The Pub at Wegmans Collegeville, PA: Rethink your lunch Strategy

So who goes to a grocery store to eat lunch? You’re thinking “I might go to buy lunch, but I’m not hanging around.” If that grocery store is Wegmans, then you might consider grocery store as lunch hot spot.

The Pub at Wegmans is a new concept in what a grocery store can be. With the demise of Barnes & Noble as a place where people can go and hang out, I predict a new role for the grocery store – community hub. Wegmans already has a reputation for providing a place where folks can gather, from the celebrity chef events to family movie night, to meeting space to community rooms where folks can hang out and play Bridge. Wegmans understands that if they can get you to come to the store, you’ll find something to like and you’ll come back.

The Pub is just such a place. It has seating, just like a café; it has wait-staff just like a café; it has a seasonal menu, just like a café. The prices are on par with what you might pay in a high end café, this isn’t diner food. If you choose bar seating, you will be able to watch your food as it is prepared, which I like for many reasons. It is a little noisier than a traditional café, since you are in a grocery store, you’re aware of foot traffic.

On my first lunch visit, I ordered a slider plate consisting of a turkey burger, pulled pork and a lobster roll. I admit, I ordered this plate so I could try the lobster roll. Your choice of side is either the vegetable of the day or a Greek style salad. On my last two visits, I stuck with the lobster roll. Just enough lobster, just enough crunch, not too mayonnaise-y, served on a buttered, toasted roll. I also ordered the Greek style salad each time. I am looking forward to trying the naan pizza and the pasta features when the lobster roll goes off menu. While you may opt for a glass of wine or beer with your meal, I opted for desert, which features Wegmans desert products. They have a rotating seasonal pie, ice cream deserts, cake, and “adult” coffee drinks.

On the first visit, I opted for the chocolate cake. The cake was dense, moist and chocolaty. The frosting was creamy, not grainy and chocolaty. It was about the most perfect chocolate cake I have had in a long time, better than what I’ve tasted from stand-alone bakeries. On my next visit, I opted for the white cake. Again, the cake was dense, moist and flavored with vanilla. Not too sweet, as though it were trying to make up for being plain old white cake. The frosting was a white frosting, sweet and creamy, not grainy. All cake is served with a side of seasonal berries and a dollop of fresh whipped cream. On my last visit, I convinced my companion to go for the white cake, while I enjoyed a sundae. The sundae features Wegmans soft serve vanilla ice cream, which I believe is limited to certain stores. The only complaint I had is that there wasn’t enough fudge sauce…in my opinion, there is never enough fudge sauce…but that is the worst thing I could say about it.

The portion sizes are generous without being over-sized. The Pub menu also has calorie counts on its offerings, which is a blessing and a curse. If you’re watching your diet, it’s very helpful; if you’re eating because lunch the best thing that is going to happen to you that day, you may wish to ignore the calorie count or make an appropriate adjustment at the next meal time.

One awkward thing about the pub is the no-tipping policy. I’m so programmed to tip, that it does feel a little strange not to do so. My understanding is that if you feel compelled to tip, it goes into a pool and all the servers share it.

So rethink your lunch strategy. The Pub at Wegmans offers a set menu, plus seasonal dishes and adult beverages. There is a Pub in Collegeville and Malvern, PA. Check your Wegmans website for additional locations.

Desert in June

The Parc Bistro is a gem of a restaurant in Skippack, PA. Its French-inspired cuisine is enhanced by fresh, local produce. On this day in June, we enjoyed strawberry shortcake with local, organic strawberries from Willow Creek Orchards in Collegeville, PA. Following this lunch, I visited the farm store and purchased a pint of the most delicious strawberries - devoured that night. They also had some lovely baked goods.
I highly recommend both!

Lansdale Farmer's Market is a Success!

Ringing in the new farmer's market! Looking forward to next summer.

Soft Shell Crabs at Yantze Gourmet

Over the Memorial Day holiday, Mr. Scholar and I tried a few new restaurants and visited a few old favorites. Yantze Gourmet restaurant in Lansdale is a little gem located in a strip mall, as most things are these days. But that's no reason to turn your nose up. Good food can be found anywhere if you are willing to look and be adventurous.

One of the nice touches at Yantze is that the owner comes to every table, welcomes you and tells you what the specials are. On this day, the special was soft shell crabs in a spicy brown sauce served with fried rice and steamed vegetables. “Soft shell crabs are not for everyone and they are only in season for a short time,” she said. “But if you like soft shell crabs, you will like ours.”

Usually I order off the menu just because everything they serve is wonderful. But today, I wanted something novel. Soft shell crabs, I thought to myself. They remind me of spring weekends in Connecticut with my parents on one of my father's boat hunting expeditions. I am accustomed to crabs that are sauteed and served on toast points or deep fried and slapped on some kind of roll. I had not eaten crab in years, mostly because of a squeamishness developed over the last few years. (Who can say why?) But if I could actually get over the notion of eating moulting crab, I was willing to trust my palate to the chef at Yantze.

The crabs were lovely. I was rewarded with slightly crunchy, sweet, tangy, spicy taste. Every few bites or so, I would remind myself that I was eating crabs in their most vulnerable state and I would wonder if I was going to be able to finish the dinner. But prevail I did. The vegetables that accompanied the crabs were not exotic, but they were perfectly steamed and provided a nice foil to they spicy main dish. Alas, I was too full for the fried rice. It was yet another lovely meal.