Terrain Garden Café
Concordville Town Centre
914 Baltimore Pike (Route 1/322)
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
(610) 459-6030
www.shopterrain.com/glen-mills-restaurant
Terrain is a garden shop, outdoor living repository, house & home emporium, and gift boutique all rolled into one. Oh, yes… and it’s a damn good restaurant as well. Tucked away in a converted greenhouse and sporting rustic wood tables & chairs, Ball Mason Jar water glasses, a plethoric variety of assorted greenery, and ultra-romantic lighting, the Terrain Garden Café exudes atmosphere aplenty – especially when the sun goes down.
But this eatery is infinitely more than ambiance. Terrain’s kitchen celebrates both the cycle of the seasons and bounty of the land by crafting menus from hand-selected produce, meats and dairy products supplied by local farms.
In addition, just recently the restaurant celebrated a new partnership with the Vetri family of restaurants. Founded by Chef Marc Vetri, who opened his critically-acclaimed eponymous eatery in 1998, his group has expanded to include several more restaurants, as well as the Vetri Community Partnership (formerly known as the Vetri Foundation for Children).
And the new association has already begun to impact the menu in the form of a superb variation on the kitchen’s house-made gnocchi theme. This particular version features spring onions, wild mushroom ragù, and an incredibly addictively splash of parmesan cream. The real story, though, is told by the diminutive dumplings themselves. They are, to employ an overused adjective, ethereal. As light as air, they literally melt in your mouth. Trust me, this is one dish that is worth a journey.
But this kitchen also has other tricks up its sleeve, as it is equally adept at meat, fish, or fowl. The lamb shank, for example, is nothing short of a benchmark effort. The meat is fall-off-the-bone tender, rich & succulent, aided and abetted by a superb natural jus. A creamy parsnip mash and perfectly prepared broccolini add to the festivities with strong supporting roles. A tremendous “Wow” factor here… If you are at all carnivorously inclined, Terrain’s lamb shank is simply not to be missed.
Matters piscatorial, however, are also deftly handled. Of special note are the recently sampled pan-roasted trout filets. Trout is a member of the salmon family; however, it lacks the pink coloring and robust taste that salmon acquires from a crustacean-rich diet. But trout has its own unique earthy and – some would say – “trouty” flavor that stands up well to a variety of savory accompaniments.
Terrain’s kitchen presents the filets skin side up on a bed of watercress. The dish is consummated with a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts and artistic squiggles of spinach purée. Trout filets are quite thin & delicate of countenance and frequently prone to the deleterious effects of overcooking. Here, however, they are perfectly prepared, moist & flaky, and easily separated from their skin. And the embellishments are just enough to caress rather than smother the object of their affections.
Chicken au torchon is another interesting menu item. Au torchon is a French phrase utilized to describe a specific cooking technique. A torchon is a cloth – cheesecloth, pudding cloth, or clean kitchen towel – in which a food item is wrapped and tied securely with kitchen string. It then might be marinated, or poached, or both. Handling a food item in this manner both shapes the food and also stops the fat from leaking out during poaching.
Terran’s take on the chicken torchon is really a type of roulade. The breasts are pounded thin, spread with a filling of chicken sausage, and rolled into a spiral. This is placed in a type of cloth container to hold its shape, roasted, and then cut into discs for serving. The final presentation (as you note from the photograph) also includes a foundation of vegetable herb bread pudding, smattering of pistachios, and a very nice pan jus. Unique and enjoyable… unfortunately the chicken was quite dry.
Among the starters, three are standouts. The first is the baby gem salad… and it is certainly well named. Pristine romaine hearts are companioned by fried chickpeas, pickled baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, sweet potato wedges, and freshly sliced avocado. Quite a diverse – and rather odd – combo of ingredients… but it works. An absolutely marvelous contrast of colors, tastes, and textures. It is, however, the elegant – and decidedly zippy – smear of avocado vinaigrette that brings all the elements together in a seamless gastronomic gestalt. A presentation that is as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate.
The house-made ricotta is another exceedingly tasty and equally picturesque appetizer. A more-than-generous portion of ricotta is whipped up to a smooth-as-silk consistency, splashed with olive oil and presented with a tangle of fresh arugula, red onion, and delightfully crunchy crostini (small Italian toasts). This is one of those incredible dishes that grabs you by the taste buds and just won’t let go. So just keep slathering and go with the flow. And don’t forget to take the remnants home, as they’ll be just as good the following day.
My final recommendation is perfect for sharing, either as an appetizer or side. This is the kitchen’s utterly addictive macaroni & cheese skillet. It’s loaded with chunks of ham, cheddar cheese, and topped with herbed breadcrumbs… Oh, yes, and cream. Lots of cream. This dish is an artery clogger, no question about it. And it’s bound to wreak havoc with your waistline as well as your next cholesterol test… But every once in a while it’s fun to say “what the hell” and throw caution to the wind. And this delicious caloric nightmare is definitely worth that long fall off the Weight Watchers wagon.
If you still have room, the kitchen also does a superb job in the sweet endings department, including an artisanal cheese selection from local Doe Run Farms.
The Neufchâtel cheesecake, for example, is quite good. Neufchâtel is a soft, slightly crumbly, mold-ripened cheese made in the Neufchâtel-en-Bray region of Normandy. One of the oldest cheeses in France, its production is believed to date back to the 6th century. The consistency of the cheesecake, as you would expect, is rich & creamy and nearly identical to those made with cream cheese – and perfectly complemented by gingersnap crumbles and a sauce of orange zest – only with 1/3 less fat content. But after slugging down that mac & cheese concoction, who’s really counting? I love cheesecake. On the other hand, even after that great sales pitch, I’d still probably give my nod to the almond tart (pictured). Perfect crust and a dollop of honey ice cream laced with olive oil for good measure.
Terrain Garden Café is one of those sweet little gems that’s well worth discovering. In a desert of glitz & glitter and industrial chic that seems to characterize restaurant décor of late, it is a charmingly rustic ambient oasis. The food is top-of-the-line, the service friendly & knowledgeable and, given the quality of the cuisine, prices are quite reasonable. And the fact that you may BYOB is an added bonus that also eases the strain on your wallet. Not only that, you can also do a little home/garden shopping before settling in at table.
Bon Appétit!
TAD
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