Jones’ Food Street Journal – Stone House

By

By David Jones

Those of us familiar from Western Chester County and Eastern Lancaster County are probably familiar with the location of the Stone House. It was formerly Four Brothers and has had many different owners and names over the years. We decided to check it out on a recent Tuesday evening to see what the latest version and owners are up to at this location.

First, the location, along the west bound lane of business Route 30 in Gap is hard to get in and out of on a good day. As work continues on the new by-pass in Gap, very shortly this stretch of road will be one way going east. For now, if you decide to check out the Stone House, be careful, it is very congested with lots of trucks.

On a positive note, all of the truckers I’ve encountered here are very courteous and have waited to let me reenter the roadway.

Stepping inside, I was immediately taken aback by the level of noise coming from the bar area. When this was the Four Brothers, there was no bar on the main floor and it was very quiet in the area that is now a bar. The second thing I noticed was a former dining room has been converted to a billiard room.

Stone House3We took the front room with a mixture of booths and tables. We were the first diners of the evening and there was very loud music playing in the dining area. I asked to have the music turned down and the very nice waitress immediately turned it totally off, which made our dining experience so much better.

In all honesty, from the time I walked in I truly expected to not like this place because of the noise. However, once the loud music was turned off the bar noise quickly dissipated as well.

The Stone House does something with specials that I like. They take regular menu items and as a ‘special’ lower the price. That’s what I call a true special. Lots of places add menu items and charge a premium price over the rest of the menu items. Lots of times they don’t even tell you the new higher price.

Stone House2Eggplant Parmigiana was one of the specials. Regularly $14.95, it was on special for $11.95. I chose that for my dinner and I was pleasantly surprised. It was 4 layers of very thin eggplant and a very nice red sauce. It came with a house salad that was very good and a side of spaghetti that was also very good.

Lin went for a dinner salad. It was loaded with ham, mozzarella cheese, peppers and different greens. She got the dressing on the side and thought it was also good.

Overall, the service was very nice and efficient. The food was not exceptional, but it was good. The value here is very good. The most expensive thing I saw on the menu was $16.95. Our meal totaled $27, including tax and a 20% tip.

That’s not a bad deal at all and makes the Stone House a nice place for a quick getaway or a reasonable place for a family to dine. Considering I went in thinking I wouldn’t like it, our combined rating of 2 ½ stars is pretty good.

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9.29.2013 David JonesA native of Chester County and a 1968 graduate of Octorara Area High School, David Jones earned a Masters Degree in Medical Ethics from from Villanova University. Mr. Jones served as CEO of both Mayview and Wernersville State Hospitals and later worked directly with then Governor Rendell to modernize and right-size Pennsylvania’s entire state hospital system. Jones and his wife Lynn make their home in Parkesburg and dine out frequently across Chester County and the Delaware Valley.

Top Photo cortesy of Town Lively.

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