The Yardley Inn

by Frank Quattrone

In Tennyson’s great dramatic monologue “Ulysses,” the aging Greek hero addresses his mariners just before they embark upon their final journey beyond “the western stars.” He tells them “I am a part of all that I have met,” to assure them of his leadership and vision. Hopefully I’m not stretching the analogy too much by comparing The Yardley Inn’s executive chef, Robert McNally, to Ulysses. However, the youthful chef, 33, has devoted practically his entire life near or at the helm of the kitchen. In fact, he calls himself “the mariner of the kitchen.”

With family roots that encompass Irish, Italian, French, and a little German, Rob fondly recalls his boyhood years, cooking alongside his maternal grandmother, “making gravy for eight hours at a time.” He studied briefly at Philly’s Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College; but credits his culinary creativity to productive stints at The Salt House in New Hope, Southampton’s Blue Sage, Chambers 19 in Doylestown, his copious reading of The Flavor Bible, and his lifelong passion for experimenting with and presenting great food.

So it was that we sat down with great anticipation at the charming Yardley Inn, a Bucks County legend since its founding in 1832 along the east bank of the Delaware — especially when the extravagantly tattooed and effervescent chef offered to create a tasting menu for us.

As we awaited our first course, amiable sommelier Curtis Mackey and vivacious general manager Michele Mohollen, a fixture at the inn for thirty-three years, offered us a sampling of the restaurant’s fine wines. We especially enjoyed the Kreusch Riesling that served as a perfect complement to our meal.

The chef started us off with a generous Cheese Plate, with locally sourced blue cheese, aged Gouda, aged cheddar jack, aged pecorino, and Humboldt Fog brie, complemented by mustard apples and figs. Next, we enjoyed two items from the Small Plates menu — Saffron Arancini, Sicilian rice balls served with pesto aioli and an arugula salad, and Baby Roasted Beets, a mélange of red and yellow beets, roasted apple, feta, pistachio, honey, zaatar (an herbal spice mixture), pickled red onions, and fresh dill culled from his own working garden across from the inn.

After a refreshing Watermelon Salad, braced by feta, pickled onion, and kalamata olives in aged olive oil, we spoke for a time with Michele, as our chef and his trusty sous chef, Juan Sapon (a veteran of fifteen years at the inn), prepared our homemade pastas. Michele, who’s been in the business since she was twelve years old, told us that the venerable eatery is now co-owned by Dr. Eli Mordechai and Elka Devash, the chief creative officer of Genesis Hospitality, which also owns the Washington Crossing Inn and, most recently, Lambertville Station Restaurant & Inn.

Now came a special treat—samples of the chef’s three homemade pastas. The Crab Ravioli, in a bed of porchetta, baby heirloom tomatoes, and a blend of lemon, chili oil, and brown butter laced with cooked shrimp tails, was excellent. The Mushroom Cacio e Pepe, a traditional Roman cheese and pepper dish, was tastefully enhanced with toasted local shiitake and oyster mushrooms, truffle zest and peelings, toasted black pepper over fettuccine, sprinkled with aged pecorino, and was even better.

But the evening’s flavor sensation, and the chef’s second-favorite dish, was the Mexican Street Corn Cavatelli, an original creation featuring stripped kernels of corn in a street corn sauce, served with queso fresco, and tajin, a Mexican seasoning consisting of ground chiles, sea salt, and dehydrated lime juice over cavatelli, those delicious small pasta shells.

Next up, after a short break as we sipped our wine and enjoyed a scenic view of the patio and the Delaware from our cozy seats in the River Room, was the chef’s favorite menu item: Whole Roasted Branzino, with the “needles” thoughtfully removed, and served on a bed of braised tomato, fennel, and dill butter and topped with a fresh watercress, pickled onion, and radish salad. Wonderful! Our second- favorite dish of the evening.

We also had enough room left for two of the house-made desserts—Chocolate Cake drizzled with raspberry sauce and Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée. Other desserts are brought in from the Genesis Hospitality kitchens.

Needless to say, it was a most satisfying evening at a restaurant that has well-served both the local community and visitors from afar, for whom this is a dining destination. The Yardley Inn figures to continue its upward trajectory with Rob McNally, Juan Sapon (a veteran of Big Fish, P.F. Chang, and other restaurants), and a long-term, devoted kitchen staff working together in such harmony. Chef Rob says, “All my dishes are something I love. I learned long ago never to serve anything you wouldn’t serve to your own grandmother. And with Michele Mohollen to guide me and the autonomy to create innovative dinner specials on weekdays and weekends, this is the ideal place to be.

“For me, this is not just a job but a calling.” Remind anyone of Ulysses?

The Yardley Inn is located at East Afton & Delaware Avenues, 82 E. Afton Avenue, Yardley, PA 19067; 267-493-3800; www.yardleyinn.com. Open Monday–Thursday, 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Available for catered parties and events. Reservations recommended, especially weekends. Wine samplings first Monday each month; periodic wine dinners.