The headline-catching addition to Whole Foods Devon, post-renovation, is the Milepost Pub, a new place for wine, beer & snacks, including a great selection of to-go beer. The entire store was remodeled as well, and includes some other interesting additions, including a new “pasta bar” serving fresh pasta and sauces from Severino in South Jersey.

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If you’ll allow us a detour from the usual Main Line news, we’ve tried a few spots downtown recently and thought we’d try to answer the question: are they worth the (increasingly difficult) drive to the city?

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Weinrich Bakery's Butter Cake

My family is not originally from this area, so although we have lived here for more than 20 years, we are often less familiar with local traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation, especially those that have begun to fade away. One such specialty is Philadelphia Butter Cake (a.k.a. German Butter Cake, but not to be confused with St. Louis Butter Cake), a dessert known for its sweet, decadent, butter-based frosting. We’d actually never heard of this until recently, but once informed, I was quickly determined to find out more and seek some out in the local area.

Though butter cake is not exactly a hot topic online, quite a few posts can be found on message boards, blogs and review sites, written by people who grew up in this area (Northeast Philly especially), that reference it as something that was one of their favorite treats as a kid. It appears this pastry was quite popular through the 60′s and into the early 70s (and surely before that), but started to lose its luster in the late 70s, perhaps early 80s. While there are some bakeries that still make it today, it is a lost art, handcrafted only by those establishments that still remain from the heyday.

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Lizbeth Lane Gourmet Cuisine, a small company that has cropped up recently in Malvern, is on a mission to transform weeknight dinners with their line of “simmer sauces”. These all-natural, gluten free sauces — including Lemon Piccata, Roasted Red Pepper, Mediterranean Tomato and Marsala & Tarragon, can be mixed with sauteed meat and/or veggies for a quick, healthy, interesting meal. (There’s actually no such person as Lizbeth Lane. But co-founders Rid Francisco and Michael Dernoga, who self-describe themselves as “two 50-something bald guys”, probably felt the need to create an alter ego to better portray their vision.)

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There’s certainly no shortage of quality Italian food in this area; aside from all the great restaurants, we’ve got stores like Carlino’s, Martini’s Italian Market, and Sassano’s to provide quality ingredients when we need them. But sometimes, you find yourself in ACME. Thankfully, however, frozen pasta from Talluto’s, a local, family-run pasta maker since 1967, is available at most local ACME Markets, as well as Shop Rite in West Chester & East Norriton.

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Luigi's Porchetta Abruzzese

Welcome to Round 2 of Philly vs. Main Line, where we take a highly-regarded food experience in Philadelphia and compare it to a similar offering out here in the burbs. Will it be worth the trip to the city, or are you better off staying close to home?

Much like the cheesesteak, the Roast Pork Italian is a revered sandwich in the Philadelphia area; just hearing the name conjures images of thinly sliced, juicy pork sidled next to piquant provolone cheese and mounds of garlicky, wilted greens, served at hallowed counters Tony Lukes, John’s and DiNics. But we’re not talking about any of the classics today. Instead, we’re going to look at a newcomer on the block: Jake’s Sandwich Board, and put them up against our local favorite Luigi & Giovanni’s.

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As much as I love Burlap & Bean in Newtown Square for freshly roasted coffee beans, sometimes my travels just don’t take me that way. Shopping at Wegman’s in Malvern, however, has recently turned me on to a supermarket roast that can compete with the local artisans. How is that possible, you ask? Because it IS a local artisan – Kimberton Coffee, brewed right up the road in Northern Chester County.

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In the Malvern’s Wegman’s recently, I picked up a bag of “Bethlehem Inn Honey Pecan” granola on sale for about $4. I had no expectations, but it was a semi-local producer (located in Bethlehem, PA) and seemed like a small company worth supporting, and I do like Granola, so I figured it was worth a shot. Boy was I surprised — I absolutely love this stuff!

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Fall is an exciting time for the epicure. Though the end of the grilling season is nigh, our ovens fire once again, slowly welcoming savory fall foods that will grace our holiday tables. And then there’s the beer. Oh, the beer! Light, watery summer ales and wheats become harder and harder to find, and fuller, more flavorful harvest-style beers enter the picture. For the beer lover, it’s simply the best time of the year.

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It seems like everywhere you turn these days, someone’s having a restaurant week. Chester County had one earlier this year. Philadelphia has them several times a year, including two consecutive weeks in September (12-24, not including Saturday, of course), and the reboot of Main Line Restaurant Week is slated for the week of September 27th.

The reason I won’t be participating in any of these Restaurant Weeks, or any others for that matter, is simple: They aren’t a good deal. It’s three courses for $30, you think – how could it not be a good deal? Well, consider the following:

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