Macungie: Savory Grill at the Seisholtzille Hotel (March 2016)



My spouse and I ate lunch at the Savory Grille on a Sunday afternoon in mid-March 2016. We have dined at the Savory Grill at least once or twice per year since it opened in 1997. (We would dine there more often, but the location is a bit remote, and the meals are elaborate and pricey – but SO worth it – which makes it feel like more of a special occasion type of place.) The restaurant is open for dinner Wednesdays through Sundays, and is also open for lunch on Sundays (starting at 1:00 pm). The restaurant accepts reservations by telephone only.

The Savory Grille is located on a country road near Macungie and the Bear Creek Resort in the historic Seisholtzville Hotel (which dates back to the 1800s). The restaurant is owned and run by (husband and wife) chefs Shawn and Dorothy Doyle. (Chef Shawn worked at area restaurants like the Spice of Life, the Cascade Lodge, Hotel Bethlehem, and the Brookside Country Club, whereas Chef Dorothy graduated from the CIA and worked at the Manor House.) The restaurant offers two spaces in which to dine: the original dining room and the newer Arbor Room. The original dining room has a glass door that provides a glimpse into the sparkling clean kitchen. It features oak chairs and tables of varying sizes as well as an antique oak bar that seats about six guests. The Arbor Room, a newer addition to the historic property (along with the newish entrance area), has high ceilings, a stone wall, and large windows that can be opened in nice weather.

The Savory Grille serves excellent continental cuisine. The chefs make all of their own sauces, seasonings, breads, and dressings. For appetizers, we ordered the lamb bangers and mash (in a nod to St Patrick’s Day that week) and the pork cheeks (served atop parsnip puree and garnished with granny apple slivers). As entrees, we chose the scallops and the buffalo strip steak. The tasty scallops were accompanied by gnudi (gnocchi-like dumplings made with ricotta cheese instead of potatoes), and the delicious steak by citrusy smashed sweet potatoes. Both entrees were served with an amazing selection of freshly cooked vegetables, including shredded carrots, bok choy, broccoli rabe, spinach, and either tiny bundles or French green beans or asparagus. All meals come with what our waitress called a “simple green salad”, although we thought that it was much more than that, with crispy taro root strips on top, mung beans spread around the greens, and homemade salad dressings (our choice of three dressings including chipotle, ginger, and creamy; the dressing descriptions from our waitress were much more comprehensive than mine!). We also received a yummy amuse bouche from the chef, which consisted of a dollop of chick pea hummus (perhaps roasted red pepper due to the color) with tortilla chips. The restaurant also delivers two types of house-made bread to your table (which were [traditional] white and [very unusual] chocolate on the day that we dined). The desserts all sounded amazing, so we chose to share the coconut cream pie, the contents of which was a bit more pudding-like and could have used more coconut for our taste, but it was nicely designed and delivered in a tiny homemade pie crust and accompanied by bruleed bananas (which also lined the bottom of the pie) and fresh whipped cream, along with a drizzle of caramel.

As always, our food and the service at the Savory Grill was outstanding, and as always, we walk away asking ourselves why we don’t splurge and treat ourselves more frequently to a terrific meal at this fantastic restaurant.




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