Review: Z.Wei

Last week in my area, the weather turned nice and I decided to pop out of the office for lunch. I gathered up my favorite lunch mate and headed out. Driving around with the windows down and the sunroof open, we had no idea where to go, we were just wanderers in search of some grub. Our meandering took us back to my old stomping grounds, and I was racking my brain for a place to eat. I remembered that around the corner from my old apartment was a great Chinese place, hoping it was still there, we moved in that direction. We pulled into the shopping center and found that while the Chinese restaurant had closed, a new place had opened in the same location. Would it be good? The new place is called Z.Wei and it is branded as an “Asian Cuisine & Sushi Bar.” I was skeptical at first, but as we were running out of time on our lunch hour, we decided to go ahead and give it a try.

The decor of the new restaurant was very nice, the sushi bar area was large and the dining room was enormous, there were lots of windows which made it bright, open and airy.

I was starting to have a good feeling from the place as we were greeted by a very nice hostess and taken to our seats. I was more than a little curious about the menu. The menu described the restaurant as an “Asian Cuisine and Sushi Bar” so I was curious to see what kinds of Asian cuisines they would be serving. The menu was large and varied. There were Chinese dishes, Thai dishes, Szechuan dishes and, of course, Japanese dishes. We decided that we were in the mood for sushi so we were going to go all Japanese cuisine. I also thought that if I ever came back it would give me the opportunity to try something else and it would be like visiting for the first time all over again! We decided to share our lunch so we ordered Miso soup, a Spicy Tuna Roll, a California Roll, a Philadelphia Roll, a Vegetable Roll and last but not least an order of tuna sashimi.

First of all the Miso Soup. I was not at all impressed with the Miso, it was bland and very watery. I’ve gotten into the habit since I’ve returned from Japan of using the Miso Soup as a beverage throughout the meal, sort of like tea, but this soup was so bad I had to actually order some tea. I am not sure if it was a bad batch, but it wasn’t very good.

I was beginning to get worried. I was hoping that the rest of the food was going to be better than the soup and luckily it was. The sushi came out on a large plate and it looked delicious. I started with the tuna sashimi, which was way fresher than I expected it to be. It had a nice texture and overall a higher quality than I’m used to getting.

Next came the maki. I am happy to say that each of the rolls was very tasty and the ingredients were of a very good quality. I’ve had better mind you, but this was not at all bad for lunch time sushi.

With the exception of the Miso soup, I have to say I was very, very happy with the food I ate at Z.Wei. All of the fish was fresh, the maki was rolled well and the tuna sashimi was some of the best I’ve had in a long time. I’m always nervous when a restaurant does multiple cuisines. More often than not, one cuisine is better than the others and, even more frequently, they are all sub par but, so far not the case at Z.wei. I will head back and try the Thai and Chinese cuisines and report back. For now they get four pans.

Z.Wei
163 West Lincoln Highway
(Business Rt. 30)
Whiteland Towne Center
Exton, PA 19341
Tel: 610-363-1850
http://www.zweirestaurant.com

Review: Brickside Grille (Dinner)

I recently blogged about having brunch at one of my favorite restaurants… the Brickside Grille. It was my first time at brunch there but hardly my first time at the Brickside for dinner. We visit pretty regularly (maybe once a month) and I figured it was high time I wrote about dinner there.

As I said, this is one of my most favorite places to eat, not only because the food is so good, but because of the atmosphere of the place. Very laid back and not stuffy at all, it’s a great place to go and sit with your friends and enjoy some food and drink. In fact, drinks are one of my favorite things at the Brickside. They make some very good martinis there and although it’s not the most masculine drink, my very favorite thing at the Brickside Grille is their Apple Martini. I’ve been known to pound back quite a few over dinner!

On this particular visit I was accompanied by my partner, sister and father. No special occasion, we just wanted to go out for the evening and have a great time. It was my father’s first time, but not my sister’s. The menu at the Brickside is pretty nice, they serve a nice Raw Bar selection, Brickoven Pizza, Sandwiches and some wonderful entrées. One thing I like is they have monthly specials, a nice selection that usually contains several things that catch my attention! We poured over the menu while we we waited for our cocktails, discussing each dish and realizing that not only were there many things each of were interested in but that my partner, father and I all picked the same entrée! I pleaded with them to each try something different so I could write about it and lucky for me, that was not a problem at all.

