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Brandywine Valley Krazy Kat’s As distinctive as the posh Inn at Montchanin Village of which it is the centerpiece, this polished and uniquely styled restaurant occupies the former blacksmith shop in the restored village that once housed workers at the du Pont powder mills. Owner Missy Lickle chose the unlikely name for an eccentric old maid who once lived there “and was crazy as a cat,” in the words of her grandmother. The theme turns up at the entry in a local artist’s cartoon-like portrait of a gawky feline with a goofy grin, in cat sculptures clad in Japanese robes in each of the front windows, in gilt-framed portraits of cats attired in royal or military regalia on the walls, and on the brocade vests worn by the wait staff. The theme broadens in the low-slung chairs with zebra-print cushions at tables set with beige over zebra-print cloths and stunning china designed by a Connecticut artist in the colorful jaguar jungle pattern. The tables seating 55 in two rooms are large and well spaced, the walls radiate a warm salmon color, and a fire burns in one of the original forges up near the ceiling. It’s an enchanting setting for exceptional contemporary American fare. A bowl of four varieties of olives and a basket of breads arrive with the dinner menu. One of us started with the zesty bluepoint oyster gratin teamed with prosciutto, tri-color bell peppers, shallots and parmesan cheese. The other sampled the salad of field greens, a first-rate mélange dressed with toasted pine nuts, stilton blue cheese and a zippy roasted garlic vinaigrette. Main courses range from whole wasabi tempura snapper with star anise syrup to pan-seared filet mignon with cognac-black truffle jus. The signature sautéed crab cakes were bound with a shrimp mousseline and served with honey-jalapeño tartar sauce and sweet potato fries. The sautéed Chesapeake rockfish was of the melt-in-the-mouth variety, sauced with bluepoint oysters in a tomato-fennel cream and accompanied by crisp haricots verts and flavorful dark wild rice. Our bottle of Sterling sauvignon blanc ($19, from a well chosen and affordable list honored by Wine Spectator), was poured in the largest wine glasses we’ve seen, surpassed in size only by the balloon-size globes used here for red wines. From a dessert recitation that included a walnut-praline tart and crème de cassis crème brûlée, we settled for the intense raspberry and mango sorbets, architecturally presented with enormous blackberries and an edible orchid in an almond tuile. Although a place for serious dining and undeniably
elegant, the feline motif and lack of pretension imparts a refreshing
light-heartedness. Both the meal and the setting were among the happiest
of our recent travels. (302) 888-2133. www.montchanin.com. Entrées, $25
to $30. Lunch, Monday-Friday 11 to 2. Dinner, Monday-Saturday 5:30 to
10, Sunday 5:30 to 9. Jackets requested.
In the quaint hamlet of Dilworthtown, this old wood, stone and brick inn has a classic continental menu and what is considered to be the area's best wine list. Winner of the Wine Spectator award of excellence, its 900 selections start at $20 for Georges Duboeuf beaujolais and rise rapidly into the triple digits. We counted more than 110 cabernets from the Napa Valley alone. The original 1758 inn and its late 18th-century wing were restored in 1972 into a warren of fifteen small dining rooms seating a total of 220, a bar and a lobby complete with plate-glass windows and plantings in a mini-atrium. Each room features rich, handmade chestnut tables covered with woven mats and flanked by tavern-style chairs. Lighting is from gaslight chandeliers and candles. The dining areas, which use no electricity, have eleven wood-burning fireplaces, including three walk-in hearths and a beehive bake oven. Tuxedoed waiters lend sophistication and elegance. In season, diners may eat outside in the ruins of the original stable area, surrounded by the remains of stone walls. The leather-bound, eight-page dinner menu starts with a dozen appetizers, including two standbys, the house pâté of creamy duck liver with black truffles and port wine syrup and shrimp cocktail with rémoulade sauce. Executive chef David Gottlieb shows his stuff with saffron crayfish risotto, pan-seared crab and mushroom galette with caramelized tomato and mango chutney, and confit of pheasant and fingerling potato pierogi with black truffle butter. Among the entrées are three kinds of steaks including grilled ostrich tenderloin and the chef’s duet, filet mignon and stuffed South African lobster tail. Otherwise, expect such contemporary continental updates as roasted Chilean sea bass with lobster-tarragon sauce, seared gingered tiger shrimp with peach glaze and pan-seared breast of Hudson Valley duck with crispy confit. Many consider the kitchen at its best with its lengthy list of nightly specials: perhaps ginger-crisp lobster drizzled with a Thai apricot sauce and grilled portobello mushrooms with herbed polenta and white truffle sauce for appetizers; grilled mahi mahi with melon and pineapple salsa, medallions of New Zealand venison with juniper berries, and veal osso buco for entrées. Desserts range from chocolate mousse to crème
caramel. They include wonderful homemade sorbets and ice creams of
exotic flavors (the white chocolate/macadamia nut is a favorite). Except for the specials, the inn preserves the traditional, according to co-owners Robert Rafetto and James Barnes. That's fine with its steady clientele, who rate it their favorite all-around spot for consistency, charm and service. Across the street from the restaurant is The Inn
Keeper’s Kitchen, a state-of-the-art culinary demonstration
kitchen. It’s the site for a cooking school featuring its own staff and visiting chefs. (610) 399-1390. Entrées, $23 to $37.
