The Grille at Bear Creek: Unforgettable, In Every Way

What a spacious, Berks-County-beautiful location! The Grille at Bear Creek, where there’s skiing and swimming, hotel and a luxury spa, is an impressive place. For weddings and wedding receptions, there are three different ballrooms to choose from—The Woodlands, The Mountain Ballroom and The Lodge, with enormous hearths, dance floors and windows with stunning views. All this and a year-round restaurant that delivers a cozy, candlelit atmosphere with scrumptiously elegant food and drink. 

Grille Manager George Pitsilos is understandably proud of his kitchen and of Executive Chef Michael Greenstein, who cooks up gourmet meals for intimate tables of two as well as crowds of wedding celebrants. 

A recent visit there started out with Baked Brie and a Bear Basil Min-tini signature drink. The latter is like drinking an infusion of mint and fresh, piquant basil, which wafts gently upwards — cool and refreshing — followed by a sweet back-burn powered by the flavored vodka. Another tempting concoction is the Bourbon Bear Trap, made with Wild Turkey 101, Wild Turkey American Honey, bitters, sage, apple and ginger ale. Warms you right up.

Brie and Cherries in Puff Pastry

The cheesy appetizer comes in a perfectly round, tall puff pastry reminiscent of homemade pie. It’s literally a sculpture with greens and grapes, and inside are hot, dark, sweet-tart cherries to complement the creamy, buttery Brie, with just enough pecans for an earthy touchstone. So delicate is the pastry that it practically melts into the Brie-cherry combo.

Other inspiring starters are fresh mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes with sea salt, seared spicy tuna, Buffalo wings, and a tempura shrimp roll. Mid-winter is a perfect time for traditional French onion soup topped with Gruyere cheese, thick-laden with tasty onions in richly dark broth. The table rolls come warmed up, in varieties — whole wheat, classic white, seeded. 

The Caesar salad shines with its clearly defined focus on crispy, deeply green lettuce bites. Lightly dressed and sprinkled with cracked pepper, the Romaine truly asserts its just-picked garden flavor, (unlike some Caesars, which get overpowered by dressing and croutons). 

For main dishes, Bear Creek specializes in pleasing every palate, offering up such imaginative and elegant vegetarian entrees as Spicy Vegetarian Kung Pao Spaghetti or English Sweet Pea Ravioli.

Roasted Amish Chicken Breast is a favorite both on the wedding menu and at the Grille restaurant. So is Filet Mignon Béarnaise. That dish features a five-ounce beef filet enhanced by bruleed onion; a Gruyere twice-baked potato; sauté of spinach, corn and mushrooms; Béarnaise; and red wine sauce. 

Unique Entrées 

If you adore the charred, fleshy taste of salmon, but are tired of the same tired preparations that many kitchens have fallen into the habit of offering, definitely set your sights on Angry Salmon. This is an unforgettable taste experience that could only have been invented in a fantastical dream state. It’s superbly complex and savory, while still delivering salmon’s fine taste to the very forefront of your palate. This flavor explosion is created by all the elements that lie below and around the fish in a stunningly lovely plating: the coral-colored fish drapes across a layer of sticky rice, nestled near roasted corn and just-bitter, grilled bok choy, and then the coup de grâce — a spicy yuzo-miso sauce that sets the mouth (and fish) ever-so-gently on fire, only to be cooled off by gems of cool mango. It’s piquant as all get-out. 

As if that’s not memorable enough, The Grille’s Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf entrée will linger in your mind and memory. This platter featuring a three-inch-tall, roundish cannonball of beefy goodness has everything, including the scent of smoky bacon — which alone is heaven — but when you dip the meatloaf into a waiting pool of black, tangy red-wine sauce, the fusion effect is unmatchable. Of course, there must be potatoes with this! But not any old mashed spuds will do. A generous helping of pure white, super-smooth pureed potatoes are laid out next to the meatloaf like a long bank of new snow. Caramelized onions clinch the deal, making this entrée one of the most satisfying choices on the menu.

Classic Desserts for a Classy Finish

One of the nicest aspects of Bear Creek is that the Grille’s menu is geared toward real people, who just happen to be real foodies, too. There’s such a comfortable inner joy when you see a dessert list with Classic Ice Cream Sundae drizzled with dark chocolate sauce, and Warm French Apple Tart married to old-fashioned vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. There’s a Nutella Nut Torte, too — gluten-free.

To leave your comfort zone and find a brand new world, making this meal truly unforgettable from start to finish, try Ginger and Lime Crème Brulee. The custard is luscious — as you’d expect — but the glaze, the toasted, caramelized brown edge, has distinct hints and tones of ginger and citrus, a candied topping with a whiff of the far-off tropics.