King of Prussia PA suggestions?

Dear Roadfooders,

Will be at a training seminar in King of Prussia this week, and not knowing the area, would love suggestions as to where I can unload some per diem money on good roadfood!! Any feedback well appreciated!

I stayed in King of Prussia a number of times because of customers in the area. To eat, I would always drive into Philly. Besides Bookbinders, I ate at various neighborhood places, and I don't remember any names. From my experience, you can walk into most any place that looks interesting in the Philly neighborhoods and find something worth eating.

My nirvana place is Pat's. I've mentioned this place ad nauseum in this forum, but to a Missouri Hillbilly turned Texan like me, Pat's cheesesteak was pure heaven.

I will now yield the floor to those Philadelphians who know what they're talking about...

King of Prussia is home to every chain restaurant known to Eastern U.S. man. For lunch, go to Michael's Deli on DeKalb Pike (Rt. 202)in the Valley Forge Shopping Center just north of the King of Prussia Malls. I'd also go to Franzone's in Bridgeport. Stay on 202 north and you'll come to it just before you enter Norristown, PA. It has great pizza, cheesesteaks, and Zeps.

It's a little far to go on your lunch hour but you'll be near one of the Grand Dames of Dinerdom - the Vale-Rio diner. Take Route 422 N to 23 W for a nice drive through Valley Forge Park to Phoenixville PA. It's right on the main street in that town. (As a side note, the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville is where the movie scene was filmed in the 1958 sci-fi classic The Blob, starring a young Steve McQueen.)

tamandmik:

Go to Sullivan's and Ruth's Chris for steak in the fine tradition of steakhouses. California Pizza Kitchen in the mall, although a chain, has traditional and creative brick oven pizzas and sizeable salads. I love you, CheeseWit, but even though we go to Michael's Deli occasionally, it doesn't really compare to what you'd think of as some of the classic deli's of NY, so keep that in mind, tamandmik. I do agree, however, that you should continue up Rte 202 N into Bridgeport to Franzone's, or even further into the heart of beautiful downtown Norristown, the county seat (where I work, in the Court House). Turn right at the Jewelry Factory onto Main Street, and look for "Taqueria Michoacan" on the left corner of Main & Walnut. EXCELLENT classical Mexican food, and CHEAP! Order the "mole" -- "Ole!!!" Or, if you're in an Asian mood, go across the street to August Moon for a Japanese & Korean menu more befitting your assumedly unlimited expense account. Some of the best (and most expensive) sushi in the Philly area. Also look for Giacomo's (on the same side of the street) for an Italian pulled pork sandwich, or anything else for that matter! Go a little further down for a quick lunch @ Lou's, a little greasy spoon. Get a couple Texas Tommies and a shake for lunch! If you want something a little more fun-n-funky one night, turn LEFT onto Main Street instead, and go down about 5-7 miles to the Moody Monkey. It's crowded & noisy, but the menu's extensive and eclectic, and very yummy!

Welcome to our neck of the woods!

JaneDough

Even though I live in Tennessee, our companies home office is in KOP and I have spent entirely too much time there over the years. Food around the mall tends to be very good and expensive, but I sure do enjoy the Cheese Cake Factory. The only thing I do not like is the huge menu. I spend more time deciding what to order. Maybe that is not such a bad thing because I can enjoy my beverage of choice while waiting.

Also on mall property is Maggiano's. Huge family portions and in my opinion, I think their Italian food is excellent.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

tamandmik - If you enjoy Thai food, I would recommend Thai Orchid, a lovely little Thai restaurant in a strip mall in Blue Bell. To get there, just go head north on 202 (Dekalb Pike). After you cross Skippack Pike, it is in the mall on the right. My wife and I often go there after an arduous day of shopping at the malls.

JaneDough - Thank you for posting all those recommendations for Norristown. I have often wondered about some of the places I drove by as I snuck into KOP from the north. I'm relatively new to the area (I live in lower Bucks). I'm particularly looking forward to trying the taqueria -- I love a good mole!

A very timely question, as I will be in Wayne (just west of KOP) next week, also for training. But that is in the other direction from most of the suggestions so far. Any thoughts on eating toward Wayne?

I always enjoyed Minella's Main Line Diner in Wayne. There are some great restaurants in Wayne; some pricy, some not. You're right on Rt. 30/Lancaster Ave. which puts you on the Main Line. There are restaurants up and down Lancaster Ave.

quote:

Originally posted by RoyHarv

A very timely question, as I will be in Wayne (just west of KOP) next week, also for training. But that is in the other direction from most of the suggestions so far. Any thoughts on eating toward Wayne?

I have returned from KOP PA, and offer up my findings: 1)Unrelated to food, the traffic here is abominable. Getting there, lunch hour (3rd rush hour) and going home. I'm originally from Northern NJ, so I have had my run of traffic in the past, but this was completely insane. I had to actually wait 10 minutes to go through 1 red light, though only about 15 cars were in front of me. Fortunately this was because of 2) my lunch experience at "Peace Pizza", a unique pizzeria that for 2.59, has several designer slices. www.peacepizza.com I ordered the bbq chicken and bacon slice, it was so good I had to return back, put down another 2.59 on the way home for the Buffalo Wing slice. Totally recommended, and about # 4 on my all time pizzerias, behind Frank Pepe, Alta Pizzeria in Hazleton PA, and Macks in Wildwood NJ. Day 2, unfortunately, I was unable to get lunch, because of constraints involving my training, but day 3, I followed the recommendation of "CheeseWit" and went to Michkaels deli. Ordered the first cut Pastrami. WOW!!! Awesome. Have to say, this is an authentic Jewish deli here, not like Harold's New York, no rueben's allowed here! More impressive, however, were the bottled beers for sale, 500, as advertised in the store front. Beers that I have never heard from before, and I have had quite a few of them! So, for 2 out of the 3 days, it was a great roadfood experience, one, on my own, and the second, due to a fellow roadfood poster. Thanks Cheesewit!

You're VERY welcome! I should've warned you about the traffic. There is a major reworking of Rt. 202 all around K.of P. and it has been causing nightmares for about two years so far. I'm glad you enjoyed Michael's. The beer selection is very good. Peace Pizza has a few stores in the western suburbs of Philly and I have always enjoyed their product. Glad I was helpful.