King of Prussia is one of those places I have driven past my entire life en route to Lancaster. I knew there was a mall—a big mall—but that was about it. A day-trip this weekend turned into a one night’s stay, so here are some quick hits for the Travel Guide.

• The King of Prussia Mall is big. One of the largest in the entire country. We logged about six miles walking around it. I think we were there for three hours. They have the usual mall shops, about a million Auntie Anne’s, and a food court which is a little more upscale than your usual mall fare. The place is billed as a “Luxury Mall”. In fact, we even stopped at one spot for cocktails. The Fat Ham was a southern/home-style restaurant right in the middle of the mall with a focus on whiskey and whiskey cocktails. Their drink selection was probably 10 times larger than the menu. None of the food really caught my eye, so a drink was just fine. I had the Stars Fell On Alabama, which was bourbon, an absinthe rinse, Orange Flower liqueur, and bitters. He had what was the equivalent of a Moscow Mule. Both were good…and $12 each. Overall, yes of course, the mall is a must-see. It’s clean and the massive layout is made easier with interactive direction boards.

• Before the mall, we went to the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown. The discounted rate of $10.95 for the off-season was still not enough to offset the fact that I felt like they had nothing. Winter be damned. The Salisbury Zoo (which was free, mind you) three weeks ago had more animals than this place. It was well-maintained with interesting habitats, but we were done in about a half hour. There is construction taking place in one of the areas which appears to be grand, but that also meant some of the zoo was closed off. The giraffe, which I really wanted to see, was inside for the winter and unlike the other indoor animals, there was no place to go and see it. This is definitely a summer destination as most zoos are, but for what was there, they would be better off closing for the winter.

• We could have stayed at one of the many hotels in King of Prussia, but by going just 15 minutes outside of town, I saved over $50 when booking. Add to that another $20 in savings by pre-paying, and our suite at the Double Tree Philadelphia West was a total steal. Beautiful hotel and much larger than I thought. There is a large atrium with a dining area and bar, and three elevators leading upstairs to wing after wing after wing. They are famous for their chocolate chip cookies, which they gave us upon checking in. A nice touch with an ultra-friendly staff who really made us feel at home. This hotel is located in Plymouth Meeting, right across the street from the Plymouth Meeting Mall.

• At this mall was a great selection of restaurants including a Dave and Buster’s. I hadn’t been to one since I was little, and he had never gone at all. Let this paragraph serve as my review of this place (I do not usually review chains). Our appetizer was the trio, consisting of mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings, and potato pancakes. The latter of the three were fantastic. The rest were still pretty good. My friend broke his vegetarian streak with a burger and enjoyed it, though it was overcooked. I had the short rib mac and cheese sandwich. The meat was good, but that mac and cheese was cold and horrific. Like a patty that had just been microwaved. I pulled most of it off. At least my tater tots on the side were amazing. For dessert, we had a brownie sundae stacker. He loved it, while I thought it was just okay. I’d give them 3 out of 5 stars (review #86). What I did enjoy was paying $5.99 for a 22 oz Blue Moon and getting to play in the arcade. I mean, who wouldn’t love that? Age doesn’t matter when it comes to skee ball, air hockey, and a bunch of games where you know you aren’t winning anything. Hey, only 50,000 tickets for a Minion bigger than me.

• In a few days, I’ll be posting a review of A Taste of Britain, located in nearby Wayne. Without giving anything away, I’ll say it was one of the most enjoyable dining experience I’ve ever had. Oh, and here’s a picture of me being fancy drinking a cup of tea today (rather than the obligatory whiskey or beer):