Photography by Donovan Roberts Witmer
Dutchbound red beet salad comprised of mixed greens topped with pickled beets, red onion, red beet egg, chopped bacon, walnuts, crumbled blue cheese and raspberry white balsamic.
Tucked away in what seems like its own small city of warehouses known as Urban Place on Lancaster’s historic east side, an old bottle cap factory gets a new beginning as a gathering place where meals and memories are made and shared thanks to the vision of one Lancaster County family. Renovations took five years after purchasing the abandoned property, but the Baldwin family’s passion for historic preservation and antiques is present through every aspect of each unique space. The cork factory that once made flooring for Armstrong in the 19th century and then made cork-lined bottle caps for Herr Glass is now home to a boutique hotel, restaurant and event facility that are bringing new life to the east side.
Cork & Cap, the aptly named restaurant, features fresh approaches to traditional Lancaster County favorites as well as current concepts in cuisine. “Everything’s phenomenal. It’s a lot of Pennsylvania Dutch food that actually tastes good,” says property owner Barry Baldwin, whose primary business is Baldwin Electric. He grew up going to a one-room schoolhouse and ate a lot of that kind of food, he says, so he enjoys the updates to classics he enjoyed as a child. “With the hotel, guests want to try the PA Dutch kind of foods without going out of the city to the smorgasbord-type places,” adds Baldwin’s daughter and property manager, Jill Fanning. “For weddings, the menu has been fun for brides and grooms to show their friends and family from out of town the foods they grew up with,” she notes.
Executive chef Tammy Hurley, who grew up working on her family’s farm in Lancaster County, thinks the menu she created for Cork & Cap is a natural fit. She graduated from Johnson and Wales University and has worked for big names like Disney and Planet Hollywood, and most recently Normandy Farms and William Penn Inn.
Many menu items pay homage to the area’s heritage, such as the Dutchbound red beet salad with pickled beets and red beet egg ($11). Cork & Cap’s signature Chicken-N-Waffle soup is another must-try ($3-5). “We’re making our own twists on Pennsylvania Dutch,” says sous chef Eric Fullem, who joins Cork & Cap from Nemacolin’s five-star restaurant, Lautrec. Stroganoff made with fresh pappardelle pasta and pan-seared petite filets will likely give any grandma’s dish a run for its money ($20). Or try the tuna steak marinated in whiskey-ginger soy sauce, topped with fresh mango salsa, which is served with basmati rice and sweet-and-sour pepper cabbage ($19).
For lunch, classics like a meatloaf sandwich ($8) and macaroni and cheese with tomatoes and spinach ($11) are both popular, says Fanning. Or try the chicken pot pie smokestacks, roulades of house- made pot pie dough stuffed with stewed chicken ($9).
There’s really something for everyone, from casual to fine dining fare. “We have wings on our menu and we have duck on our menu,” notes Fullem. As appetizers go, there’s a portabella, walnut and goat cheese strudel with thyme infused oil and red pepper coulis which is enough to enjoy as a vegetarian entrée, but one of the only options as such ($8). Entrees range from chicken and fig marsala and bourbon glazed pork chops to rack of lamb, braised beef brisket with gnocchi.
Even some of the cocktails nod to notable historic figures in Lancaster’s fabric such as the “Thomas Armstrong Collins” and the “Emlen’s Old Fashioned.” 12 beers on tap, many of which are local, as well as 21 wines by the glass round out the selection of spirits.
Depending on the experience you’re looking for, there are different areas of the restaurant at which to dine: Whether it’s the formal dining room, which features exposed brick walls and beautiful natural sunlight through the warehouse windows; the dark and cozy Grille Room with its tufted plush leather banquets; or the casual lounge, both just around either side of the bar, another hip spot to hang out. “We have people who are very fond of sitting in the lounge in the tub chairs,” adds general manager Stefan Hartman. Above the bar, be sure to check out the cool canoe frame, a relic from the Baldwin family’s mountain house, and in the lounge, a phone booth from the ‘50s. Also, a patio surrounding the landmark smokestack offers secluded dining.
Whatever you choose, just be sure to save room for one of Hurley’s house-made desserts.
Her passion for pastries shines on the restaurant’s dessert menu, which ranges from summer flavors like key lime pie and raspberry coconut cake to a Pennsylvania Dutch trio of shoofly tartlet, miniature whoopie pie and chocolate dipped peanut butter cookie shaped like a pretzel. Classic dessert fans: Hurley’s chocolate torte is familiar in flavors yet unlike anything you’ve ever had—strawberry cheesecake and chocolate mousse nestled between two layers of dark chocolate cake finished with chocolate ganache. It’s definitely big enough to share, and surprisingly lighter than you might expect, but you may want to take some home to refresh your memory of just how good it is.
Cork & Cap 480 New Holland Avenue, Lancaster 717-735-2025 Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11am-9pm Friday & Saturday 11am-10pm www.corkfactoryhotel.com
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Pan-seared diver scallops with honey and horseradish glazed bacon, dressed up with a lemon balsamic vinaigrette
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Father-daughter duo Barry Baldwin and Jill Fanning.
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Pennsylvania Dutch trio of shoofly tartlet, miniature whoopie pie and chocolate dipped peanut butter cookie shaped like a pretzel.
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Grilled rosemary-marinated rack of lamb.
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Grilled tarragon and tangerine duck breast with buerre monte, citrus segments, basmati rice and roasted fennel.
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Portabella, walnut and goat cheese strudel with thyme infused oil and red pepper coulis.
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Cork & Cap’s signature Chicken-N-Waffles soup.
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Chefs Tammy Hurley and Eric Fullem.
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Sculptures depicting Pennsylvania industries were re-purposed into dining room design elements.