Dinner nightly, 5:30 to 9:30, Saturday from 5, Sunday 3 to 8:30.
This once rather ordinary-looking restaurant in the 18th-century farmhouse that doubles as the clubhouse at Loch Nairn Golf Course stands tall in area culinary circles. Owners Virginia and Hank Smedley have enhanced two small and atmospheric dining rooms off a spacious lounge with barnwood walls, country artifacts, baskets hanging from the beams, candlelight and fresh flowers. We particularly liked the looks of the canopied outdoor patio, glamorously set for dinner with white linens on large tables flanked by heavy wooden chairs. There’s also a stunning contemporary function facility that relegates the “farmhouse” image to history. The chefs know what they are doing. The reputation of the crab cakes preceded our arrival recently for lunch. We were seated in rather formal surroundings and faced a rather daunting menu strong on dinner-type fare. Yes, there are salads and sandwiches, although caesar salad with pan-fried oysters and sautéed salmon on a warm croissant are not typical golf-club style. A basket of sundried tomato-basil bread and garlicky focaccia staved off hunger as we studied the three dozen possibilities, augmented by such specials as a sampler of smoked fish from the restaurant’s smokehouse. But it was the crab cake we were after. It turned out to be an unpriced special, sautéed to lock in the flavor and then broiled and served over whole-grain mustard sauce. Thick with tender crabmeat, with no filling and absolutely luscious, it came with roasted peppers, snow peas and potatoes, and was well worth the $14 price tag that showed up on the bill. We also sampled the rich mushroom soup and an appetizer of chicken liver pâté with fresh figs, apple slices and crostini rounds. Service was so slow – a frequent problem here – that we ran out of time for dessert. The choice included key lime pie, chocolate mousse torte, crème brûlée and cheesecake laced with grand marnier. Dinner is a similarly elegant, leisurely affair. The menu pairs some of the luncheon appetizers with more substantial entrées, varying from poached salmon with basil hollandaise to rack of lamb with madeira sauce. The range is indicated by cashew-crusted trout florentine, sautéed breast of chicken with smoked scallops, tenderloin steak au poivre and pan-seared venison rack chop served on roesti potatoes with a confit of tomatoes and herbs. (610) 268-2235. Entrées, $19.95 to $39.95. Lunch
daily, 11:30 to 3. Dinner, 5 to 9. Sunday brunch, 10:30 to 3. The
Gables at Chadds Ford The Gables at Chadds Ford, 423 Baltimore
Pike, Once part of a dairy farm, this handsome stone
and frame barn is now a stylish restaurant specializing in contemporary
American cuisine with French and Asian accents. Jack McFadden, area
restaurateur for 30-plus years and known recently for successes at the
nearby Marshalton Inn and the Turks Head Inn in The place is named for the 23 gables added to the barn in an 1897 Victorian facelift. An interior design aficionado who did the architectural renderings himself, Jack scouted up three art deco bronze chandeliers and matching sconces for the bar area, where a grand piano greets arriving customers and the metal milking stools are cushioned with a deep red faux ostrich skin. Leaded glass windows separate the bar from the 120-seat dining room, whose acoustics (or lack thereof) raise the noise level. He calls the decor “barn chic.” The tables are nicely spaced, the floors heart-pine, the walls are white wood and brick and crackle painted with gold tint, and dining is by candlelight. A rear outdoor patio in a recreated barn foundation beside a waterfall is popular in season. The fairly extensive menu is the kind upon which nearly every item appeals. You could start with a tuna and eggplant terrine or crispy duck confit with a port-poached pear over arugula. “Large plates” range from basil-encrusted tuna with red pepper sauce to grilled venison chop with red wine demi-glace. On a spring weeknight, “small plates” of caramelized sea scallops with a warm chick pea and frisée salad and succulent pistachio-encrusted Chilean sea bass with blood oranges and watercress made a fine dinner for two. The Gables salad of maytag blue cheese, apples, pears and walnuts with mixed greens proved a good starter. For dessert, the fruit sachetti in puffed pastry could have used a lighter touch. The lime-coconut cake or the chocolate mousse bombe might have been better choices. (610) 388-7700. www.thegablesatchaddsford.com.
