Chinnar Indian in Berwyn serves up tasty, hearty Northern Indian fare in a comfortable atmosphere. The menu offers a wide variety of choices: soups, tandoori grilled meats, chicken, lamb, seafood and vegetable curries, and rice-based biryanis. Just about everything is excellent, mainly fueled by a wonderful balance of assorted spices.

I’m a sucker for the decadent, curry-based dishes such as the zesty chicken tikka masala, the creamy chicken, lamb or vegetable (navratan) korma, or the classic chicken curry. The sauces are always spicy and delicious — so good, in fact, that my true moment of epiphany during each Chinnar meal is when the dregs of the creamy, pungent sauce can be swirled all together with some plain jasmine rice, and slurped up in all manner of messy glory!

Tandoori Chicken, the classic dish marinated in yogurt and spices then broiled in the tandoor to a golden red, is a mixed bag. The leg was wonderfully tender and succulently seasoned, but the breast meat — though also well seasoned — was dry. Once mixed with some extra curry sauce from another dish, however, it was quite reasonable. One of the few disappointing dishes we’ve tried is the seekh kabob (ground lamb seasoned with herbs and spices grilled on skewers), which was a bit rubbery and not really enough food for adequate sharing.

The meat dishes don’t typically have many vegetables with them, so we always try to order at least one veggie entree. The aforementioned navratan korma is a perfect balance of sweet, creamy and tender, but all that cream may cancel out the benefit of the vegetables. Along those same lines, lasooni gobhi is an appetizer of pan-fried cauliflower that is both crunchy and tangy, if a tad heavy. Chana masala, spiced chickpeas cooked with tomato, is an aromatic treat. One can only eat so many chickpeas, but we used the leftovers to create some Indian-spiced hummus the next day. (Fusion!)

A Chinnar meal isn’t complete without a few orders of their house-made breads. Whole-wheat roti is a favorite: oily and chewy yet pillowy soft, best dipped in one of those fragrant curry sauces.

We prefer Chinnar to go (hopefully remembering to print the website coupon), but the interior is clean and elegantly casual. For lunch, a buffet is available for $8.95.

Chinnar Indian Cuisine
416 West Swedesford Road
Berwyn, PA 19312-1164
(610) 251-2526
http://www.chinnarindian.com

Mom’s Bake at Home Pizza has been around for many years, but it wasn’t until recently that I was first persuaded to give it a try. Isn’t the point of getting pizza that you DON’T have to cook?

I was intrigued, however, when I heard that Mom’s offered whole wheat crusts – something one doesn’t exactly find at every corner ‘za joint. Looking into it further, I was amazed at the variety of dough options (oat bran! multi-grain! boardwalk-style ultra thin!) and toppings (artichoke hearts! eggplant! turkey pepperoni!). For those of us who love pizza, but don’t love the guilt that comes with eating and serving our loved ones the greasy, sodium-laden stuff that most pizza has become, Mom’s is a desperately welcome option for healthier indulgence.

Our go-to pie has become whole wheat with white sauce (oil, garlic and spices), grilled chicken and zucchini (pictured). Though it can dry out more quickly, the crust adds a rustic flavor that white flour simply cannot offer. Thinly-sliced zucchini is perhaps the perfect pizza topping – easy to layer, flavorful and healthy – but somehow it is a rarity on pie in the states. (We first fell in love with the idea in Rome, and include it in almost all of our homemade pies.)

Though we prefer to build our own combo out of the myriad of traditional and non-so-traditional toppings, Mom’s also offers all kinds of pre-built suggestions, such as “Positively Pesto” – Pesto Sauce, Grilled Chicken, Feta, Red Onions & Sundried Tomatoes, “Chicken Fajita” – Grilled Chicken, Red Onions, Green Peppers, Long Hot Peppers & Plum Tomatoes, and many other wild options. Stromboli, wings, pastas, salads and cookie dough are also available.

All in all, moms is a great option to have for pizza lovers looking for a fun, healthier option. Expect to pay a bit more for the high-quality, fresh ingredients (our pie is close to $19), but isn’t it worth it to avoid the guilt?

Mom’s Bake at Home Pizza
896 Lancaster Avenue, Devon PA
Next to BMW – Parking in Rear
(610) 254-0580
Hours: Sun-Thurs 3-8, Fri 12-9, Sat 2-8
http://momspizzadevon.com
(they have online ordering but it does not appear to be working)

Before:

After:

One typically does not gush about chicken salad. This is not just any chicken salad. Strange as it may sound, Elegance Cafe in Paoli has some of the very best chicken salad you will come across. Ever. They also offer a wide variety of homemade breads and baked sweets.

