Gettysburg Baking Co. (Gettysburg, PA)

17 Lincoln Square, Gettysburg, PA 17325

Gettingsburg Baking Co. is a small bakery and lunch place in the historic and touristic downtown Gettysburg. It serves various pastries, sweets, sandwiches, and salads. This morning they are out of many breakfast items, so I get pastries.

The Stickiebun ($2.95) is really fresh and covered with sweet, sticky caramel and pecans. It is absolutely delicious! The Morning Roll ($2.65) looks traditional, but is remarkably light and fresh. It is also delicious!

VERDICT: 90/100

Gettysburg Baking Co. serves delicious fresh US pastries. Some of the best I had.

Café Bruges (Carlisle, PA)

16 N Pitt Street, Carlisle, PA 17013

Café Bruges is a restaurant that serves “Belgian Food & Drink” that is situated in downtown Carlisle, some 15 minutes outside of Harrisburg, PA. It prides itself in its selection of (imported) Belgian beers and, in particular, its burgers and fries, but it serves various Belgian specialties, like mussels and stoemp. Given that it is the number 1 restaurant in Carlisle, it is not really a pig out spot, but given that it’s specialty is real Belgian fries, we will make an exception.

I get the Steak Frites ($21), after making sure that I will get enough fries. As I am waiting I can smell the authentic aroma of fries… could it be? As the food finally arrives – although it feels like forever, given that I am so curious, the wait was not long at all – it is confirmed that the waitress wasn’t lying. I get a whole puntzak (pointy bag, just as the real frituurs in Belgium serve them). They come with homemade mayo and I decide to order an additional sauce (+$1): Asian-style spicy mayo. The Belgian Fries are out of the world; or, perhaps more accurately, as if I am at a good frituur in Belgium. Truly the best Belgian Fries I have eaten outside of Belgium! Thick cut, crunchy outside, soft and potato-y inside… unbelievable! The steak is also absolutely excellent and even the green beens with onion are delicious. This is one of the best meals I have ever eaten in the US.

VERDICT: 99/100

Truly authentic Belgian food. I only regret I didn’t have time for dessert.

Chickie's & Pete's (Philadelphia, PA)

At Philadelphia International Airport, Terminal D

Chickie’s & Pete’s is a local chain of “crab houses and sports bars” with over ten locations, most in and around Philadelphia. They even have four locations at Philadelphia International Airport (at four different terminals). As I find out later, it comes highly recommended and is even rated by Zagat. It serves the staples of a US sports bar but specializes in fried chicken, cheesesteaks, and crab and lobster.

 

I get a starter of Chickie's Fries ($6), which is a boat full of prefab thin wrinkle cut fries, crispy but fairly uneventful. The Chickie's Cutlers ($8) are chicken tenders that look like fried catfish tenders. They are fairly tasteless, as is the honey mustard sauce.

 

VERDICT: 80/100

For all the emphasis on originality and fame, this is all very ordinary.

Federal Donuts (Philadelphia, PA)

3428 Sansom Street, Philadelphia 19104

Federal Donuts is a local chain of (so far two) small restaurants that serves, coffee, donuts, and… fried chicken. It is part of a larger chain of restaurants under the name of Cook n Solo. Federal Donuts is clearly popular among the hipster crowd of downtown Philly. It has a very limited menu: coffee, fried chicken with three different rubs and sauces and about four different types of donuts.

I get a Fried Chicken Sandwich ($6.75) and a Lemon Meringue Donut ($2.50). The sandwich is small but has a big chunk of delicious fried chicken on a soft potato roll with lettuce, tomato and a spicy sauce. Very tasty! The donut is thick but a bit dry; the lemon meringue is tangy.

VERDICT: 89/100

The attraction is partly in the hipster setting, but both the chicken and the donuts are original and tasty. 

Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagies and Cheesesteaks (Philadelphia, PA)

51 N 12th St, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Carmen’s is the most famous cheesesteak place in the Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philadelphia. It has an incredibly rigid automated system, which makes ordering very slow. Fortunately this is made up by fast service. They by and large serve cheesesteaks, freshly made on the griddle.

I get a Steak Sandwich with onions and hot peppers. It comes on a nice fresh hoagie and the steak is well seasoned and tender. I should have asked for regular peppers too, as that would have added some more flavor. Still, the steak sandwich tasted very good.

VERDICT: 90/100

One of best steak sandwiches I have eaten.

Philly Pretzel Factory (Philadelphia, PA)

1532 Sansom Street, Philadelphia 19104

Philly Pretzel Factory is a chain of pretzel stores with over 120 locations worldwide. It offers the same range as other pretzel stores, i.e. hardy and sweet pretzels, pretzel dogs, pretzels with cheese, etc. Its claim to fame, or at least originality, is the soft pretzel, allegedly a specialty of Philadelphia.

I get one Pretzel Dog ($2.25), which is a tiny wiener rapped in pretzel dough. It tastes OK, nothing special.

VERDICT: 74/100

A regular fast food pretzel chain

Green Eggs Café (Philadelphia, PA)

212 S 13^th Street, Philadelphia 19107

Green Eggs Café is a “brunch style restaurant/cafe that takes pride in serving the highest quality fare while maintaining an eco-conscious philosophy”. It has four locations in Philadelphia. This one downtown is quite big, has a modern interior, and a mixed crowd of (unionized white) workers, hipsters of all races, and young professionals. It has an extensive brunch menu with all the usuals: eggs benedict, French toast, omelets, waffles.

I am going for a basic breakfast: Eggs Your Way ($10): 3 eggs over medium, bacon, toast, and rosemary potatoes. The eggs are undercooked, the bread is grossly sweet, and the bacon is neither crispy nor particularly tasty. The potatoes taste fat and salty. The (small) glass of Orange Juice ($3) is ok.

VERDICT: 70/100

Thoroughly underwhelming

Hunger Burger (Philadelphia, PA)

1136 Arch St #427, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Hunger Burger is a burger joint in Reading Terminal Market in downtown Philadelphia that has a special motto: “buy one, feed one.” It uses parts of its profits to feed children in need. Beautiful! They serve various types of breakfast burgers, burgers (beef, chicken, and turkey), fries (including sweet potato), and shakes as well as some atypical “hot sides” such as Lobster Mac ‘n’ Cheese.

I get a Hunger Burger, single patty, no cheese ($4.50). It has the basic ingredients (lettuce, tomato, onion), so it's all about the quality. The burger is small but tasty; the bun and burger are crispy and juicy. The sauce is a bit watery and not very strong. Overall it looks and tastes like Shake Shack but smaller and not quite as outstanding.

VERDICT: 89/100

Good food, good cause

Beiler’s Bakery (Philadelphia, PA)

51 N 12th St, Philadelphia, PA 19107

 Beiler’s Bakery is a Philadelphia institution, which is houses in Reading Terminal Market, like several other Philly food institutions. It serves a dazzling variety of donuts, made on the premise by mostly Amish (looking?) staff. It comes highly recommended – one of 20 best desserts spots in America, according to Fodor’s Travel Guide – and has a long line around its stall. 

 

I order a Maple Bacon Donut ($.99): a basic donut with fairly gross marshmallow filling, strips of maple, and teeny tiny crumbles of bacon. Pretty gross! The Cinnamon Sugared Donut ($.99) is soft and uneventful.

 

VERDICT: 78/100

I like the old-school approach and the basic donuts, but there is too much mediocre sugary stuff on them.