Craft Ale House (Limerick) - Beer and Tasty, Crafty Grub

Craft Ale House in Limerick, PA has become a destination for local craft beer fans, foodies, and homebrewers alike (local homebrew club Bruclear has a quarterly competition here).  Sporting an array of gastro-esque items, along with 16 quality, rotating beer lines, it's fit into the mix of the wonderful beer scene that is Southeast Pennsylvania.  Owner, Gary Fry had a vision of bringing a great beer bar to the Limerick area.  Paired along with Sly Fox and Ortino's Northside alum, Dan Bengel helping to steer this ship, expect many more wonderful things to happen on Ridge Pike.
Shown above is an artisinal cheese plate including a local cheese from Birchrun Hills Farm.  This cheese was accompanied by a sliced baguette and a berry jam with walnuts and honeycomb.  Delicious.

Next up was the creamy sweet potato soup garnished with a bourbon creme fraiche on top.  The soup itself is smooth, savory, and mildly sweet.

Next up was the dish of Funky Farmhouse Mussels. These mussels have a saison broth with bacon, garlic, and blue cheese.  Needless to say, these aromas and flavors work well together.  You'll be asking for extra bread to soak up all that extra broth!

These hand cut fries are a nice finger food to have with your choice of beverage.  They have a nice, salty, herbal, oily flavor.  They're served with a remoulade if you like to switch it up to something different than the typical ketchup.

Let us not forget about the tasty beverages to indulge in.  To the left is Hill Farmstead's Citra IPA.  If you've never had Citra hops, it's as the name eludes...heavy citrus aromatics and flavors leaning towards freshly peeled orange and grapefruit.

Craft Ale House's website

Phamous Phil's BBQ (Collegeville) - Hot Wings

The texture is not of the typical wing, as these wings have been roasted out in the smoker, which sets Phil's wings in a whole different league of their own.  This method makes the internal juices turn to steam from the inside out, yielding a skin that has been pulled tightly around the meat.  - 4.5

The sauce is hot but it is slightly subdued because of the natural smokiness that the meat has taken on.  See the notes on the flavor category for greater detail. - 4

The flavor...due to the method of cooking these wings, along with the dousing of the hot sauce,  your taste buds end up in the quandary of enjoying the complex roastiness of toasted wood with hints of cooked apple and vanilla in the background, or riding the wave of endorphins caused by the peppery heat.  Very different & very good! - 4.5

The edibility is good.  I would say that the sauce is hotter than the standard hot sauce on wings but that roasty quality seems to mellow out the burn.  You get about 7-8 jumbo wings in a 1 pound order.  I started with a cup of soup before moving on to these bad boys for my meal.  They're big enough to fill your mid-day appetite. - 4

Overall, this is a nice wing that I look forward to getting into again in the near future.  It's not the typical hot wing, which to me, is the appealing factor about them.  Tender, and juicy on the inside, and exploding with flavor once you sink your teeth into them. - 4

Total Score: 4.2 / 5

Phamous Phil's website