Let’s start with the chicken salad. There are three varieties: Tarragon, Waldorf and Curry, all of which start with huge chunks of white meat chicken, some chopped celery and just enough, but not too much mayo. From there, they diverge to create three unique salads. Though the Waldorf and Tarragon are the most popular, we love the Curry best. Added to the chicken/mayo base is mild/sweet yellow curry powder, grapes and pecans. The sweet and savory pairing is brilliant! Next best is the Waldorf, with grapes, walnuts and granny smith apples. The Tarragon is your more traditional chicken & celery salad, with a tang of tarragon holding it all together.

I asked cafe manager Zia Vafa to share the secret of their great salads. He wouldn’t admit to there being any true secret, but instead offered that the combination of selecting fresh, good ingredients, pairing flavors that go well together and finally putting together a dish that is healthy and nutritious are the keys to their success. I couldn’t agree more with his assessment, but I do think the large pieces of tender, succulent white-meat chicken are what allows these salads to shine, along with the resistance to over-indulge with the mayo.

Interestingly, Vafa also told me that making chicken salad wasn’t even their idea. When his parents started the bakery, they originally focused on sweets and slowly expanded to include freshly-baked breads. Over time, repeat customers often suggested that they should offer chicken salads to go with their wonderful breads. So they did. It’s not exactly the story you’d expect behind such a great dish!

From a savory standpoint, aside from the chicken salads, Elegance does offer soups, some salads and, in the morning, breakfast sandwiches. But most of their offerings are breads and sweets. The bread is excellent — crispy on the outside and fluffy within, particularly the multi-grain loaves and rolls, though it would be nice if they offered more whole grain options (the multi-grain is clearly made from mostly white flour).

On the sweet side they offer a wide variety, from simple stuff like cookies and danishes, to more complex cakes and pastries. Compared to the breads and salads, our experience with sweets has been somewhat disappointing. The chocolate chip cookies and brownies are rather bland, without the rich chocolate flavor that makes these treats so great. The pecan cookie, on the other hand, is excellent, as the brown sugar base makes for a crispy-chewy texture and blends nicely with the roasted nuts.

Elegance Bakery & Cafe
15 Paoli Shopping Center
Paoli, PA 19301-1438
(610) 640-0404
elegancecafe.com

Because Rocco’s is a drive-thru (though walk-up and call ahead are also available), getting these sandwiches inevitably leads to a moment, in the car, on the way home, where one is forcibly trapped in the car with the taunting aromas of sandwich bliss. As the smell of seared beef, melting cheese and freshly baked bread all meld together and waft upwards, it is certainly tempting to pull off to the side of the road and tear right into one of Rocco’s delicious steaks.

Once a safe location for eating has been found, it’s easy to determine that these sandwiches ($7-8) are the most authentic Philly-style cheese steaks the Main Line has to offer. They’re 100% Rib-Eye steak, sliced thinly and cooked fresh-to-order (expect to wait a bit longer than you do at Pat’s or Geno’s), then folded into a fresh Amoroso-style bun. For those used to to the chopped steaks served up by most pizza joints in the ‘Burbs, this may take some getting used to, but 77 years of success at 9th and Passyunk certainly should convince you give it a try. The beef itself is excellent — with a rich, beefy flavor, and just enough fat to add taste without creating tough gristle. The bread is insanely fresh, soft and pillowy with just a touch of chewiness to hold things together. But perhaps the most amazing thing about this sandwich is how greasy it is NOT — and because of this, that it doesn’t sit like a brick in your stomach for hours after you eat it (like so many other steaks). In sum, it is an incredibly flavorful, fresh sandwich and one of the finest steak sandwiches we’ve ever eaten.

We also tried the Roast Pork Abruzzese ($8), which contained sliced roasted pork, sharp provolone and broccoli rabe, on the same fresh bun. This sandwich also had a great deal of flavor, with the pork gravy, cheese and bitterness of the greens all coming together in each bite. Though this sandwich was excellent, it is harder to gush about considering how easy it is to find a great roast pork sandwich in the suburbs (see the Pork Mile) versus how difficult it is to find an authentic cheese steak in the same area. (Interestingly, though we didn’t try Rocco’s chicken cutlet, it seems unlikely that they can beat Primo’s cutlet, available just down the street.)

Which brings us back to the cheese steak: Rocco’s has a great one. Enjoy it.

