Love is in the air at Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant this Valentine’s Day. Make the magic happen with dinner for two at any of our 10 locations across the Philadelphia region. Reservations are strongly encouraged, as we will offer a variety of special and rare beers to complement each of the creative menus presented Friday, Feb. 14, through Saturday, Feb. 15.
Mark Edelson, owner and director of brewing operations, reveals that “each of our talented head chefs have created a special Valentine’s Day menu that showcases his or her creativity and complements our beer, making for a perfect, casual yet crave-able celebration.”
At Iron Hill Wilmington, head chef Dave Foster gave us a sneak peek at what he’s whipping up for this romantic holiday, taking the opportunity to put a spin on classic items and, in essence, play with his food. “This Valentine’s Day, I am making red velvet cake the classic way, using sugar beets to give the cake its deep red color, rather than using food coloring.”
Is Chef Foster playing favorites on his menu this Valentine’s Day? It certainly seems that way. “The combination of creaminess, crunch and sweetness in the hazelnut-crusted brie goes so well together. And, being a New England guy, lobster is where it’s at,” he says, referring to his oven-roasted lobster with tarragon poached fingerling potatoes, grilled asparagus, tomato, shallots and sherry-scented verjus, of course. “The rich sweetness of [lobster] meat drizzled with the sherry verjus…you had me at lobster!” We couldn’t agree more, chef.
For Wilmington’s 2014 Valentine’s Day menu, Chef Foster is also hoping that his trio of oysters—one grilled, one fried and one shucked—will surprise guests at Iron Hill Wilmington. “We’ve been doing oysters for almost a year,” he says. “I wanted to introduce other ways to enjoy these tasty treats.”
Depending on the situation, the pressure can be on for a Valentine’s Day dining experience. Chef Foster understands and can relate. “It’s a day everyone, I mean everyone, comes out with their loved ones to celebrate! Having two small children, I know how hard it is to get time to go out, so if this is our guests’ special night out, I want to make it an evening they won’t soon forget.” As for his own plans to celebrate? Chef has been in the restaurant business for 30 years and with his wife for 14. “We’ve made it a point to celebrate all holidays the following week. On the 21st, my wife and I will be going out to celebrate our Valentine’s Day!”
Guests will enjoy Valentine’s Day menus crafted with expert skill and passion at all of our Iron Hill locations. Find each location’s feature menus for the coming weekend here, and secure your reservations as soon as possible.
Content provided by Dish Works author Maggie Mitchell.
