Get thee to the country! South of Reading, near Morgantown, where the land shifts from city to suburbs to farm, are rolling hills and grassy farmlands with black cattle grazing, multicolored wildflowers blooming, and all sorts of natural herbs — from dill to tarragon — sunbathing into peak flavor.
If you are already a fan of “frocal” — i.e., fresh and locally sourced foods — The Restaurant at Wyebrook Farm beckons. The air is clean; the views are classically American country.
Diners choose to eat inside the enormous stone-walled dining room or outdoors on a patio full of picnic tables and shade umbrellas. From any table you can see a sweeping vista with a tranquil pond and cattails, birds flying in and out of the martin house (natural bug control), deciduous trees, and full sky.
Though you’ll be served your cold water and Wyebrook’s oh-so-refreshing, Grandma-must’ve-made-this lemonade in mason jars, that’s pretty much where the country kitchen ends. Linen napkins and wine glasses (for those who’ve brought their own spirits), a gourmet “changing weekly” menu featuring only what’s truly in season, and an attentive, professional wait staff signify a rustically refined ambiance for a distinctive dinner experience.
The chef behind this farm-to-table venue is none other than renowned Executive Chef Andrew Wood of the restaurant Russet in Philadelphia. While Wyebrook Farm particularly prides itself on its fine meats — with on-site butchering — the menu reflects masterfully individualized attention to every single ingredient used to create salads and soups, appetizers, pasta, entrees and desserts.
Wild Ramp Ravioli
Close-to-Earth Ingredients
The Creamy Jerusalem Artichoke soup is pure joy in its lush texture and distinctive flavor — musky and “smoky” (in the way that only artichoke lovers truly understand — and so it must be tried if it’s on the menu when you go). The garnish sprinkled in the soup’s center is complicated and truly unique, with a chew-crunch-zing delivered by toasted wheat berries, chervil oil, teeny-tiny potato chips and spring garlic. A homemade sourdough bread completes this course.
During beet season, a special deepest-red variety of this sweet root serves as the main draw of the Roasted Bull’s Blood Beet Salad. Again, a complex assortment of engaging flavors enhances this salad of mostly baby green leafies, from garden to plate, lovely stems and all; tangy buttermilk dressing; vociferous yellow mustard seed in a sweet-sour beet “ketchup”; and occasional hints of newly-picked mint leaves.
The Local Artisanal Cheese Plate is a menu regular, with featured cheeses varying weekly as Wyebrook highlights the magnificent cheeses made by its neighbors. On a recent evening, the platter held Millwood Bleu Cheese from Millwood Springs, Lancaster; soft, pungent, creamy cheese known as Barn Owl from Doe Run Dairy, Coatesville; and Doe Run’s medium-hard cheddar, St. Malachi. The latter cheese, 100 percent from Jersey cows, will win your heart as you pair it with crostini (by Rocco: “He makes the best bread in town”) or honey and crisp Gala apples, thinly sliced for maximum juiciness and taste. Bleu cheese lovers may find themselves buying some Millwood on their way out the door, for this cheese rivals the best of imported brands. It’s simply stunning with a mini-cube of homemade Cranberry Apple Jelly.
Ravioli and other pasta creations are always unique. In spring, Wild Ramp Ravioli proves both elegant and delicate, a dish where every bite counts. (Consider pairing it with an older white wine.) The soft, handmade ravioli pockets sit together in a close cluster while charred lengths of wild ramps, cousins to the leek, are strewn across the top like brush-strokes from a Japanese calligrapher — where the ink is made by a bold, dark, aged balsamic. The toasted nuttiness of pistachio crumbles as garnish creates textural contrast to the smooth dough of the ravioli.
Other vegetables receive their loving due in such dishes as Hand-cut Tagliatelle, made with woodland jewel mushrooms, roasted onion, thyme and rich cream. The Woodland Jewel Mushroom Pot Pie is a vegetarian treat, filled with cabbage, potato, roasted shallots, and rutabaga, topped with caraway crust and a coddled egg.
Smoked Beef Shoulder
Topnotch Beef
If you love meat, definitely try a beef dish. The Smoked Beef Shoulder entree is probably the most satisfying, full-flavored beef treatment in a 200-mile radius. It’s cooked with the fat in for extra flavor, so you simply pull that aside with a fork (you won’t need the knife — it’s so incredibly tender) and enjoy. The richly savory beef is tempered by an up-front Tuscan kale, while a tan, silky sea of gently bitter rutabaga swirls on the plate for dipping. Wyebrook’s charred carrots are — for the record — out of this world. Think how delicious carrots become when they stick to the bottom of a roast pan: that flavor plus charring plus a soak in beefy juices.
Final treat: Chocolate Stout Cake and its thick ganache frosting. Or dip a spoon into lusciously gelled Honey Panna Cotta.
By Marian Frances Wolbers | Photos by Heidi Reuter
