Located near the center of Gay Street, Doc Macgrogan’s offers the locals a fine assortment of fresh seafood and drink
The East Coast is finally transitioning from Winter to Spring, and as I am far too busy to return home on the weekends, my only task was to get my car washed over the weekend. Now, if you care about your car you NEVER take it to a full service car wash, unless all those tiny swirls in your clear coat don’t upset you.
Funny thing (among many) about Philadelphia – there’s a total lack of self service car washes – they don’t seem exist! So I quizzed my young buddy who drives a cooler bimmer than me, and he gave me two addresses of self serve car washes. The closest was in West Chester, PA – about a thirty minute weekend drive.
I was obsessed with getting the winter’s final (I hope) salt and dirt off my little 325xi. I figured I’d make the drive to get a clean car and have an early dinner to boot. After all, a friend actually lives in West Chester, and described in detail what a fine little city it is. He was right.
The car wash went without a hitch but gave me a bit of an appetite. It was late afternoon and I spent my early morning hours at my client. I longed for a special treat and, of course, seafood always falls into that category.
First let me tell you about the drive to get to West Chester. There is no direct route. I-476 to Hwy 1, then a five mile drive past a seemingly endless display of country estates (no McMansions to be found) and then a left on Hwy 3.
It is a world apart from the slums of Philly, yet I would guess all this wealth came from the city in one form or another.
After the wash I headed south on Hwy 3 into the heart of West Chester and then veered off onto Gay Street – the historic center of the city. There was no parking to be found, so after cruising down this nicely restored lane I turned left and left again to Market Street. I found a vacant spot next to what looked to be an old courthouse. I plucked in about three dollars in quarters and grabbed my D7000 (this time coupled with my Tokina 11-16mm) and set out to explore.
As breakfast was hours ago and I had no lunch, the two Italian eateries that I passed were quite tempting. I stopped at each to examine the menus posted outside. Both looked enticing and had early crowds – a good indication of good food. Limoncello Ristorante had the best offerings of southern Italian cooking and was hard to pass by.
Yet as the light was somewhat good, and the historic district a few simple blocks, I moved on. Both would be on the path back to my car had nothing better been found.
After heading what I perceived as west on the right of Gay Street and then east on the left, I came to Doc Macgrogan’s Oyster House. I walked past, turned around, peered inside, and decided that my late lunch was to be here. Granted, West Chester offered a dozen or so tempting alternatives, but this was my gut feel (literally) as the best option.
Inside I was seated immediately. My waiter was congenial and informative (I played dumb about my knowledge of oysters – well I only pretended dumb, but I really am). There were about a dozen of oyster options. I opted for the Chesapeake variety as, well, that’s were I live. I ordered a respectable half dozen without asking the price. With them came a 16 oz. Victory Hogs Devil IPA. It seemed a right mix.
The thing with raw oysters is that it is more about show than substance. I downed that half dozen in less than five minutes and was tempted to order more. Fortunately a substantive Tomato Mozzarella Salad arrived before I had the chance.
Wow – this is real food – and food that wouldn’t clog the arteries like a Philly Cheese Steak or Hoagie.
I was tempted to order some fresh fish, but opted for a Lobster Roll, as I was not sure what one was. I was at first a bit disappointed that it came in a mayonnaise sauce and plain old french fries.
Yet both were light and a perfect end to what I needed in terms of real food. A second IPA nicely rounded out the meal!
I was out of there before the weekend dinner crowd even appeared. On my way back to the car I snapped a few more shots and came across a store front venue for Kreutz Creek Vineyards. I had to stop.
The host was warm from the beginning, and when I ask what was the most popular vintage she stated, without pause, the Cabernet Franc. I ordered a glass. It was, well, refreshingly different than the wines of California, Spain and Italy. But it seemed, well, that it needed to grow up a bit.
When I ask what was the most “interesting” vintage, she again had not to think a minute: Wickerton Red. Well OK, both were priced under $20. Given I had a fifteen mile drive back to Philly, I opted not to sample the 2nd. But I purchased a bottle of both and left with a tab of under $50.
That, with an early dinner coming in at slightly more, made this about the most expensive car wash that I had ever had! But to get away from both the mundane of winter and that of Philadelphia made it all worth it. I’ll do it again, but next time invite my buddy, who is fortunate enough to live there.
