Escape to Foodie Paradise at Bucks County Restaurant Week in Washington House Hotel
The Washington House Restaurant’s prix fixe menu tantalizes in its choices.
Story, photos by Sharon Kozden
“Going to a restaurant is one of my keenest pleasures. Meeting someplace with old and new friends, ordering wine, eating food, surrounded by strangers, I think is the core of what it means to live a civilized life.” –Adam Gopnik
I’m not sure why it took so long for Bucks County to establish a restaurant week comprising all of its towns. I’m just glad that 2018 was its inaugural year and that I was a part of it. Hopefully (and judging by what I tasted and witnessed), it’ll become a tradition for the ages. The event was held from April to May with three-course prix fixe menus ranging in price from $25 to $35.
Ever the curious early bird, I opted to attend on the first day. Fortunately, my restaurant choice from a list of more than 60 participating (from 20 different towns) establishments was an easy one. I had several times been an overnight guest at the Washington House Hotel as well as a concert attendee at their adjoining Sellersville Theatre (known at ST94), although I had yet to try the hotel’s lauded restaurant, hence my in-a-heartbeat decision to complete the triple threat I started back in the day.
To have such a trifecta gem, where one can dine, be entertained, then walk a short distance (basically through a small parking lot) back to bed down for the night sans Lyft or Uber-involvement is the Sellersville, PA gift that keeps on giving. And when each entity is quaint, charming and characteristically distinctive, it’s the equivalent of a gift arriving in a Tiffany blue box. Speaking of Lyft, Visit Bucks County joined forces with the company to provide all users a 25% off code-discounted single ride throughout the week.
Now that I’ve set the backstory, let’s talk grub, eats, dawgin’, foodie-feasting, piggin’ out, a gustatory gorge-fest and–for our refined readers – a dining experience par excellence.
On entering the restaurant, I was pleasantly greeted and promptly seated at a cozy table near a lace-curtained window. Cozy is a word that can be used often when describing hotel, restaurant and theater. The owners are very hands-on with fantastic attention to detail, often purchasing during their travels uniquely unique items that add even more charm and elegance to all three places.
My server Colleen welcomed me and soon delivered my cocktail of choice–a margarita. I prefer less salt than is typically found rimming most glasses; however, when I ask for less, I’m can barely detect and can easily count on two hands the number of sodium granules. This drink, however, was perfectly salt-rimmed and one of the better-tasting margaritas I’ve had.
My starter, the ordering of which I’d vacillated over for many minutes became, in the end, the best choice of the evening. I’m not comparing its excellence more favorably to the entrée and dessert; however, I’m not so much a soup person, so my nerves were shot when I heard myself definitively requesting the pea soup with lump crab. It was just one of those vibes about which I refused to change my mind, and thank goodness I did not. The soup was a buttery and cream-based balance of generous lumps of crabmeat folded into a semi-thick soup with delicate spring peas. This masterpiece disavowed all my previous notions of what is considered a pea soup.
I could have had seconds on the soup–maybe even made it a dessert as well and just call the meal en toto a classic Mr. Peabody threesome. But I saw the entrée, another vibe shouted, “Pick me! Me! Me!” The main course was a slow-braised beef short rib with leeks, baby turnips, French breakfast radishes and a blueberry demi-glace. With the bar set high after that memorable soup, my expectations were as towering as the hotel’s tower suite, and again, they were more than met. So silky and mouth-melting were the ribs set atop garlic mashed potatoes that I sighed audibly on first bite. The blend of vegetables were cooked just right, and all flavors married well under the sheer as the curtains topping of blueberry glace. No one ingredient clamored for center stage. It was a master team effort on part of the foodstuffs. Okay: allow me to give a smidge of credit to the chef. But I jest. He earned the lion’s share.
Just when I thought I couldn’t pack away another morsel (foodies always say that, only to not follow through and further indulge), along came the third and final selection of my three-course dining experience–the sweet spot, a.k.a. dessert and namely, chocolate oblivion torte with raspberry sauce. Take a gander at it in the photograph below. What presentation! Moreover, it was dense and fudgy with a dollop of rich cream and a swizzle of raspberry sauce. All was topped with a fine dusting of powdered sugar.