We started with some appetizers, my favorite Tri-Color Nachos, which I’ve written about before at the Brickside’s sister restaurant, The Drafting Room. They are just as delicious at the Brickside. Three different types of chips, blue, red and flour on top of refried beans, topped with homemade salsa, pepper jack cheese and lots of sour cream.

A very close runner up to the nachos for my favorite appetizer is the calamari. Perfectly fried, tender pieces of squid, served with Pepperoncini peppers and a lime aioli. I had to fight to get some before my dinner mates devoured the entire plate.

After our appetizers and another martini, we moved on to our main dishes. My sister went with the very simple but very tasty chicken caesar salad, and while it is great, caesar salads are pretty much all the same.

My father chose the Filet Tip Stroganoff, made with cavatelli pasta, caramelized onions, mushrooms and filet mignon tips served with sour cream. It was so amazingly delicious from the sauce to the beef, just perfect.

My partner went for another favorite, that has been on the “Monthly Menu” a few times… the French Cut Chicken. It’s served with dried tomatoes and a delicious champagne mustard sauce and a really nice cheddar-bacon potato cake, that is so good that I would eat every single day if I could.

Saving the best for last was my entrée. I was totally intrigued by it when I saw it on the menu. The Hazelnut Chicken. It was absolutely mind blowing. I have never had chicken prepared like this and I actually went back two more times before it went off the menu just to have it again. The dish was chicken breasts lightly breaded and fried, with a breadcrumb mixture that I think included ground up hazelnuts, and topped with brie and a ginger-apple compote. I just can not express how perfectly all of these ingredients came together to make for the most delicious chicken dish I’ve had in ages. The brie and apples were so tasty I made sure that every bite contained a bit of each. Truly marvelous.

As always, dinner at the Brickside Grille was an amazing experience. Delicious food, wonderful atmosphere and a laid back attitude makes it the perfect place to sit and enjoy a meal with your friends. It truly deserves a 5 pan rating.

Brickside Grille
Eagleview Town Center
540 Wellington Square
Exton, PA 19341
610-321-1600
http://www.bricksidegrille.com

Review: Brickside Grille – Brunch

A little while ago, I wrote about one of my favorite restaurants… the Drafting Room. In that review I mentioned the Drafting Room’s sister restaurant, the Brickside Grille. The Brickside Grille is one of my other favorite restaurants in the Exton, PA area. We frequent the Brickside for dinner quite often but I’ve never been there for brunch so I decided a few weekends ago to go and write a review.

The Brickside is a large restaurant, with a wood burning stove and raw bar in the center separating the dining room and bar area. It’s cozy and warm with lots of windows so it gets nice natural light. As we were seated I noticed that most of the bar tables were removed to accommodate the three tables of food for brunch. We looked over the menu and decided to have the all you could eat buffet. One interesting thing to me was that even with the all you could eat buffet, there were a number of egg choices you could order from the kitchen which were included in the price. We ordered the Crab and Spinach Eggs Benedict, a few mimosas and headed up to the buffet.

The buffet was organized in three different tables, breakfast to the right, breads, pastries and fruit in the center, and seafood to the left. There was also a frittata station, pancake bar and a carving table. The carving station offered Prime Rib, Baked Ham and Salmon. The pancake bar was custom made pancakes and the frittata station offered a large selection of choices.

The breakfast area offered a nice selection of bacon, home fries, sausage, sausage gravy, buttermilk biscuits, cheese blintzes etc. The seafood area had chesapeake oysters, topneck clams, peel and eat shrimp, black mussels in red sauce, house smoked salmon, whole whitefish, white fish salad. Fresh fruit, brownies, muffins, cookies and cream puffs rounded out the selections.

I can’t lie. I had three plates! All of the food was excellent and well prepared. Buffets are never as good as cooked to order in my mind since the food has to sit out so long and is made in big batches, but the food was good. The crab and spinach eggs benedict were especially good, the eggs perfectly poached and the presentation was perfect.

