The country drive to the Log Cabin (complete with a covered "kissing bridge") feels like a relaxing Sunday drive any day of the week you go. There's no need to wait for a Sunday to check out the "new" old favorite for local fine dining. It's Lancaster County tradition-revived. Improved offerings including Sunday brunch and outdoor seating are subtle, yet welcome, like adding windows to a once dark dining room that overlooks the new courtyard. Former regulars will also be surprisedby the new bar–always a nice stop after antiquing in Adamstown.
But the ambience remains in the main dining room lit by lanterns—with rustic logs of the original log cabin exposed— and allowing intimate dining among the restaurant’s famed art collection. A few dark wood booths offer coveted private seating, while a total of 14 dining rooms seat up to 220 people, including a private balcony table just for two. It’s where cozy and grand coexist. And a one-room speakeasy dating back to 1929 gets a new life.
Husband and wife restaurateurs David and Linda Eshelman reopened The Log Cabin in mid-April. He’s a Culinary Institute of America grad trained by one of America’s great chefs, Hartmut Handke, and more locally known for his menu at The Meritage, the couple’s first Lancaster restaurant. As serendipity (or perseverance in obtaining the more than 6 acre property) would have it, owning The Log Cabin now is a homecoming for the couple, who met there working together and fell in love—apparently with the restaurant too.
“We knew with our reputation and that of The Log Cabin itself that the expectations were going to be pretty high,” says Chef Eshelman. “The menu reads very true. We focus on proper cooking technique and getting food to the guests on time so they can enjoy quality ingredients,” he adds.
Any time of day or week you go, it's worth the drive
It’s nice to have a restaurant in the back pocket of one’s dining repertoire that can consistently deliver the classics when you or your dining party are perhaps tired of the fancy foams and menu decoding of more
trendy restaurants. Here you’ll find perfectly prepared steaks and crab cakes paired with local produce from one of many surrounding farms. Rustic desserts like creme brulee and Eshelman's signature "Red Gritz," which is raspberry tapioca with Grand Marnier, orange zest, vanilla bean sauce and chocolate shavings, are among a couple sweet endings.
Appetizers include traditions like calamari with smoked bacon, garlic, white wine and herbs ($8.50) and smoked trout with horseradish whipped cream, red onion, capers and crostini ($9) as well as more creative creations of honey braised pork belly with white bean ragout and pickled jalapeno ($9) or a crab and avocado cocktail ($12). People in the know, says Chef Eschelman, use the house sourdough bread to sop up the grilled shrimp appetizer’s rich brandy gorgonzola cream; “The brandy,” he adds, “embellishes sweetness to get through the bite of the cheese.”
Crab cakes come with sweet mashed potatoes and remoulade ($27), and other entrees include pan-seared salmon with pasta, leeks and mushrooms in a cream herb sauce ($22) as well as Frenched pork chop with barbeque jus and frizzled onions ($23).
In addition to the crab cakes, “steaks have been pretty popular in tracing with The Cabin’s history as a steakhouse,” explains Chef Eshelman. A filet, New York strip and ribeye round out the selection of meats he sources from Well’s out of Philadelphia, known in the restaurant world for their quality.
Sunday brunch offers more perfectly prepared classics: Smoked (local) bacon Benedict ($16); baked crab and asparagus with hollandaise ($18); plus signatures like The Log Cabin omelet with chorizo, caramelized onions and aged Vermont cheddar ($15) and The Log Cabin French toast with cinnamon, walnuts and orange spiced maple syrup ($14).
Any time of the day or week you go, it’s worth the (especially lovely) drive.
THE LOG CABIN | 11 Lehoy Forest Drive, Lancaster | 717-625-2142 | www.logcabinrestaurant.com Hours: Dinner: Tues.-Thurs. 5-9pm; Fri.-Sat. 5-10pm Brunch: Sun. 11:30am-4pm
