It’s amazing how many small food businesses exist in this area that even the most avid food lover might not know about. Take Sugartown Smoked Specialties, for example, who has been smoking up specialty meats & fish in this area for almost 20 years. 20 years! Though much of their business is selling to restaurants and wholesalers, Sugartown Smoked Specialties has also been a longtime tenant at the Lancaster County Farmers Market in Wayne (located next to the Greek stand in the back aisle), and sells some products at Hill’s Seafood Markets locations. In addition, all of their products can also be ordered online.

Owner Scott Hattersley offers a wide variety of smoked foods, including fish (salmon, scallops, etc.), fowl (chicken breast, pheasant) and pork (loins, tenderloins and ribs). Here’s an overview of a few of the items we sampled:

Natural Wood Smoked Boneless Duck Breast
Duck prosciutto, which is cured duck breast, is a somewhat trendy item to find on a charcuterie tray, and, with that wonderful layer of duck fat that sits atop the breast meat, it really is no wonder. This isn’t that… but there are similarities. Instead of being cured, Sugartown’s 12oz moulard duck breast is hot smoked over wood, which imparts a bold, intense flavor. That wonderful layer of duck fat remains, and the meat is packed with smoky goodness. What does that have to do with duck prosciutto, you ask? Well, although this can be heated an eaten like any other duck breast dish, I actually suggest serving it like charcuterie. Cut it super thin, and serve as you would prosciutto… alongside hors d’oeuvres, or perhaps in a sandwich with figs and bleu cheese. At more than $30 for each breast, this isn’t an everyday treat, but it’s a nice addition to the antipasti platter for a special occasion.

Whole Smoked Quail
4oz each, 4 for $26.50

Quail’s flavor is much stronger than that of chicken, and the natural smoke flavor that’s added during cooking makes this dish even more intense. I ordered quail in a restaurant once. It’s tasty, but it’s also a lot of work. There I was, sweating for every bite, while I watched my fellow diners relaxingly enjoying their non-quail meals. Since then, I’ve stayed away. It’s just not worth the effort. There are bones in Sugartown’s quail too, but I took a different tact. I broke the quails down while they were cold. Tore them apart with reckless abandon, not caring so much for the presentation as for the meat itself. I heated the yield gently and served it over a summer salad of mixed greens, peaches and corn. A great weekday meal. Of course, if presentation matters, you could certainly heat these babies whole and they’d look mighty purty.

Natural Smoked Tasmanian Trout
This trout, which was awarded the outstanding fish or seafood product award in 2008 in the Gallo Family Vineyards Gold Medal Awards for artisinal food producers, is similar to smoked salmon, but with a more intense, slightly gamey flavor. Though that may not be for everyone, lovers of smoked fish should be salivating. We served it in a rather traditional manner — with cream cheese and rye crackers — but this could be used in just about any preparation that calls for smoked fish. (8oz for about $20, larger sizes also available)

Sugartown Smoked Specialties
Headquarters:
306-1Q Westtown Road
West Chester, PA 19382
(610) 429-4080
http://www.smokedfoods.com

Lancaster County Farmers Market:
389 W Lancaster Ave.
Wayne , PA 19087
610-688-9688
Hours: Wed, Fri – Sat, 6am – 4pm; Sun – Tue, Thu, closed

Photos courtesy smokedfoods.com. Complimentary samples of items were provided to MainLineDine.

Once again, it all comes down to bacon. Thick, crispy, juicy bacon. Pete’s Produce Farm, a roadside farm stand located on Rt. 926 that I have driven past dozens of times, but only recently had the opportunity to stop and peruse, sells the best bacon I’ve ever eaten. It gets crispy on the outside, yet remains chewy and tender within, and brings an explosion of salty pork flavor. Unlike many of the products sold at Pete’s, this bacon is not local. It is made by Broadbent’s in Kuttawa, KY, but I am oh-so-happy that it made the trip. The surprising, strange thing about Broadbent’s bacon is that it is not refrigerated. This can be quite off-putting on a hot day at Pete’s, as you pick up a warm, limp package of bacon. Do it anyway! Because Broadbent Country Bacon is a dry cured product, it does not require refrigeration; it has a shelf life of three months, although refrigerating or freezing upon receipt will extend its quality and life. (According to the vendor, it is USDA inspected and meets all USDA shipping requirements for safety.) And it tastes divine.

