My spouse and I dined at the Glasbern for a late lunch on
Easter Sunday in late March 2016. The Glasbern’s main restaurant is open for
dinner daily. (Breakfast is available for guests of the Inn only.) The Inn also
operates a less formal Pub, but we are unsure of those opening times or whether
non-hotel guests can dine there currently. (We ate in the Pub a few years ago
as non-hotel guests on a Friday night.) We have eaten at the Glasbern several
times over the past 15+ years.
The Glasbern Inn is a bed and breakfast located in
Fogelsville, easily accessible from Routes 22/78 yet in a beautiful country
setting that seems far from the urban sprawl. The property spans 150 acres and
includes many different lodging options in various types of buildings, a fine
dining restaurant and a more casual pub, walking trails, meeting rooms/event
spaces, a spa and fitness center, and an outdoor pool. This review details our
dining experience in the main restaurant/dining room, which features 28-foot
cathedral ceilings, rustic fieldstone walls, and exposed original beams. Dining
is available at tables or at two-person booths. A private dining room is
available adjacent to the main dining area.
On Easter Sunday, the restaurant was serving only a 4-course
prix fixe menu for $75 per person (which included gratuity). Generally, we do
not care for set menus, but when we read the regular menu on the restaurant’s
website, the offerings and prices were similar to the prix fixe menu, so we did
not feel as if we were sacrificing choice or quality to dine from their holiday
menu. The menu offered four options for each course. As our first course, we
chose the foie gras and chicken liver (which was served in a ramekin as a
mousse topped with geleed fruit and microgreens, accompanied by two thick
slices of toasted bread) and the cheese plate (which included four generous
slices of different cheeses, along with some raisin walnut bread, toasted
candied pecans, red grape halves, and cranberry pieces). As our second courses,
we chose the Glasbern salad (which included crumbled bleu cheese, Granny Smith
apple slices, and candied walnuts) and the grits (topped with pulled pork
shoulder and accompanied by a soft-boiled egg; however, the egg yolk was a bit
overcooked because, when we broke it, it did not “ooze” onto the grits and pork
as probably intended). As entrees, we ordered the duck breast (accompanied by
fingerling potatoes, blood oranges, and a vegetable medley) and the halibut
(served atop cous cous and fava beans). The plating of the duck breast was
amazingly beautiful and artistic, but we did not see those same flourishes with
any other dishes or courses. For dessert, we ordered the bread pudding (served
with a scoop of ice cream) and the carrot cake (two layers with a cream cheese
icing studded with crumbled pistachio nuts). As we perused the menu, our server
delivered a basket with two kinds of bread, which we dipped into olive oil that
contained two kinds of salt, some garlic paste/spread, and a tiny sprig of
rosemary.
We had a good holiday meal at the Glasbern; the food was
tasty and the service was attentive, and the atmosphere of the property and the
main dining are lovely and special.
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