It’s not every day you can savor an unforgettable meal masterfully created by a husband and wife who are both graduates of the famed Culinary Institute of America. Unless you live in Berks County, that is. It’s the home of Frank and Diannah’s Arbor Inn, a perennial favorite on the fine dining circuit since 1999. With their professionalism, creative menus, and extraordinary hospitality, the Paradisos have blessed the St. Lawrence (Exeter Township) area with consistent quality.
Appetizers and features vary nightly, always with a “potluck” item of nostalgic comfort food. On a recent night, classic lasagna with garlic bread was up on the chalkboard. Add a glass of red wine, some salad, and this place feels like home.
Located down the hill below the Pagoda, near country estates along winding roads, the Arbor Inn’s front door opens first into a genteel but cozy bar area, with the dining room beyond. The charm of deep windowsills and wood everywhere has a relaxing effect.
Calamari or Mussels, Anyone?
Start off with one of the many carefully chosen beers or wines, such as a crisp Rudi Weist Riesling. Baked rolls come hot out of the oven to the table. For an appetizer, the Fried Calamari served with a spicy remoulade commands the whole table’s attention, delicate and smartly savory. Or perhaps get Belgian-style Mussels and Frites — a pound of mussels in your choice of broth.
The happy-go-lucky taste of Italy emerges in Frank and Diannah’s highly flavorful Polenta with Roasted Vegetables, made succulent with melted gorgonzola cheese. Each individual vegetable flavor walks forth: sweet-tart eggplant bites, sundried tomato along with diced fresh tomatoes, ample garlic.
Warm apples and sweet golden raisins accompany Baked Brie with its crunchy croutons, yet another scrumptious appetizer.
Salad lovers can take gustatory aim at anything dressed by the house, including Diannah’s own Caesar dressing and her unusually addictive Asian dressing, which, when tossed on a perfect group of dark, fresh greens and julienned carrots, leaves a scrumptious peppery bite lingering on the tongue. “People actually come here and buy that Asian Dressing,” reveals a server named Liz. “They can’t get enough of it.”
Best Salmon in Berks
Entrees cover all the bases, from filet mignon to fish, pasta to schnitzel. It’s evident that these gourmet chefs take pride in developing precise recipes. The Flax-Encrusted Salmon takes no prisoners and is probably the most delicious salmon around. First of all, this dish — like other entrees — is tailor-baked to your personal preference (order “medium well” if you prefer a moist, just-dry texture), plus it comes with tossed salad, rice and vegetables du jour. In summer, that means gently seasoned, sautéed semicircles of green zukes and yellow squash, evoking memories of summer gardens. The salmon is Verlasso Brand, sustainably raised, and its flavor exceeds expectations. Shiny brown flaxseeds are dotted thickly across the lush, grilled orange fish, lending a nutty crunch, while in the center, oven-browned, is a little pond of dill and citrus in a butter compound. For a blend of flavors that all belong together in the craziest kind of way, simply touch your fork ever-so-lightly across the herbal mixture, spread it on a morsel of fish, scoop up tender rice, and find salmon nirvana. Unbelievably compelling in flair, taste and texture.
The Arbor Inn also specializes in schnitzel (breaded veal cutlets), such as the earthy but haughty Jager Schnitzel with its wild mushroom cream sauce. The Gypsy Style Wiener Schnitzel is enhanced by sautéed peppers, onions, tomato and garlic. Still more versions include a Gouda and Ham Schnitzel, as well as a traditional Wiener Schnitzel Holstein, characterized by a sunnyside-up egg and the pickle-sharp taste of capers (but you can ask for anchovies if you desire).
Fettucine Alfredo — Elegant Indulgence
A long list of enticing pasta dishes and stir-fries commands a fourth of the Arbor Inn’s menu, but everyone knows that there’s just nothing like a creamy Fettucine Alfredo to mark a special occasion — even if that “special” occasion just flat-out rewards your spouse or a colleague (or yourself?) at the end of a long day. For more protein punch, add chicken or shrimp. The chicken is sautéed and mixed right into the pasta and sauce — all lovely, fat pieces of tender white meat. With its parsley-dusted, super-cheesy sauce steaming, this perennial favorite with its “just right” al dente noodles seems to waft its way into your heart halfway across the room even as it’s being delivered from kitchen to table. Enjoy wine with this, or perhaps an old-fashioned or other celebratory cocktail, and prepare to twirl that fork.
Save room for an outrageous homemade dessert like Key Lime Tart, Vanilla Bean Cheesecake, or the ultimate in Berks County dessert obsession: Peanut Butter Mousse Pie. Imagine a soft, tan interior of whipped peanut butter atop a chocolate crust, topped by a latticework of chocolate. Pure joy.
Frank and Diannah’s Arbor Inn: 47 S. Bingaman St., Reading. 610.406.0126 | facebook.com/fdarborinn
Hours: Tues & Wed: 4:30-9pm | Th-Sat: 4:30-9:30pm
By Marian Frances Wolbers | Photos by Heidi Reuter
