Golden Pheasant
by Sue Gordon
Tom Wolfe is definitely wrong: you can go home again, at least in a culinary sense. After more than two decades of eating our way around Bucks County and beyond, my husband, Bob, and I had come full circle: back to the site of our very first dining column, the Golden Pheasant Inn. More significantly, this was the restaurant that allowed us to believe, way back in 1986, that the same meticulously-prepared, deeply flavored dishes we had enjoyed during our travels in France, actually existed closer to our home.
The Golden Pheasant is the quintessential Bucks County Inn, nestled between the poetic expanse of the Delaware River and the quiet beauty of the Delaware Canal. The sturdy fieldstone structure, built in 1857 as a stopover for canal bargeman and other travelers, is on the National Registry of Historic Places. The property has been in continuous operation as a restaurant/inn since 1811; but its reputation as a destination for fine dining was planted in 1986 when Chef Michel Faure, born and trained in France, and his American wife, Barbara, bought the property. The couple set about recreating the food and ambience reminiscent of the finest French country inns. For the next two decades, the Golden Pheasant's kitchen offered guests a true taste of the old country: elegant entrees, perfect sauces, gorgeous cheeses, sumptuous desserts.
However, managing a country inn with an upscale restaurant is an intense, demanding vocation; there comes a point in every chef's life, when it's time to hang up the toque. Fortunately, when that happened to Michel Faure, he didn't have to worry about choosing his successor: the couple's youngest daughter, Blake, a classically trained (Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena) and highly experienced chef in her own right was waiting in the wings. In 2006, Blake along with her partner and fellow chef Jon Ramsay became co-executive chefs at the Inn and soon revamped the menu to reflect the freshness and vitality of the best New American cuisine.
Two other Faure daughters, Briar Faure Mewbourne and Brittany Faure Booz, took over all aspects of management outside the kitchen. The three dynamic sisters worked together to oversee the inn's elegant 2012 facelift that lightened up the interior, created a more luxurious dining experience and upgraded the inn's four guest rooms with modern amenities.
The Golden Pheasant's menu makes it abundantly clear that the chefs are passionate about locally sourced ingredients to imbue each dish with the brightest flavors and textures. That's why the arugula in the picture-perfect Swallow Hill Farm Arugula Greens and Marolda Farms Beet salad was extra crisp and crunchy; and the Fernbrook Farm Mixed Kale Salad (an updated version of a traditional spinach salad with bacon dressing) had a marvelous bite which was accented with earthy sautéed wild morels, crispy pork jowl lardons and a tangy tarragon dressing.
Chefs Blake and Jon have retained enough of the previous menu's traditional French essence to truly set their food apart from some other very good restaurants along the river. Standout starters include a fork-tender House Smoked Rainbow Trout filet served with piquant giant caper berries, pickled asparagus and with a creamy horseradish sauce (Kelchner's, of course); and a rich Duck Confit with lentil salad. The duck leg, sauced with a honey orange demi-glace is gorgeous, but the soft, tangy lentils that literally melt in your mouth, steal the show. However, if you are a fan of artisan charcuterie, the Golden Pheasant's plate will blow you away. The assortment we tasted included a moist house-made pheasant pȃté studded with pistachios; a dense, earthy head cheese with sea salt; delicate shaved chicken prosciutto and a luscious chicken liver mousse; served with the appropriate accompaniments and grilled bread.
The entrée offerings are nicely balanced between fish and meat, and once again the French accents are clearly visible. The Joe Jurgielewicz & Sons Roasted Duck Breast arrived tableside perfectly rare, as requested, nestled on a bed of wild rice fragrant with fresh thyme. Delicate Maine Day Boat Scallops were quickly pan seared to seal in their natural sweetness, then paired with a velvety celeriac puree and tender roasted Phillips Farm baby carrots. An intense, buttery lemon dill sauce studded with capers turned my mild Alaskan Halibut into a decadent guilty pleasure. The firm snowy white fish was served with roasted cauliflower, singed golden brown and a nutty pilaf of farro berries, for an extraordinary combination of tastes and textures. Every bite of my husband's superb Braised Rack of Lamb, exuded the flavors of salty, smoky bacon and minced shallots used in the braising sauce. The rack was separated into four chops and served atop roasted fingerling potatoes with tender crisp stalks of sweet asparagus: a superb preparation that echoes the flavors of the renowned lamb raised in the salt meadows of Lower Normandy in the shadow of Mount St. Michel.
The Inn draws on other star local purveyors to round out their menu: perfect breads come from Crossroads Bakery in Doylestown; the outrageously good ice cream hails from Oh Wow Cow in nearby Ottsville; and most of the cheeses offered on the seasonal cheese plate come from farms in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. My favorite among those I selected as a final course came from the Old Chatham Sheepherding Company (NY): the Ewe's Blue, a luscious Roquefort-style cheese and a sheep's milk Camembert with a silky texture and buttery taste. My husband ended his dinner with a slice of house-made Linzer tart served with a scoop of the aforementioned Oh Wow Cow ice cream.
There is no doubt in my mind that 27 years after our first Golden Pheasant meal, the food, atmosphere and gracious service have only improved with age. I hope our friends and readers are saying the same thing about us.
The Golden Pheasant Inn is located 763 River Road (Route 32), Erwinna, PA: 610-294-9595; www.goldenpheasant.com. Dinner: Wed.–Sat. from 5:30 p.m., Sun. from 3:30 p.m.; Sunday Brunch, 11a.m.–3 p.m. All major credit cards. Reservations.