After a long day of whitewater rafting, our agenda for the evening was to enjoy a farm to table dinner at The Shawnee Craft Brewery at The Shawnee Inn. The brewery is on the Shawnee Inn premises, which also houses the Shawnee Island Farm where a lot of the produce and herbs are grown.
Chef Tallada prepared a special 4 course menu for us, comprised of all locally sourced ingredients, many of which came from the Shawnee Island Farm. Each of the courses was paired with one of their beers. It was also lovely to have some of the farmers and local vendors join us for dinner and share their stories.
We were treated to a feast, starting with savory veal meatballs paired with their Sunfish Blonde, a light beer that was the perfect start to the evening. Next up was a mixed greens and goat cheese salad, served with a Berliner Weisse beer that had a splash of raspberry. While it’s not a beer I would drink (it’s more of a beer for non-beer drinkers ;)), it paired wonderfully with the salad, which came with a dressing made with the beer as well.
Their motto is “Beer from here, Food from near”, and I saw it in action.
As we enjoyed each dish, we learnt about where the ingredient came from, and the more we chatted with the vendors, their families and friends around the table, it became apparent that everyone was very passionate about what they did and supported each other. As a result, there was not just great food, but a great story and energy behind the entire experience.
Dinner continued with a pork chop from another local farm, served with vegetables and paired with a Belgian Tripel, which is aged in white wine barrels. This was my favorite beer, and the crispness paired well with the meaty pork chop.
Dinner ended with a strawberry and rhubarb pie, a perfect small bite to round off a great dinner, paired with a Porter.
mountain ridge coffee
By this time, all eyes were on the coffee cart that was in the corner - Mountain Ridge Coffee has a fabulous red bike ice cream cart that is converted into a coffee cart, complete with espresso machine, small batch roaster, and pour overs. The owner told us that she takes the cart to the weekly Monroe Farmers market and sells freshly roasted coffee (never more than a week old). The coffee is sourced internationally, but roasted locally in Pennsylvania. I enjoyed a pour over and had to get a bag of the beans to bring back home. We really need Mountain Ridge coffee to come down to the DC farmers market – it is sure to be a big success!
All in all, we had a fabulous evening spent with passionate people and fantastic food- a definitely highlight of our weekend getaway! This is an experience I would highly recommend in the Poconos area – you are guaranteed to get a fresh farm to table (literally) meal. The Shawnee Inn also has rooms and a new camping/glamping option – so you can enjoy a delicious meal delivered right to your tent!
Things to know:
1. Guests of the Inn can get a brewery tour Thursdays and Fridays at 4pm, or Saturday at noon. He Tap room stays open later to enjoy their lineup of beers.
2. The Shawnee Inn hosts a farmers market every Tuesday during the summer, you can also check out a full list of the farmers markets in the area.
3. Vegetarians are easily accommodated.
Huge thank you to the Shawnee Inn and Chef Tallada for a fabulous evening, I cannot wait to return!
