Sonic Drive-In: Limerick, PA

Now that the X-Man has had his turn, I'll take over from here.

SONIC comes to Philly. Well, kind of. I drive to Limerick two weeks ago to check out the relatively new Sonic on Ridge Pike. Cool. Good burger. Good supersonic breakfast burrito with extra jalapenos. Great Cherry Limeade. And tater tots all day long. There's a California Tortilla in the shopping center across the way, but I didn't have time to peek inside, Maybe next time.

- P

Hits and Misses

On the PA side of the river:

Went back to Sampann Inn in Havertown a few weeks ago and sat in the Japanese section of the restaurant. Apparently, they close out the Chinese seating area after 8:00 (which I thought was strange for a Friday night), although the Chinese menu was still available. One variation on the previous visit's choices: we ordered the tofu version of chicken with cashews. Pretty good, although it arrived with peppers after the wife specifically asked for no peppers.

Some NJ experiments:
Five Guys at East Gate (near the Moorestown Mall): Same quality as their other locations. A line out the door on opening day. Really, really good burgers. Not as overdone as I thought they'd be, since everything is cooked well done.

Chipotle at Moorestown Mall: Not bad, especially the Veggie Burrito, which comes with guacamole gratis. On the other hand, don't call ahead. I called twice for pickup (for only three people), gave them a 20 minute head start, and still had to wait 15 minutes for the food. Both times, I could have just gone through the regular line and received all the orders faster.

Panchero's (Rte. 38, Mt. Laurel, East of the Centerton mega-strip mall with Wegman's): Called ahead. Order was being finished when I arrived. About the same quality as Chipotle. Frequent giveaways to corporate customers, too.

Venuto's Old World Pizza (Rte. 38, Cherry Hill, 1 block from People's Pizza): After watching their commercials and visiting their website, I thought I was in for a treat. Especially when their site boasts of "the best pizza experience you've ever had." I tried one slice of cheese and one slice of sausage. Overpriced and average. No wonder People's always has more customers. Take my advice and drive the extra 10 seconds westbound on Rte. 38. Or try King of Pizza on Rte. 70, west of the old racetrack. Both have better slices than Venuto's.

Annoyance # 1: McDonald's insipid commercials describing athletes rejoicing at Mickey D's "perfect" chicken biscuits and sandwiches. They're not bad. But don't pretend you've invented something when Chick-fil-a has been making THE chicken sandwich for over 40 years. And just because you slap pickles on it doesn't make it Southern-style. Even KFC's new fillet sandwich is better than McDonald's version.

Annoyance #2: When I do go to McDonald's, it's usually to get something fast in the AM because I got up too late to make breakfast. McDonald's on Rte 73 just east of 295 & NJT is pretty swift. Mickey D's on Rte. 38 (between Wal-Mart and People's Pizza) is not swift. Nor is it regularly accurate, based on my last 3 visits.


-X