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 Intro
Tucked into
the main floor of this little inn with windows
facing on Chestnut and Centre Streets is The Quaker
House dining room. Eight guest rooms on the upper
floors serve breakfasts for guests only. A friendly
bar is located in the entrance area, along with
three small high tables with bar stools. Two adjoining
rooms with eight additional tables create a very
cozy dining setting each with serveral window
tables right next to the lively street scene.
The service is attentive and thoughtful, and the
choices extremely varied for a restaurant of its
size. In addition to appetizers, five entrees,
and the evening specials, a bistro menu is available
for those wishing lighter fare.
Ambiance  |
Two
attractive wooden benches on the sidewalk opposite
the entrance to the Quaker House restaurant are
available for guests waiting for tables. On a rainy
night this could be a problem, but on this balmy
August evening it allowed time to peruse the menu
and to window shop at the many near by stores. We
were seated in the small front dining room, by the
window which provided a glorious cooling breeze.
Wood benches line the room, seating for half the
diners, with upright chairs on the opposite side
of each table. Extremely vivid acrylic sea paintings
decorate the pale yellow walls. The five tables
in this room seemed crammed; four might have been
a better choice. The back dining room, behind the
bar, has a fireplace and seems more spacious with
only three tables. Our corner table seemed intimate
and, even with fairly lively piped in background
music, was enjoyable for easy conversation.
Food |
The Quaker House offers a suprising variety of fish
selections, often with the chef's personal creative
touches. summer flounder, sea bass, and
native cod are each served with different sauces,
risotta, couscous, and assorted types of potatoes
and other vegetables. Beef and chicken are offered
with other variations. In addition, a less expensive
bistro menu is available. For appetizers we tried
Thai vegetable spring roll with a garlic chile dipping
sauce, fresh clump crab salad with plum tomates
with an orange basil sauce, and Barlett tomatoes
with goat cheese. The tomatoes were huge slices
of perfect tomatoes, irresistible at this time of
year. The crab dish was average, but every crisp
bite of the spring rolls was delectable. Don't miss
this! The sampler dessert, featuring tastes of each
of the evening's offerings was our chance. Strawberry
ginger shortcake, sorbets, chocolate bread pudding,
Grand Marnier with fresh berries arrived artfully
arranged on a platter. Everyone loved this and rated
it superb!
Other Observations:
As we
were leaving, we reminisced with the owner about
the fabulous breakfasts served in past years.
She said it was a wrenching decision to stop serving
breakfast. "You have to crack too many eggs
to make a profit" she explained. Clearly
she is very attentive to making a success of this
tiny gem. The reasonable prices, excellent service,
and interesting location should lead many to its
door.
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