Will Humpty's Dumplings have a great autumn?
Humpty's Dumplings in Glenside has a changing menu that includes sweet and savory ones filled with buffalo chicken, BBQ chicken, cheesesteak, apple pie, and s'mores. They also offer two salads and noodle bowls, which top lo-mein style noodles with the same savory ingredients.
Patrick Doyle and Jack Craig, who grew up in Glenside as back-door neighbors, are making a go of it in the dumpling business.
During spring break of Doyle's senior year in college, they were playing pool in his basement, thinking about the future and its corporate implications, when one of them said, "We have to figure out something else."
The conversation turned to food, as it often did, since their parents were involved in a local dinner club that met at various friends' houses. Doyle and Craig participated.
The men thought of going into the food business, and in what Doyle calls "the light bulb moment," the focus moved to dumplings - a "mess-free" way to enjoy just about anything.
They started noodling around with store-bought ingredients and dumpling wrappers, making custom sauces. The reaction was positive, Doyle said, which led them to making their own dumplings from scratch with interesting fillings.
After almost a year of working street festivals out of their home, the Rizzo family (as in Rizzo's Pizza) hooked them up with commercial kitchen space. When Keswick Commons came on the market, they jumped at the idea of leasing a storefront near the Keswick Theater on the town's commercial strip off Easton Road for production ands retail.
This summer, they opened Humpty's Dumplings (277 N. Keswick Ave., 215-935-6180), and the reaction has been largely positive. They hope to open several more shops.
The changing menu includes sweet and savory ones filled with buffalo chicken, BBQ chicken, cheesesteak, apple pie, and s'mores. They also offer two salads and noodle bowls, which top lo-mein style noodles with the same savory ingredients. Prices are low: $7 buys you five dumplings, steamed or fried.
Simple counter-service atmosphere: high ceilings with wall art to break up the monotony, a few high-top tables and a couple lower ones in the window. Hours are lunchtime through late daily.
They'll also be set up Sunday, Sept. 13 at the Manayunk StrEAT Food Festival.
Note: Post's headline has been changed; as some pointed out, the pun didn't work all ways.