By E.T. MOORE
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Some restaurants serve as a prelude to an entertainment venue. Others provide food and atmosphere sufficient to make an evening complete.
The latter would be the case at Shepherdstown’s Yellow Brick Bank, where my dinner companion recently remarked, “All these flavors are keeping my taste buds entertained.”
What a true observation. We spent the evening trying each other’s food and guessing how the flavors were achieved.
Not that we’d ever be able to recreate them at home, mind you, but our waitress, Laurie, humored us by patiently answering each question we posed.
The restaurant is divided into three sections. Inside to the left, high ceilings create a classy framework for tables covered with white and salmony-pink cloths. A less formal dining area is available to the rear. Pianists often perform on Friday and Saturday evenings in the pub area on the right.
I have to admit from the outset that the Yellow Brick – we are on a first-name basis, after all – is my favorite dinner destination in the Tri-State area.
The high-end restaurant at the corner of German and Princess streets features fresh Northern Italian and American specialties – meat, poultry, fish and pasta.
The name is slightly deceiving. The bricks actually are the color of sand.
“Yellow brick turned out to be either unaffordable or unavailable when the bank went up in the 19th century, but the builder’s ambition lives on in the name,” according to the Shepherdstown Visitors Center Web site, www.shepherdstownvisi torscenter.com.
We started our meal with the Bruschetta – grilled country bread served with caponata, tomato and Asiago cheese.
A Sicilian dish generally served as a salad, side dish or relish, caponata (pronounced kap-oh-NAH-tah) is composed of eggplant, onions, tomatoes, anchovies, olives, pine nuts, capers and vinegar, cooked together in olive oil, according to www.epicurious.com on the Web.
Topping crunchy bread with the caponata’s flavor, the tomato’s sweetness, and the rich, nutty taste of the Asiago is a great way to start any meal. It was $5.50, with enough for two to share.
For the main course, my dinner partner selected Wood Grilled Pork Loin, which was enveloped in a delectable Maytag Bleu Cheese Crust.
He was debating whether to order the Boneless Lamb Loin or the pork loin. When he asked Laurie what she would recommend, she said, “Oh, pick the pork loin. Who has the time to make a bleu cheese crust at home?”
Indeed. (Don’t you just love a server like that?)
With Laurie’s help, I chose a scallop entree.
I initially couldn’t decide between Pan-Seared Salmon and Pan-Seared Day Boat Sea Scallops, until she reminded me that the scallops are seasonal.
Guess I’ll just have to go back for the salmon.
Our side dishes were brimming with flavor. His were oven-roasted spiced apples and potato latkes. Mine was a corn salad with just the right amount of green onion, red peppers and olives.
We both had pickled onions enlivened with the pungent flavor of capers.
The scallops were $21, and the pork loin was $19.
I also ordered a house salad for $4.50. It was a delicious mix of greens with tomato, mushrooms, apple, ricotta salata and a Dijon vinaigrette.
For dessert, we shared a tiramisu for $5 and each had café au lait in mugs so large two hands were needed for lifting. It’s going to take me a while to forget the rich flavor of that coffee.
Adding the coffee, $2.50 each, and one iced tea, also $2.50, to our order made our tab $66.25. It was worth every bite that we savored and the time we shared together.
As the evening progressed, candles were lit, providing a warm hue as the sun set over German Street. The setting is cozy and intimate, inviting patrons to return.
No arm-twisting needed here.
Yellow Brick Bank
n Food: 4 forks (out of 4)
n Service: 4 forks (out of 4)
n Atmosphere: 4 forks (out of 4)
n Value: 3 forks (out of 4)
Hours: Lunch is available from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and dinner is served from 5 to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Reservations are suggested.
Prices: Dinner entrees range from about $16 for pasta dishes to $27 for New York strip. Lunch items range from $6.50 for a grilled portobello mushroom sandwich to $12 for a pasta entree.
Phone: 304-876-2208
Location: 200 German St., Shepherdstown, W.Va.