My first plate contained was more breakfast oriented with muffins, potatoes and bacon.

My second plate was more lunch, loaded with all sorts of food, prime rib, ham, oysters and asparagus wrapped in prosciutto yum!

My third plate was dessert. So many little treats to eat. Brownies, Creme Puffs and even Peanut Butter and Jelly pockets!

All in all, the brunch was very good, while I still prefer dinner at the Brickside, I’d go back for brunch anytime! 4 pans.

Brickside Grille
Eagleview Town Center
540 Wellington Square
Exton, PA 19341
610-321-1600
http://www.bricksidegrille.com

Review: Ron’s Original Bar and Grille

One of my favorite places to go for a quick Saturday afternoon lunch is Ron’s Original Bar and Grille in Exton, PA. I found this place year and years ago when it was called “Ron’s Schoolhouse Grill”. A not so little local place specializing in Italian Food and Sandwiches, they also have a great bar with a good selection of mircorbrews.

Ron’s is a nice, casual, fun place to be. The decor is a bit quirky, but so much fun. There is often a Christmas tree decorated with ornaments for whatever the nearest holiday is, and on the way to the dining room be sure to check out the wild school bus that is mounted to the wall. In the dining room, there are large collage-like pictures on the wall with the names of all the local towns, paying homage to it’s Chester County roots. It’s a nice touch.

I’ve eaten at Ron’s many times and although the menu is quite large and diverse, with lots of appetizers, sandwiches (hot and cold), Italian entrees, Pizzas and something called ovals, I do have my personal favorites… chief among them is the Victoria’s (Secret) Fries. This scrumptious heart attack on a plate starts on with a heaping helping of Ron’s crinkle cut fries (the best cut in my opinion) coated with a “secret” mixture of seasonings and topped bacon, mozzarella and I think Cheez Whiz. It’s served with a side of ranch dressing which really compliments the spice of the “secret” seasonings.

I’m also crazy about their cheese steaks. While not your typical Pat’s or Geno’s South Philly Steaks, they are delicious and served with many different and interesting topics. Their burgers which are also very good are served with lots of different toppings as well. In addition both the steaks and burgers are in several ways including on a long roll, in a wrap and as a “Protein Platter” which is the whole sandwich minus the bread and for anyone on Atkins or watching their carbs is a very nice touch. My lunch date opted for the “Kennett Square” steak, which is a steak with DOUBLE mushrooms, his choice of bread was the wrap. It was served with more of Ron’s tasty crinkle cut fries. It was very very good.

Now I often will go with one of my favorite sandwiches, which Ron’s does very well… the Slow Roasted Pork. I love it “Italiano” style with melted provolone and roasted peppers. Yum! But on this trip I decided to try one of the Italian entrees. There was a lot to choose from, but I settled on Stuffed Shells, a food that I loved as a child. I also ordered a side order of sweet Italian sausage.

I will say that the shells were quite tasty. I’m not 100% sure they were fresh made and not froze, but the pasta was just the right consistency and the ricotta was seasoned well. The cheese on top was the prefect amount, not too much, not too little. My only complaint was that their gravy (tomato sauce to some) was a bit bland, which was a problem that carried over to the sausage. The sausage itself was amazing. I’ve never had such perfectly sweet and spicy Italian sausage. I loved it but I didn’t love the gravy. Now that being said I’m not going to hold it against them too much because it’s hard to please everyone with gravy/sauce, some like it with a kick, some don’t. I personal love it with lots of garlic and onions and basil, but the next person might not.

In summary, in my opinion, Ron’s is just one of the best restaurants in Chester County, lots of variety, at good prices in a very causal and fun atmosphere… 4 pans!

Ron’s Original Bar and Grille
74 E Uwchlan Ave.
(Route 113, just North of Route 100)
Exton, PA 19341
610.594.9900
http://www.ronsoriginal.com/

Review: The Drafting Room

I have been meaning to write this review from the very first time I was invited to blog on Dammit Let’s Eat. It’s just about my favorite restaurant in my area and a place I frequent at least once a week. This won’t be a review of a specific visit to the place but rather an overall review of The Drafting Room.

