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

While reading the “About Us” page on the website of Burlap and Bean, an independent coffee house in Newtown Square, I found it interesting that the owners chose to focus more on the atmosphere of the establishment than on the coffee itself. Not because the atmosphere isn’t great — but because the coffee is that good. I’d go out of my way for coffee this fresh and boldly-flavored if it was served in a warehouse.

Coffee: B&B serves only Fair Trade, Organic coffee, all roasted right in the front of the store. You will not find fresher coffee! If you happen to be there during a roast, ask for some right out of the roaster. The pungent aroma of coffee that is this fresh is amazingly different from anything you might find at a supermarket — or even a national chain that claims to serve fresh coffee. Even if they aren’t roasting when you’re there, 1lb bags are always available to go in the back of the store. The roasting date is written on the bottom – but they’re usually all less than a week old.

The shop itself sells all the regular coffee drinks one would expect. I happen to prefer espresso, and B&B has the finest one I’ve tried in the area – it is rich and intense without that burnt flavor one so often finds. It’d surely be great with some foamy milk on top as well – in fact, any of their coffee drinks are sure to be fresh and tasty.

They also have a large selection of organic loose-leaf teas.

Food: B&B’s focus is coffee, so they leave the food to others. Baked goods are brought in from 110st Bakery, Wayne’s Aux Petits Delices, Handcrafted Cookie Co., Sinfully Delicious, and more. For more hearty fare, they offer a couple Kettle Cuisine soups, wraps from Media’s House Café, and some other munchies.

Atmosphere: As mentioned above, Burlap and Bean’s owners take their atmosphere very seriously — and it shows. The room is very welcoming and nicely designed, with soothing colors and exposed brick. There is ample comfortable seating, and in contrast to the spartan insides of most Starbucks these days, this truly does seem like a place where one could hang all afternoon. In addition, they have Live Music Thursday (Open Mic), Friday and Saturday nights. A schedule is available on their website.

Burlap & Bean
The Shops At Springton Pointe
204 S Newtown Street Rd
Newtown Square, PA 19073
(484) 427-4547
www.burlapandbean.com

NOTE: The photo at the top of this post was taken by Jeff Wojtaszek. View original photo | More about Jeff

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.

When we arrived at The Handcrafted Cookie Company in Phoenixville, it was about a half-hour before their official opening time, but owner Chad Williams had put out the “OPEN” sign and was getting ready for what was turning out to be a glorious late-summer Friday evening. Just a few seconds after we walked in, a local workman eagerly strode through the door and exchanged what seemed like a familiar greeting with Williams. “Every time I walk by, I gotta check to see if you are open,” he grinned, and ordered a few cookies. His enthusiasm to be there only stoked our very own expectations for the trip. Cookies? Handcrafted? What more does one need?

Located in a small storefront of Main Street in downtown Phoenixville, The Handcrafted Cookie Company was opened in early 2009 by husband-and-wife team Chad and Theresa Williams. THCC’s main draw, of course, is the cookies, which are baked daily and served fresh. The chocolate chip cookies, which are crispy on the edges and gooey within, and contain a decadent amount of chocolate in each bite, are enough to keep us coming back again and again, but are also just the beginning of THCC’s cookie selection. Among those we sampled were the “Chocolate Hotties”, where little kicks of fiery jalapeno are put into a rich chocolate cookie, then mellowed by the coolness of smooth, white chocolate chips; the “Roof Raisin’ Oatmeal”, which contained fresh roasted pecans, sweet dried cranberries, and red and golden raisins wrapped in a warm and delicately spiced oatmeal cookie; and the “Nutty Irish”, a sugar cookie filled with warm, crunchy walnuts, toasted oats and rich, creamy Baileys Irish Cream. All were excellent — our only complaint was that we didn’t have room to try all 16 flavors. Though not every variety is available each day, Chad will gladly bake you up a fresh batch if you don’t see your favorite. (While we were there, a woman, who was eating a dish of ice cream, actually came in and ordered a half-dozen gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, which she promised to return for in about 15 minutes.)