Entrées, $21.95 to $31.95. Lunch in season, Monday-Friday
“What the Brandywine
Valley lacks is a good BYOB bistro,” was the lament we’d heard from
innkeepers time after time. “These old farmers have plenty of money
and will spend it on good food.” Chef Kevin McMunn, who
helped open the Gables at Chadds Ford, and his wife Mary Beth Brown,
heeded the call. They took over a former dairy building on the rural
outskirts of West Chester and, with a deft touch, turned it into a
stylish bistro named for her grandmother. He cooks and she serves, with
a polished sophistication that belies the Mom and Pop character of an
operation run by a couple in their mid-30s. Filled locally by word of
mouth, the setting is serene and eclectic, and the lighting is so dim
that pen lights are offered to illuminate the menu. The Feng-Shui interior is
more spacious than its 36-seat layout suggests. The windows are screened
by handmade rice paper that casts a golden glow, or left uncovered to
reveal the colorful flower boxes outside. White cloths cover the tables,
which sport flickering candles and a changing array of plants: tulips in
spring, artfully twisting bamboo greenery at our fall visit. The decor
is understated and soothing – Mary Beth is at a loss to categorize it,
but repeated the comment of one patron who likened it to “Casablanca
meets Zen.” Amber and stained glass, tea cups and urns are among its
components. The background music is a carefully selected medley of
oldies but goodies, in contrast with the atonal jazz typical of many
restaurants these days. Self-taught chef Kevin
delivers contemporary American fare with accents from his formative
years in the Southwest. Not for timid palates is his signature caesar
salad blended with spicy chipotle peppers or the appetizer of blackened
crab cake with roasted yellow and poblano pepper coulis. But his is no
Johnny-one-note in fiery fusion. For the main course, he might encrust
crab cakes in panko crumbs with lemon wasabi or grill filet mignon with
a gorgonzola cheese and brandy demi-glace. Even the chicken breast is
finished with chorizo and black bean salsa in an ancho-dijon cream
sauce. An addictive spread of
olive oil with tomato and basil that arrives with bread and the menu
gets dinner off to an auspicious start. One of us made a meal of
appetizers – an ethereal napoleon layered with roasted pepper, spinach
and goat cheese, and a lobster crêpe with grilled asparagus and saffron
cream. The other wanted the tuna steak, but not blackened and served
with raspberry and jalapeño coulis as the menu stated. The chef obliged
by grilling it rare with a black mission fig and balsamic reduction,
accompanied by a fabulous risotto plus julienned peppers and haricots
verts. Refreshing endings are
desserts such as key lime pie, triple chocolate-raspberry torte,
butterscotch bread pudding, and pear and sour cream cheese cake,
expertly prepared by a friend of the owners. (610) 429-1195. Entrées,
$18.95 to $25.95. Dinner, Monday-Saturday, seatings at 6 to 6:30 and 8
to 8:30. BYOB.