This bacon is just one of the surprises that await those that, like me, expected Pete’s to sell little more than fresh produce. They do, of course, sell high-quality fresh produce, much of which is local when in season. There are, however, many places to get fresh local produce in this area, so that in and of itself is probably not enough of a reason to journey down to Pete’s from the Main Line. The wide selection of other interesting products, however, is:

• A massive wall of jarred goods includes jams, salsas, applesauces, pumpkin butters, and more. In particular, we loved the roasted red pepper salsa, a mild and slightly sweet take on the chip sidekick.
• Freshly-baked fruit pies and breads, delivered daily from D’Ambrosias Bakery and Amber Waves, as well as cookies from My House Cookies.
• An interesting selection of artisinal pastas and sauces.
• A huge variety of  honey.
• Farm-fresh eggs right from Pete’s farm (each dozen has probably 8 different colors and sizes of egg).
• Local cheeses, including a great smoked cheddar from ChesCo’s Conebella Farm.

I’m sure there are other treats as well, so I’ll simply wrap up by stating that Pete’s is a food-lover’s paradise. It’s certainly worth a drive on a beautiful summer weekend to pick up everything you need for a great al fresco dinner at home.

Pete’s Produce Farm
1225 East Street Rd. (Rt 926)
West Chester, PA
610-399-3711
http://www.PetesProduceFarm.com

Hours:
Mon – Sat: 9:00 am – 6:30 pm
Sun: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
(Call first in the off-season)

Note: Image above from Pete’s Facebook Page.

Éclat Chocolate in West Chester has been featured in such high and mighty publications as Food & Wine, Vogue, and Philadelphia Magazine, so we here at MLD figured it was high time to add our name to that list.

A personal disclaimer before we get started: chocolate is one of my favorite foods, if not my favorite, however I have never been particularly fond of “chocolates” of the Godiva variety. I’ve never felt the need to put a funky-tasting cream inside what is already a near-perfect food. And yes, if you see a box of chocolates near me, you’ll probably see a thumbprint in the bottom of every single one, on the constant search for a non-offensive filling. Anyway…

We rolled into Éclat on a cold winter day, and were immediately greeted with a cheery offer for a free sample of “the best hot chocolate we will ever taste”. The unique aspect of Eclat’s hot chocolate is the way it is made — instead of using a powder, they use a chocolate lollipop type instrument (pictured above) to stir in the flavor to warm milk. Time for a quick lesson: Americans tend to use the terms “hot chocolate” and “hot cocoa” interchangeably, and by American standards this is an outstanding beverage. In Europe, however, while “hot cocoa” is the traditional beverage of chocolate powder stirred into milk, “hot chocolate” tends to be a much thicker drink that tastes almost as if you are drinking a melted chocolate bar. Clearly, Eclat’s version is closer to the Euro version, though it was not quite as rich or thick as those of the cafes in Central Europe. Even so, it is the best version one will find around here this winter.

Next we tried the dark chocolate “bars”, which are actually mendiants, or thin discs of chocolate, mostly pure 60-75% chocolate, but sometimes with additional flavorings like pink peppercorns. Though tasty, these were a bit too thin, which created less of a smooth mouth-feel that I look for in fine dark chocolate. Considering the price — upwards of $15 for 5oz., I’ll stick to Lindt and Ghirardelli.

Lastly we sampled a few of the chocolates. Not expecting much (as per my comments above), I tried a dark chocolate caramel — and it was out-of-this-world outstanding! The rich, dark chocolate and the deep, buttery, toffee flavor are simply a perfect combination, and the explosion of flavor that comes from a few small sea salt crystals only builds on said perfection. This is certainly a must-have on any trip to Éclat. I tried a few of the weirder combos as well — the red wine truffle and the passion fruit chocolate were interesting, but nothing spectacular, and the beer truffle, made with Victory Prima Pils, was just plain odd.

