Pennsylvania. A Food Review Part 3

August 20, 2023 by Sara Denny in adventure

This has the vibes of where I was at in PA.

So I write here today another couple restaurants that I visited on my trip to Pennsylvania.

Oori a Korean Restaurant in Pottstown, PA. I got my tried and true: BiBimBap and it was delicious! I was surprised at the quality and taste in such a tiny town. I will say that I’ve had better kimchi, but I’m not sure if that is something made in house or something they buy, it could be a bit sharper.

I’d give Oori a 4/5. I need to ask more questions about their dairy free options because I’d want to try something different next time.

I made my way to downtown Pottstown (which is quite a bit different than the area of Pottstown that Oori is located at) to visit the iCreate Cafe. This was an entirely vegan restaurant, which is always a plus for me, since I know I won’t get dairy’d.

I ordered a smoothie, the Peanut Butter Dream Shake and I also ordered the Cheese Steak Panini. Both were delicious! The shake could be a little bit thicker but with an Almond Milk base, I expected it to be a little thin. I ordered my cheese steak with the black bean patty and was really pleased it wasn’t dry. I would order from here again but I wouldn’t go by myself.

The area is a little sketchy and I had a creeper hanging out by my car when I was coming back with my takeout order. Creepy enough where I walked on the opposite side of the road when I saw him coming down and taking his time once he saw me. I don’t fault the restaurant for this though! The atmosphere in the restaurant was very welcoming (if not a little warm, why is there not more AC in PA???) and the cook was super friendly while preparing my order. I’d get stuff from there again but maybe I’d bring a friend too! 3.5/5

This is what PA feels like. Except with death roads and rain.

Pennsylvania. A Food Review, Part Deux.

August 06, 2023 by Sara Denny in adventure

Part 2 of my culinary adventure. We travel to Allen Town, PA. Where I cross two restaurants off my list.

Chen Vegetarian. A vegan Chinese Restaurant. I love this concept. I find Chinese food pretty heavy feeling after eating it so finding a healthier lighter version using plant based foods is amazing. Luckily it was right along the main strip of Allen Town as I walked around a bit and shopped.

I got a carrot, apple, beet, and ginger juice and some steamed dumplings. I wish I would’ve taken a pic of the dumplings….the skins were bright green! They looked crazy. The juice was super refreshing as I had been traipsing around in the heat for quite a bit by the time I stopped. 8/10 would totally go again and get some takeout. Unfortunately I wouldn’t eat in the restaurant during the summer because like many places in PA…no Air Conditioning. It was so stuffy in there. The food was delicious though!

Takki Ramen! A little of the main beaten path in Allen Town but still easy to get to. I placed my take out order and waited in this cute little restaurant and enjoyed the ambiance. I got Karaage Chicken and Black Garlic Tonkatsu Ramen. 10/10 would eat there again. The chicken was spicy but the perfect amount where you wanted to keep eating it and the Ramen was beautifully packaged and traveled really well. Pork Belly is so good! A bonus…I got to eat someone’s leftovers for lunch the next day and got to eat the Sukiyaki Beef Udon. Also fantastic.

It was a bit of a heft to get to Allen Town but I’m glad I made the trek. I believe there was another restaurant over there I wanted to try but never got the chance so next time!

Pennsylvania. A Food Review, Part 1

July 23, 2023 by Sara Denny in adventure

Pennsylvania has become a large part of my life in the last few years, while I don’t live there I end up traveling there once a year, barring any pandemics. I usually don’t end up doing too much so I decided that this year was the Year of Restaurants.

I am dairy-free due to an allergy and this does make finding food and travel a little difficult sometimes. I’ve been doing a lot of Googling to try to figure out more restaurants and foods that I can eat at, which is hard in rural Pennsylvania.

So I Googled and made a list (mostly vegan restaurants, it’s just easier sometimes) and really worked into trying as many as I could on my trip.

In no particular order here are the first 2 restaurants I’m reviewing because these are the ones I have had before (and I forgot to take a picture of one!)

I can’t believe the Squarespace Image Library had this photo.

Wawa is a tried and true place I go to every time I’m in PA. It’s a Gas Station and Cafe essentially for those who don’t know. They have an easily accessible allergen menu (though they’ve updated it in a way that is not very user friendly in my opinion) and I can order with no worries about being dairy’d.

I rate Wawa a 9/10. There are many locations and you can order ahead of time. My Italian style sub I got was delicious and they had garlic knots I could eat. My only complaint is whenever I order ahead my order s never where it should be and it makes it confusing.

Rita’s Italian Ice! A beloved summertime snack. I’m so sad I can’t have the custard but the different and various flavors of ice makes up for it. I usually get a flight because I feel like one order of one flavor is almost too much of that flavor. A flight is perfect. So nice that I had it twice while I was there! The flavors I got were Cherry, Blue Berry, Cotton Candy, and Blue Raspberry.

10/10. Delicious and with many locations.

Bonus Content: I Bought a Travel Water Cup from Wawa (I’ve purchased two before, for hot drinks) and I have to say this is the best giant water cup I’ve bought for AWHILE. Also: Look how sexy it is just fitting into my water dispenser.