July Food News in the Brandywine Valley

So much has been happening at local eateries, drinkeries and food producers in our area, quick bullet points seem the best way to bring you up to speed. In no particular order, here’s some food news for July.

Cheers for Beer & Wine

• Ubiquitous Iron Hill Brewing won two gold medals — for 30 E. Stout Street and Philly Chili — at the World Beer Cup, besting over 2,000 breweries and 10,000 entries. WorldBeerCup.org
• More kudos for Iron Hill: Food & Wine included Iron Hill and West Chester’s Levante Brewing among the 30 best craft breweries to visit in PA. Levante got a shoutout for its Cloudy & Cumbersome and Going Guava. FoodAndWine.com
• In PA Wine rankings, the Inn at Grace Winery in Glen Mills was awarded Best White for its 2023 pinot gris — and ranked among the top 10 PA wines — in this year’s PA Wine Association’s Sommelier Judgement blind tasting competition. GraceWinery.com

Fab Food

• Unionville’s Farm at Doe Run had two cheeses — Hickory on the Hill and Creamery Collection Batch #17 — on the 15 Highest Quality Cheeses in America list. InsiderMonkey.com
• The Philadelphia Inquirer recognized West Chester’s Jaco Juice & Taco Bar as having one of the breakfast tacos worth waking up for. JacoJuiceAndTaco.com
• Ranked #4 on the list of Mashed’s “Best Mushroom Dishes in America,” (according to customers) is Portobello’s of Kennett Square’s roasted mushroom soup (of course it’s from Kennett). Mashed.com

Setting Up Shop

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  Good Girls Bakery opened a storefront in Eagleview Town Center in Exton to serve up their sourdough breads and other goodies, plus all-day breakfast, lunch and beverages. GoodGirlsBakery.com

• Longtime farmers market fave Dressler Estate is opening a brick-and-mortar location for hard cider in the center of Downingtown on Lancaster Ave. DresslerEstate.com
• Growing from food truck to storefront, Gazzos Steaks, with the tag line “South Philly fresh,” opened in mid-May in Pottstown to looooong lines of fans. GazzosSteaks.com
• Moving from baker Robert Smythe’s home, Pastry Pants Bakery opened a new shop on Park Ave. in Swarthmore with scratch-made specialty pastries and ambiance reminiscent of a 1925 European bakery. PastryPants.com

Openings & More

• For exclusive imbibing, upscale 9 Prime opened members-only Johnny O’s Speakeasy in the basement of West Chester’s historic First National Bank. A special key fob grants entry for 150 members (for now) to enjoy small bites and high-end spirits. JohnnyOsWestChester.com
• Phoenixville added another beer source on Bridge Street when Twelve78 Brewing opened in May, after three years of planning. It’s BYOFood, with food trucks and DoorDash. Twelve78Brewing.com
• West Chester’s Lorenzo’s Steaks & Hoagies is opening a pizza place at 316 E. Gay St., called Pizza316, to bring the family recipe back to West Chester. Because we need more pizza in the borough! On Instagram @PizzaToRemember
• Planning a PA-wide and national expansion, Federal Donuts & Chicken will open a location in Radnor, for those who don’t want to preorder at Artisan Exchange in West Chester. FederalDonuts.com
• Get reviews of 1,000 local cheesesteak shops from Swarthmore resident Jim Pappas, with rating up to 100. Cheesy Life video ratings are on YouTube, and there’s a spreadsheet! On YouTube @PhiladelphiaCheesesteakAdv4883