All in all, Éclat is an enjoyable place to go, with some excellent choices to match your taste. Try it next time you’re in WC!

More info: http://www.eclatchocolate.com/

Review: 3 silver spoons out of 5

Overview: The more casual sister of the acclaimed Dilworthtown Inn, the restaurant features an eclectic, seasonal bistro menu with great bar snacks, a superb wine list and a relaxed atmosphere.

Food: Having already enjoyed the Dilworthtown Inn, we were intrigued by the menu and concept of the Blue Pear Bistro. The menu, consisting of small and medium sized plates (though, all but one of our medium plates were typical entrée portions), contains modern bistro fare, where classics like steak frites are offered alongside eclectic selections such as skate wing and French toast napoleon. We started the meal with cocktails and bar snacks. Though the strawberry mojito was much too strong, my drink, called Fig Thyme, was absolutely delicious – the earthy, fragrant thyme was the perfect complement to the sweetness of the figs. For our snacks, we chose the deviled eggs and white truffle popcorn. While the deviled eggs were quite good, it was the popcorn that took center stage – none of us could stop eating it!  It was warm and crisp and covered with just the right amount of salt and truffle oil; for me, it was one of the highlights of the meal.

Appetizers consisted of shigoku oysters, fried calamari and jalapeño rings, and the bacon and egg salad.  The oysters were lovely: sweet, creamy, and mildly briny. They were especially delicious when topped with the accompanying mignonette and a refreshing ginger concoction that was reminiscent of a good granita.  The bacon and egg salad was also very good, though the egg was coated in a greasy batter that didn’t stick to the egg. Luckily, when removed, the egg turned out to be well cooked with a proper runny yolk.  Though the fried jalapeño rings were enjoyable and offered just the right amount of heat, the calamari itself was rubbery and rather tasteless.

For my entrée, I had the barbecue beef short ribs with creamy grits and watercress salad. The short ribs were cooked very well – they were melt-in-your-mouth tender – and well-seasoned. However, the barbecue sauce was overwhelming and took away from the flavor of the meat. The creamy grits were true to their description and full of rich, buttery flavor. Although I enjoyed them at first, by the end I almost felt as though I was eating mouthfuls of whipped butter. One of my dining partners tried the skate wing with citrus beurre blanc, a special of the evening, and was very pleased with it. The meat itself was tender and delicately flavored and went very well with the tangy sweetness of the citrus sauce. Another member of the group had the seared scallops with English and sugar snap peas and a subtle but rich lobster saffron sauce.  The scallops were tender, perfectly cooked, and lightly caramelized. The scallop dish was the smallest of the entrees – seemingly the only one that actually lived up to the “medium plates” label.

Though the meal so far had been very enjoyable, dessert was rather disappointing. Despite an enticing menu, including French toast napoleon, lemon-maple sorbet, and profiteroles, both desserts that we ordered were underwhelming at best. The French toast napoleon was cloyingly sweet, and I could only eat a few bites of it. Not even the accompanying lemon-maple sorbet and tart blueberries could offset the sweetness.  The other dessert, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and crispy carrots, was far too spicy.

Service: Having already experienced the fantastic service at Dilworthtown Inn, I had high hopes for the Blue Pear. However, the service was adequate at best. When asked about the flavor of dishes on the menu, our robotic waitress had to check with the kitchen, making it very clear that she had never tasted them. Worse yet, on a number of occasions she cleared plates off the table when people were still eating! Initially, she took the popcorn as someone was reaching in for another handful (we were too stunned to say anything), and later proceeded to do the same with my appetizer and another person’s entrée.

Ambiance: Housed in a renovated 18^th century general store, Blue Pear is warm and inviting, with a number of different styled sections – a porch, bar area, lounge, and regular dining room. This cozy feeling is enhanced when people are sipping wine on the porch and/or talking and enjoying snacks at the bar.

