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The only menu item carried over from previous ownership is the Allenberry’s famous sticky bun.
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Grilled ribeye with horseradish créme fraiche and fried sage over smashed potatoes with rosemary and garlic
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Halo mojito with Halo Orange,Bacardi tangerine rum, mint, simple syrup, and club soda
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Chef Joseph Randle
The long driveway leading to Allenberry Resort, framed by tall trees, seems to beckon visitors to the longtime Cumberland County resort. “You could travel all over the world and not find as bucolic a location as Allenberry on the Yellow Breeches,” says Mike Kennedy, Allenberry’s owner. History abounds—the first deed to the land was issued to James Crockett, uncle of Davy Crockett.
Although the resort was established in the 1940s, Allenberry is entering a new era under Kennedy’s leadership. He purchased the property in July of 2016, and within the first year he renovated the resort’s 20 buildings, including accommodations, an iconic playhouse where performances continue today (Steel Magnolias is set for April; Gypsy takes the stage in May), and the central Fairfield Hall which houses The Barn Restaurant.
Featuring an original limestone wall dating back to the late 1700s, a vintage painted mural wall, plus an exposed brick wall, perhaps the restaurant’s focal wall is actually a wall of windows facing the terrace, overlooking the Yellow Breeches Creek. It’s the perfect spot to enjoy the resort’s natural setting in all four seasons, says Crystal Magon, Allenberry’s general manager. She built a career in the hospitality business at two start-up winery resorts in southern California, but the Pennsylvania native says it’s “surreal” and a “blessing” to return home and bring the same passion to Allenberry.
“Allenberry offers wellness, a respite for people who want to get away from the everyday…When you’re tucked in these woods along the Appalachian Trail, right next to one of the premier trout streams in the country, you forget about the pressures [of everyday life]. When you enter the doors of the restaurant you see it’s rustic, elegant, and comfortable,” says Magon.
The Barn offers a seasonal menu under the direction of chef Joseph Randle, formerly of Harrisburg’s Stock’s on Second. “It’s been very liberating, designing and executing a menu that is as salubrious as the Allenberry ambiance,” says Randle.
A native of Cape May, New Jersey, the 33-year-old Randle spent his late teens and 20s pursuing musical studies, songwriting, and fronting an indie-rock band in which he played multiple instruments including harmonica.
“It was a lot of fun, but at a certain point, I was ready for a change in lifestyle. My friends and family suggested the food industry,” he says. Throughout his teen and college years and into his 20s, Randle racked up nearly 15 years of restaurant experience, usually in the front of house. He went back to school at the age of 30 for a culinary degree. Randle says “good fortune” brought him to Allenberry as part of a team with chef Tom Eckert, also formerly of Stock’s on Second. Eckert serves as Allenberry’s events chef.
Randle takes a seasonal approach to the menu by featuring locally-sourced items and letting them inform the menu preparation. Produce hails from nearby Earth Spring Farm, Carlisle, where Randle has walked the fields with the owner and sampled items on the spot; pork chops are procured from Wayne Nell & Sons Meats of East Berlin; Wagyu beef is supplied by Eleven Oaks Farm, Newville; and mushrooms are grown at Mechanicsburg’s Whistleberry Farm.
“I like to take something that has a classic sensibility and present it in a new or playful way that creates a fresh experience for our guests,” Randle says. “We feature a blue catfish from the Chesapeake—it should not be called catfish. It tastes decadent and light. We do a light cornmeal dredge for a downhome take, serving it with hush puppies and a celery root remoulade instead of something heavy.”
Also on the dinner menu, grilled ribeye is finished with a horseradish crème fraiche, accompanied by a smashed gold potato cooked with rosemary and garlic. After being hand-smashed, the potato is deep fried. “Inside it’s still nice and fluffy,” says Randle. Topped with mozzarella and roasted red pepper, the entire dish is completed with fresh sage.
On the lunch menu, mini tuna tacos feature seared tuna, bok choy slaw, Vietnamese chili mayo and diced tomato, served on corn tortillas. Under sandwiches, Randle says he’s especially proud of the barn burger showcasing Wagyu beef, as well as the meatloaf patty melt which combines beef and bison into a meatloaf topped with caramelized onions, melted Swiss and green chili remoulade sauce on grilled rye bread. The mushroom and lentil veggie burger provides a fun vegetarian option; lobster mac and cheese offers the ultimate in comfort food featuring an Asiago cheddar sauce plus a topping of Parmesan gratin.
The only menu item carried over from Allenberry’s previous food service is a dessert—its famous sticky bun. Pastry chef Kayla Faught redeveloped the recipe to carry on Allenberry’s tradition—with buttery, decadent, sticky success.
Open seven days a week for lunch, Sunday brunch, and dinner, The Barn features live entertainment below the main restaurant, with picnic tables and fire pits spilling out beyond the lower terrace. The Barn also offers an extensive cocktail, beer, and wine menu.
“With a changing seasonal menu, we have the opportunity to evolve within a resort that is evolving as well,” Randle says. The resort’s future plans include an adjoining 55+ community of 128 homes, says Kennedy. “Coming here at first felt like escapism as soon as I came on property. But I think that initial escapism has turned into Alice in Wonderland down the rabbit hole, consumed with local flavor, making it new and exciting. I’m open to what comes next and going further down that rabbit hole.”
The Barn at Allenberry
1559 Boiling Springs Road, Boiling Springs, PA / allenberry.com