Borderline Cafe the

The address on the map was not correct.  This place is right in the center of Riegelsville only 1 block from the traffic light.  It does not look like much from the street, but go inside!  They have takeout 6 packs, generic selection, not so many unusual ones.  they have a lunch style counter and booth and table seating.  Always fresh pizzas to choose slices at the counter.  I have only tried the Pizza and liked it very much.  To be honest, this is the furthest "north" of my old hometown, Philly, that I have had decent pizza.  They also have a few beers on tap and have a few happy hour specials.  Good for takeout, a quick lunch, or even dinner with the kids.  Walking distance to the river and canal to "walk off" your meal.

We have been eating at Borderline for well over 15 years, back when they were in the old stone mill building near the canal bridge. (They were better then, aside from letting people smoke in the restaurant).

They are what other people describe--the go-to place when you're too busy or tired to cook. There's not much else within ten minutes of this area... and Lord Forbid, don't bother with the other pizza "Ristorante" in town--Michelles. Ugh. Very inconsistent.

Anyway... Borderline offere everything you need: meatball subs, Italian dinners, pizzas of several types, burgers, etc. And yes, most of the time they are good and tasty. There are times though where your pizza will be overcooked (we got a black crust a couple of times) or undercooked and raw. If you call for takeout, be specific about "light cheese" or "well done", etc. Don't count on getting comped if you call and complain about your meal.

The burgers and large and good. The bacon can be greasy. The meatballs are often delicious, other times are like rocks and dried out. More than likely we're dealing with fresh made today versus "get the stuff out of the freezer". They also switch off on chefs... one guy is not that great.

I ordered a chicken Marsala once that surprised me... very good (although the chef made the mistake of using sweet Marsala instead of dry). The next time I ordered it, there was a slimy brown gravy on it that didn't have a hint of Marsala wine in it. Also, they seem to use chicken fingers rather than sauteing the chicken to-order in the sauce.

The chicken Parm' is pretty much chicken fingers tossed into the oven with cheese melted over it. Why don't restaurants like this slim down their menus a bit so they can offer truly fresh made dishes? It's not rocket science to put together trays of chicken parm' with the sauce and cheese on it and then bake in the oven. It's a totally different thing when something is backed with it's sauce or sauteed in a sauce. The flavors go deeper into the meat rather than just sit on top of a bland steamy tasting chicken.

As for the staff... the owners are nice enough, although the wife can put on smiles a bit more to customers. The wait staff is fine. No problems. I do wish they had a different layout to separate the locals' bar hangout area from the dining room... after all, it seems like it's there to provide special reserved seating for a handful of locals. You actually recognize the same faces sitting there day after day, week after week. How about getting rid of it entirely and putting in some more booths?

BTW... I don't mind the TV. After all, this isn't fine dining. Just a nice local pizza joint.

So, in the end, smile a bit more for customers, comp bad food, and try a bit harder on consistency. One more thing... to put Michelle's out of business, how about offering delivery to the area??

This is actually my favorite local takeout place for that weekly "cheat day" binge, haha.
Prices are very good for the quality and quantity that you get.  
An appetizer of chicken fingers is big enough to make you not eat your entree.
Their pan pizza is okay, could be better.  Seems like it's mostly dough, not layers of tomatoes and cheese like you'd expect from a pan pizza.   (mmmmm...Uno's...mmmmmm).  Anyway:
Steak stromboli is excellent and a must-have for me.
For dining in, I can't pass up the calamari appetizer with the spicy marinara.  Matter of fact, on one visit, the waitress provided me with about a pint of it.   I keep it frozen and still use it at home occasionally.  So spicy, my entire head breaks out in a sweat.  

All the appetizers and entrees are usually pretty good.  They have serously improved on everything since they were located across the street.

Ambience:  mostly families, gets a bit loud sometimes.  

I'd have given 5 stars but my last visit was just unforgiveable.  There was a large party that had come in, and the staff made them priority.  We waited over an hour for our meal.  We should have just walked out and gone somewhere else, but we were tired and didn't feel like playing that "find a restaurant" game.  Our waitress didn't even bother to visit us to explain the situation.  It wasn't until we had eaten that the manager came to us and offered a discount for the poor service.  Haven't been back there since for dining in.  But nothing can stop me from getting my occasional take out!