Value: Prices for the small and medium plates range from about $7.00 – $24.50, with bar snacks and side dishes ranging from about $2.50 – $6.50.

Details:
# of times we’ve eaten there: 1
Reservations: Yes, by telephone
Hours: Monday – Saturday 4:00pm – midnight (bar service begins at 4:00pm, dinner at 5:00pm)
Bar: Yes
Cards: Yes
Website: http://www.bluepearbistro.com/

Quick Take: Pietro’s Prime, an upscale steak house operated by the owners of longtime Chester County market Giunta’s, is now open in the former Murray’s Deli space in West Chester.

Went to Pietro’s for lunch, and it was ok. The space itself is gorgeous (though they owe much of this to Murray’s), with the bar now where the old deli was and the old bar room converted into a dining area. The food was good, but not great, especially considering the prices. They have an interesting selection of different sandwiches and light entrees including several different steak sandwiches and burgers, shrimp, crab cakes, etc. The service was pleasant but not without flaws, an issue due to the intended atmosphere and prices. All in all, it seems that the owners of Pietro’s have skills better suited to creating a welcoming, casual neighborhood restaurant, but instead are trying to create a fine dining destination… that falls a little short.

For more, check out what WC Dish has to say or view the menu, now available on WC Dish (PDF).

Feel free to view reader comments or add your own review.

Rating: 2 spoons out of 5

Overview: I’ve been waiting to eat at Gilmore’s for some time now; hyped as the suburban home of a former Le Bec-Fin chef de cuisine, this tiny West Chester bistro is frequently mentioned as the class of the Western Philadelphia suburbs. That being said, I was quite excited to finally get a reservation I could keep (weekend tables require at least a month notice, even more for Saturdays). Unfortunately, however, Gilmore’s was all hype and little delivery; the menu was boring and the food itself bland and unexciting. Perhaps we visited on an off-night, for in the end Gilmore’s showed no signs of being West Chester’s supposed crown jewel.

Food: A variety of French-inspired choices, including plenty of seafood, game and beef. “Baby New Zealand Rack of Lamb Persillade”, or lamb with a mustard-herb-garlic crust and lamb jus, initially was served extremely rare (ordered medium rare, as the chef recommended) and had to be sent back. When it did come back cooked properly, it did not have enough flavor to save the original miscue. (It was certainly a reasonable entree, but at $31 I expect something a bit more satisfying.) The “Pan-Seared Salmon” came on a bed of French lentils, and again was decent but hardly transcendent. I did not try the “New York Strip Steak”, served au poivre, but on sight I didn’t feel I was missing out — it was thin and generally not that appealing to the eye. One of the biggest issues I have with the entrees at Gilmore’s is that they all come with the same side dishes — on this particular night whipped potatoes and a brussels sprout casserole-type concoction. To me the sign of a truly inspired chef is one who can pair the entire plate, not sling a scoop of the veggies du jour next to each piece of meat on the menu. This is especially disturbing at a tiny place like Gilmore’s — with only 11 tables, expecting more creativity does not seem out of the question (not to mention the ~ $30 an entree price tag).

My disappointment continued into dessert and the “Warm Liquid Center Chocolate Soufflé”. I truly thought I would never meet a chocolate soufflé I didn’t like, but I also never thought I’d taste one this insipid. The typically rich, decadent dessert had hardly any flavor! The French-pressed coffee, on the other hand, had a much stronger taste; it was rich and satisfying.

Besides the coffee, the highlight of the evening was the “Black and White” risotto, a creamy black truffle risotto served with fresh shredded white truffles. Having never had risotto with truly fresh truffles, I swallowed the exorbitant $20 appetizer price tag to give it a shot (after all, we were at Gilmore’s, the suburb’s best restaurant). It really was quite good, especially the fresh, fragrant white truffles. Looking back, the small portion probably didn’t warrant the price, but it was easily the best food we ate that evening.

