2 Pennsylvania Restaurants Are Very Difficult To Get Into

Whether it's via an app, directly through the restaurant's website, or the old-fashioned way of picking up the phone, having a reservation seems to be an essential part of eating at your favorite restaurant these days. TimeOut recently detailed the establishments across the country that have been the hardest to get into so far this year, and two restaurants in Pennsylvania made the list.

Stressing the demand for some of these high-end city spots, TimeOut says, "Some of the toughest reservations in America are just simply impossible to get—unless you’ve been headlining at Madison Square Garden."

Furthermore, many of them won't take walk-ins or stand-by guests, they have become that exclusive. In context, although this may be frustrating for dine-out enthusiasts if you think back to what we were seeing in the restaurant industry during the not-so-long-ago pandemic times, this is good news.

People want to be out. In fact, the pandemic inspired many new restaurants and entrepreneurs as people discovered some unique cooking skills they never knew they had. Furthermore, gathering around a table with friends and family and having a nice hour where you sip a drink, share an appetizer, and then devour a plate of exquisite cuisine is invaluable.

So, mixed among the fine-dining fancy spots in other major cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami are two restaurants in our area that are less than 40 miles from each other.

Ranking 10th was Zahav in Philadelphia located at 237 St James Pl. Like many of the establishments on this list, Zahav is a dinner specific place that opens at 5PM on Tuesday through Saturday. This is prix fixe menu at $85 per person with the option to add a $45 drink pairing. Their menu varies somewhat depending on the season. You can see the current June offering here, which includes items like pomegranate lamb shoulder, eggplant, and tuna tartare.

Typically, reservations need to be made two months in advance. You can do so right through their website, where they also explain the booking process.

If you head about an hour west, you will reach the 7th hardest restaurant to get into, according to TimeOut. This is Talula's Table, located at 102 W State St, Kennett Square.

This farm-to-table spot is described as "a café and market by day, the shop transforms into a private dining room at night with a table that books up a year out." In fact, you need to book your dining experience one year in advance.

This summer they are cooking up specialties like yellowfin tuna, Turkish lamb, and sweet corn pudding. Although they can provide wine pairing suggestions Talula's Table is a a BYOB establishment.

They have a very specific reservation process that you can read in detail on their website here. It all begins with a phone call upon opening at 7AM.

Ben and Jerry's new flavors couldn't be more different from each other. The popular New England based ice cream brand has added three options to their creative family so far this year, and here I will rank them all.

Coincidentally, I tried each of these in one sitting. This was an unplanned taste test. With a house full of young kids, a visiting friend recently stopped by and knew the way to quickly win over the youngsters. Pints of ice cream.

Before I get into explaining which was best, I should note I am not an ice cream (or dessert) enthusiast by any means. Dare I say, I hardly seek out ice cream, even in the summer months. However, if it is put in front of me, I will eat it if it's one of my favorite varieties.

If I'm going for ice cream, though, Ben and Jerry's is easily my brand of choice. Being a New Englander, I have toured their Vermont location a handful of times. Their half-baked in a cone is my go-to choice.

If you are not familiar, these are the Ben and Jerry's new flavors that have rolled out in 2024. Impretzively Fudged, PB S'More, and Marshmallow Sky. Now, it's important to note that Marshmallow Sky is new just to pints. Meaning, it was available in their scoop shops only.

Another flavor entitled Strawberry Cheezecake was also unveiled earlier this year. This did not qualify here as a new flavor ranking because it had been an ice cream flavor (branded "cheesecake). The new "cheeze" version is a vegan dairy-free dessert.

Upon seeing these at my house, I realized they were new. So, instead of selecting one pint to scoop, I took one for the team and realized I needed one proper scoop of each.

My process was to try one at a time and not have all three in the same bowl. Blending flavors might compromise the intended taste.

As a result, there was a flavor where one bite was enough. Another where I couldn't get enough, and the third was somewhere in between.

Here is my official ice cream ranking of Ben and Jerry's new flavors.

It's chocolate ice cream with fudge covered pretzel pieces and pretzel swirl. The problem here is that I do not like chocolate covered pretzels. Oddly enough, I love pretzels alone. Dip them in sugar and ice cream and it either compromises the flavor or classifies as "too much." So, this was my least favorite.

Here we have toasted marshmallow ice cream with peanut butter cups, graham cracker pieces, and marshmallow swirl. The graham crackers are the star of this show. They pair better with the ice cream and chocolate than the typical marshmallow of a S'More. This was certainly a tasty delight, but I feel if the marshmallow swirl did not need to be invited to the party.

Admittedly, I was a little cautious about the blue ice cream color thinking it could suffer from cotton candy syndrome (where too much equals upset stomach city). That is not the case here. It's marshmallow ice cream with swirls, and then chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough. The latter of the cookie dough bites just brings this to another level. Some sweets get forced together and some just belong together and make each other better. That's the case here. It's no wonder Ben and Jerry's decided to promote this flavor. It tastes as cheerful as it looks.