Rating: 5 silver spoons out of 5

Overview: Outsanding upscale bistro that can offer both a casual neighborhood meal of small plates, pizza and pasta, and an upscale special occasion dinner of wonderful modern American entrees. Worth the drive from the Main Line!

Food: To start things off, a complimentary amuse bouche of cool three potato soup and crème freche was immensely fresh and even featured hints of kennett mushrooms. After struggling to decide among a variety of attack plans, we opted for the Antipasto ($18), a collection of different small bite appetizers. The Mushroom & Truffle Grilled Cheese was, obviously, great, as are most things that feature bread and melted cheese, but the local mushroom flavor added just enough interest to make this stand out even more so. Another winner was the Fava Bean Crostini with Shaved Pecorino, which, when dipped in the olive oil provided with the complimentary bread was even nicer. It was great to see Fiddle Head Ferns featured (with Prosciutto Di Parma), as these hard-to-find veggies are always a nice treat in the Spring. Though perhaps not the intended way to eat it, spreading the Goat Cheese & Caramelized Onion Flan on a piece of fresh, crusty bread made for a great impromptu bruschetta. Lastly, the Fried Smelts with Anchovy Aioli were just ok, as the “fishy” flavor overwhelmed to some extent.

The Natural Free Range Chicken entrée, served on a bed of Butternut Squash, Johnny’s Mushrooms, Cous Cous “Mac & Cheese” and Chicken Jus ($26) was the big winner of the evening (and we rarely order chicken!). The French-cut bird was perfectly cooked, crispy skin on the outside but still tender within, and the creamy “cous cous”, which was a mix of all the above ingredients, was both rich and comforting. The other entrée we tried, Local Spinach and Feta Tortellini served in a Spring Garlic Broth with Grated Aged Goat Cheese ($25), offered more subtle flavors but was both light and satisfying. It tasted like Spring in a bowl!

For dessert, we opted for the Liquid Center Butterscotch Cake, served with Bourbon-Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Espresso Dust and a Cocoa Nib “Glass” ($9) — think a butterscotch version of the classic molten chocolate cake. This was a bit too sweet — perhaps a coffee ice cream to replace the vanilla would provide some bitterness to offset the vanilla sweetness — but nonetheless we cleaned the plate.

On another visit, we sampled several of the excellent pizzas for a more casual dinner. Though everything was good, the Butternut Squash pie (Grilled Butternut Squash, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Gorgonzola, Baby Arugula) was out of this world. The sweetness of the squash paired brilliantly with the salty bacon for a unique, wonderful treat.

Bar: We chose to bring our own wine (for a $5 corkage fee), but Sovana does offer a nice selection of wine and beer. The moderately-sized wine list offers reasonably priced bottles ($30-60), though watch out for the single glass prices. For beers, they offer some nice local craft brews, including a couple draft choices from Delaware’s Twin Lakes Brewery.

Ambiance: We’re partial to this kind of place — bustling, modern, and friendly, with lots of wood and natural light. Perhaps not a place for a quiet, romantic evening, but otherwise excellent. They also have some tables outside, both on the side (in a nice garden area) and out front (strip mall parking lot views).

Service: Competent service — nothing outstanding to report.

Value: Hard to say what a meal for two will cost due to the abundant options for meals and drinks, but prices are available on the website. Though the entrée prices can head into the $30s, the food is excellent and likely worth the price. Having a BYOB option, despite the $5 corkage (which is quite reasonable considering the license), is also great. And, if you want to try Sovana without breaking the bank, a meal could quite easily be made of appetizers and pizza.

Details:
# VISITS: 2
Cards: Yes
Bar: Yes / BYOW $5
Site: http://www.sovanabistro.com/
Reservations: OpenTable

Overview: Standard Chinese eat-in / take-out… a step above places that have pictures of the food on the menu, but a step below Margaret Kuo and Yang Ming.

Food: All the basics that you’d expect. Our only “beef” with Hong Garden is that they use way more filler than beef, so an order of Hunan Beef, for example, has far more water chestnuts and bamboo shoots than actual beef. (This, of course, is a common occurrence these days at any Chinese restaurant, so it should be noted that Hong Garden is no worse than most of the rest.)

Ambiance: A little dated, but open with lots of windows. Large fish tanks with ginormous goldfish will keep the kids and kids-at-heart happy while they wait.

Overview: Authentic Southern barbecue. Eat in or take-out. BYOB. What more do you need to know???

