March 24, 2008
By: Ken Alan
kalan@aroundphilly.com
Blue Bell may very well be the perfect Delaware Valley town. One: It's upscale. Two: Those pockets of rolling be-mansioned Piedmont hills. Three: Great shopping.
Good schools, a clean environment and safety make the fourth, fifth and sixth reason why this place is so relative. Even the name, Blue Bell, is so melodic, so chime-y. That’s seven.
Good restaurants are the eighth way in which this Montgomery County suburb is so special. In it are such notables as the venerable Blue Bell Inn, my favorite under-75 seat Montco star, Alison at Blue Bell, and Trinacria, that fine Sicilian along Route 202.
And there’s Coleman at Normandy Farm, the most visually stunning of all, a well-funded operation which possesses the region’s most recognizable chef and WHYY star Jim Coleman. These combinations create dynamic potentials.
The 75-acre manicured estate that makes up Normandy Farm Hotel and Conference center is on the National Registry of Historic Places. The original horse and cow barn date back to 1875, housing the oldest working barns and (three) silos in the state. They are now jaw-droppingly renovated, comprising part of the 22,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces (a fave of brides-to-be), with 141 well-appointed guest rooms, luxurious new carriage house rooms, and the Coleman Restaurant.
The grand property is easily recognizable – just look for the imposing whitewashed stucco-covered stone wall surrounding it.
That outside architectural aspect is also its core interior one; Normandy Farm stands strong, castle-like even, thanks to those two feet of contiguous massive stone walls holding it all up. The environs look Britannica circa late 1900’s with touches of Spain, Italy and Morocco incorporated into the motif. Exquisite deep burgundy-colored Oriental carpets run along solid oaken floors. Oak is enveloping here; rafters, furniture and that welcoming sturdy bar. European and early-American style artwork are ensconced in thick, curly-cued wooden frames which paint idyllic scenes throughout the windowless restaurant. Tapestries suspend in the dining room, in three courtly private rooms, and in the bar.
The stately enclave looks like it belongs in Cinderella’s Castle, sans Mickey and his brood of course. A gas fireplace and the glow of amber hues from hanging Moorish chandeliers cast a regal air.
A recent Friday-night crowd was mainly comprised of very stylishly dressed groups of 35 to 55 year-olds enjoying a night without the kids. At the bar, lots of very attractive locals were enjoying one of the area’s happiest hours.
Jim Coleman is one of my favorite live ingredients in a large local pot of area chefs. From his days stoking in Treetops at The Rittenhouse to his thousands of hours on “A Chef’s Table,” Jim has always been a boundless advocator of putting food and people together. That’s what Normandy Farm developers Hanson Properties have invested in. “Coleman” means business.
I recall my first visit there, a dinner sometime in 2003. Chef was there and I remember his focus was on regional cuisine and local farms and producers at the time. This was a few years before chefs were locavores, and prior to that word becoming an actual one in Webster’s. Pork, beef and fowl came from Lancaster County. Lehigh Valley produce covered the menu. I think I had a Pennsylvania Brook Trout that night.
Jim still makes executive decisions though it’s chef Ed Hancock who runs the nightly show at Coleman. He has helped meld the menu from local into a regional American one, with a few area nods here (Philadelphia cheesesteak rolls) and there (the trout’s still on the menu).
The rest of the fare is far from esoteric: New England clam chowder, though thin, was full of minced flavor; the wedge was as crisply traditional as it gets; and a fun-food chicken quesadilla was tasty. More interesting was a dining partner’s Thai pork salad with micro-thin soba and ginger peanut dressing in a crispy noodle bowl.
Entrees, too, show restraint (steak, chops, seafood, pasta) but the quality of meats and substantial sauces are flavorful inducements. A quality filet mignon was made even more flavorful with the help of a red wine reduction. A hearty lemon roasted chicken and sweet sausage with spring vegetables and pine nuts over pappardelle possessed an evident JC-inspired Southern touch. And what was the perfect pork chop, locally raised and expertly grilled, had a light tinge of charred, smoky flavor plus lots of mustard and herb reduction drippings. Outstanding!
The kitchen talent doesn’t stop with the food line. Pastry chef Colleen Winston is one to watch. Her chocolate espresso dome with mocha chip ice cream and the white chocolate key lime triangles with raspberry coulis are meal-capping winners.
A word about the service that night doesn’t do our waiter, Andrew, justice.
He is a young man who knows the standards of the business and he carries them off accurately and in a friendly (but not too, too) fashion. The rest of the dining room staff we encountered was all-pro as well.
Menu prices, for the most part, are Blue Bell prices. You wouldn’t expect much less.
Yet Hanson Properties has alluring promotional ideas they inject to create value for your potential visit. Half-priced bottles of wine on Friday nights (a Stephen Vincent cab for just $17.50!), “Parents-Night-Out” once a month (child care on site for kids ages four to 12), and a plethora of cooking classes (some with Jim) help to turn this dramatic stunner into more reasons why it is a culinary destination. That you can make it an overnighter is another, as well.
Look for menu changes soon: smaller and medium plate offerings and a bigger bar menu. The food has some complexity, yet it could use an infusion of “The Now”/offer more creativity/let Chef Hancock go a little wild.
As we left, driving past the old stone edifices, I ruminated how that white wall will be here long after I’m gone. Then we headed east past picket fences, by Blue Bell Golf Club, and finally, a McDonald’s.
I guess we were no longer in Blue Bell anymore.
