November 29, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Food at church-turned-restaurant is other-worldly
by LEN LEAR

Marsha relaxes in the dining room, resplendent with a huge mural and stained glass windows, in a building that was formerly a Methodist church.

Most area residents who travel to New Hope, a tourist mecca in central Bucks County, a 45-minute drive from Chestnut Hill, probably stay overnight in one of the many charming B & B’s in or near the historic village that is still largely untouched by fast-food outlets and national chain stores.

But Marsha Brown, a posh four-year-old restaurant at 15 S. Main St. in New Hope, is well worth a visit, even if you have to drive back home afterwards without staying at a B & B. That’s because it simply serves the best Creole food we have had outside of New Orleans, and the setting is spectacular.

Marsha Brown is situated in a building that is approximately 165 years old and was previously occupied by the Methodist Church of New Hope. There is seating on two floors and a balcony that is used for private parties. (We sat in the spot where the altar had been; there is jazz on Friday nights in the choir loft, and the hostess greets you where the pulpit stood.)

But you don’t have to pray in order to get other-worldly food, and even though you will no longer get a church service, you will get some of the best restaurant service east of Le Bec Fin (at least if Jack Shire is your server). And the many stained glass windows may inspire you to sing the praises of Epicurus, a Greek philosopher who I think also invented food, and Bacchus, the god of wine.

Dinner starts with a long, thin loaf of fresh bread served in a bag and accompanied by a soulful red bean dip. From a great but pricey cocktail list came a dynamite “Bellini-tini,” a sprightly combination of raspberry vodka, peach schnapps and champagne ($10), and a glass of Stag’s Leap Chardonnay that was fruity and oaky with a long finish ($11).

Lobster and shrimp bisque with cayenne pepper and sherry; and gumbo with chicken, andouille sausage, rice and cajun spices were both great starters at $5 a cup each. A crawfish spring roll was rather bland, but it was accompanied by a wonderful crawfish dressing, Mardi Gras slaw and excellent remoulade sauce ($8). Crawfish risotto was a revelation ($8), and a crabcake appetizer with herbs and a mustard remoulade had little or no filler but was overpriced at $18.

An entree of “Bourbon Street” sauteed catfish, lightly spiced and draped with a subtle seafood dressing ($24); and jambalaya, the New Orleans classic melange of crabmeat, shrimp, duck and andouille sausage, simmered for hours in a dark roux with peppers, onions and rice ($26), were both way too much for us to finish, very tasty and fairly priced.

Desserts — chocolate pecan pie with a custard-like filling, vanilla ice cream and pecan brittle ($7), and milk chocolate on crumbly pecan cookies with vanilla ice cream and pecan brittle ($6) — were both sinful enough to make one confess one’s culinary extravagances. (And fortunately, we were in a church, so we didn’t have to drive to one in order to confess.)

One of our pet peeves, even in many of the poshest contemporary restaurants, is loud background music and high-decibel acoustics. Mercifully, however, Marsha Brown had non-intrusive jazz music playing softly in the background, and we never heard one word of the conversations of nearby diners.

Marsha Brown, who owns the restaurant, is quite a story in her own right. A stunning scarlet-haired woman whose shock of curly tresses reminds me of an eagle in flight, owns a mansion called Millbrook in Bryn Mawr that is a virtual paean to opulence. The 13,000-square-foot, three-story palace was built in 1896 for the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad. (She also has a home in Lumberton, Bucks County.)

Entire articles could — and have — been written about the prodigious domicile, with its gargantuan fireplaces, baby grand piano, 35’ by 45’ ballroom, Louis XIV furniture, 400-year-old tapestries from France and Belgium, Grecian-style swimming pool, 800-square-foot kitchen and much more. A ceiling frieze of wild animals and bucolic beauty was restored by renowned artist Jacques Brunet, who spent more than one year on a scaffolding, like Michelangelo, to finish the masterpiece.

(A native of New Orleans, Marsha Brown got her start in the business with Ruth Fertel, who is truly a legend. Fertel was a divorced mother of two teenagers making less than $5,000 a year as a lab assistant at Tulane University in 1965. She decided to mortgage her house for $22,000 in order to buy a 60-seat restaurant called Chris’ Steakhouse near the New Orleans Fairgrounds Racetrack. The small eatery, Ruth’s Steak & Lobster House, became so successful that in 1976 Ruth sold the first franchise of Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse to a man in Baton Rouge. Today there are 106 franchises worldwide in the Ruth’s Chris empire, including 11 in other countries. Marsha Brown, who had worked for Ruth, opened a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse franchise 21 years ago in downtown Philadelphia, where it is still thriving, and she decided to open her own eponymous restaurant four years ago in New Hope.)

P.S.: Down the street from Marsha Brown is a store worth spending time in, even if you don’t buy anything. Called “Love Saves the Day” at the corner of Bridge and Main Streets, it is loaded with vintage goodies and funny memorabilia. For example, a big sign out front says: “You must be 18 years old to enter. Unattended children will be sold as slaves.” Another one inside said, “Everyone has problems. Mine are just a lot more important than yours.” And a customer inside wore a t-shirt with this message: “After they make Styrofoam, what do they ship it in?”

*****

On the way back from New Hope, about 10 or 15 minutes closer to Chestnut Hill, is a shopping center on Route 611 called Buckingham Green which contains a delightful BYOB with the whimsical name Just Eat by Brown Gold; the actual address is 4950 Old York Rd. in Buckingham.

Owner Marc BrownGold and his wife, Theresa, are a talented pair who offer lots of locally grown food and change their menu 10 times a year. Prices are quite reasonable, and every Sunday through Friday, and before 5:45 on Saturdays, Marc offers a complete three-course menu for $30. Since you can bring your own wine, this is a steal.

Some of the dishes we thoroughly enjoyed (from the regular menu) were the cheese plate (Manchego, Humboldt Fog and Cheddar) and the wild salmon entrée with lemon and dill. Very fresh and juicy. For more information, call 215-794-1818 or visit www.justeatbybrowngold.com.

For directions, reservations or more information about Marsha Brown, call 215-862-7044 or visit www.marshabrownrestaurant.com To contact Len Lear, call 215-248-8807 or email lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.