Dreaming of a place where you can get all your favorite childhood comfort foods? Think grilled cheese, fries, tots, mac and cheese, milkshakes, and ice cream too! Well all your wishes have been answered. The Milk House is serving up all your favorite no-frills comfort food. They’ve even got gluten-free bread. Everything here is made from scratch with love and care, just like Mom used to make.
Some are surprised to hear that The Milk House is not a franchise, but in fact it is a fast casual concept that was developed by a collaboration among Tommy Guest (Philly Pretzel Factory), Brendan Smith (Smith’s in Rittenhouse), and Shannon Heil. Milkhouse Suburban Station opened in October of 2014, and their second location, Milkhouse on 19th street, opened in September of 2015. Comfort is their motivation and simplicity is their goal.
Everything is locally sourced when available and made from scratch. Gluten-free bread is an option as well. Something unique to The Milk house is their dedication to gluten-free options – Shannon’s son has Celiac Disease so she takes gluten-free very seriously. Any sandwich can be made gluten-free and all fries and tots are gluten-free. Their homemade soups are also gluten-free with the exception of the blackboard soup.
The menu selection came to life based on the well known process of trial and error. The menu is made fresh daily and includes panini-pressed grilled cheese sandwiches, soup, breakfast sandwiches, fries, milkshakes and La Colombe drip coffee. Monthly blackboard specials are offered. April’s Blackboard showcases: the “Trifecta Grilled Cheese”, “Diablo Salad”, “Asparagus Salad”, “Grilled Salmon Salad”, and “Chicken Chop Chop Salad.”
Obviously you can’t leave here without trying some grilled cheese. The Classic Grilled Cheese with yellow American cheese is the best seller, and you can add tomato or bacon for an additional charge. The Diablo Grilled Cheese with Chicken, Pepperjack, and Pico de Gallo on Sourdough is also a favorite. Foobooz of Philadelphia Magazine even named Milk House’s “The Classic” as Best Grilled Cheese in Philadelphia in their July 2015 article.
Best Grilled Cheese in Philadelphia
The Classic at The Milk House
Question: Is the sandwich better because of the surprising locale in which we found it served (Suburban Station) … or is its perfect simplicity (country white bread, butter, lots of American cheese) excellent on its own, apart from geographical bias? Answer: Both. Which bodes well for the forthcoming Rittenhouse outpost in the former Matyson space. Suburban Station, Center City, 267-606-6757.
I paired my sandwich with a basic cup of tomato soup that came with some Goldfish crackers (so cute) and crispy french fries that bare an eerie resemblance to those served at Parc Rittenhouse! The french fries definitely trumped the soup, but the Mac N’ Cheese I tried with chicken and fresh jalapeno was the sure winner of lunch. I’d go back for that Mac alone any day. If you’re opposed to yellow American cheese, don’t worry they also carry white American!
They’ve also got breakfast for the early risers, the “Rise and Grind” sandwich has egg and cheese with choice of turkey sausage, pork roll, or bacon on country white bread. Oatmeal and La Colombe coffee are also served all day. They offer a mug program where you can pay $15 initially and get discounted refills.
For dessert I tried the Reese’s ice cream in a cone. You can tell this is homemade ice cream by its creamy texture and huge chunks of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Look out for the Spring ice cream flavors : vanilla, chocolate, mint, mango, cookies and cream, cookie dough, peanut butter cup fudge, blueberry cheesecake and salty caramel. If you’re more of a milkshake fan, don’t fear – they come in every flavor- the Black and White Shake is most popular.
Overall we think The Milk House has a great approach to the comfort foods we grew up with, while also supplying a menu fit for the adult lunch crowd. Stop by and check them out, they offer catering as well. Delivery is now available via Foodee and Caviar.
-Lea
Milkshake photo via Yelp. We’d like to thank Shannon for hosting us as The Milk House and allowing to sample some food.
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