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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