Raven
by Frank D. Quattrone
The Raven takes flight evermore! I know you’ll forgive this allusion to Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous poem when you realize that Eddie Gerace, the original owner of New Hope’s popular celebration destination, named the Raven Resort in honor of Poe when he opened his establishment in 1979. Gerace was also an unabashed Anglophile who transported from the other side of the pond the stately bar now gracing the elegant Oak Room to help re-create the feel of a Victorian-era gentlemen’s club. The colorful rooms are bathed in the cool blues, burgundies, and hunter greens favored by British gentlemen’s clubs. During our first visit to The Raven, Bari Buiso, the charming director of finance and special events, described for us the remarkable versatility of the resort. Just two days earlier, in glorious mid-October, a wedding ceremony took place al fresco in the garden, an appealing dining spot from early spring to late fall. Following the ceremony, the wedding party took supper in the bright and airy main dining room, after which they enjoyed dancing, wedding cake, and an open bar in the Oak Room. Some guests then spent the night at the resort’s busy boutique hotel, where actors performing at the nearby Bucks County Playhouse often stay for the duration of the run.
Genial front-of-the-house manager Jack Flanagan, a mainstay at the resort for twenty-five years, explained that The Raven was originally established as the Brookmore, a roadside hotel, during the 1940s. In 1974, the Brookmore was purchased by new owners and redesigned as an LGBT destination called La Camp. It retained that identity even after Gerace took ownership in 1979, when he renamed it The Raven. Since then it has served the public in countless capacities—as an entertainment venue and now, as one of New Hope’s premier dining havens.
Executive Chef Larry Brown, a native of Chicago who graduated from the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan, brings a relaxed sophistication to the menu. Attuned to what he likes to call “a balance in flavors,” Brown favors seasonal cuisine, locally sourced, if possible, and revels in what he terms “the alchemy of the kitchen,” that magical blend of chefs and cooks whose passion for great taste and eye-popping presentations create a distinctive dining experience for their guests.
We knew precisely what he meant when he sent us his Autumn Harvest, a refreshing baby arugula salad laced with sliced pears, currants, goat cheese, candied pecans, and fresh bacon bits dressed with balsamic, and a tender Calamari appetizer, lightly breaded and fried, served with the house marinara sauce in a balsamic reduction with roasted peppers.
Our second course (we had three!) featured the longtime house specialty, Pâté Maison, a delectable chicken liver pâté served with red onion, tomato, grain mustard, chutney, and crostini; and the vegetarian Florentine, a wonderful new flatbread topped with spinach, ricotta, tomato, and mozzarella.
Eve and I were equally entranced with the trio of entrées we sampled. Eve ordered the Grilled Pork Tenderloin dinner special, served with roasted potatoes, caramelized onions, and haricots verts in a peppercorn garlic herb butter, while I enjoyed the pan-seared jumbo lump Crab Cake Remoulade, served with rice and seasonal vegetables. But the highlight of the evening was the eight-ounce center-cut Filet Mignon, served in a house au poivre sauce, complemented by seasoned mashed potatoes rising from a hollowed-out edible gourd topped by a homemade potato chip sail—as delightful to the taste as it was to the eye. The chef told us he couldn’t resist this playful autumn touch, something he has enjoyed doing during his twenty-three years’ experience in restaurants across the Mid-Atlantic region.
For our next visit, Chef Brown urged us to try another seasonal special, like his Cider Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, or one of his personal favorites on the menu—Braised Boneless Short Ribs, served with a red wine au jus, steak fries, and seasonal vegetable. Duly noted!
In lieu of dessert, we toured the sprawling complex—the cozy bush-cloistered patio (seating thirty-five for meals in season); the red-hued pool room (hosting pool tournaments every Monday); and the classic Oak Room, with its popular piano bar, where karaoke reigns each Sunday evening, where drag shows take place on the first and third Monday of the month, seasoned performers sing every Wednesday, Thursday, and Fridays evening, and an all-male revue unfolds late every Thursday night, with special shows (like Simply Barbra, coming around Christmas time) periodically.
The Raven is also hosting a four-course prix fixe dinner ($95 per person) on New Year’s Eve (reservations a must!), and boasts New Feathers, a monthly playwright reading series devoted to new works, co-produced by Mandee K. Hammerstein and featuring Princeton’s Witherspoon Circle, showcased in The Raven’s newly refurbished stage in the Oak Room.
From a variety of settings for special catered affairs (including the beautiful Cabana Bar and pool in season) to unique after-dark live entertainment to distinctive dining, The Raven has it all and does it all remarkably well.
The Raven is located at 385 West Bridge Street, New Hope, PA 18938; 215-862-2081; www.theravennewhope.com. Open daily. Lunch: Monday-Saturday, noon-3 p.m. Dinner: Monday-Saturday, 6 – 10 p.m., and Sunday, 5-10 p.m. Sunday Brunch: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Oak Room open Thursday-Sunday, 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Bar and lounge open daily, 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Raven Dance Hall open Friday and Saturday, 9 p.m.-2 p.m., and Sunday, 3 p.m.-2 a.m. Raven Pool Club open daily during season: Sunday-Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.- 1 a.m. Live entertainment virtually every night. Check website for details.
