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Heidi E. Reuter
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Heidi E. Reuter
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Heidi E. Reuter
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Heidi E. Reuter
Just up Route 61 from Cabela’s, Port Clinton, and Hawk Mountain is a restaurant to write home about. Better yet, just go. Have a great time. But come hungry!
Chef Carla Zimmerman and the partners that created The Bum’s Rush Restaurant & Pub set a table to groan with homestyle cooking that is off-the-charts delicious and original, with everything made from scratch, except for some Yuengling-inspired dishes. Using recipes culled from an intense and diverse culinary career that’s run the gamut from Pittsburgh to New York City to (now) “Skook” country, or Schuylkill County, just miles from the Berks border, Chef Carla describes her food as having an admittedly “Southern flair” that’s paired “with a French background.” Frankly, it’s just plain amazing, and that’s all that matters.
With craft beers (including Chatty Monks), wine, and mixed drinks that impart fresh twists and major improvements on some old standards, the bar area is homey; it features one barstool that’s an actual saddle. Fun! Consider a refreshing Bum’s Punch made from spiced rum, ginger ale and raspberry syrup. Or savor the bright Blueberry Lemonade.
There’s one dining area extending off the bar, plus a separate, larger dining area beyond that; in summer, guests can sit in the open air on an outer patio, beyond which will be a distillery someday. Tables are inviting with their red-and-white-checked cloths, sporting jaunty napkins made with red bandannas and mason jars for water glasses. If you’re a wall-watcher, this is the perfect restaurant to roam around to catch all the amusing details in framed photographs, cartoons, and historical documents from the Prohibition era.
Potato Pancakes and Shrimp Bruschetta
Bavarian Pretzels, Fish Tacos, Crispy Calamari, and house-made Motzy Sticks are appetizers that are equally tasty in their own way. The Potato Pancakes are excellent every time, arriving in threes in their own iron skillet, a cozy touch that syncs perfectly with the warm atmosphere. They’re old-fashioned cake-style, made of shredded potatoes plus just a touch of onions, pan-fried, and served with an addictive dip of green onion crema (diced green onions, cream cheese, sour cream, and pepper).
Another first-class appetizer is the Shrimp Bruschetta. But you won’t be able to wrap your head around it until you actually order it, and it’s such a great starter to share with fellow diners. Unlike most bruschetta that comes pre-made sitting on top of toasts, this delights with Chef’s homemade bread sliced and toasted, set to the side of a warm, aromatic sauce containing luscious shrimp, sliced soft cherry tomatoes in all colors (red, yellow, orange), onions and herbs. Dropped on top is cool, fresh arugula. Diners load shrimp and goodies onto the toasts, add a fragrant bunch of arugula to take a bite that explodes with flavor, then follow up by dipping breads into this incredibly magical potion, soaking up juicy goodness till it fills every nook and cranny.
Bum’s Rush also features charming soups, especially a Seafood Bisque and an utterly satisfying Creamy Tomato Bisque served with Cheddar Toasts that take you back to grandma’s kitchen as a child — in the days when tomato soup was paired with grilled cheese. Nostalgia galore.
Salad lovers will find nothing but freshness, as ingredients are largely purchased locally from farms, so offerings vary by season. Nonetheless, even a salad is never just a salad when it comes to the care and attention to taste of Bum’s Rush.
Double Smoked Pork “Wings” and Jambalaya
Can pigs fly? Well, these Double Smoked Pork “Wings” definitely do. What an outstanding invention! They’re the Charles Lindbergh of the restaurant world. While this place absolutely makes scrumptious chicken wings with all the perfection you’d expect, there’s also this amazing entrée where — as Chef Carla explains — the meat is pulled down to the bottom of the bone, double smoked, and then deep-fried. Finally, “it’s tossed in our own barbecue sauce.” And that’s no casual everyday BBQ: That sauce is a culmination of many variations of flavors until she got it “just right” — with the help of hundreds of tasters, everyone from high-falutin’ foodies to nursing home residents.
The supple pork meat falls off the bone, fully flavor-engaged with the sweet-tangy, crispy “wing” edges all darkened by barbecue. Homemade creamy cole slaw is a perfect side, plus French fries made from scratch with locally sourced Anderson farm potatoes, peel and all.
The Jambalaya — an original recipe — hits every high note there is. It’s multi-colored, a visual joy to behold even before you dive wholeheartedly into the shrimp, smoked sausage, steak, variously hued peppers, onions, tomato, herbs, and spices that heat your blood in the nicest of ways. The shrimp shines through as it should, punctuated by smokiness from the sausage, while filet bites resonate with all the melding flavors in a harmonic experience. The stew’s consistency is silky. Doubtless Jambalaya will always be on the menu, by sheer popular demand.
The Bum's Rush Restaurant & Pub
655 Route 61, Orwigsburg
570.366.3881
Hours:
Wed: 5-10pm
Th & Fri: 11am-9pm
Sat: Noon-10pm