Food: Jimmy’s is the real deal, with pork, ribs, chicken, brisket and more slow smoked on the premesis over hickory and cherry wood.

Three sauces are offered — Traditional (sweet), which is what you get if you just ask for sauce, Carolina Vinegar (which is more like a vinegary ketchup & sugar-based sauce you find in Texas than what you’ll get in NC), and Hot, which we have not tried but looks like a spicy version of the traditional. The standard sauce is way to thick and sweet for our tastes, but the vinegar sauce is quite good.

The pulled pork platter is served in torn chunks (not chopped), just the way we like it, and has a great smoke flavor. Our serving was hearty and even included quite a bit of the “bark”, or the highly seasoned outside of the shoulder. The pulled pork sandwich wasn’t quite as good, as the meat was chopped more finely and seemed a bit slim on the bun. It’s ok for bread to control a sandwich with a great french or italian artisinal loaf, but this is barbecue bread. Pile on the meat!

Ribs were dry-rubbed, just the way we like ‘em, with more great smoky taste. Though they weren’t the most tender ribs we’ve had, they mostly fell off the bone and tasted great with a dip of the vinegar sauce.

Though we don’t typically advocate ordering chicken at a BBQ pit, Jimmy’s unique chicken could just steal the show here. It’s rubbed with rosemary and lemon, which matches greatly with the cherry smoke flavors infused during cooking. Again the sandwiches could use a bit more meat, but the flavor here is all good.

Now, let’s talk sides. Jimmy’s mashed sweet potatoes are some of the best we’ve had at a barbecue joint, because they aren’t overloaded with sugar. He lets the natural flavor of the veggie shine through, and the mashed-but-lumpy texture is just right. Another winner is the mac & cheese, something we typically don’t get excited about, yet somehow kept reaching for more of Jimmy’s. The smoked beans were solid, but unspectacular, and perhaps a tad sweet. The coleslaw was the one disappointment from a side perspective; it was somewhat bland and underwhelming. Though slaw is an absolute requirement with barbecue, we’ll likely skip it next time for sweets or mac n cheese.

Ambiance: There really isn’t much — bright, open room with a big pig graphic on the wall, and, well, that’s about it. Casual, comfortable, great for families. Hey — this is a barbecue joint — the ambiance is the people and their messy fingers, not the decor.

Service: Friendly and helpful. The staff has seemed a bit overwhelemed at the response, but that seems to be getting better as they get more experience. Again, a casual, friendly spot.

Value: As is typical with barbecue joints, they give you a ton of food for a decent price. As mentioned above, we felt the sandwiches were a bit thin, but the platters pack more than enough food to fill your belly.

Details:
# of visits:2
reservations: not needed (counter service)
bar: BYOB
website: jimmysbbq.com

Rating: 3 Silver Spoons out of 5

Overall: Excellent Thai cuisine in an elegant but casual setting. Also offers take-out.

Food: Traditional Thai dishes with a touch of innovative flair makes Royal Thai Orchid one of the best destinations for Thai in the area. Start with the succulent “Thai Dumplings”, pan fried with ground pork, bamboo shoots and black mushrooms, or the “Corn Cakes”, pan-fried with fresh corn, both a tad sinful but totally delicious. We’re suckers for Thai curry dishes, and there are plenty of excellent choices here: “Evil Jungle Princess” is chicken & veggies in a light but spicy curry sauce and “Mussaman Curry” is standard (but great) red curry with veggies and a choice of chicken or beef. The “Chu Chee Duck” is a brilliantly prepared crispy duck with plenty of red curry and pineapple, and our favorite of the curry dishes thus far. If you’re looking for something a little different, try the “Love & Passion”, roasted juicy Cornish hen marinated in traditional seasonings “with tender loving care”, filled with pineapple, raisins, and wild rice served in a mellow orange sauce flavored with Grand Marnier. (We haven’t tried this one yet.) One visit offered a seared tuna special that paired luscious pink tuna with Japanese sticky rice which left us more than satisfied.

Click here to view the take-out menu (pdf).

Service: Prompt and friendly.

Atmosphere: Although RTO lives in a strip mall, the interior is quite elegant, with soft wood overtones and a slighly dark lighting scheme. Appropriate for a casual meal or perhaps something more romantic.

Value: Excellent. Most entrees live in the low-mid teens, a downright bargain for the quality and quantity of food. (Only the “Lamb of Siam” is more than $20.) Plus, it’s BYOB.

