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Here you'll find new reviews every week of restaurants around the Main Line and Philadelphia. I am in search of restaurants with locally grown, organic food, and vegetarian options. There has been a surge of interest in organic and local farming and dining recently in the Philadelphia area. In September of 2010, I had the opportunity to see a pre-screening of the documentary 'Forks Over Knives' and the movie made such a profound impact on me, I have been vegetarian ever since. Finally we are becoming more conscious of where our food comes from. I know that there are restaurants and cafes out there that seek out local, organic, and sustainable farming, and I plan on visiting all of them, one at a time!







Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Styer's Garden Cafe




The thought of dining in a greenhouse sounded appealing. Spend a few hours browsing the plants at Terrain, and then sit down to a leisurely lunch in greenhouse. Who knew that two hours would just not be enough time? This place is amazing. Located across from Brinton Lake in Glen Mills, it's centrally located to just about everything. The shop is enormous. Terrain sells furniture, decorative items, plants, herbs and just about anything you can think of. It is owned by the same people who bring us Anthropology in Wayne. It was fun to browse the really unique pieces in there, even though prices were a little on the high end.
Mom and I went for a pre-Mother's Day brunch. Mom ordered a spritzer, and I just had water. I desperately wanted the Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, but it was not on the menu that day. Bummer. Our waiter brought out a little terra cotta planter, a mini Boule of White Bread baked neatly inside, some whipped butter infused with Thyme and Honey. Oh. My. It was pure heaven. Wow. Then a Salad of Baby Field Greens, Toasted Almonds, Goat cheese, Asparagus Tips, Spring Peas in a Lemon Vinaigrette. Even more amazing.
For lunch was a BLT with Applewood Bacon, Red Oak Lettuce, Tomato, Garlic Aioli, Petit Salad. It was quite possibly the best sandwich ever. Now, don't get me wrong, there were many vegetarian items on the menu, but this sounded so good, I had to have it, despite the bacon. I actually couldn't decide what to order. Everything sounded so good, I wanted it all. My mother ordered a Goat Cheese Gnocchi with Asparagus, some other spring veggies, a light cream pesto sauce. Though small, it was delicious. The gnocchi was handmade. The service was, by the way, flawless. I kick myself for not writing down the exact menu. I assumed it would be online. Since it's seasonal though, it does change day to day. Too bad because I will be craving that BLT for days to come. We finished with a Molten Chocolate Cake, which we should have skipped. It was definitely not up to par with the rest of the meal, and it sure wasn't molten. Lunch with a shared salad and dessert was around $60. Worth every penny.
The atmosphere was beautiful. You are dining in a giant terrarium, and luckily for us, we had a perfect day. It doesn't get any better than this.
Styer's Garden Cafe on Urbanspoon