Humpty Dumpty Fell off a Wall and into Keswick Village
by Abiageal Filon
Humpty Dumpty fell off a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, and landed in Keswick Village in Glenside.
In Glenside, Pennsylvania lies Keswick Village, a hub for college students and local residents alike to spend time shopping, eating, or seeing a show. Humpty’s Dumplings is a locally founded and owned fast-food restaurant that has been serving the Glenside area since 2014. They offer an array of dumplings, as well as salads, noodles, and fries. Over the years, it has become a popular location for locals to grab something delectable and quick to eat. Humpty’s Dumplings’ fun name and flavorful food make this restaurant a great choice for anyone looking to try something new.
Humpty’s Dumplings is situated in Keswick Village, only two doors down from the Keswick Theatre, a beautiful and historic venue that opened in 1928. The village is home to many small businesses, with Humpty’s Dumplings being one of the most popular and busy. The restaurant opened in 2014, founded by at-the-time college students and lifelong friends Patrick Doyle and Jack Craig, who wanted to test what they could get away with putting into a wonton wrapper. Over the past decade, the restaurant has grown from serving out of a single storefront to two locations (the other in Fishtown), food trucks at local events, a catering service, and a delivery service. What started as experimental spins on traditional dumplings by two friends quickly became a beloved local business that even I couldn’t imagine my life without.
The variety of food served at Humpty’s has only grown and gotten better since it opened. The dumplings they offer consist of Asian pork, broccoli and cheddar, cheesesteak, honey chipotle chicken, buffalo chicken, and spinach and mozzarella. They also offer specials that feature flavors such as Italian roast pork and apple pie. Each dumpling has its own unique flavor profile that makes them too good not to only try one — that’s why there is a menu option to order a sampler that allows you to pick up to six different flavors for one order. In addition to delicious dumplings, they also offer noodle bowls full of meat, vegetables, and sauce. They have also recently started offering fries and salads. Everything sold at Humpty’s Dumplings is authentic and homemade, which makes you feel even better about spending money there.
Their menu items are slightly pricey, with price increases being implemented every so often. When I first started going there in 2020, the price for six dumplings was $10, and now in 2023, the price for the same amount is $12. They do offer a special once a week — Wednesday is “Dollar Dumpling Day.” Every Wednesday, each dumpling is only $1, making them 50% off of their normal price. Since Wednesday is “hump day,” and the name of the restaurant is Humpty’s Dumplings, they decided to take advantage of the coincidence and make their own weekly special. They did a great job with this, because every Wednesday, I never fail to think to myself, “Dumplings are only a dollar today, I should go!”
Humpty’s Dumplings Attitude Survey
To gauge the Philadelphia area’s attitude toward Humpty’s Dumplings, I conducted a survey through Google Forms. My survey consisted of six questions, each working to contribute to telling me how a small section of Philadelphia’s citizens feels about the restaurant. I received a total of 27 responses to the first question, but the responses I received to the others varied between 20–22 total because I did not make them required in order to submit the response.
My first question asked respondents if they had ever been to Humpty’s Dumplings. Two-thirds of the respondents said “yes,” while one-third said “no.” This question aided me in seeing just how many people had ever even been to the restaurant. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that out of 27 people, 18 of them had been there.
Next, I asked which dumpling on their menu is the respondents’ favorite. I’m slightly biased toward the spinach and mozzarella dumpling, so when I saw the results from this question, I was a little disappointed. 19% said that their favorite was Asian pork, 14.3% said broccoli and cheddar, 23.8% said buffalo chicken, 23.8% said cheesesteak, 0% said honey chipotle chicken, and only 9.5% said spinach and mozzarella. I also included a write-in option, which two people utilized: one respondent said their favorite was the special apple pie dumpling, while the other respondent simply entered “1.” I don’t know what this person meant by “1” since it isn’t a menu option. Maybe they know about a secret menu item that I’ve never heard of!
