• A Winter Dining Haven Returns

As COVID cases surge and the weather turns dreary, Terrain Café in Glen Mills offers a warm (and safe) refuge via its Winter Village, a cluster of rustic-chic, individual outdoor dining tents set amid the garden nursery. For a $25 fee, groups of two to eight can rent one of the heated tents and enjoy selections from the café’s brunch, lunch and dinner menus, along with dessert and coffee drinks. All tents are BYOB.

• Get Your Sugar Fix

It’s been a year. Treat yourself to a well-deserved calorie bomb at the newly opened Sugar Factory in Center City. Adorned in neon lights with a colorful candy heart wall, the café is the brand’s 25th location and boasts a retail store, pastry and gelato bar, indoor AND outdoor seating and plenty of Insta-worthy moments. Start your day of decadence with the fried macaroni and cheese pops, followed by the famous Flaming Hot Cheetos® Burger—an eight-ounce Angus monstrosity topped with Flaming-Hot-Cheetos-crusted pepper jack cheese, pickles, shredded lettuce, chipotle mayo and served on a Hot-Cheetos-crusted bun. Dessert is mandatory so grab a spoon and dive into the $99 King Kong sundae, made with a whopping 24 scoops of ice cream covered in sprinkles, gummy bears, caramel sauce, fudge sauce and giant whirly pops. The upstairs bar serves equally insane (and oversized) candy goblet drinks inspired by celebrities like Pitbull, Nick Cannon and Bruno Mars. Bon appetit!

• Wynnewood Welcomes Cookie Sensation

TikTok darling Crumbl Cookies opened a location in the Wynnewood Shopping Center on January 6, much to the delight of its fast-growing, sugar-loving fanbase. Founded in 2017 by two Utah cousins, the franchise offers a rotating menu that’s announced every Sunday on TikTok. The menu includes two standard cookies (warm chocolate chip and chilled sugar) plus four specialty flavors, such as Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake, Sticky Bun, Kentucky Butter Cake, Peach Cobbler and Birthday Cake. While curbside pickup and nationwide delivery are available, the company places a premium on the in-store experience. Cookies are prepared in an open kitchen then carefully packaged in the brand’s signature pink boxes and presented to the customer for approval. Rookie tip: These cookies are massive and best consumed in slivers (the company sells cookie cutters to slice their creations into smaller servings; trust me, you’ll need one).

• Loftiwater Makes a Splash

La Colombe co-founder Todd Carmichael has a new (decaffeinated!) venture called Loftiwater,  which he describes as “shimmering” bottled water. Unlike popular sparkling water brands like Spindrift, Bubly or La Croix, Loftiwater contains no carbon dioxide gas. Carmicheal and his business partner J.P. Iberti are calling it “the third water,” due to its decidedly different mouth feel that comes from a proprietary blend of infused gas and bubble technology plus natural flavors like lemon, grapefruit, watermelon, black cherry, strawberry and peach. While an early run sold out almost immediately online, Carmicheal and Iberti are planning a re-release sometime this month. Those who managed to get their hands on a bottle are singing its praises, claiming it’s like nothing they’ve ever tasted before.

• Radnor Trail Extension Hits a Roadblock

First, the good news: The Radnor Trail received a $407,000 Delco Greenways Grant to fund an extension near the entrance to the Blue Route. Now for the bad news: Township officials found arsenic in the planned extension area, along an unused railroad bed across Radnor Chester Road (near the trail’s current endpoint). Officials have yet to determine the extent of the contamination, and the Radnor Board of Commissioners recently approved a motion to test the soil. Depending on the degree of contamination, township officials could remove the arsenic or leave it in place and conduct regular testing.

• New Brew in Berwyn

Father and son Will and Bill Mangan debuted their classic grill and neighborhood pub in the old McKenzie Brew House on Swedesford Road in Berwyn last month. Will’s + Bill’s Brewery features a large island bar, several roaring fireplaces and vintage sports décor. The menu runs the gamut, from classic starters like nachos and buffalo wings to fresh seafood selections, shared dips and spreads, pub burgers and fried favorites. Bar selections include handcrafted beers, curated whiskeys and wines and unique cocktails.

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