dining
ROBERT GORDON
GOLDEN PHEASANT INN IN 1986, MY WIFE AND I wrote about Golden Pheasant Inn, our first restaurant piece for Delaware Valley Magazine. The Chef-owner, Michel Faure, has since retired and passed the business along to his daughters, Brittany, Briar and Blake, whom I remember vividly as personable, energetic, savvy teens back in the day. Tempus fugit. These days, Blake, along with Chef Jon Ramsay, shoulders the culinary chores—daunting because of her father’s legacy. Brittany manages the daily operations, and Briar oversees the accounting. The Golden Pheasant was closed for renovations for several months in 2012. It opened with brio earlier this year. The bar, the dining rooms, and the six rooms in the Inn were modernized and the dining terrace was extended. Throughout, the handsome colonial exposed fieldstone walls with deep windowsills remain, bestowing an august and inviting atmosphere. Alfresco dining is available along the front of the Inn, where diners enjoy a lovely vista over the Delaware, and behind the Inn, which sides the historic and picturesque Delaware Canal. A leafy canopy shelters both venues, each of which has a practically perfect dining ambiance. Chef Blake’s culinary prowess owes not only to her lineage, but also to a degree from Cordon Bleu in Pasadena—a degree her kitchen mate Jon also earned. The duo riffs on French cuisine in dynamic contemporary ways, from über-charged salads, heaped with toasted almonds, dried cranberries, toasted sunflower seeds to vegetable strudel brimming with local seasonal vegetables. At $16, the Inn’s charcuterie plate surpasses any I've found in the region. In addition to numerous slices of pork jowls and shaved chicken prosciutto, the plate bulges with chicken liver mousse and a house-made apricot and pistachio-studded pheasant pâté. A pair of mustards and chutney, along with asparagus stalks, cornichons, and caperberry leaf accompanies, while a scrumptious pot of pesto caps off the feast. Smoked pork jowl and sautéed local wild-foraged morels distinguish Fernbrook Farm Mixed Kale Salad composed with curly green and red Russian kale. A half-dozen shimmering discs of free-range eggs spritzed with tarragon Dijon mustard vinaigrette dressing form an appetizing dome with visual appeal. Plump Maine Day Boat Scallops, seared to a pepper-speckled crisp nestle in celeriac purée. Gently roasted baby carrots luxuriating in lemon thyme yuzu white wine sauce make an ideal accompaniment. Coupons of roasted duck breast splashed with an ambrosial apricot, ginger, rum reduction, are rimmed with a succulent pad of fat. The duck levitates over a mound of nutty wild rice infused with thyme—and the two pear, brie and almond phyllo rolls that accompany the dish take it deliciously over the top. The pear, brie and almond phyllo roll is emblematic of Golden Pheasant Inn cuisine. They compose dishes with elements that are somewhat unexpected or deviate from the classics that have nary a hint of forced quirkiness or contrivance. In contrast, such culinary strokes elevate familiar dishes from delicious to memorable. As for desserts, the honey lavender ice cream is the finest I had all year. The Linzer torte is light, lively, and bright. Michel Faure boosted regional cuisine substantially during his distinguished career. His daughters are doing the same. Almost 30 years after the launch of the Golden Pheasant Inn, in a region where quality eateries now abound, few others can match it for superb dining. ■ Golden Pheasant Inn, 763 River Rd. (Rte 32), Erwinna, PA (610) 294-9595 .goldenpheasant.com Email comments and suggestions to r.gordon33@verizon.net
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