Details:
Times visited: 3
Bar: BYOB
Cards: Yes

NOTE: The Paoli location has closed. There are several other Fellini Cafes in the area, though not all are the same ownership group.

Rating: 2 spoons out of 5

Overview: A micro-chain also located in Berwyn and Ardmore, Fellini is a wildly popular Italian BYOB. The buzz about Fellini in the general population is great, and the wait on a weekend night would seem to confirm this fact. Those who truly appreciate fine food, however, will quickly understand that Fellini’s success comes from offering a wide variety and huge portions (creating the semblance of value), not necessarily from putting excellent food on the table.

Food: The vast menu offers 119 different Italian dishes, 50 of which are pasta and 20 of which are pizza. Unfortunately, the best dishes on Fellini’s menu also tend to be the most unhealthy; cream sauces, cheese and butter abound. The portions are HUGE (almost every table takes home a doggy bag), meaning that not only is the food unhealthy, but most diners will eat far more than normal.

There are, of course, some lighter options, but from experience these are pretty uninteresting. At a recent visit, I tried the Penne dello Chef (Sausage, broccoli & sundried tomatoes in an olive oil garlic sauce… $11.95), but it was on of the blandest pasta dishes I’ve ever had (except for the sausage which was excellent). On the otherhand, the potato gnocchi in a creamy pesto sauce was absolutely delicious, but it left us with lead stomachs.

There are daily fish specials, a couple salmon dishes on the regular menu and plenty of salads, and while it would take years to try everything here, after one visit I feel confident saying that the fat-laden dishes are where the flavor is at, creating a difficult dilemma for any Fellini diner concerned with their health.

Ambiance: Over the top tuscan decor, but kitchy and casual.

Service: A lot of young kids serving tables here, but our waiter was well-trained and earnest, appropriate for this type of establishment.

Value: Many Americans equate value with the amount of food served — from this standpoint, Fellini is an astonishing value — two people can stuff themselves for less than $30. On the other hand, those of us who put more emphasis on the quality of food will find Fellini’s cost to be about appropriate for what it is — a cheap, casual meal.

Details:

#of times we’ve eaten there: 1
Reservations: Yes, although be prepared to wait
Bar: BYOB
Cards: Yes
Takeout: Yes
Site: http://fellini-cafe.com

Overview: Great neighborhood bar and restaurant in the heart of Paoli. Also offers takeout. TJ’s menu has recently (Spring ‘07) undergone a major transformation and now focuses on cooking with beer and beer/food pairings.

Food: We’ve only had the “Belgian Blonde” burgers from the new menu, but they were a definite improvement over the old burgers (nice and charred on the outside, pink within). The fries, which used to be the standard, crunchy, bland bar type, are now thick, old fashioned steak fries that might be the best in the area. There is also a nice variety of toppings — the “TJ’s Burger” comes with fried onions, provolone and horseradish mayo, and the “Black & Blue” is cajun-spiced with bleu cheese. TJ’s also offers more complex food specials such as Chipotle-Framboise Chicken, Bass Ale Braised Salmon, and Guinness-Glazed Beef Tenderloin Tips, which all have suggested beer pairings. This is no typical bar food!

Beer: TJ’s competes only with the Flying Pig for the area’s Best Beer Bar title (pre-Teresa’s Next Door of course), with a 25 beer, seasonal draft list (includes Spaten Optimator, Warsteiner Dunkel, Leffe Brun and more) and close to 200 bottles (including a cellar-aged selection). This place is an absolute MUST for beer lovers.

Ambiance: There are two distinct sides to TJ’s — the bar side, which is fun and energetic, yet comfortable as a neighborhood bar should be, and the dining side, which is a bit more subdued but good for a family meal. The bar has a number of tables, a decent-sized bar area and even a plush couch and chairs. It can get crowded at happy hour (especially on Friday), where people come to check out the game on a big-screen plasma or play a few rounds of Golden Tee. The restaurant side is quiet but nicely designed, and also smoke free, another plus. There is a pool table on the restaurant side, but we find it a bit boring (despite our hatred of 2nd-hand smoke).

Service: Fine for what it is, although attentiveness typically wavers when the place is busy. One other note — avoid takeout on Friday nights, as fishing through the happy hour crowd to retrieve your order is nearly impossible!

Value: The specialty beers can run up the tab quickly, but otherwise this is reasonable pub grub. (A gripe: I asked for extra ketchup and was charged $0.30 — what’s up with that?)

Details:
times we’ve eaten there: 5+
cards: yes
bar: full
site: www.tjseveryday.com