared in authentic Mexican fashion, and prices will be focused on affordability. The restaurant will be primarily take-out with limited seating available.

If you are lucky enough to score a seat, FREE margaritas will be offered to diners! What’s better than FREE?

Construction Photos

Taqueria dining area

Grocery Store

Tile work being used throughout

We will keep you posted on the progress of the construction!

Opening Day at Whole foods Market

The much anticipated opening of The Whole Foods in Plymouth Meeting has been the buzz of the community for well over 3 years. As the doors of the Austin, Texas based  grocer opened yesterday morning, crowds of people poured through to get a first glimpse at what proves to be the area’s most exciting new food store. With an enormous priced per pound ($7.99 per pound) prepared food section, burger station, sandwich counter, pizza oven, dessert and gelato counter and its own pub, Whole Food’s is not just a grocery store, but a new dining destination in this already eatery overloaded shopping center.

Pizza Counter in Whole Foods

Downstairs Cafe

This area of Eastern Montgomery County has been starved for more than just a central grocery merchant that offers mass produced products. The immediate area’s retail grocers include those such as Giant, Genuardi’s,  and Acme Markets, and giant box stores such as Costco and BJ’s Wholesale. With the addition of Whole foods comes the world’s largest retailer of natural and organic foods. Their focus is on locally grown products. They utilize point of purchase signage to indicate the distance products have traveled to reach this store.

Cereals and grains by weight

Sign indicating local product

The meat department offerings are extremely broad and a welcome additional to the area. Now that the Lancaster farms have packed it in and returned home for the winter, grass-fed beef has become scarce! Whole Foods offers a broad selection of steaks and roasts from a small organic certified farm in Georgia ranging in price from $9.99 to $27.99 per pound. This is definitely higher than the Lancaster farms that come to Chestnut Hill in the summer, but this beef is not frozen and the Lancaster farmers are not here in the winter.

Something you won’t see everyday are dry-aged steaks! Usually only found in the very best steak houses, you can now make them at home. I can’t wait to try my hand at cooking these on my grill. These start at $20.99 a pound. Boy, do they look gooooooood!

If you love sausage, a huge selection of house made sausages, including chicken and turkey sausage as well as pork, starting at $4.99 a pound, are offered. The selection of pork, veal and lamb is also extensive. The lamb prices look reasonable at $8.99 a pound for a whole leg up to $18.99 to a Frenched rack of lamb.

The seafood department was what left me somewhat befuddled. There was a nice selection of fish but not necessarily all sustainable, but I will leave this for a separate post. You cannot dispute the freshness however…..

A vendor filleting fish in Whole Foods

Now, let’s get back to the good stuff; the pub! Cold Point Pub, the first pub to be located in a grocery store in this area, as well as a first for the Whole Foods chain, was the immediate point, no pun intended, of interest at yesterday’s opening. It greets you as you walk into the store, as it is located immediately to your left. Also a surprise to most Pennsylvanians is the greeting by the towering display of  Hop Devil 6 packs at the entrance as local liquor laws once prevented grocers from selling beer and wine in this area, but alas, the times they are a changing….

In step with the rest of of the store, Cold Point Pub focuses on local products and the 6 draft beers are from local breweries such as Yards, Troegs, Dogfish, Victory, Flying Fish, and Yuengling. Drafts starts at just $1.99. They have a walk-in refrigerator with a nice assortment of craft beers to go as well.

The best news of all for beer lovers everywhere is the ability to purchase growlers to take draft beer home! 32oz glass growlers with a swing-top cap are $3.99 and the 64oz with standard cap are $2.99. The swing-top cap on the 32oz size keeps the beer fresher for longer. Just a heads up, this does not include the cost of the beer.

64oz growlers

The pub also offers 3 small purveyors of wine.  An Austrian white selection is from Terry Theise who won the 2008 James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional.

It’s not a large spot, but certainly has a cozy appeal and seems like a great place to sit and watch the world go by. There a few bar tables and chairs as well as living room style seating and pub fair such as burgers and fries and small plates are served. The only thing missing is the TV…….

