Marsha Brown
by Frank Quattrone
Some say that dining at Marsha Brown’s Creole Kitchen & Lounge is nearly a sacred experience. But let’s not take the word “sacred” too seriously. Don’t get me wrong. The restaurant’s cuisine is truly that good. And the service is impeccable. But the setting is remarkable.
Imagine dining in a beautiful church built in 1874. For that’s where, sixteen years ago, Marsha Brown (yes, there is a real person so named—a warm, sophisticated lady with roots firmly planted in New Orleans) chose to open her refined Creole Kitchen & Lounge—at the site of New Hope’s shuttered United Methodist Church.
But unlike a church, the decibel level at this elegant restaurant is entirely worldly, with pockets of chatter and outbursts of laughter from all corners of the 160-seat main dining room, as guests celebrate their special occasion. Sometimes they are simply recording their awe at Russian artist Valeriy Belenikin’s Redemption, the fifty-foot-tall mural gracing the back wall where the altar once stood. It’s a stunning modernization of the familiar legend, captured so vividly by several Renaissance artists, of St. George slaying the dragon, with lions replacing the mythical beast and somewhat less saintly men on the hunt.
There’s a great view of Redemption from the choir loft tables, but Eve and I were fortunate enough to be seated behind the communion rail on the altar, just below the mural. No matter. Wherever you sit (stained glass windows and antique furnishings abound), your experience at Marsha Brown’s will create, as General Manager Wendy Kelly puts it so modestly, “Memories.” She and Executive Chef David Wall, working in tandem at virtually every aspect of the business, admit that Marsha Brown is “a special occasion restaurant. Yet it’s packed every day. Often the children of our earliest patrons return as adults to create even more memories.”
Kelly describes the cuisine as “classical French, like a steak and seafood house with Creole influence.” The restaurant’s signature dish, inspired by Marsha’s own mother, is Eggplant Ophelia, a shrimp and crabmeat casserole topped with grilled eggplant and baked till golden brown and garnished with a Creole butter sauce. As delightful as that sounds, since Eve and I had enjoyed the casserole at an earlier visit, we tried some new dishes. For starters, from Marsha Brown’s Raw Bar (a perennial favorite here), I had some exceptionally fresh Emerald Cove and Blue Point Oysters, as Eve enjoyed her Lollipop Lamb Chops with mint jelly.
These we followed with two wonderful salads. Eve ordered the Fresh Beet Salad, with marinated beets atop a hillock of baby spinach, fresh orange slices and goat cheese in a balsamic vinaigrette, while I reveled in my Prosciutto Salad, with baby spinach, fig, and bleu cheese tossed in a fig vinaigrette atop prosciutto di Parma.
As we awaited our entrées, longtime server Jack Shire, a fixture at the restaurant since its first year, regaled us with stories about the mural, the menu, and Marsha Brown’s approach to its customers. “The secret,” he said, “is to treat your guests the way you want to be treated. That’s why so many of our regulars request the same server, whether they come for bachelorette or birthday parties, or just to enjoy a great meal.” Jack reminded us of the excellent servers we met in Europe—warm, personable, well-informed, and totally proud of their chosen profession.
Although the 20-ounce, bone-in Cowboy Ribeye, the Chalmette Scallops (sautéed atop New Orleans-style pork bacon and greens), and the chef’s personal favorite, Crawfish Étouffée (Louisiana crawfish smothered in a blanket of chopped veggies, served with rice) caught our fancy, we were delighted with our choice of two other entrées. Eve enjoyed the moist, aromatic Atlantic Salmon and Shrimp, pan seared in the restaurant’s signature barbecue butter atop Romano grits. Reminiscent of a similar dish I enjoyed in the Crescent City less than two years ago was Marsha Brown’s zesty Jambalaya, a magnificent bowl of crabmeat, shrimp, duck, and andouille sausage in a dark southern roux blended with peppers, onions, and rice. When Jack brought the dish to our table, he said, “Use your spoon. It’s like eating love.”
And so it goes at Marsha Brown’s. Even our house-made desserts — Eve enjoyed the “24K” Carrot Cake (“worth its weight in gold” the menu promises), while I had a totally satisfying Bread Pudding — created memories and gave us more reasons to return.
Executive Chef David Wall has been gracing the kitchens of countless steakhouses and award-winning restaurants (including Trenton’s acclaimed Lorenzo’s) for nearly thirty-five years, and G.M. Wendy Kelly, a graduate of the California Culinary Academy, has been intimately involved in the restaurant business for eighteen years. Like every member of her staff, the worldly Marsha Brown has taken them to New Orleans to sample the amazing Creole flavors and heady environment of her hometown, so that they can create an authentic New Orleans experience that her guests will never forget.
Marsha Brown Restaurant is located at 15 South Main Street, New Hope, PA 18938; 215-862-7044; www.marshabrownrestaurant.com. Open for lunch daily, 11:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Dinner is served Monday – Thursday, 5 - 10 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 5 – 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 4:30 – 9:30 p.m. Full-service bar. Available for catering, private parties, takeout. Reservations highly recommended, especially weekends.
