Should you find yourself heading north or south on the busiest interstate highway on the east coast (that would I95) and just a short distance from PHL (otherwise known as Philadelphia International Airport) and looking for a quick stop over even an overnighter, than this roadkill café that attempts to mimic good southern cooking might just be a bit of concrete respite for you to consider. The big headline here is that while somewhat convenient and very close to I95 making for a fairly EZ on- and off-highway experience, this low country eatery is a bit on the smaller side, so finding a decent place to ‘drop anchor’ isn’t going to be EZ if at all possible, given the very limited number of spots you’ll find here.
With directions in mind, once you exit highway 95, heading south on Stewart Avenue, you’ll take an immediate left into the restaurant/ hotel / gas plaza that you see, where Cracker Barrel will be the first joint you see on your lefthand. The front of the restaurant will greet you nearly immediately after cornering the Wendy’s that’s there with the heaviest bit of parking being there in front, so I would encourage you to either go straight to the back of the restaurant or to its east side that is somewhat shared with the Home2Suites by Hilton that’s there. Be mindful of the small family of deer when you park as you might find them, especially in the early evening, munching on leaves from the low-hanging tree limbs that surround the restaurant.
Because you are right next to the busiest highway thoroughfare that runs from Maine to Florida, don’t expect this place to be a bastion of peace& quiet – in fact, it’s quite the opposite, especially when you consider your close proximity to one of the busiest airports in New England – so hopefully you have some nice sound-proofed walls in your RV or you have a really great pair of noise-cancelling headphones or tight earplugs. Additionally, as this surrounding area is quite transient and the residential area it is surrounded by is fairly down-trodden, you should definitely keep your eyes peeled and ears alert for potential trouble. Not saying that we had any issue, but I would strongly encourage you to keep your guard up. And while there are some amenities around here, there’s not a ton and what you do find is either pretty pedestrian or in fairly dilapidated condition.
Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) Should you need to load up on anything, on the other side of 95, there’s both a Walmart and 7/11, WaWa and PLCB Fine Wine & Good Spirits to load up on for your trip; (2) In the event that you might be RVing with your four-legged friends, then you’ll be incredibly grateful to know that, believe it or not, there are a number of close by options such as Osprey Memorial Park due southwest of your location or just due east, on the other side of I95, there’s Willow Park that makes for a great place to get a long walk or decent bike ride in, further north of that, S. Warthmore Avenue park, which has a softball field and some pavilions with picnic tables or lastly, Leedom Estates Park, from which you can enjoy a great view of Darby Creek where above the horizon, makes for really great plane watching; and (3) When you grow tired of trying to conjure up that next meal from the remains of what is in your onboard mini-fridge or you simply want to try out some local fare, for the most part, you’ll have drive-by, fast food restaurants like Wendy’s and McDonald’s to contend with, but if you don’t mind a short drive east of here along Industrial Road, there’s a handful of little local dive restaurants and bars like Coaches Bar & Grille, Monaghan’s Pub, Americas Pie, R.J.’s Hot Dog Stand, Femi’s Pizzeria, J.D. McGillicuddy’s, Lehman’s Restaurant, Miller’s Café and Romano’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant.
While scoring criteria may vary from one person to the next, here are the 5 most important criteria that informed my rating of this overnight location: convenience (EZ on- and off-access), safety & security, quality (of facilities), peace & quiet and amenities (either on-site or nearby). Here’s how I ranked this particular overnight spot:
Convenience: 4
Safety & Security: 2
Quality: 2
Peace & Quiet: 1
Amenities: 2
Overall, I scored this location a 2.
Happy Overnighting!
