A Quaint Town In Southeast Pennsylvania Is Home To One Of The Best Mushroom Dishes You Can Find In The US

Culinarily speaking, the state of Pennsylvania has plenty of highlights. The small city of New Castle touts itself as the hot dog capital of the world, and Bube's Brewery in Mount Joy lets you dine underground in the catacombs of its beer cellar. Pennsylvania is also home to one of the best mushroom dishes in America, courtesy of Portabellos of Kennett Square.

Surrounded by farmland, Kennett Square is a quaint Pennsylvania borough located just a few miles from the Delaware border. Portabellos, a dining establishment opened in 2011 by chef Brett Hulbert and Sandra Morris, sits on bustling State Street and offers diners contemporary cuisine, plus a handful of craft cocktails. The star dish in question is its roasted mushroom soup, made from Stinson's Farm mushrooms, Madeira wine, and fried shallots.

Patrons adore this appetizer and frequently sing its praises in Tripadvisor and Yelp reviews. One reviewer wrote on Tripadvisor that while they've tried every mushroom soup in Kennett Square, "This one was not just better, it was different." Though they couldn't quite put their finger on why this dish was special, another reviewer explained that "the variety of mushrooms in the soup made it truly memorable." Other patrons described the flavor as earthy and complex but not too mushroom-heavy. A Yelp reviewer wrote that it was both creamy and peppery, "filled with super tender mushrooms and topped with crisp scallions."

If you believe there's no such thing as too many mushrooms, Portabellos is the place for you. Fittingly enough, Kennett Square, where the restaurant resides, is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World. The Pennsylvania borough produces over 60% of mushrooms in the U.S., according to the American Mushroom Institute. As such, the area is notorious for its mushroom dishes, and Portabellos has plenty more to offer than just its beloved soup.

Its starter menu features Portabello tempura, made with scallion batter and served with wasabi aioli, as well as some classic stuffed mushrooms, filled with goat cheese, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted shallots, and marjoram. Yelp reviewers also enjoy the mushroom truffle pizza, which comes topped with ricotta and Emmentaler cheeses, thyme, scallions, and black truffles.

While Portabello's dinner menu mostly relegates mushrooms to the topping department on dishes like its New York strip steak and Stroganoff, its brunch entrees aren't afraid to lean into the area's fungus-forward reputation. If you want to get your fill, try the Portabello wrap (filled with grilled Portabello mushrooms, roasted peppers, spinach, and sharp provolone), the mushroom cheesesteak (sauteed mushrooms, sweet onions, and provolone cheese on a French baguette), or the fettuccini ai funghi (pasta topped with white mushrooms, shallots, porcini cream, and Grana Padano cheese).