The aforementioned Dollar Dumpling Day was the focus of my next question which asked if respondents had ever taken advantage of the special. 63.6% of the surveyed said that they have not, while 36.% said that they have. I personally believe that the best day of the week to go to Humpty’s Dumplings is Wednesday, so I’m hoping that the 14 people who have never utilized the discount take part in it soon. Even though it gets busy and you may be waiting for your order for a little while, the discounted price is worth it.
Next, I asked if the participants enjoyed the other menu items offered, to which 60% said yes and 40% said no. Personally, I have never had any other item on their menu besides dumplings either, so maybe the next time I go I’ll try something new!
Next, I asked if respondents would recommend the restaurant to a friend or family member, to which 90.9% said yes and 9.1% said no. After seeing these results, I asked myself, “Why not?” In retrospect, I should have included a “why or why not” question in order to fully understand the reason behind people’s answers.
My final survey question asked participants to rate their feelings toward Humpty’s Dumplings on a scale of one to five, with one being the most negative and five being the most positive. 23.8% of people selected three, 14.3% of people selected four, and 61.9% of people selected five. I was very pleased when I looked at the results of this question. I would choose “four” myself.
The results of the survey showed me that most people who have been to the restaurant think pretty positively of it and enjoy giving their business to Humpty’s Dumplings. I believe that the small sample size of my survey accurately represents how the Philadelphia area feels about the dumpling place.
Customer Thoughts
Over the years, I have had many friends from outside of Philadelphia come to visit. Whenever I have guests who aren’t from here, I always make sure to take them to Humpty’s Dumplings.
My friend Carli flew to Philadelphia from Kentucky in December 2020, and my friends and I took her to Humpty’s Dumplings as a rite of passage for being in the area. She recounted, “I think I liked the spinach dumpling best. The atmosphere was also really cool, it was like night time and it made it feel like I was a cool person in a secret but welcoming location.”
Another friend of mine, Jas, from Port St. Lucie, FL, considers Humpty’s Dumplings an essential part of every visit she makes to Philadelphia. She said, “The cheesesteak dumplings are my favorite.” Her father is originally from Langhorne, PA which might explain her innate passion for cheesesteaks. “I loved the variety of flavors there. I can’t find any dumplings that aren’t just traditional here. I’m heavily considering moving to Philly, and Humpty’s is only making me want to move there more.”
I also love taking my friends who are from the area when they tell me they’ve never been there. It really is like a hidden delicacy that only the elite have knowledge of.
The Spinach, Mozzarella, and Ricotta Dumpling
I wanted to dedicate a section of my story to the best food I have ever had the privilege and pleasure of eating: the spinach, mozzarella, and ricotta dumpling from Humpty’s Dumplings.
When you order at the restaurant, your dumplings come out extremely hot from just finishing being fried less than a minute before the handoff. Upon taking the first bite, the filling falls out and nearly burns your tastebuds off. Instead of waiting for it to cool down, I continue to bite into the dumpling because it’s just too damn good not to.
The filling of this dumpling consists of shredded spinach, melty mozzarella cheese, and crumbly ricotta cheese. Encased in perfectly crispy fried dumpling dough, it tastes exactly as described, if not even better. Paired with their dumpling sauce and ranch dressing, this dumpling is easily the most delectable on the menu.
Not only is it mine and my friend Carli’s favorite, but it’s also my boyfriend Jacob’s favorite. When asked why, he said, “It’s very well-cooked, the other ones don’t live up to that in my opinion. You can never go wrong with spinach and cheese put together, it’s hard to mess up.”
The die-hard fandom for the spinach, mozzarella, and ricotta dumpling runs deep.
Dude, You Gotta Try These Dumplings
Humpty’s Dumplings is a Philadelphia-area favorite, as well as many other areas whose residents come from far and wide to the city. Patrick Doyle and Jack Craig are two incredibly smart and innovative people who changed the way dumpling lovers see and experience their favorite fried food pockets. If I had to sum up my feelings about Humpty’s Dumplings into one sentence, it would be this: “Dude, you gotta try these dumplings.”