If you are planning to check out Whole Foods be prepared for crowds. Tonight there will be rooftop hot chocolate reception from 5PM -7PM on the store’s outdoor rooftop cafe. Light refreshments will also be served.

Whole Foods

500 W. Germantown Pike

Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462

In the words of the Governator ” I’ll be Back!”

South Ocean has opening in the Acme Shopping Center on Bethlehem Pike in Flourtown, PA. Early reviews are mostly positive. While the sashimi pictured above was sliced too thick for our liking, the yellow tail roll, on the other hand was fresh and flavorful.

The sushi rolls passed our “comp pricing standards’ of $6-$8 per roll for classic rolls, such as spicy tuna and unagi rolls.

The tempura (this plate was half eaten before the picture could be snapped) was light and crisp. We highly recommend, as this is a perfect execution.

This is the So Special Duck. It is crispy boneless duck over top of jumbo shrimp, chicken, roasted pork and beef cooked in house special Peking sauce with vegetables. My children are addicted to this dish and have ordered it multiple times in the 3 weeks that the restaurant has been open. As some of our toughest critics, I would say, that is a big statement on this dish. Although, I will warn that the crispy skin is far less crispy in a take out order than when dining in the restaurant.

Our full review will be forthcoming. This restaurant has received reviews in comments of previous blogs.

This beautiful Victorian in Ambler was scheduled to become Amy’s on Main this month. However, some construction snafus have pushed the opening back several months. Once opened this BYO will serve breakfast, lunch and early take-out dinners.

Chef/Owner Amy Lutz is hoping for an early January opening. Until then Catering by Amy is ready to cater your next party or event!

 Could this be the star that steals the show?

 If you follow us on Twitter, by now you have had a peek at the burger that has stolen the hearts of the early visitors to Conshohocken’s newest gastropub. The creation of Executive Chef Jason Lipnicki, The StoneRose Burger features the very same beef  the now infamous, Square Burger.

Jason credit’s Geechee Rice Girl’s Chef/Owner Valerie Erwin with teaching him the technique behind The StoneRose’s signature StoneRose Burger, which has been a best seller since the restaurant opened just a week ago. The burger is seared on a salt bed in a dry, hot, cast iron skillet allowing the salt to cook into the burger creating a salty exterior without over saturating the Premium Gold Angus.

Sauteed chopped Cipollini Onions are combined with diced Bacon to create a hearty relish of sorts, offering the burger intense flavor, while making it easier to eat than a standard burger which may have strips of bacon and large strands of sauteed onions. The cheese is Cooper Sharp. The burger tops an Artisan Challah Roll from Wild Flower Bakery. Fries are thick cut and made with Kennebec Potatoes. They are served with a savory mayo based remoulade. The StoneRose Burger and Fries $11.

 Since this is the 2ND post regarding a burger in the past 2 weeks. We feel a disclaimer is in order! It is a coincidence that in the brief month that our blog has been live that The Whiskey King and The StoneRose Burger would garner so much attention. While burgers are an important category amongst our 160+ search features, and we do review them for our site, we also respect the experts in this city! In no way are we trying to be The Burger Baroness, or Burgatory!

We look forward to reading many more blog posts on this burger and see if others agree that this is a mighty tasty burger!

Preview the entire StoneRose menu here.

The Grand Opening is scheduled for tomorrow night!

Meet The Chef Of The New StoneRose Restaurant

Jason Lipnicki

The executive chef at the helm of The StoneRose Restaurant, that we have been profiling this month, is Jason Lipnicki. Jason is no stranger to the Philadelphia area, as he has worked at some of the area’s finest restaurants. His most recent stop? Mt Airy’s own Geechee Girl Rice Cafe.

Prior to Geechee Girl, Jason also made his mark on other great Philadelphia institutions, such as The Four Seasons, Caribou Cafe and Standard Tap. With StoneRose, Jason has designed a menu that will provide a broad range of options to please all types of people from Vegetarians to Carnivores, to hearty appetites and those looking for a lite snack. Most of all, the goal of Lipnicki’s menu is to make you feel comfortable with the food and keep you coming back for more! A Grand Opening is scheduled for this weekend followed by all day dining menus being announced sometime next week. For now, The StoneRose opens at 5PM.