Publisher’s Letter

Happy New Year! At County Lines, we’re looking forward to another great year of dining and drinking. But first, let’s review. Perhaps, recover.

The holiday season is over. Family and friends are gone. It’s time for a detox from the excessive merriment. Let Madison Meinel share tips on how in “Say Cheers to a Dry New Year.”

Now comes winter, but we’ll still find fresh and local produce at the farmers’ markets, if we know what to look for and how to prepare it. In “Hardy Abundance,” Brandywine Table’s Alyssa Thayer encourages you to get outside as you shop for and try some lesser-known vegetables—parsnips, radicchio and kohlrabi, for instance.

Fuel, energy, pleasure …. It’s time to renew your relationship with food. Angella Meanix of Wellington Square Bookshop reviews six good choices in “Books for Food Lovers.”

What’s our favorite restaurant in County Lines country? Our staff has finished its work and offers opinions. Some are new since 2021. Some cherished from past years. All are excellent. Check out “We Love Local Dining” and dine at all the wonderful local spots.

And, looking ahead, in the “Dining Guide 2022,” associate editor Marci Tomassone offers a town-by-town guide to our local eateries.

I had a fun assignment: the breweries, bars, pubs and all the other places offering “Happy Hours in West Chester.” It’s a tough job—there were over 20 located in the Borough—but someone had to do it.

In “Hazy IPA: The Ugly Duckling of Craft Beer,” Mike Hamara of Root Down Brewing in Phoenixville tells us about the birth of a new kind craft beer in the ‘90s in Stowe, Vermont. Read about the making of “cloudy” beer and its growth and spread as one of the most popular styles in the U.S.

As always, our Best Local Events section has things to do for you and your family.

Hopefully, you have County Lines delivered to your mailbox. Save it for future reference. At CountyLinesMagazine.com, you can get January’s online issue. At Issuu.com, you can get the whole issue electronically. You can also click How to Get A Copy on our website to find locations to get a print copy.

We hope you’d like to subscribe to County Lines. Do it online or call 610-918-9300. For single issues, try Wellington Square Bookshop, Main Point Books or Reads & Co. Bookstore. Visiting an advertiser is also a great—and free—way to find copies!

We Love Local Dining
For the 18th year—and this has been another crazy one—we look at the local dining scene and find chefs that have kicked up their take-out game, explored ways to serve up family meals, and become virtuosos of the extended outdoor dining season. We found nearly 100 restaurants in County Lines country that are well worth your time.

Say Cheers to a Dry New Year
Dry January isn’t a new idea. During World War II, Finland is said to have created a “Sober January.” Dry January, however, took off in 2013. About 4 million people took part in 2020, and we encourage you to consider adding your name. You’ll enjoy better sleep, better skin, better health, better budgets and better relationships. In our article, we offer several tricks to keep you on the wagon.

Hardy Abundance
Though it’s January, many of our area farmers markets are still open. And you can still fill your shopping bag with vegetables that are fresh and locally grown. You’ve heard of some of them: celeriac, parsnips, kohlrabi, daikon, radicchio. In this article, we’ll tell you why to buy them and how to use them.