Bob K.'s Profile

Loud, with a great beer selection and reasonable pub food.  That's the thumbnail review.

The first thing I noticed was the musical assault when we walked in on First Friday, and headed toward the bar area.  Next was the case with bottled beer, with a variety of Belgian brews I was definitely not expecting in a place like this.  OK, that will guarantee at least three stars.  The bar is kind of cramped, based on the way the building is shaped to fit in the corner of that intersection, and it was pretty tough to have a conversation, even with not many people present.  But the food was ok, and I liked sitting up against the windows and watching attractive swatches of humanity walk by in my favorite town.

Confession - I have no idea what the food is like.  Others have already spoken to that, so check out the other reviews.  I stumbled into this place on First Friday in June 2009 with my barhopping buddy, and was impressed by the size of the crowd.  But what I also liked was the band that played against the front windows, and the space we had to dance.  And dance we did, like siblings rarely do (I'm sure we're on youtube somewhere).  The crowd was busy crowding around the bar, resembling nothing so much as a swarm of sperm trying to get to the egg.  That was fine with me  - the cover band was very good, and other people got drinks for me, and I had a great time.

I'm going the whole five stars based on the nursery and the killer milkshake I got.

Let's start with the nursery.  It's huge, it has great variety, and its wet.  Yep, they were running a sprinkler while I was there to keep all the outdoor stuff wet, and I got doused a few times, so don't wear anything too nice.  I was lucky to get out of there with only about 10 perennials, because I could have gone nuts.  From flowers to shrubs to trees, herbs to veggies, it was all good.  And the prices were incredibly reasonable.  

How long will you wait for a milkshake?  Since every one they serve is individually made, you might have to wait 10 minutes or so if there are a couple of people ahead of you.  Its worth it.  Get a shake made from any variety of ice cream they serve.  

Every time I see this place, it's more packed with new sections and shelves, becoming a nice shopping market for gourmet items, as well as food on the go, sandwiches soups, and baked goods.  It was a little strange wheeling in my overburdened cart o' plants inside the grocery area to check out; I wish they had an outdoor check-out area.  

One extra thumb up for clean public restrooms.  Yay!

What a cute little place!  Head downstairs next to the smoke shop (whatever that's called) and there's a one-woman operation (that's all we saw) presiding over racks of funky clothes (some of it outside and heavily discounted), hats and accessories, and earthy gifty stuff.  It won't take you long to see everything, between two smallish rooms, but there is a little dressing room as well.

I'm surprised at some of the negative reviews, and it makes me wonder if this place is inconsistant.  Well, luckily for me and the wife, we must have been there on a good day.  It was a lovely sunny D-town spring afternoon, and the huge amount of menu choices written in neon chalk on the walls was nearly overwhelming.

I think it was the potato pancakes topped with black beans, cheese and sour cream (I believe we asked for quacamole instead) that convinced us to grab a table on the sidewalk.  The grilled chicken quesadilla called my name, and the bacon ingredient ensured that I didn't have to share.  :)

You have to order at a counter inside, then grab a table and they will bring the food out to you.  They have adult beverages, and the Red Stripe was perfect with my food. But the selection is largely limited to booze you can use to make margaritas, daquiries, etc.  This place is right next door to Honey, my favorite place in the world for grilled cheese sandwiches.  My favorite moment during lunch was when an older woman walking by spied my Phillies jersey, and asked me if I was really Chase Utley.  No kidding.

I was looking for a Rare Earth website to send to a friend, and was surprised at how little is out there about this store.  It's an independent shop in King of Prussia mall, for gifts and jewelry.  There is remarkable hand-made designer jewelry, and such a large variety of other unique gift items that it's hard to describe.  Also includes small friendship prints, beautiful cards, unusual clocks, metalwork and ceramic gifts.  Some of it is quite pricey, but I greatly appreciated the personalized assistance I got when trying to pick out jewelry for the wife.

This business supports a charity in the area, a senior center, I think.  The variety of books is pretty good - there is a large selection of hardback general fiction that isn't romance or scifi, and the trade paperback selection is good as well.  I prefer the used book stores that are more than mostly normal paperbacks, and this one doesn't disappoint.  The history/politics section is pretty big too, perhaps reflecting the age of the clientele.

The pinnacle of used book stores.  This place is huge, more books then a Borders or B&N, and the place is an actual old barn.  There are little staircases leading all over, and they provide a map, in case you're not sure if you seen the whole place.  Hard and softbacks throughout the store, which is well organized by subject.

I stopped in here while roaming around West Chester, PA, one of my favorite strolling towns.  I was looking for some flat greasy pizza, and found it well served here.  They have $5 lunch specials, including two cheese slices, fries, and a too-small drink.  The pizza crust had a nice crunch, and the cheese had just the right viscosity.  I saw another customer's chef salad, and it looked pretty good as well.  I'm restricting my review to 3 starts, because of how little of the menu I tried.  
If this review hasn't enticed you, how about the sex shop next door, "Feminine Boutique," not yet visited by this reviewer.  Good website, though.

This is my favorite place for foreign coins, with a great selection that is updated frequently and priced reasonably, although you won't find much from China or other Asian countries that issued "cash" coins.  The gentleman who runs the place likes to sit down and talk to you while you look through stuff.  He's got trays with higher end stuff, and then there are boxes of flips for mid-level items, from a huge variety of countries.  I can always pick up something from a German region that I don't already have, for example.  If you're just looking for something fast, he has display cabinets with a neat selection of international oddities, right next to US currency, right next to token issues, etc.  Things are on display everywhere, in contrast to stores where you have to ask to see anything.