Instead, Joan picked the Rose Brier Inn, where she says she often takes people to lunch and which caters some of her fund-raisers.
Located in a large brick building, the Rose Brier is nestled inauspiciously in a strip mall just south of Academy Road. Once inside, however, road rage from a 25-minute commute from Center City on scenic I-95 disappears. The lobby, bar and public areas are quietly decorated in a calm colonial blue-gray trim with handsome reproduction period furniture in a sedate cherry.
I-95? Was I just on I-95?
At 5:30 on a Wednesday evening, Joan and I were fashionably late for the generally elderly patrons who were already filling the ``Dr. Benjamen Rush'' dining room. Comfortable Windsor chairs were pulled up to bare wood tables in a room dominated by a walk-in, though not operating fireplace.
The menu is all-American in a way Jack's Firehouse will never be. That is, it's got its all-American chicken parmigiana ($9.95) and its all-American German-style hot chicken salad ($5.95) as well as its all-American burgers, steaks and crabcake sandwiches. Joan, who looks svelte but says she gains weight just passing a restaurant, was going for the salad with ice tea when it was explained that she must actually eat something. We both headed to the special Oktoberfest selections for main courses with soup for starters.
Joan pronounced her cup of Chicken a la Reign (chicken, carrots, red pepper and penne pasta in a thick, golden cream sauce for $1.50) deee-licious. My cup of Philadelphia Snapper ($1.75) was dark, tangy and tasty. It was accompanied nicely by a tall glass of Samuel Adams Oktoberfest on tap.
My main course, the fried oysters with pepper hash ($12.95), arrived with a generous helping of au gratin potatoes and perfectly steamed mixed vegetables.
