National 'Comfort Food Day' Celebrated With Montco Restaurant's Winter Menu

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA — With the holiday season upon us, some local eateries are unveiling special menus to celebrate chowing down during those chilly, festive winter months.

One such business is the KOP Grill & Tavern in King of Prussia, which announced it will be adding new winter-inspired items to the food and drink menu early next week.

The menu additions will be done on Dec. 5, which is recognized as National Comfort Food Day, and is designed to help folks battle the colder months with some warm and comforting foods in their bellies.

The restaurant says its seasonal menu will include a pot roast and mashed potatoes dish for $24, homemade meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans topped with brown gravy for $20, and a southern staple, fried chicken with mac & cheese and broccoli, for $22.

Other additions included reasonably priced grilled cheese and tomato soup, mac & cheese, and a succulent prime rib with baked potato and au jus offered on Thursdays during wintertime.

New, limited time warm cocktails will also be offered as part of this promotion, and the upgraded drink menu will include the hot toddy, a seasonal staple, which features a choice of bourbon, available with either tea, cider or Irish coffee.

The KOP Grill & Tavern will even be hosting a special event on Dec. 10, when Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus will stop by between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to take photos with the littlest members of the family.

A $10 donation is being asked for photographs, and all proceeds collected will go to the King of Prussia Fire Department's 911 memorial.

You can find out more about the KOP Grill & Tavern here on its website.

As for National Comfort Food Day, while there seems to be some uncertainties over its exact origins, the annual designation is designed to celebrate those foods that people may use to make themselves feel good in times of stress.

The website Foodimentary wrote that comfort food is typically defined as foods that are "sentimental to the consumer," and that the phrase itself seems to be traced back to the Palm Beach Post, which used the term in a 1966 article.

The site mentions psychological studies that have turned up evidence showing comfort foods can be thought of as those craved items that could be tied to our past or offer a certain sense of nostalgia.