September 14, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Penn Valley: fine dining at neighborhood pub prices
by LEN LEAR

Penn Valley Pub owners David and Jeannine Hamilton are proud of their executive chef, Frank Sugo, 43, who helped win the “Best Pub on the Main Line” designation in a Main Line Times’ readers’ poll.

For many years the Mainliner Pub at 863 Montgomery Ave. in Narberth was the quintessential neighborhood tavern. A shot and a beer, meatball and steak sandwiches, a cigarette haze, men so exercised in debate over sports teams that they’d begin to sweat like a hot dog on the grille; such a thick crowd at the bar, you felt like a crouton in a Caesar salad. Discussions about inner feelings as welcome as large insects. In other words, a clone of a million other testosterone-laced bars where many flavors of pie-in-the-sky are served.

But oh, what a difference a century makes (or at least a change of centuries). In March of 1999, as the last millennium was shrinking to a close, the Mainliner Pub sign came down. (As the former editor of the Mainliner News, which was sold in 1995 and morphed into Main Line Life, I guess the word “Mainliner” was just a 20th century word that’s not even worth a sip of beer anymore.)

A new sign was hoisted, announcing the birth of The Pub of Penn Valley (about 20 minutes from Chestnut Hill). But the sign was not the only thing that changed. Today’s menu bears as much resemblance to the old Mainliner Pub menus as a diamond ring does to the six of diamonds.

Instead of a hoagie or South Philly cheesesteak or spaghetti and meat balls, you now have a choice of baby rack of lamb with a rosemary demi-glaze; calves liver sautéed with onions in a sweet vermouth demi-glaze; sautéed chicken with fresh plum tomatoes and capers in a lemon wine sauce; one-half of a semi-boneless duck with a blackberry brandy sauce, etc. And no Tastykakes for dessert.

This is sophisticated downtown cuisine, but all entrees are under $20. This is why every seat in the dining room and at the bar was filled on a Thursday in August when many nearby restaurants were half-full at best. A half-hour wait, at least, for a table on a weekend night is not unusual. The restaurant can seat 47 (including five booths) and 18 more at the bar.

“We know that people in this area are sophisticated diners,” explained owner David Hamilton, 43, a native of Sligo, Ireland, who previously worked for 16 years in the food and beverage departments at three Atlantic City casino-hotels. “So we did not see any reason why we could not serve fine food in addition to the drinks that people normally go to pubs for.” The gamble has obviously paid dividends. The Pub of Penn Valley has repeatedly been named “Best Pub on the Main Line” in the annual poll taken of the Main Line Times’ readers.

Dinner starts with sensuous, complimentary roasted peppers. An appetizer of the day, pan-seared scallops, was absolutely sublime in a glorious smoked paprika cream sauce ($10). My entree, another daily special, was a delicate grilled butterfish from Hawaii exploding with sweet flavor and bathing in a subtle dijon scallion sauce ($18). My wife’s barbecued spare ribs ($17) were awesome and very tender. Two friends had calves liver ($14) and rack of lamb ($17), respectively, which both raved about.

There are several good, reasonably priced wines by-the-glass, such as the Piesporter Reisling Spatlese ($7) and Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay ($8.50). A homemade coconut rum cake was a disappointment while a homemade lemon meringue cheesecake was moist, creamy and delicious. The after-dinner coffee we had was awful, with a metallic taste. We kept adding sugar and cream, but it did not help. Service was excellent.

The Pub of Penn Valley recently went non-smoking until later in the evening (about 9 or 10 p.m.) when they have trivia contests. I was told that several of the customers who play trivia games would not come if they were not allowed to smoke. Apparently they have to fill a minimum daily requirement of tar and nicotine for the trivia part of their brain to function at maximum capacity. I don’t understand it, but I am not a brain specialist.

The Pub of Penn Valley has a parking lot in the rear of the restaurant. They are open for lunch Monday through Saturday (almost all lunch entrees are under $10) and for dinner seven days a week. They also do lots of takeout and private catering. For more information, call 610-664-1901 or visit www.pubofpv.