Meet you at the treehouse ... and other dining spots of note

Sunday News

Jul 19, 2009 00:06 EST

By STEPHEN KOPFINGER, Staff Writer

Editor's note: "On Your Plate" is an occasional series designed to sate the local appetite for newsworthy tidbits that relate to the local food-service industry.

"Welcome to Sherwood, my lady!" Erroll Flynn once said when he played the dashing outlaw hero Robin Hood. These days, Hood — and Flynn — would no doubt appreciate the setting at Loxley's, the new restaurant in Heritage Hotel Lancaster, Centerville Road.

Once the Sherwood Knoll, Loxley's — its name harks to Robin Hood's formal moniker: Robin of Loxley — the new space seats about 200 inside and another 200 outside in a spacious two-level patio and deck area. This "outdoor dining experience," as director of food and beverage Kenneth Painter calls it, features a stone courtyard with fireplace, a covered bar in the round, steps and an elevator that lead to a treehouse-like second level — complete with a tree that soars through an open railed well. Small, private dining rooms, which also resemble treehouses, are available.

The Merrie England theme continues inside, where there's a second round bar and illuminated walls suggesting that patrons are enjoying a drink deep in the woods. The rest of the interior is separated into several dining spaces, all hallmarked by rustic woodwork.

The extensive menu includes the Heritage Signature Crab Cake, named for the attached Heritage Hotel, which is owned by the same group that runs the Heritage Hills Golf Resort & Conference Center, York County.

A large selection of salads, steak dishes, burgers, sliders, paninis and sandwiches is also available; the pride of the dessert menu is the restaurant's Chocolate Glacé, Painter noted. While the menu ranges from casual to upscale, its pedigree is strictly first class: Executive Chef Omar Sy spent seven years at the famed restaurant Jean-Louis at Washington D.C.'s Watergate Hotel.

In the spirit of Robin Hood, who gave to the poor, Loxley's has a Legend Continues Charity Program, which donates 5 percent of food sales to one of three charities selected by customers; the first to participate are The Second Mile, Hope International and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Hours are 6:30 a.m.-midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Call 800-223-8963.

Grand 'Grille'
Years ago, when anyone ate in Watt & Shand, burgers, milkshakes and "Texas Tommy" hot dogs were staples on the menu.

These days, it's more like martinis, organic half-chicken and crab at the Penn Square Grille, the signature restaurant housed in the new Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square. It's in what used to be the old Watt & Shand department store in the heart of downtown.

The Grille pays homage to nearby Central Market by incorporating Lancaster County produce, noted Chef Bob Rothfus.

Local products such as Long's horseradish are featured in the whipped potatoes that accompany the Roasted Free Range Half Chicken dinner, which features poultry from locally based Eberly Farms. Other notable dishes include an East Coast take on the classic San Francisco Cioppino seafood stew and the colorful Maryland Crab Three Way, a crab cake plated with soft-shell meat and summer crab salad.

And there's also a nod to the building's past as a department store; the bar area is called the "Rendezvous Lounge," in honor of the old Rendezvous restaurant in Watt & Shand. The beverage selection is a little more adult than milkshakes, with a full beer, wine and cocktail selection available. Outside, the Rendezvous name is proudly emblazoned over the former store's corner entrance.

Also on the Penn Square Grille menu, a burger and an ice cream sundae are named for Watt & Shand. Hours are 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. daily The 92-seat restaurant has an additional 12-seat private dining room. Call 239-1600.

'Chickpea' chic
The room is small, but the menu is big at Chickpeas Café, a bright and cheerful space tucked into the rear of the Lancaster Jewish Community Center, 2120 Oregon Pike, near the JCC pool.

Plus, almost everything on that menu is good for you — it's mostly vegetarian and dairy-free.

Samantha Besnoff, director of the JCC, and restaurant owner Gina D'Ambrusio said the cafe is open to the center's members and Besnoff said, "we're opened up to the entire community."

The selections include salads, including the colorful house signature chickpea salad; wraps; "grillers" on crusty bread; hummus and black bean "Dippa-Bowls," create-your-own pan pizzas; a children's menu, snacks, ice cream and smoothies made with fresh fruit. "The black wrap and the hummus wrap — those are pretty popular," D'Ambrusio noted.

Hours are 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and noon-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The cafe is closed Thursdays. Call 569-1614.

No prunes!
What's in a name? Its weight in gold if it's catchy.

The Fractured Prune opened last month in a renovated but long-empty space at North Queen and Walnut streets. Its craft-your-own-doughnut theme — "You create 'em. We make 'em" is the Fractured Prune's motto — adds a touch of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" whimsy to the Ocean City, Md.-based franchise (see video at http://LancasterOnline.com).

"We had a lot of people waiting for us to open in Lancaster," owner Chris Fulvio said, noting the shop's previous location in Elizabethtown.

The Fractured Prune serves breakfast sandwiches and deli sandwiches all day, but it's the doughnuts that have folks lining up at the counter. All doughnuts start with a yellow-cake base; patrons then select their own glazes, toppings and sugars. All doughnuts are hand-dipped and served hot. Specialty doughnuts are also available.

Oh, and about that name. Seems the original store in Ocean City was named for a beloved town character, a sprightly 19th-century septinuagenarian named Prunella Shriek. Prunella enjoyed sports, and suffered many an injured limb as a result. The townspeople began to refer to her as "Fractured Prunella," according to the company's Web site, http://FracturedPrune.com. Thus, a name was born.

Hours are 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday; 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Call 517-7113.

The corner (wine) bar
The bright downtown corner space, with its big windows overlooking Central Market, has been a sushi bar and a deli.

Now, the space at the top of the stairs at Carr's Restaurant, Market and Grant streets, is a wine bar.

Located at the end of the arcade in the historic Hager building, Crush Wine Bar seats about 20 people in an intimate loungelike setting. The space shares a vestibule with the entrance to Carr's Restaurant, located in the lower level of the building.

Crush features about 20 wines by the glass; there are plans to have half-glass selections available, as well.

There will also be "a dozen higher-end beers and absinthe," said owner Tim Carr, whose restaurant started selling the latter earlier this year. A small menu will offer items "you can eat with a cocktail fork," Carr said.

Call 299-7090.

'Green' scene
"We believe in nourishing ourselves without starving our planet," is the mission statement at the Green Man Café , 106 W. Orange St. Patrons won't starve, either, at the eco-friendly dining spot.

The breakfast-and-lunch menu features omelettes ("from 'cage free' eggs," the menu notes), breakfast sandwiches, healthy fare such as fresh fruit cups and yogurt parfaits, soups, express lunches, deli salads, sandwiches, paninis, smoothies, subs and a coffee selection.

Hours are 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Call 295-4443.

Also new:
The former Silk City Diner, Stevens, has been reincarnated as Kyma Seafood Grill, which opened at the end of June at 1640 N. Reading Road.

The new restaurant, pronounced KEY-ma, is owned by brothers Nick and George Barakos; they also operate the popular Johnny's Steakhouse downstairs on the premises. Hours are 4-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 4-10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon-9 p.m. Sunday. Call 335-3833.

• The former Restaurant at Doneckers, 333 N. State St., Ephrata, is now Anita's at Doneckers. Featuring American cuisine with a French influence, the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Call 738-9501.

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Stephen Kopfinger is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact him at skopfinger@lnpnews.com or at 291-8799.