We want to talk food and we want to talk food with you!
The Town Dish team is hand-picking our favorite foodies to feature among our food and drink network, uncovering their preferred eats and addictions, favorite local spots and even, what they will not eat. From food writers and chefs, to locals who are openly food-obsessed, you’ll find them all in this column! Want to nominate a food lover for this feature? Email [email protected].
In this installment, we thought we’d talk with our brand-new intern that’s dishing ’round Chester County, Kathleen Hullen. Read on for a peek into her food-obsessed world.
Name: Kathleen Hullen (Kathy, Kath)
Hometown: Exton, PA
Name the best bite you have ever chomped into: Chicken and Peaches at The Social Lounge. It was a special one night this summer that one of my best friends ordered. He was amazed, so he made me try it and I fell in love. I’m not sure if it made it to the menu as a regular offering, but it should. Phenomenal!
Kathy and friend, Jack, who introduced her to Chicken and Peaches.Your current guilty pleasure: Peanut Butter and Chocolate Ice Cream or Fishbowls from Doc Magrogan’s
What food won’t you eat? Mushrooms freak me out. Also, if a menu describes a food as “moist,” I will most likely not eat it. Though that description typically suggests a good feature of the dish, the word “moist” disgusts me. It is a very strange phenomenon that I discovered in a linguistics class in college where we discussed our least favorite words in the English language.
When did you realize you become a serious food lover? Get ready: this one is embarrassing. Once upon a time, I thought the bacon cheeseburger from Applebees was the best thing since sliced bread, and that was as adventurous as I would get when it came to trying new foods. I would sample bacon cheeseburgers from wherever I was. Eventually, I branched out—if I was going to an Italian restaurant, I would have chicken parmesan. Mexican? Chicken tacos and refried beans. It wasn’t until I was in high school and began traveling that I decided that I really needed to try new things. In Germany, I had the best schnitzel that I think I will ever have; in Italy, I tried many different wines and pastas. In France, I tried escargot and rabbit at the Ritz in Paris. I have been trying all things new and different for a few years now and I am never turning back.
Kathy in Salzburg, Austria.Do you ever cook? What’s the best dish you make? I’m really an awful cook. I have burned or seriously maimed any meal I have ever attempted to make myself. However, I personally think that I am an exceptional baker. My Dream Cupcakes (my grandmother’s recipe) are in high demand at every summer barbecue, birthday party or other sort of get-together that I attend.
Your ultimate dinner date – including who you’re dining with (a friend, boyfriend, a celeb, person in history, etc.) and where? Okay — since I have friends who read this (or who I hope read this), I am not picking a friend. With no boyfriend to speak of, I’ll take applications for a date. That leaves us to a celebrity (until I can sift through the thousands of applications that flood my inbox). I’m going to have to go with dinner with J.K. Rowling. Yeah, I was one of those kids obsessed with Harry Potter (I still kind of am). Anyway, Ms. Rowling is an amazing woman who I would love to meet for coffee and chat for hours with. Perhaps we could meet at the Nicholson Café in Edinburgh where she wrote Harry Potter—I couldn’t share a meal with her. I would be too nervous/excited to eat. Coffee would be perfect. Jo, if you’re reading this, have your people call my people and we can make this happen.
Kathy with Tau Phi sorority sisters.When I’m not eating, I’m … writing, baking, reading, singing, studying, with my sorority sisters (What’s up, Tau Phi!?) or my Shanafriends—my friends from Bishop Shanahan High School.
Please leave us with your Top Five Favorite Chester County Haunts, and list one of your favorite things (drink or dish) per each:
Kathy enjoying a Whiskey Sour at Kildare’s1. The coconut shrimp at High Street Caffe is my favorite food ever, no contest there.
2. The bison burger (with famous fries) at The Pourhouse
3. Whiskey sours at Kildare’s (only if it is made by Bradley)
4. The “Elle” (chicken sandwich) at Arianna’s Gourmet Cafe
5. The fried calamari and a fishbowl at Doc Magrogan’s
