‘Beers to you’ at Iron Hill
Chef Eddie Ebright of Lower ChiChester, has been with the company for seven years. He makes sure that Iron Hill is not just known for their award-winning beers …
by LEN LEAR
I would certainly never claim to be a beer expert or even a beer aficionado, but one thing that has mystified me for years is how any human being with a palate could routinely drink some of these terrible liquid products on the market masquerading as beer, such as Bud Light or Coors Light. After all, would you go to a restaurant and order instant potatoes or instant coffee? Does this stuff even qualify as food? Granted, this faux food may not have many calories, but neither does dirt, and dirt at least comes from nature, not a chemistry lab, and contains real minerals.
Beer tastes best when it is fresh and not when it is infiltrated with multi-syllabic Latin-named chemicals and not when it sits for months in a warehouse or on a shelf 2,000 or 3,000 miles away from where it was made.
This is the reason for the explosive popularity of brewpubs, which generally sell beer they have made from scratch on the premises. And one of the best is the Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant at 1460 Bethlehem Pike in North Wales, about five or 10 minutes from Chestnut Hill, at the end of the Route 309 Expressway. (There are four other Iron Hill locations in Media, West Chester, Wilmington and Newark, Delaware. There will soon be another one in Phoenixville, and the company is exploring possible center city locations.)
Water Tower instructor to open music school in area
Mickey Leone with one of his students, Matt Hoffman.
by GAIL COHEN
A new music school will be opening in Oreland this October. SoundStage School of Music will occupy the schoolhouse on the property of St. Philip’s in the Field Church at the corner of Oreland Mill Road and Lorraine Avenue. The school offers private instruction and group sessions on a variety of instruments including piano and keyboard, guitar and bass, violin and other strings, voice, choir and musical theater, woodwinds, brass, drums and more. All students are welcome, from beginner to advanced, pre-schoolers to senior citizens. Any style of music can be studied from classical to rock.
In addition to private lessons, SoundStage offers ensemble classes for those who wish to work with other musicians. According to co-director Mickey Leone, 53, who was born and raised in Flourtown, “We really believe that it is important for musicians to learn to play together. It is really the best way to develop discipline for rhythm and listening skills.”
Leone, a graduate of Springfield Township High School, La Salle College and Chestnut Hill College (master’s degree in psychological counseling), has been teaching music for over 25 years. As the director of the guitar school at the Water Tower in Chestnut Hill for nine years, he has taught hundreds of students of all ages and abilities. His partner in the SoundStage School project is Geoff Hansplant, a fellow musician and longtime friend.
Wow, some terrific tomatoes now in lower Chestnut Hill
by PAT STOKES
It’s Saturday morning, and we’re in a locale of current interest and maybe a little controversy. You might guess where: the intersection of Winston Road and Mermaid Lane. On this particular day, Winston Road has indeed been closed off, not just for traffic improvement or whatever, but to allow space for some Lancaster County farmers to set up their stands for one day in order to offer some mighty fine home-grown vegetables for sale. It may be stretching a point, perhaps, but I find it interesting that since part of the produce on sale here is organic in nature, we have on this spot another subject of debate, the relative value of organic food, and we’ll make some points about that further along.
As a longtime health nut myself, I find it a delight to see the farm trucks lined up on the intersection, the simple utilitarian card tables holding baskets of brightly colored veggies, and the big white umbrellas bravely keeping off the sun, if not the heat.
The first tables, at left, are owned by Daryl Rineer, who explains that all of the produce at his stand comes from family farms in and around Marticville, Lancaster County. Daryl is assisted today by his grandmother, Gloria, and sometimes by his wife, Kate. The vegetables are not organic, but are grown without pesticides. The basket of peppers should really be captured in oil by a local artist. Their colors are not only red and green, but yellow, orange and even purple, looking very natural, each with an individual appearance and personality. There is also sweet corn, watermelon, zucchini, string beans, tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant. The farmers who produce them are part of an organization called the Pennsylvania Farmers’ Market Natural Produce.
Pastorius Park concerts set attendance record
BELL RINGS AT OSAKA: The Walter Bell Trio, led by Chestnut Hill resident Walter Bell (on flute) performed at Osaka, the Japanese restaurant at 8605 Germantown Ave., on August 12. They will play at Osaka again on Monday, September 12, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Owner/chef Harrison Kim said, “We were delighted at the turnout. People in this area obviously like live music. We did 97 ‘covers’ that night.” Bell, who has performed all over the world, recently released his 9th CD, Live at Sedona. For more information, call 215-242-4084. There is free off-street parking in the rear of the restaurant. (Photo by Stephen Cameron)
By MICHAEL CARUSO
The 2005 season of concerts in Chestnut Hill’s Pastorius Park went out in a blaze of glory last Wednesday evening. Not only was the weather glorious, but the broadly diverse and deeply satisfying programming changes introduced several seasons ago bore their fullest fruition this year. The series’ previous record attendance, achieved only last year, was 6,200. The final concert, featuring Luvpark, contributed to a new milestone of approximately 8,000 attendees for the summer season, a record worthy of pride on the part of everyone concerned.
And what a perfect way to end the season! Luvpark proffered some of the most sophisticated yet invigorating music making I heard all summer long in the park. The group — which didn’t quite faithfully follow its printed program of selections or even its precise roster of personnel — performed music that can generally be described as jazz fusion. However, it was characterized by such a distinctive summation of styles and traditions that no single fashion stood out. The end result was astounding.
For instance, guest vocalist JD Walter displayed a talent for scat singing that rivals the best in jazz history. His rhythmic subtlety, his expansive range, his excellent pitch and his ability to manipulate the timbre and tone of his voice as it was projected into the microphone sounded like an entire band backing another singer.