Ambiance: As I mentioned previously, Gilmore’s is extremely small, and there isn’t a bad table in the place. It has a slightly stodgy (think old-school Main Line) feel, but also has a nice mix of class and comfort.

Service: The waitstaff was extremely nice and helpful. However, a few other service-related flaws concern me. Firstly, the menu: descriptions of each entree are incredibly minimal, so much so that I really didn’t have much idea what each entree actually was (although perhaps the real problem here is that the plates actually don’t have much else to talk about beyond the type of meat). I basically had to have the server go through the entire menu with me just so I knew what the options were (which she did quite willingly — it just seemed unnecessary). Spending a few minutes adding better descriptions to the menu would certainly provide the customers with a better ordering experience. Secondly, when I sent back my rack of lamb, the waiter said to me (something like): “Well, the chef’s medium rare does tend to be pretty rare“. If that is the case, why didn’t the waitress tell me that when I ordered? How am I supposed to know that the chef’s idea of medium rare is actually “rare”? Heck, even at Outback Steakhouse they tell you that!

Value: Gilmore’s is one of the more expensive BYOB’s in the area… expect to spend $40-50 per person. I just can’t justify paying this kind of money when you can get a more interesting meal at Avalon right around the corner for an equal or lesser price.

Details:
# of Times We’ve Eaten There: 1
Reservations: Required (OpenTable)
Bar: BYOB
Cards: Yes
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday: 6:00pm & 8:30pm dinner seating
website: http://www.gilmoresrestaurant.com

Rating: 3 silver spoons out of 5

Overview: Long time West Chester mainstay offers well-prepared, traditional Greek cuisine (and BYOB!).

Food: Classic Greek fare such as souvlaki and flafel highlighted with homemade hummus and grilled pita. The menu at The Mediterranean does not change often and rarely pushes the envelope, but it is consistent and tasty nonetheless. There are several excellent starters, most notably the roasted sweet peppers, served on grilled French bread. Want to try something different? Go for the “meat pie”, a pizza-like concoction topped with meat and spices… excellent to share. The hummus is also excellent, but since most entrees come with the chickpea spread on the side, it is best to avoid the appetizer. Perhaps the best main course offered is the strangely appealing “Kibbi Platter”, a meatloaf (for lack of a better description) of ground lamb, beautifully spiced and served with a mild, creamy yogurt dipping sauce. All the flavors play off each other beautifully. Souvlaki (Greek Shish-Kabobs) is available with lamb, beef or chicken, and is simple but very good. My only complaint with a recent order of the lamb version was that the cubes of grilled lamb were a bit skimpy.

Ambiance: Classic, far from trendy. Small and sometimes cramped. I still haven’t found my way upstairs.

Value: The folks who run the Mediterranean recently raised the prices for the first time in many years, taking most of their entrees into the upper teens. As a relatively new customer, this seemed to be a reasonable and fair increase, but some long time customers have not been as positive. That said, a casual, well-cooked meal with BYOB for around $25 per person seems like a decent value to me.

Details:
# of times we’ve eaten there: 2
Reservations: Yes
Bar: BYOB

Rating: 3 silver spoons out of 5

Overview: Quaint, romantic neighborhood BYOB with an ambitious menu and solid delivery.

Food: Appetizers are customary of this type of place — i.e. the Portabella & Goat Cheese Tart and the Tuna Carpaccio. The tuna was a decent choice but was nothing super-special. For entrees, the Braised Veal Cheeks with Caramelized Root Vegetable Risotto ($27) is an interesting choice — it is actually the cheek of the veal, a tender meat that crumbles apart kind of like a pot roast after braising. While this plate was an opportunity to try something different, it wasn’t quite as exciting as I would have expected. The Rib Eye, served with Sautéed Spinach, Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes in a red wine sauce ($24), was expertly prepared and quite tasty. A seared snapper special was the best meal I’ve had there, exellently prepared with sweet roasted peppers.

