Beaver Creek Tavern
1350 Bondsville Road
Downingtown, Pennsylvania
(484) 593-0481
If you’re planning a pleasant drive through the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside, possibly looking forward to a bit of gustatory payback at the end of the road, you might consider concluding your sojourn with a short hop on the Route 30 Bypass. Head west, take the Thorndale exit, and hang a right on Bondsville Road. About a mile later, following a few twists and turns, you arrive at your destination.
The Beaver Creek Tavern – formerly Bacon’s Tavern and the Kings Highway Inn – may seem like just another run-of-the-mill “happy-tappy,” but if you happen to be cruising anywhere in the area, it’s a great stopover for lunch, dinner, or a midafternoon snack.
If you wander in around 12:00 noon, you’ll see the usual gang of gregarious locals hanging out at the bar. This is usually an older crowd, although the remainder of the clientele runs the gamut age-wise. So just plop yourself down at one of the high tops and do a little people watching. Should you arrive at the dinner hour, the bar area will really be jumping. But if you’ve had the forethought to make a reservation (which is always a good idea for dinner) you’ll be seated in the attractive small dining room, which is still pretty bustling, but a smidgen more sedate.
The food here is exactly what you’d expect. “Pub grub” is the colloquial term… and it rounds up all the usual suspects – nachos, quesadillas, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, etc., etc. – although they’re a good deal better than most representatives of the genre. At dinner, however, the kitchen does become a bit more adventurous, offering up a variety of beef, chicken, seafood, and pasta dishes.
To start things off, possibilities range from French Onion Soup to variations on Mac n’ Cheese to Pierogies to Cheesesteak Eggrolls to Stromboli Bites. My advice, though, is to keep it as simple as possible. I’d go straight for the BCT Nachos (pictured), tri-colored corn tortilla chips splattered with chili, sour cream & salsa and flooded with chili peppers and slices of black olives. You may also substitute either chicken or chorizo for the chili, if you are so inclined.
As you move right along, the burgers, all handmade with 8 ounces of fresh ground beef, are quite good – and almost every variation on the theme you could possibly dream up. There’s the Beaver Lodge: roasted red pepper sauce, mushrooms, onion ring and provolone cheese; Maverick: roasted red peppers, jalapeños, hot sauce, and American cheese topped with a fried egg; Longwood: blue cheese, mushrooms and bacon; and the Hawaiian: pineapple, onions, ham, pineapple habañero sauce and cheddar cheese. You can even build your own burger with your choice of bun, cheese, sauce (add 50 cents each) and topping (add 75 or 95 cents each). You may also substitute a bison burger for $2.00 extra. On the other hand, nothing quite beats the good, old reliable Bacon Cheddar Burger (pictured). By the way, the accompanying fries are also quite good.
Like the burgers, the sandwiches are also highly recommendable and quite generously portioned. Possibilities include everyone’s favorite Triple Decker Club, the ubiquitous Philly Cheesesteak, and a host of chicken – Blackened Cajun, Grilled Jerk, Grilled Pesto, and Tavern Grilled – choices. The kitchen also turns out a first-class Reuben – corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing on grilled rye – and sister Rachel (pictured), which features turkey rather than the usual corned beef.
If you decide to drop in for dinner, the Cobb Salad – mixed greens, roasted turkey, tomatoes, onion, red bell peppers, cucumbers, carrot, hard-cooked egg, bacon and blue cheese crumbles – which is quite suitable for sharing, makes a good starter. From there, you move on to the entrées and – once again – I suggest that you keep things as simple as possible. Go for the Yuengling Fish n’ Chips or, perhaps, the Homemade Meatloaf.
An added bonus…You will find the desserts here surprisingly good. The Carrot Cake is a real winner. On the other hand, if you’re a bit of a peanut butter freak – as I am – the Dark Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Icing is something of a must. The cake is marvelously moist and the icing smooth, creamy, and rife with that impossible-to-resist true peanut butter taste. Forget the calories… go for it.
The Beaver Creek Tavern isn’t about to set any new culinary standards… But the food is quite good, the price is right, there’s a good selection of brews, and a reasonably quaffable wine list. So, if you happen to be traveling in the area, be sure to give it a try.
Bon Appétit!
TAD
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