Quaint and picturesque - a diminutive community faintly reminiscent of New Hope & Lambertville, PA, and Cape May, NJ - Skippack Village is home to a variety of intriguing shops and boutiques. The perfect spot to indulge in a bit of leisurely browsing on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon... And, given the number of diverse dining domains scattered about town, you're not likely to go hungry either.
Which brings me to Parc Bistro... Although I hadn't darkened the door in quite some time, I had reviewed this charmingly rustic refurbished 19th century roadside inn twice over the years; and I freely confess to some rather fond memories of the eclectic - "a little bit French, country, and Italian" - cuisine. I won't bore you with a glorified grocery list, but the special of Sautéed Tilefish on a sumptuous seabed of chickpea purée comes immediately to mind, as does an incomparably tender Boeuf Bourguignonne. Dessert-wise, the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake - chocolate peanut butter mousse set atop a dark chocolate cake garnished with peanut brittle and Concord grape jellies - was as irresistible to the eye as it was to the palate.
But that was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... Or so it seemed to me when I stopped in for lunch recently. Oh, the ambiance, including the attractive bar area, was still quite cozy & comfortable; and the service was as personal and professional as I remembered it. The food, however, turned out to be another matter entirely. And the menu, a typical small plates/large plates configuration, contained a number of surprises - especially among the large plate selections. There, were, of course, what would be considered the usual suspects: Bistro Burger, Omelette du Jour, and Blackened Salmon BLT. On the other hand, unless you happen to possess the appetite - and peristaltic capacity - of a starving yak, and have nothing more exciting on your afternoon agenda than a long, leisurely nap, the Grilled Lamb Chops struck me as a bit heavy-going for a mid-day meal... Ditto Blackened Shrimp & Grits, Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna with Andouille sausage & bell pepper cream, and Crab Cakes with vegetable risotto and Maltaise (blood orange) hollandaise sauce. These items, or so it seemed to me, were definitely misplaced, and would have been infinitely more appropriate as permanent residents of the restaurant's dinner menu.
So... since my dining partner and I were thinking in terms of a "lite" lunch, we decided to zero in on the small plate selections... Unfortunately, both of our choices turned out to be quite disappointing. Her Soup du Jour - Black Bean on this particular occasion - contained a good deal of spice but little in the way of flavor. She barely consumed a miniscule portion before surrendering to defeat.
My Bistro Lyonnaise Salad certainly sounded good - frisée lettuce, roasted beets, crumbled goat cheese, lardons, poached egg, fried baguette, and Dijon vinaigrette - but also fell short of the mark. The ingredients were fresh enough, although the promised fried baguette had been replaced by a number of large, generic-looking croutons. This, however, was a relatively minor point. The major bone of contention was the Dijon vinaigrette; or, more specifically, lack thereof. I mean, the vinaigrette was present - well, sort of. Unfortunately, its presence was so infinitesimal as to be the nefarious nurse of nonexistence. As a result, the salad was inordinately dry... In other words, not particularly appetizing.
Not anxious to press our luck, we skipped dessert. read more