Anniversary Dinner

[keeperrox]

I've lived in Berks County for over a year, and have yet to find a restaurant that we really love. My anniversary is coming up in a little over a week, and have no idea where we should go for dinner. It's a Tuesday, so Philly wouldn't be too far, however, I would prefer something a little closer, since we both have to work the next day. While we are in Berks, we're only 5 minutes from Lebanon and Lancaster counties, and not on the Mongomery or Chester side. Price isn't an issue, I just really want something intimate with AMAZING food. Thanks in advance!!

Edited June 29, 2005 by keeperrox (log)

[davidbdesilva]

not sure how close these are but how about Birchunville Cafe in Chester County or the Farm House in Emmaus? Birchunville gets consistently great reviews and is quaint, byob and serves great food. The Farm House serves very good food along with a fantastic beer and wine selection. I would think that both might fit what you are looking for just not sure how close they are. I would think that Emmaus would not be THAT far? Hope this helps.

[keeperrox]

Unfortunately, both are a little over an hour away from me. That's a little farther than we wanted to go on a weekday. Also, it looks like the Birchrunville Cafe isn't open on Tuesdays. I'll definitely look into them for another night out though, so thanks for the recommendation.

Edited June 29, 2005 by keeperrox (log)

[clam crab cockle cowrie]

i have a dismal sense of direction, so this may not be close, but:

simon pearce on the brandywine (outside of west chester, i think). i've not been, but my parents have and thought it lovely. i believe they have a website.

[handmc]

Stoudt's brewery in Adamstown off of 272 has a very nice restaurant with fine dining. Their beef, duck and seafood are excellent. If you like beer Stoudt's is top notch stuff.

You not exactly sure where you live but you could probably go out 222 west toward Lancaster to the 272 exit.

Should be about 1/2 hour or so one way for you to get there.

Here is the URL for Stoudts for hours and more information.

http://www.stoudtsbeer.com/

Cheers!

[keeperrox]

West Chester is an hour, but Adams town is only like 15-20 minutes. We live off 422, so it's just a hop over the mountain and down 897 to 272. I'll have to check out Stoudt's. Thanks!

[Meanderer]

Assuming you are somewhere in the neighborhood of Womelsdorf, I recommend Brian Kent's, which is between Palmyra and Hershey--approximately 25 or 30 miles away. The food is creative and there is an excellent wine list. One caveat: the staff is apparently instructed to explain in detail the lengths to which Brian has gone to make your experience a truly exceptional one. "Brian personally climbed the highest mountain in Madagascar to hand-select heirloom vanilla beans for his free range egg creme brulee." "Brian ensures that his diver scallops are harvested only by 14 year old virgins wearing gloves made out of the finest Madras cotten." These may be exaggerations, but you get the point. At first it was annoying, but now we think it is hysterical and a visit wouldn't be complete without it.

I don't know if Brian has a self-esteem problem, but his food truly can stand on its own and doesn't need the staff praise.

A bit closer and also an excellent choice is Trattoria Fratelli in Lebanon. It is not necessarily the place for an intimate dinner, but the food is consistently good . I can recommend Lily's on Main in Ephrata as well and Doneckers, also in Ephrata is considered a French influenced special occasion kind of place, although I haven't yet been there myself.

[KatieLoeb]

WOW! Look at all the new members! Welcome to clam crab cockle cowrie, keeperrox and Meanderer.

Stick around y'all. We're looking forward to hearing more from you...

[keeperrox]

Assuming you are somewhere in the neighborhood of Womelsdorf, I recommend Brian Kent's, which is between Palmyra and Hershey--approximately 25 or 30 miles away... 

Yup, we're actually over in Wernersville. Most people I've talked to (even from PA) have never heard of it, so I typically don't mention it. Some of my co-workers don't even know where it is, and I work in Reading.

And thanks for all the choices to pick from!! They're all definitely do-able. Today, someone suggested The Black Dog Cafe in Stouchburg, but couldn't really tell me much about it. Has anyone heard of it/been there??

ETA: Thanks for the welcome Katie!

Edited June 30, 2005 by keeperrox (log)

[keeperrox]

Hey Meanderer, or anyone else for that matter, could you tell me anything more about Lily's on Main, in Ephrata?? I don't think they have a website, and I'm having trouble finding out about the menu on the internet. Thanks!

ETA: Okay, while Google turned up nothing when I searched for Lily's, I turned to my Zagat's (which I had forgotten we received when we moved here and has be residing in a kitchen drawer ever since) and lo and behold, they do have a website, which is convienently www.lilysonmain.com. It's owned by the same group as Doc Holliday's and Gibraltar in Lancaster (but I know nothing about either). Still, any more info on it would be great!!

Edited July 8, 2005 by keeperrox (log)

[Meanderer]

How to describe Lily's...perhaps down home art deco. The former because I think the signature dish is meatloaf and the latter because of the decor. I suppose the menu might be considered "new American" at moderate prices. I don't recall exactly what I had when I ate there but it was on the spicy side so I was pleased to be able to order a decent gewurtztraminer to accompany the food.

Gibralter is good as well, with an emphasis on seafood, Mediterranean-style. I haven't eaten at Doc Holliday's but I understand it is largely a steak place. From the name alone, I assume management wants to cater to the Outback and Lone Star crowd.

[keeperrox]

Well, we went to Lily's tonight because I realized that I have a Master's class starting Tuesday. Some things we had were really good, while others were meh. I'm in the process of planning my wedding, so when we first got there all I wanted was a glass of wine. I chose a Fife L'Attitude, which I really enjoyed. It was a pretty complex red, and did its job to relax me so I could enjoy our dinner. It took us a while to actually decide what we wanted, but here's what we chose:

SMOKED FISH SAMPLER

Smoked salmon pastrami and Cajun smoked trout served with cucumber salad.

