John V.R. Bull wrote his first restaurant review for The Inquirer in the summer of 1973.
After 1,800 Dining Out columns, you might expect that the possibilities of restaurants to sample might have been exhausted. To the contrary, Bull has four bulging files of restaurants he has yet to visit, and more restaurants keep opening.
Many of our best restaurants are in the Pennsylvania suburbs, a circumstance reflected in Bull's personal list of the best dining places in Delaware County.
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Although much of the hoopla over Philadelphia's vaunted restaurant renaissance has focused on Center City, some of the region's best restaurants are out in the suburbs: Indeed, several Delaware County restaurants would easily top anyone's list of best dining spots.
Dining in Delaware County has always been special, thanks partly to the large number of places romantically nestled along the creeks and hills of the beautiful countryside and partly to the number of places that have superb chefs.
Many of the best restaurants in Delaware County have been around for many years. What follows is a baker's dozen of my favorites, ranked according to preference.
1. CRIER IN THE COUNTRY, Route 1, Glen Mills, has both stunning atmosphere and stunning cuisine. The restaurant was opened in 1983 by Ciro J. Iannucci in a lovely 1861 Federal-style mansion with high ceilings, white marble fireplaces with giant floral displays and recessed windows with lace curtains.
Restored parlors are decorated in Williamsburg style with classy wallpaper, framed portraits, huge gilt mirrors and graceful brass chandeliers with molded plaster ceiling footings.
The food matches the elegance of the decor. Good ways to begin a meal are with the day's bisque, a luscious soup, and Hot Mix. This sampler includes two cherrystone clams, one with a casino topping, the other with crab imperial; a plump oyster heaped with spinach and cheese in a bechamel sauce, and a crab- stuffed mushroom cap.
Rejoice if the day's pasta is ribbons of spinach, tomato and egg noodles in a delicate cream sauce sprinkled with green peas, prosciutto and crunchy snow peas. Roast duck glazed with Grand Marnier is a treat, as is lobster fra diavolo - lobster without its shell, served with onions atop angel hair pasta in a moderately spicy fresh tomato sauce.
2. PACE ONE, Glen Mills and Thornton Road, Thornton, is a comfortable, intimate restaurant in an old fieldstone barn that existed before the American Revolution.