Another favorite among
the BYOB bistros popping up around the The best seats in the
house are at the rear with an up-close view of the cooking action in the
open kitchen in the corner. Chef-owner Richard Halka and his wife Evelyn
from The prix-fixe menu
offers four choices for each course. Entrées in the package include
pan-seared The à la carte menu
adds favorites ranging from Chilean sea bass over black beans with a
mango and peach salsa to veal milanese and pistachio-crusted rack of
lamb with port wine demiglace. The $18.95 Sunday
brunch offers an amazing array of breakfast and dinner items. (610) 925-4984.
www.statestreetgrille.com. Entrées, $20 to $31. Prix-fixe, $32. Dinner,
Tuesday-Saturday 5 to 9 or 10. Sunday, brunch 11:30 to 2:30, dinner 5 to
8. BYOB. Gilmore’s Dining is in several small rooms of a restored
18th-century townhouse at this intimate, wildly popular restaurant
opened in downtown The basics of the printed menu seldom change, such are the regular offerings that appeal to a loyal clientele. But the presentations do. Dinner might start with a stellar lobster bisque finished with cream and scotch, veal pâté in puff pastry, artichoke tarte tatin with truffle cream, escargots in puff pastry and – how un-French – “shrimp corn dogs,” batter-dipped shrimp with a trio of dipping sauces. Main courses range from sautéed calves liver and onions to butter-poached lobster on toasted orzo with citrus beurre blanc. Crispy Thai snapper, magret duck breast with red wine sauce and venison strip steak au poivre are typical offerings. Desserts run from warm liquid-center chocolate soufflé and baba au rhum to frozen hazelnut cappuccino and milk chocolate mousse in a candied apple. Francophiles prefer to finish with the artisanal cheese plate. Reservations are accepted three months in advance, and weekends are often sold out quickly. Check out the pioneering “availability calendar” on the restaurant’s website. (610) 431-2800. www.gilmorerestaurant.com.
Entrées, $23 to $35. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday, seatings at 6 and 8:30.
BYOB. Simon
Pearce on the The original glassblowing workshop, retail store
and restaurant of Simon Pearce occupies an old mill along the banks of
the The site lends itself to the Simon Pearce venture, with a wide-open glassblowing studio on the main floor and the retail shop and restaurant on the second. Huge windows in the latter take advantage of a tranquil river view. The two-level restaurant is a tad smaller than the original, and there’s no open-air dining. And the food, though excellent, has lost some of its Vermont/Irish “pureness” in the transfer. Many of the traditional Irish specialties are missing here. Quilts hang on the deep red walls and Simon
Pearce glass and pottery is everywhere evident on bare wood tables. The
trademark Ballymaloe bread and Irish scones with a glass of hard apple
cider proved an auspicious start for lunch. The day’s soup was a thick
The dinner repertoire is more adventurous.
Curried chicken spring roll and seared Day and night, the stars of the show are the
pastry chef’s desserts: perhaps a trio of crème brûlées
(lavender-honey, vanilla bean and orange-ginger, at our visit), white
chocolate mousse cake, (610) 793-0948. www.simonpearce.com.
Entrées, $21 to $30. Lunch daily,
Immensely popular locally is this tavern built in the late 1700s, all spiffed up with a pretty, white-linened interior dining room and an airy garden-room addition. The singles head for the tavern, where snacks and light entrées are available all day, or the open-air bar on two upper levels outside. The former tavern and dinner menus have been combined into one extensive menu appealing to a variety of tastes, including those who want “small plates” and “big breads,” to whom this establishment is catering lately. We ate light at a recent visit. One enjoyed oriental spring rolls and a half serving of an addictive pasta of farfalle with smoked salmon and roquefort. The other liked the caesar salad and porchetta (sliced pork roasted with garlic and rosemary), served on an onion roll with roasted peppers. With a Round Hill chardonnay and a slice of key lime pie, the bill came to a modest $40 before tip. You also could try, as we did on an earlier occasion, one of the handful of entrées, ranging from shrimp and grits and crispy fried catfish with a roasted pecan mole and green chile cream to grilled filet mignon wrapped in applewood bacon and smoked tomato demi-glace. We liked the specialty crab cakes, their flavor heightened by a dill mayonnaise laced with orange, and the linguini with smoked chicken and red peppers. Votive candles cast shadows on bare, rich wood tables flanked by comfortable, cushioned chairs as we lingered over a Hogue Cellars chardonnay from Washington State. The special cappuccino-pecan-praline ice cream was a hit among desserts. They included a light lemon-ginger cake and chocolate cups filled with raspberry mousse and served on a pool of crème anglaise. The cheesecake studded with black raspberries and strawberries is to die for. (302) 656-9776. Entrées, $16.95 to $24.95.
Lunch, Monday-Friday 11:30 to 2:30, Saturday to 3. Dinner nightly, 5:30
to 9:30 or 10. Sunday,
brunch 11 to 3, dinner 5 to 9.
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