This was a great way to start a meal. There were four wedges of grilled pita with a slice of salmon pastrami that was as large as the pita, and on top of that was a much smaller piece of smoked trout. There were drizzles of a white sauce (it kind of reminded me of a ranch dressing, but not quite...) in between the stacks, and in the center was the cucumber salad. The salad consisted of 7 or 8 cucumber slices, sliced white onions, diced tomato, and carrot, with a very vinegary dressing (if it was a dressing at all; I don't think there was any oil in it). I really liked the salad, but my SO didn't. The salmon and trout on the grilled pitas were awesome; both fishes were tender and buttery, and the spices used complimented each other very well. The only complaint I had was that the dressing from the salad made the tips of the pitas kind of soggy, but over all it was a great appetizer.

Each of our Entrees was served with a mixed baby green salad. These were pretty gross. Both of us ate a couple forkfulls of them and pushed them aside. I picked out 4 pieces of dark slimy pieces before I stopped, and my SO picked out 2 or 3. Maybe we should have upgraded our salads, I don't know, but they were pretty sorry.

Along with our salads came out a basket of bread. I typically don't eat bread at restaurants, because I'm often disappointed with the chewy, Wonder-Bread-Esque crap that's usually served, so I didn't open the cloth until I gave up on the salad, but I was pleasantly suprised. I found a warm, cranberry bread, that was not overly sweet and had a wonderfully crisp crust. My SO liked it so much we ordered another loaf to take home for him for breakfasts.

My SO had BEEF TENDERLOIN TIPS & TOAST

Sautéed filet tips, mushrooms and shallots, simmered in a Marsala wine sauce, served with mashed potatoes and grilled bread.

He's a meat and potatoes kind of guy so this was perfect for him. He said they were tender and juicy, a little pink in the middle, and the sauce made them even better. I wouldn't know, because he ate it all before I could have a taste. The "grilled bread" was actually 2 fried waffle chips, which was fine because in the middle of the plate there was a heaping mound of smashed potatoes.

My entree, on the other hand, was utterly disappointing.

RASPBERRY CHICKEN

Baked breast of Bell & Evans organic chicken coated with toasted almond breadcrumbs, topped with melted brie, served with mashed potatoes and Chambord sauce.

I never, and I do mean never, order chicken in a restaurant, unless it's with something else (ie. a pasta dish, with seafood). However, I kept coming back to this dish. The waitress said it was their best selling entree, so I figured why not. I should have went with my instincts though. When the dish came out, it was visually appealing, with the chicken served on top of the potatoes, with a pool of the Chambord sauce, and a spring of rosemary (which was only there for appearance) and a very large raspberry. I think the most redeeming thing on the plate was the asparagus served on top of the chicken. The chicken by itself was pretty blah. Other than the almond bread crumbs, I don't think there was anything else on the crust. The Chambord sauce was laced with cream and was decent, but nothing fantastic. It made the chicken edible, but that's about all. I felt the mashed potatoes were out of place in this dish, and would have been perfectly happy if they had been left off. This dish, especially for their best seller, left me totally underwhelmed.

The Fife did not go well with this dish at all. I kind of figured on that when we ordered our entrees, so I took a sip of my second glass with dinner (apparently made a funny face) and then saved it for after our meal was done.

I ordered an espresso, and we both ordered desserts. The espresso was decent, but it came with an almond biscotti that was ice cold. It didn't matter though, because I was looking forward to my dessert and didn't eat it.

My SO ordered a Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie (desserts aren't on the website), which he devoured. I'm not a fan of desserts like that because I often find them too sweet and too rich. The pie had a chocolate cookie crust, a thin chocolate fudgey layer, and a peanut butter layer about an inch and a half thick. It was topped with peanuts, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and a peanut butter cup. It was also served with a scoop of chocolate ice cream along side. He said it was delicious, and I'm sure it was, but it's just not my thing. The only complaint was that the plate was warm, so when it was brought to the table, the ice cream was already partly melted.

I chose the Coffee Trio for dessert. There was a "scoop" of tiramisu, a coffee truffle, and a mini coffee creme brulee, which was served in a demitasse cup. First of all, the ice cream sized scoop of tiramisu was disgusting. I'm 99.9% positive the creamy layer was made with cream cheese as opposed to mascarpone. Not a good substitution, IMO. Also, there is no way they used lady fingers. The cakey layer wasn't soaked in anything, as it was just a white cake (angelfood maybe?) and it was totally soft. It definitely wasn't soaked in a clear liquor either, because it was kind of dry. It was just bad all around. The truffle however was pretty good. At first I was disappointed because it had a milk chocolate shell. However, when I bit into it, I found that it also had a dark chocolate layer as well. The espresso ganache center was really good as well. Finally, the creme brulee was really good. Then again, I don't think I've met a creme brulee I haven't liked. The espresso flavor was a nice change from the traditional one, and if they offered this in a full dessert size, I probably would have gotten that. It was nice and creamy, and not too overly rich, and I'm glad I saved it for last.

All in all, I would probably go back here again, due to the lack of other decent places we've found so far (I just wouldn't order the chicken). The service was great, as our waitress was very nice and on top of everything all night. We didn't feel rushed at all, and we stayed about 20 minutes after our dessert plates were cleared and our bill was paid so I could finish my wine. We went to the Ephrata location, but there is also one in Lacaster, on West James St. I am glad I told my SO not to wear short, albeit nice ones, because about half the men there were wearing jackets and most women were either wearing dresses or nice pants. I would recommend it to others, but I wouldn't go back there until I tried the others that have been suggested.

Edited July 10, 2005 by keeperrox (log)