We hail from Connecticut and New York, respectively, and every time we go to visit our families, we drive past the tempting spinning orange circles of Weber's. For over four years, we've said, "We have to stop there!" And then we end up coming back too late and missing Weber's when we're on the Philly-bound (wrong) side of the street. Then, one night it was so incredibly hot here and we were trying not to turn on our AC, we decided, what the hell, let's get a PhillyCarShare car for an hour and get those ever-elusive root beer floats (Picky once went on a several-month-long search for a decent root beer float in Philly!). Even with the car charge and the toll on the Ben Franklin Bridge, it was a delicious and super cheap date.
Since that date, we've found a reason to go back to Weber's three more times.
Honestly, the food at Weber's is not that good. There aren't many choices, but that's kind of refreshing: just standard fare like hamburgers, hotdogs, pork rolls and (yay for the vegetarians!) grilled cheese. The fries are quite tasty. All of the food is super cheap. [If you click on the image above, a new window will appear with a zoomable version of the image above. You'll be able to see the variety and prices of the menu current for Summer 2008.]
Where Weber's shines is in service and dessert. Their homemade root beer is phenomenal (it has an almost spicy kick to it) and the floats are not to be missed. The delicious milkshakes are thick enough to eat with a spoon. Food is served by quick, smiling, carhops, who attach a tray to your car window (as seen above). Root beer (which is also available by the gallon in a cool reusable glass bottle) is served in frosted mugs. The whole novelty experience more than makes up for the mediocre food. Is there a better way to spend a hot summer day than sipping root beer floats out of frosty mugs, with your feet on the dashboard and oldies on the radio, on the side of the road in Jersey? We don't think so.
Messy ****
Picky ****
The final word: You can skip the food, but don't miss the root beer floats!
Weber's Famous Root Beer Drive In
Route 38 at King Ave
Pennsauken, NJ 08109
856.662.6632
Seasonal (Spring-Summer) 11am - about 9pm
