April 7, 2008
By: Ken Alan
kalan@aroundphilly.com
When reporting on my recent restaurant travels, I tend to forgo reviews of most chain operations. I know you don't want to be burdened by reading about unexciting food, a cookie-cutter environment, and service that's formulaic and usually uninspired.
So you won’t see any notes on my visits to Buca di Beppo or Houlihan’s, T.G.I. Fridays or even The Cheesecake Factory anytime soon. (Okay, here’s the Cliff’s Notes version of that last one: “Lots of just-okay food/Not worth the two hour wait.”)
It is with this mindset of avoiding the mundane that I initially resisted writing about Iron Hill Brewery, the noteworthy and ever-expanding eatery out of Newark, Delaware. To call this real-crafted export “just a chain” though, is like saying “they serve beer.”
No, Iron Hill, which is privately owned by two enthusiastic home brewers, Kevin Finn and Mark Edelson, along with their buddy Kevin Davies, has full-flavored, hand-crafted beers, created in-house at each of their seven regional restaurants. The many ales, lagers and specialty-style offerings not only stand out for their quality and taste, but they happen to pair really well with food that far transcends the ordinary stuff found at your corner Applebee’s.
In the 12 years since they opened their flagship Iron Hill in Newark, the trio has targeted this region’s growth centers carefully creating a marked impact in such thriving communities as West Chester, Media, Wilmington, North Wales and Phoenixville. A couple months ago, Lancaster, which has been gaining popularity as of late, became home to the newest Hill on the block. Look for at least three more IHBs coming to a busy intersection near you.
Until recently, I only had the opportunity to visit two Iron Hills. There were drinks and a zesty bowl of chili at the North Wales branch, and a few months ago, when I found myself lunch-less by 3pm in West Chester, I took a street-side seat and enjoyed a tasty house smoked barbecue pork sandwich and some type of libation that contained malt, yeast and hops.
Living near the Phoenixville outpost and frequently passing it since it opened less than two years ago, I had the fortune to take the family there for an enjoyable meal a couple of weekends ago.
Not just another Iron Hill, the one here is actually quite the ground-breaking unit; it’s the first “chain” operation to take roost in a town with unlimited restaurant potential, really putting Phoenixville on the destination map and opening up its newfound “Restaurant Row.” Since it opened less than two years ago, this store has enjoyed great popularity from locals and visitors alike.
This, I later learned, is the smallest IHB out of the seven at only 225 seats. The space bustles. Enter and off to the left, behind benches, is the glassed-in brewing apparatus. Milling, mashing, boiling and fermentation units stand stoically like mechanized, stainless steel sentries.
The bar is convivial, tidy and comfortable with rich cherry wood. Grab a window seat and enjoy the Bridge Street view.
The four of us were seated in the dining room. The din was quite raucous; scores of patrons yakking it up all at once, their voices skirting along one long, hand-painted frescoed wall across the paneled curved ceiling (like a wood-topped Quonset hut’s) and through the clean-lined spaces.
Our server, Tommy, started me off with Iron Hill’s version of scotch ale, as distinct and sweetly biting as my personal favorite, McEwan’s, which is very difficult to find ‘round these suburban parts. He then suggested trying the appetizer special: a baked artichoke and cheese dip with sundried tomatoes, fresh herbs and white wine, and crusty bread to sop it up--a very tasty beginning to our meal.
The day’s soup was a frothy crab, shrimp and scallop seafood bisque, and the Iron Hill wedge salad was an upstanding rendition of the classic.
Entrees followed: vegetable Gemelli with grilled chicken was a hearty and satisfying dish, as was a nicely blistered wood-fired pesto pizza. My Jamaican jerk pork loin had a good burn from its rub, juxtaposed with sweet pineapple salsa. Unfortunately, the cut of chop, besides being overdone, was just too tough.
But overall, between the made-from-scratch factor of the food (even the focaccia is baked in-house), its price points (entrees are between $10 and $20) and a staff like Tommy who seem genuinely eager to please, Phoenixville is a premium representation of this burgeoning brand.
Back to the beer for a moment: I commend Iron Hill for taking itself so seriously and for providing such quality throughout its award-winning recipes of interesting brews. Like several other area “chains” such as John Harvard’s Brew House and Sly Fox Restaurant & Brewery, IHB transcends beer-as-hobby and has really shone as a credible player in the industry. Unlike these others, they also put great stock into food, turning the fare there into truly pair-able substance.
So, visit if you can and say what you want; just don’t call Iron Hill Brewery “just a chain.” It’s like stating that its owners are “just restaurateurs.” Seven places and counting plus all that great beer--I’d say they’re rock stars.
Visit Iron Hill Brewery
