Earl’s Bucks County - A Truly Local Eatery

As spring fades into summer, many of us have watched our own small gardens begin to flourish. With hopes of award-winning tomatoes and corn sweet enough to rival the local farmers’, we each bring a little bit of Bucks County’s rich agricultural legacy into our own backyards. Last month, a small garden with hopes of something much bigger was planted behind Earl’s in Peddler’s Village.

The garden marks the beginning of an evolution for a restaurant with an already sterling culinary reputation. Earl’s Prime, with a menu once geared towards the traditional high-end steak house, reopened in February as Earl’s Bucks County, an establishment that showcases their new philosophy. “We want to keep it simple,” says executive chef Chris Tavares. “Let the food and ingredients speak for themselves.”

The recipe for a complete restaurant makeover is a time-consuming one. For the dedicated team behind the transformation at Earl’s Bucks County, however, the conversion was a personal passion. Last summer, the director of restaurants at Peddler’s Village, Jim Perillo, and Earl’s general manager, David Zuckerman, started looking toward local farms. Having both worked together extensively on the West Coast, they knew the value of keeping their ingredients as local and fresh as possible. Soon, the duo was in contact with several farms in the area. Blooming Glen Farm, None Such Farm, Branch Creek Farm, Solebury Orchards and Oak Grove Mills are just a few of the local businesses now providing the restaurant with their fresh ingredients, including produce, meat, fish and dairy.

Zuckerman, a member of the Bucks County Foodshed Alliance, is an active participant in the local farm-market scene. “Earl’s Bucks County is committed to supporting our local farms and local food shed and providing the best seasonal and sustainable foods for our guests,” he says. “Our menus will change with the rhythm of the seasons as we strive to bring food from farm to table.” Tavares adds, “We will be changing our menu four to five times a year. Of course, we will be keeping certain staple items, but the menu will reflect what is available to us.”

What happens when you enroll such top-of-the-line resources and pull them into a single kitchen? A dynamic and inventive menu that ranges from tapas and small plates to sandwiches and large plates, offering patrons a bevy of dining options. The small plates include the salt-roasted beets with petite greens and a warmed walnut-encrusted medallion of local goat cheese from nearby Ashley Farms. A water- cress puree finishes the dish gracefully. Another favorite is the tempura Ahi tuna roll. The tartare-style tuna and spicy Asian micro greens, from Blue Moon Acres in Buckingham, are accompanied by a ponzu dipping sauce. From the large plates, the grilled salmon should not be missed. Cooked to perfection, the fillet is nestled atop a minestrone ragout with a basil emulsion and cured-olive tapenade.

Earl’s Bucks County features an all-day menu with a selection of affordable choices, meaning a burger as a quick lunch or as an entrée at dinner is always an option. “Smaller” customers are always welcome as well. A new kids’ menu is posted on the back of an Etch-A-Sketch. But no matter what you order or at what time of day, save room. All desserts are made on premises. The individual pineapple upside-down cake with sour cherries is the perfect finish to a savory meal.

The vast detail of the menu extends to the wine list as well. Earl’s Bucks County was recently awarded the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 2010, a distinction reserved for restaurants whose wine selections reflect variety, expertise and the correct pairings for both their clientele and food. Further affording their patrons more options, Earl’s highlights a variety of area wines and offers local wine pours for guests to try the vintages produced at nearby vineyards. The restaurant also offers a Tuesday BYOB night, featuring no corkage fee and 25 percent off a bottle if you decide to order in house.

On the weekend, enjoy live music every Friday and Saturday night in the expanded lounge/dining area with the only communal table in Bucks County. The restaurant’s dining rooms have been redesigned with natural elements in warm earth tones for a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere with local artists’ work adorning the walls. Sit down to Earl’s extensive Sunday brunch served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the bar features four types of Bloody Marys along with fresh-squeezed blood- orange mimosas.

Although it may never be able to solely fulfill the needs of this bustling restaurant, that simple little garden in the back stands as a testament to all the farmers, chefs and staff who truly care about making your next experience at Earl’s Bucks County an exceptionally big one.

Go online at http://peddlersvillage.com/dining/earlsprime.htm