Thankfully, because it would be impossible to try all the great varieties in one sitting, THCC sells raw, frozen cookies for home baking. Each cookie is pre-shaped and sold by the dozen, allowing you to cook just one or a large batch as needed. Chad told us that the cookies should be good for about 6 months, so its easy to stock up with several dozen to enjoy over time — or, for those without willpower, next weekend! Cookies can be ordered online and shipped overnight to the Philly area, but we would certainly suggest a trip to the store. It’s a great little space, has some outdoor seating, and features organic fair-trade coffees (from Colorado’s Buena Vista Roastery) and teas (from Rishii) as well as a wide selection of all-natural sodas.

It should be obvious by now that Chad and Teresa are committed to providing high-quality, all-natural ingredients, and nowhere does that shine through more than the cookies themselves. A quick glance at the ingredient list illustrates how much care and thought is put into each and every recipe decision. Some highlights include: Wuthrich sweet-cream butter, Celtic sea salt, organic eggs, whole spices ground fresh in the store, freshly squeezed and zested citrus fruits, organic dark chocolate chips, and Singing Dog organic vanilla extract. After Chad gushed over his choice of vanilla for a minute or so, I couldn’t help give him a hard time. “Who gets that excited about vanilla?”, I laughed. “It’s an extremely important ingredient — it gives a ton of flavor!” he retorted. Who was I to argue?

All kidding aside, passion for each individual ingredient, even the vanilla, is what helps differentiate THCC. By focusing on all-natural ingredients, handcrafted recipes, organic, free-trade beverages, and through a genuine commitment to sustainable business practices (THCC uses post-consumer materials and encourages customers to recycle and compost trash), The Handcrafted Cookie Company is both a great place to enjoy delicious cookies and a wonderful addition to the local community!

More info, menus, and online ordering: http://www.thehandcraftedcookiecompany.com/
Become a fan of THCC on Facebook

(While you’re at it, become a fan of Main Line Dine on FB too)

Rating: 3 silver spoons out of 5

Overview: A small, bustling local restaurant with solid diner fare, great brunch menu and really good, strong coffee.

Food: Located across from the Ardmore train station, above the Peace a Pizza, the Ardmore Station Café is clearly a neighborhood staple, attracting everyone from businesspeople to families with small children to college students. The menu is filled with typical diner fare; huge, customizable omelets, burgers and pancakes are just a few of the selections. Weekend brunch offers a whole new page of choices, including eggs benedict (and several varieties such as smoked salmon and crab benedicts), a variety of stuffed French toasts and specialty omelets. While my dining partner can’t get enough of the veggie omelet with a side of sausage, on the weekends I usually get eggs benedict, a Greek omelet, or pancakes. I would especially recommend the pancakes – they’ve been voted “Best pancakes on the Main Line” numerous times. Light and fluffy, with a delicate vanilla flavor, they are among the best I’ve had, and can either be ordered plain or with additions like bananas, strawberries or coconut.

While the food is generally good, I’ve experienced a number of missteps. On a few occasions, the poached eggs in the eggs benedict were overcooked and, once, I received eggs that were so undercooked that I had to send them back. During busy times (most notably weekend brunch), the wait staff will occasionally forget to bring out side dishes or honor special requests. However, any time this happens, the oversight is swiftly rectified.

Ambiance: Though small and sparsely decorated, everyone is made to feel welcome and, even during the busiest times, I’ve never felt rushed. Be warned: during peak times, the place can get very loud. However, I’ve never found the noise to be unbearable or to preclude conversation.

Service: Though they can be a bit overwhelmed during peak times, the wait staff is always friendly and helpful.

Value: Diner prices with large portions and more than decent food.  A solid value.

Details:
# of times we’ve eaten there: 5+
Reservations: No – wait times can be quite long during weekend brunch.
Hours: Monday – Friday: 7am – 3pm; Saturday and Sunday Brunch: 7am – 2pm
Payment: Cards

Preview: We attended the soft launch of Verdad on Thursday, August 6, 2009 — a practice run for the staff before the big grand opening the following night. As a restaurant trend, tapas is not exactly the theme of the moment (burger bar anyone?), the Main Line has yet to spawn a successful tapas joint. (Places like Citron and Maia claimed to be tapas, but never really went for it.) Verdad, on the other hand, has truly built its menu around a nice variety of small plates, and seeks to finally create the tapas experience we’ve been wating for.

