Sunday was a near-perfect day. So it was a stroke of good luck that my wife and I had plans to meet with old friends for lunch at an ideal spot to take advantage of the beautiful weather.
Just a week after visiting Loretta’s Cafe in Bristol, PA, where I tried one of the Philly region’s hottest cheesesteaks, we were back in that borough’s quaint little downtown for lunch at the King George II Inn.
The Inn goes back to 1681, with the current building having replaced the original in 1765. It’s one of the oldest continually operating inns in the U.S. Here is a link for anyone interested in reading a bit more about its history.
If you park in the rear lot – like we did – the first thing you notice is the incredible view of the Delaware River from the restaurant and pier that sits behind it. We checked that out for a couple minutes with two of our friends who arrived just before we did then went inside to be seated.
The building is a large one with dining rooms on multiple levels. We were fortunate to get a table for eight on the second floor next to a window, affording us a view of the river while we ate.
Their menu doesn’t have a dominant theme and is basically what you’d expect to find at a moderately priced historic inn or tavern.
Most of us selected heavy main courses, so it wasn’t surprising that my friend, Mike, was the only one in our party to order an appetizer – a cup of lobster bisque. I sat across from him and confess to having some regret over not getting one for myself. It looked very good – with a beautiful little pile of lobster meat sitting on top – and he wasted no time in putting it away.
As always, I had checked out the menu online and was leaning toward getting a burger. But when we sat down, I saw that there were a few brunchy additions to the all-day menu, one of which was steak-and-eggs, featuring a ribeye. I ordered that on impulse, requesting my eggs over-medium and the steak medium-rare.
The ribeye had a nice char but was slightly overcooked – being more like medium than medium rare. Yet it was still juicy and packed with plenty of beefy flavor. And I was very surprised by how big it was – I would guess about a pound. I was expecting something smaller for a breakfast platter. The home fried potatoes that came with it were perfectly done – meaning very crispy on the outside, the way I like them.
While I didn’t order a burger, several of my friends did, so there was no shortage of them to photograph. There were a couple options to choose from – a Kobe burger and one made with a house blend of beef cuts. Christy, Lisa and Fred all opted for the latter.
While I didn’t hear any complaints about them, the cheese didn’t appear to melt very well on the two burgers that were topped with American. That wasn’t an issue for the one that came with Cheddar.
Mike stuck with a seafood theme in following up his lobster bisque with fish and chips, which again looked extremely appetizing.
Tom aggressively advocated for his mahi-mahi tacos; calling them “sensational.”
My wife seemed smitten with her cheesy stuffed bell peppers, which came with rice and spinach.
And finally, my oldest friend, John, who also accompanied me to Joey’s Pizza last week, went with a French dip. He is a funny guy and threatened to start eating it before I could make my way over to his end of the table to get my photo.
It was a very enjoyable meal in a lovely setting with an even better view. Being with such long-time friends made it even more special. Most of us have known each other since we were still students – or even before we were students in the case of John and me. We grew up on the same block.
Following lunch, we walked off at least a little of our meals near the river. There were several historic markers and a couple notable statues. It’s tough to think of a nicer spot to spend a gorgeous Sunday afternoon
A couple of my upcoming posts, including the next one, will focus on my cooking adventures at home. In addition to having a first-time go at making a popular American breakfast dish, I took my chicken-soup making game to another level by following a friend’s advice and double-cooking it. I’ll include recipes with both of those posts.
BZ Maestro Eats 
I guess if I were in your party I would have ordered the cheesesteak spring roll for an appetizer, the King’s Pork Chop as the main entree, and the white chocolate rice pudding for dessert.
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The owner stopped by and talked to us for a few minutes. He asked if anyone ordered the pork chop and seemed to insinuate it was the thing to get there. But we had already placed our orders. I just about never order a pork chop in a restaurant. I think the last time I did that, we were in Iowa in 2018.
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The cheddar on that bunless burger looks perfect! Interesting that your wife’s stuffed peppers were made with red and not the what seems to be more common green.
How was the outside temperature? I see people wearing jackets but not hats.
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