Years ago when I lived in Exton, PA, I found a very nice restaurant called The Brickside Grille. It’s a great restaurant and I will get a review of it up eventually. One night while eating with some friends one of them mentioned that the Brickside owners had another restaurant in the area called the Drafting Room. More of a tap room/upscale bar and restaurant than The Brickside Grill, they raved about the food and the service and with that my love affair with the place began. It’s an assuming place, again sort of in a strip mall, but once inside you forget that you’re on a very busy road running through the center of town. While it is dark inside, it’s cozy and warm, not too big and not too small. Sadly the place is actually so dark that taking photos of food and decor are tough. It’s one of the reasons it’s taken so long to get this review done, that was until I found out that they opened a SECOND location near my parent’s house. It is MUCH bigger than the original, better lit but still decorated exactly the same!

One of the first things I want to talk about at the Drafting Room is their incredible beer list. Deep and varied, you can find just about anything you want on there from local breweries to domestic microbrews to imports. For me, I love the fact that they have one of my favorite “beers” Framboise. It’s a Raspberry flavored Lambic Ale that I first had at Maison (see Chuti’s review here) and have trouble finding at most places. They get extra credit for having my favorite beer!

Now on to the food. I won’t even pretend like I don’t have favorites but… everything I’ve ever had at the place has been wonderful. I usually try hard to get an app, an entree and dessert. My favorite app is their Tri Color Nachos. I seriously go there just for the nachos! red, blue and corn nachos with refried beans, jack cheese and their own home made salsa and sour cream… they are simple but absolutely amazing!

Now that’s not to say that the other appetizers aren’t just as amazing. The Belgian Cheese Fondue with it’s three cheeses and cubed Rye & Black Bread is just so smooth and tasty and they give you so much bread that I can’t even finish it!

Now if appetizers aren’t your thing they have a daily soup special and this time of year, they have my favorite soup… butter nut squash soup. Their soup is so creamy and decadent, I could eat bowl after bowl until I burst!

So enough about appetizers and on to the entrees! My hands down favorite is the Texas Smoked Brisket. The brisket is slow roasted with molasses BBQ sauce and served with veggies and buttermilk whipped potatoes. To die for! Of course in the past few weeks since I decided to write this post, I’ve been ordering everything but the brisket to make sure I had a good feel for the rest of their menu.

Recently I’ve tried the Irish Bangers and Mash with it’s Dijon mustard demi-glace, beer braised sauerkraut and the intoxicating cheddar & chives whipped potatoes.

And the Crab and Shrimp Fettuccine, a delightful bowl of pasta with fresh crab meat, creole scampi and Roma tomatoes… quite tasty!

My most recent trip to the Drafting Room with my Dad and my partner was to the one near my parents and once again I resisted ordering my favorite brisket to try the decadent and indulgent Southern Fried Pork Chop. A huge pork chop, fried and served smothered in Apple Molasses Syrup, served with collard greens with bacon and three cheese baked Mac & Cheese. Talk about a heart attack on a plate!

Even their lunch menus is packed with some tasty unique sandwiches. Two of my faves are the Crab and Spinach Melt and the Buttermilk Chicken BLT. Both a little taste of nirvana!

And of course no trip to the Drafting Room would be complete for me without one of their scrumptious desserts! There is always something tasty on the menu from Key Lime Pie to Warm Apple Pie to another favorite of mine this time of year… Pumpkin Cheesecake. Oooh so rich and smooth with just the right amount of pumpkin flavor on a plate drizzled with caramel sauce… mmmm!

I’m sure it will come as no surprise at this point that the Drafting Room gets a five skillet rating from me. This is the place that I drag people to when they come to visit, and if any of you ever visit you’ll be in for a fabulous meal!

The Drafting Room
635 N. Pottstown Pike
Exton, Pennsylvania 19341
610-363-0521
or
900 N. Bethlehem Pike
Spring House, Pennsylvania 19477
215-646-6116
http://draftingroom.com