Ambiance: Upscale but comfortable, The room creates a nice balance between fine dining and neighborhood dining. Outdoor seating is available during the summer on a lovely garden patio.

Service: Waitstaff very attentive and supportive.

Value: The prices at Avalon are not cheap, but consistent with similar BYOBs in the area. The overall value proposition is reasonable.

Details:
# of times we’ve eaten there: 2
Reservations: Yes – Recommended (available online)
Payments: Cards
Bar: BYOB
Website: http://www.avalonrestaurant.org

Rating: 2 silver spoons out of 5

Overview: A chain Irish pub in the center of West Chester. Crowded and noisy on the weekend, but manageable for a slightly older crowd.

Food: Irish Pub fare — Sandwiches, Fish & Chips, Guinness Stew, etc… Solid for what it is.

Bread: Maybe it is just the Guinness talking, but the soda bread is to die for. Sweet and crumbly, and could be eaten even without the butter.

Ambiance: Noisy Irish Pub, but a fun place to hang out that isn’t too over the top. Can be difficult to find a seat at the bar on weekends (if you’re just drinking or waiting for a table). Some seating out front on the sidewalk (sturdy wooden tables/chairs too, not the normally flimsy stuff you’ll see outside a bar in Philly).

Service: Fine for this type of place. Some smokin’ hot waitresses, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Value: They’ll fill you up on food & Guinness for about $20 per — I’d say that’s pretty good.

Details:
# of times we’ve eaten there: 3
Reservations: No
Payments: Cards
Bar: Full
Website: http://www.kildarespub.com

Locations also in KoP, Manayunk, Media and Philly

Rating: 4 silver spoons out of 5

Overview: Hip Sushi Bar / Japanese restaurant located in the heart of West Chester. Kooma is a double threat — a very cool room with fabulous, fresh sushi. No longer BYOB, unfortunately.

Food: Full sushi bar as well as a full menu of Japanese cuisine. (The sushi is so good at Kooma that we have only tasted appetizers and sushi; we never had the need to try other entrees.) The steamed pork dumplings — half-moon pan seared dumplings (as opposed to the circular ones that aren’t as good) — were excellent. The must have appetizer is the Negima, thin sliced sirloin rolled (like a sushi roll) with cream cheese and scallions, which is unique and wonderful.

For sushi, the fish is always very fresh and tasty — and while I cannot claim to be a sushi connoisseur, Kooma has the best I’ve ever tasted. They have the traditional Nigiri and plenty of rolls. Although I’ve read that sushi places use the worst fish in their “spicy” rolls, here at Kooma the spicy tuna roll ($6.50) is a must-have. They really ought to bottle and sell the spicy sauce — it is that good. I’d put it on everything. Kooma’s more expensive specialty rolls are stunning in both sight and taste — my personal favorite is the “Sakura” roll ($15.95) — a spicy salmon roll (with that sauce again) with salmon “on top”. Its a large piece, but a gorgeous piece of fresh salmon above the spicy roll is just perfect.

View Kooma’s sushi menu here

Bar: While I miss the days of BYOB, the bar at Kooma is quite good. There is an extensive martini list, a good variety of saki and plenty of wines under $30, so you don’t have to break the bank (though you might with a few specialty martinis). The bar turns into more of a drinking spot late night, complete with a DJ.

Ambiance: Colorful, stylish room with a large (19-seat!) sushi bar and a spacious dining area. One might expect to see a swank room like Kooma’s in Old City or Manayunk, but in West Chester it is quite the surprise. Club-style music keeps the feeling (but is not distracting) and waiters wear all black — again, a sign the West Chester is definitely changing. There are also a few tables outside on the sidewalk during the warm weather months.

Value: Kooma is not cheap, but neither is top of the line fresh fish. I once paid over $40 for takeout for 2 — a bit more than I normally would for a pick-up meal, but then again this is the best sushi around, so its worth a little extra.

Details:
# of times we’ve eaten there: 5+
Reservations: No – call ahead for large groups
Bar: Full (lots of saki)