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Old World Ambiance, Innovative Selections
By: Carl Lavo — 01/15/2003
On a recent visit to New Hope, we skipped through a laundry list of local restaurants and quickly settled on The Landing for lunch. But since it was the noon hour, we wondered if we'd be able to squeeze in; it was the off-season, the outdoor terrace was closed and the restaurant can fill up quickly.
From a pay parking lot across town, the three of us made a dash for it and arrived just ahead of the standing-room-only crowd.
The Landing is wonderfully atmospheric, much like the dining rooms of a small pension somewhere in Switzerland. Heavy wooden beams dark paneling, and hanging lanterns give an intimate air to its cookie-cutter bar, flanked by two dining areas, one of which has a working fireplace and magnificent views of the Delaware River and the steel bridge connecting Lambertville and New Hope.
Set back from busy Main Street just above the bridge, the restaurant is completely surrounded by English gardens that preserve it from the frenzied pace of downtown New Hope.
Regional American cuisine is the calling card of a well-balanced menu that leans toward seafood but also offers beef, chicken, pork and ravioli. The epicurean menu featured such entrees as rabbit and veal sausage with apple-beet slaw and battered French Fries, and pork tenderloin Waldorf salad with sweet potato fries and pure maple syrup. A number of gourmet salads and appetizers complemented eight daily specialty entrees. More conventional fare such as charbroiled hamburgers, chili, and chef's pizza du jour are regular features as well.
The specialty menu changes often, depending on availability of ingredients.
We began with two great appetizers - Prosciutto, figs and melted brie on puff pastry with sour apples and toasted almonds with a cranberry-ginger coulis ($9.95), plus lobster, shrimp and chicken spring rolls with spinach and bell pepper, lemon-black truffle mayonnaise and Mandarin dipping sauce($10.95).
We gave enthusiastic marks to two of our three entrees.
Genevieve's pan-seared jumbo lump crab cake($12.95), garnished with pumpkin stuffed gnocchis, wild mushrooms, carmelized onion and butternut squash coulis, was outstanding. Also, earning major accolades was Mary Anne's pan-seared sea scallops($12.95)with roasted garlic mashed potato, marinated tomato and baby spinach in a white wine truffle oil.
My Panko-crusted breast of chicken on triangle crispina($9.95) was tasty with its watercress, tomato and parsley-shallot mayonnaise dressing and side of orzo-tomato-Feta salad. The crispina, however, is very dense, excessively filling bread. The thin Panko crust had a nice crunch to it while sealing in the moist flavor of the chicken.
Altogether, the bold menu of Executive Chef Joe McAtee was quite delightful. The service staff also was young, friendly and eager to please.
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