The setup is generally the same as other restaurants that have previously occupied this space — bar on the left side, with booths opposite, and small sitting areas in the front and back. The decor effectively portrays the Spanish and Latin themes of the menu, with earthy colors and old-world accents.

The menu is mostly small plates, ranging in price from $4 to $21. About 3 plates per person would be recommended for dinner, though this would obviously depend on which plates are chosen. Menu highlights include:

• a brie-stuffed mission fig that’s drizzled with balsamic glaze ($4) – warm, sweet and delicious
• the Cuban sandwich (berkshire pork, chorizo, swiss cheese, pickles, garlic aioli – $9) – a wonderful melding of different flavors, all held together with cheese.
• black truffle flatbread with confit chicken, goat cheese, pesto, sundried tomato & mushrooms ($11)
• seared lamb chops served with “patatas bravas” – a traditional crispy potato tapas dish that is topped with a fried egg ($21)
• Full Menu Here (PDF)

The bar features an extensive tequila menu (25+ choices), including 10 “flights” of three tequila choices each. (Note to self: take train to Verdad.) A small but interesting selection of Spanish and South American wines, including a red and white Sangria choice is also featured. The beer list is also small but varied, with some Mexican brews and local crafts sharing the spotlight.

Been to Verdad? Post your reviews below!

Dinner service:
Tuesday through Thursday 5:00 – 10:00pm
Friday and Saturday 5:00 – 11:00pm
Sunday 5:00 – 9:00pm
Lunch service: Tuesday through Saturday 11:30am – 2:00pm
Closed Mondays

Reservations: Yes, or OpenTable

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

Staff was very helpful on a busy night, though we were just seated in the bar. Beer selection is just ok — could use a couple more specialty brews. Overall, worth a try and we’ll be back.

http://devonpaddock.com/

Under same management and located “next door” to Wayne mainstay Teresa’s Cafe. (Actually, they share an entrance.)

Overview: As any diner familiar with the Wayne restaurant scene has come to expect from Teresa’s Cafe, Teresa’s Next Door (now known as TND) offers simple, creative and well-executed fare in a comfortable (and smoke-free!) environment. Oh, and it’s also the best beer bar in the area.

Food: Belgian-themed fare can be enjoyed via a plethora of mouth-watering appetizers, salads and small plates, a nice selection of sandwiches (including a rabbit sausage baguette), or more formal dinner entrees. We couldn’t resist the trio of fried cheeses, which turned out to be a nice gourmet take on mozzarella sticks. The hand cut frites, served along side traditional Belgian aoli are brilliant; don’t miss them. We skipped the multiple mussel options and opted for the steak frites (simple but very well cooked) and a very interesting seared arctic char dish, served with grilled leeks on a bed of scrumptious stoemp (mashed potatoes with onions, leeks and spices), all covered in a creamy mustard sauce. (The plate was cleaned.)

Beer/Wine: We love TJ’s and The Flying Pig, but TND has set a new standard for beer service and selection. The draft selection is absurd, featuring a wide variety of domestic and import craft and/or specialty beers that will rotate regularly, all with appropriate glassware. (Another way to look at it: Hoegarten and Chimay are the “mainstream” beers on the draft list.) There are also hundreds of bottles (from countries from the US to Belgium to Malta) available and an extensive, reasonably priced wine selection. Wow.

Service: As with Teresa’s, warm, friendly and capable service was provided.

Ambiance: TND is a long, thin room with an incredible bar alongside the left side (the display of glasses is a sight to be seen). The right side is lined mostly with 2-4 person booths but also with some smaller tables (similar to the cafe) along th side. There isn’t a ton of room in the center, so when things get busy, expect it to be a little cramped and quite noisy.

Value: Here’s the thing: the only downside to TND is the fact that it is no longer a dirt cheap night out like the cafe next door. The food is aptly priced, and a person could easily fill up on food for less than $20, but the beer and wine will bring the overall cost up quite a bit (especially if you, like us, can’t resist trying several different varieties). Still, a visit to TND won’t break the bank.

Details:
# of times visited: 1
Cards: Yes
Bar: Full
Reservations: No