I spent the night sleeping fitfully in the comfort of a beautiful room with perfect body-contouring bedding and pillows to encourage the sweetest of dreams. A good meal always makes for me pleasant dreamscapes. On awakening and because I didn’t nip out into the living room at midnight on a goodie-jar raid, I was prepared to eat a small breakfast (included in the stay). Quite the spread awaited me. The owners leave nothing to chance and certainly know how to keep patrons and guests returning for more.
While I’d love to sample another restaurant during next year’s event, I wouldn’t be the least bit disappointed were I to return to the Washington House Hotel and Restaurant. That said, there are so many other places to visit–Bucks County is definitely a foodie haven, so I highly recommend boundary expansion. Let your bellies be your guide.
Hooray for Bucks County for hopping onboard the burgeoning restaurant weeks that are popping up more frequently and in more places. Nest time, I’ll tell you about the locale’s resident “ghost.” C’mon: with that kind of history, you know there had to have been some kind of sightings. Tee!
For more information, check out visitbuckscounty.com/restaurants/bucks-county-restaurant-week
The Washington House Hotel and Restaurant is formidably massive, stunningly majestic and architecturally imposing.
The Washington House is historically fascinating; its informative plaque deserves a read.
From left, co-owner Elayne Brick and Sharon Kozden reunite after having met on several previous occasions.
Cozy bar area booths are right up my alley. Between the booths are low-lighting exuding enveloping warmth, I’m one happy drinker. Proper lighting makes such a difference.
The lime wedge and cobalt-blue rim are a nice touch on what was a first-class Margarita.
The bar with simply gorgeous lighting fixtures. Elayne has a passion for said fixtures, and equally exquisite ones are located everywhere in the restaurant as well as in the hotel.
This wine glass, with its signature restaurant and hotel graphic resembling a frosty etching contains a top-notch brand of a 2016 California chardonnay.
My table was perfectly positioned near a window draped with delicate and pretty lace curtains.
I wasn’t sure about pea soup with lump crab being the correct choice–until one spoonful hit the spot. I hit a grand-slam with this starter.
Oh, the plentitude and chunkiness of lump crab with the spring peas and cream-based soup garnered an A+++.
Each area in the restaurant boasts a charming focal point. This painting’s warm lighting and heath and home farmland was an already stimulated appetite’s bonus stimulator.
My entrée: the slow braised beef short rib. And yes, both meat and vegetables all were mouth-melting.
The rounded seating, window and table invite a close-knit group. Something about the peek-a-boo lacy curtains lend both privacy and curiosity about what lies behind.
The picture is worth truly worth the price of, erm, admission … and calories. As if a chocolate torte with such presentation calorically matters. Dig in!
This restaurant radiates all manner of cozy privacy in all of its dining areas. Once settled in, who’d want to leave (had they not tickets to a show just next door)?
Elayne outdoes herself with this lighting-fixture purchase. A true gem. I couldn’t take my eyes or camera from it.
It’s almost as if my room was an extension of the restaurant in terms of a warmth and a welcome respite from the outside world. Heavenly sleep and sweet dreams awaited.
In the event you need a break from the confines of a room, nip out to this living room and hearth- and home-like area. Warm your bones near said hearth.
Elayne and her co-owner husband William Quigley have thought of everything, including always present water and some late-night or anytime snacks in the living room area.
The overnight stay at the hotel includes a complimentary breakfast, of which this photo shows a mere sample of many more tasty and nutritious foodstuffs with which to break the fast.
The tower suite provides an expansive view. Stay here when you want to indulge, as it is quite large and must be seen in its entirety to be fully appreciated.
Much like the hotel with its cozy nooks and crannies and privacy, the adjoining theater is a homey and smaller-scale venue, making the shows all the more special for its size. Wonderful artists are always a big draw. It’s like having exceptional talent in your own living room.
Theater façade beckons those fortunate enough to have found such a special venue. This interior is special in its own right. Check it out!
Descriptive plaque provides just the right amount of information to pique interest. I appreciate the backstory. For me, the show is enhanced by knowledge of the historical context.
