JUNE 1, 2011 / PAGE 6A Successful First Year for the<strong>Restaurant</strong> Festival of <strong>Phoenixville</strong>BY LESLIE WEINBERGOn Sunday, May 22, just alittle before noon, a largemass descended down BridgeStreet eating everything insight, but instead of being ablob from outer space it wasa crowd of <strong>Phoenixville</strong> <strong>Restaurant</strong>Festival attendees.Streets were flowing withhappy festival-goers, the airwas filled with live jazz orrock (depending on whereyou were standing) and atthe end of the day, most ofthe vendors had sold out oftheir perfect portion delicacies.To many diners I spokewith, the restaurant festivalwas a wonderful way to discovernew places to eat thatthey plan to return to in thefuture.Before I toured the festival, Ihad to get my daily dose ofcaffeine and headed over toSteel City Coffeehouse. Partof me was tempted to sitdown on a comfy couch andtake in the relaxed coffeehouseambiance, but I knewI had a lot of eating to do, so Iheaded out the door with myfoamy cappuccino in hand.The first stop on my tour of<strong>Phoenixville</strong>’s premier diningspots was a landmark atthe corner of Main and BridgeStreets, Molly Maguire’s.Along with an freshly pouredbeers and beverages, MollyMaguire’s handed out tender,sweet and savory park sliderstopped with coleslaw on amini potato roll along withlarge crispy curry french fries(coming soon to a menu nearyou).In order to get my gluttonon, I formed a relatively simplestrategy and decided towork my way from one endof Bridge Street to the other.I joined the crowd that wasbeginning to congregate infront of Majolica’s booth, butthen I had to ponder the ultimatequestion. Which oneshould I choose amongsttheir delicious options ofroasted corn with cilantrobutter, churros with cardamom,golden empanadas orshrimp and potato kebabs?And the winner was…alternatingpieces of spicy shrimpand roasted potatoes in beautifulkabob form.In between bites from FrancoRistorante, Bistro on Bridge,Pepperoncini Sotto, The ColumbiaBar & Grille, DaddyMims Creole, ThaiL’Elephant, PJ Ryan’s Pub,Bridgeside Deli & Grille orEleanor’s Kitchen, festival attendeeshad a chance to dosome shopping, listen to livemusic or watch karate demonstrationswhile kids got tohop on a moon bounce or gettheir faces painted.Karla was at the festival withher son and felt, “It was agreat way to try a smallerportion.” She had the shrimpand grits from Marly’s (moreabout that later). “I neverwant to get the huge portionsfrom a restaurant. I thinkthe festival is nice and hopeit grows as much as otherfestivals. I would love to seemore of this, I always enjoythe entertainment.”Next up was dessert euphoria,starting with a caramelizedbasil and lemon cupcake(with a green tea cake) fromDia Doce. These fabulouscupcakes (it’s nearly impossibleto not eat them in onebite) will be cruisingCONTINUED ON PAGE 11 R0582714
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