Culinary Quest

The York Blue Moon Restaurant has been one of the finer restaurants in York, PA, for many years.  Under the new ownership of Donnie Swartz, Executive Chef Darrell Tobin and Janine Tobin, that tradition is sure to continue.  Changes are already evident inside and on the menu, but I believe you will find them all to your liking.  The restaurant feels warm and cozy.  Gone are the stark white walls and the exposed pipes; replacing them are grass cloth walls, wood floors, taupe, burgundy, and blues, and ceiling fans on high ceilings.  This now feels like a posh eatery that  you might find in New York City.  It is now an entirely non-smoking establishment, adding to its charm and elegance.  Yes, the Blue Moon is on the rise.

The York Blue Moon Restaurant opened in its new incarnation on November 30th, 2006, with seating for 50 people.  Both Darrell and Janine Tobin come to the Blue Moon from the Country Club of York, Darrell after having served for 24 years as the Country Club's Executive Chef, and Janine after having been the Country Club of York's Hostess for 18 years.  Darrell served as Executive Chef at the Ocacia Country Club in Ohio for 5 years prior to his time at the Country Club of York.  But, oddly enough, both began their fine dining careers as buspersons while in high school--Darrell at the Country Club of York and Janine at The Eagle's Nest in York, PA.  So it is easy to see that the fire of restauraturing was lit under these two from an early stage in life.

Donnie Swartz is a local businessman who saw a chance to acquire the York Blue Moon Restaurant and do something different with the restaurant.  He approached the Tobins and found a couple who was interested in grabbing hold of that opportunity and in doing something with the talents that they had acquired over the years.  With their combined ideas and course of action, the trio have been able to come up with a fantastic alternative to the everyday restaurant found in every city.

Darrell Tobin comes to the kitchen with no formal training.  His wife, Janine, told me, "He learned to cook from his mother.  Oh, and he has quite a bit of natural talent.  He really can make any cuisine.  He's even made Iranian (food) at special request at the Country Club."  If he has a recipe, he can run with the idea and cook the item to suit the order, or he can create a dish with his imagination.  His approach to food is very eclectic, as is his methodology to designing the restaurant's menu.  If a customer has a suggestion for a menu item and the desired ingredient is available, Darrell will gladly accommodate the order.

The restaurant's menu is changed around every eight weeks in order to keep things exciting.   Darrell designs the menu with suggestions from the staff.  He keeps some items that are popular, such as the house specialty crab cakes, and may bring back past items with a new preparation in order to keep diners interested.  Darrell likes to vary the side dishes on the menu in order to avoid the  homogeneity that one encounters in so many restaurants where, no matter what you order, you get mashed potatoes and green beans with your meal, or some other combination.  This also allows him to create different flavor combinations that complement each other rather than risking a clash of flavors. 

The York Blue Moon Restaurant's current menu was recently introduced to its customers, and includes such delectable items as Pan Seared Fresh Day Diver Scallops and Lobster Claw on Madagascar Vanilla Sauce MicroGreens and Coconut Beer Battered Slipper Lobster Tails served with Pseudo Duck Sauce for appetizers.  A fine assortment of salads featuring asparagus, arugula, fennel, lobster, and dried cherries as ingredients.  The list of entrees is quite creative--Pan Smoked Elk Loin Tournedo, Pan Seared Fresh Yellowfin Tuna Steak, Pan Seared Porcini Dusted Wild Caught Salmon Fillet with Fresh Herb Pesto,  Breast of Duckling a L'Orange, and Pan Seared Filet Mignon paired with a Jumbo Lump Crabcake, to name a few.  My choice was not going to be an easy one.

Upon arriving at the York Blue Moon Restaurant, Janine sat me in a very cozy booth with my menu.  I was immediately greeted by my server, who recognized me from my first experience at the restaurant at lunch last week.  He remembered my name, asked if I would like the same drink I had enjoyed last week (I declined,) and I engaged him in conversation about the wine list.  The York Blue Moon Restaurant offers a modest selection of wines, mostly from California, but with a smattering of interesting foreign wineries to round out the list.  I was in the mood for a glass of red wine today as an apertif and asked my server for his help.  He suggested the Louis M. Martini, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Valley, 2004.  This sounded like a nice choice, so I readily agreed.  He asked if I would like to taste it first, but I declined, trusting his good judgement.  (It should be noted that the restaurant's wine list has since changed and that the Martini Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Valley, 2004 is no longer on the wine list).   The wine was brought momentarily.  It has a magnificent nose of berries, a dark, almost opaque burgundy coloring.  The taste is full-bodied with gentle fruit overtones and medium acidity, and a long finish.  All in all, a pleasant drink.  I compliment my server on his choice.  This is a new release to the market (January) and will only improve with time.

After having sipped some wine and examined the menu, I decided to ask for some guidance from my server so as to order a meal that would  present the York Blue Moon Restaurant  in all of its glory.  He suggested that I begin with the Fresh Mussels Marinieres in a Light, White Wine Garlic Cream Sauce, raving about the portion size.  This sounded like a good way to start my meal.  I had already decided upon the Freshly Picked Lobster with Nueske's Bacon salad, asking my server to hold the tomatoes, so the second course was taken care of.  The entree was going to be difficult, or so I imagined.  My server was less unsure of  himself.  He positively stated that I should order the Jumbo Jumbo Lump Crabcake, served with Dauphinoise Potatoes, Snow Peas, Leeks, Carrots and Spinach Saute, and Fresh Basil Jalapeno Aioli.  The Jumbo Jumbo listing caught my eye, and the fact that Janine had told me that this was the house specialty sealed the deal.  I was ready to eat.

My server brought me a fresh hot dinner roll, and Janine served me herbed butter.  I enjoyed the atmosphere while I waited for my appetizer, noticing the soft background music and taking in the local artist's works.  The York Blue Moon Restaurant displays the art of a local artist for two months at a time in order to enhance the cozy feeling to the restaurant.  The artist being featured for March and April is Mary Louise Biasotti-Hooper.  The temperature in the restaurant was very comfortable, even relaxing. 

When my appetizer arrived, I was greeted by a large bowl of mussels in a cream sauce.  There is nothing more enjoyable than mussels in the shell.  You can be proper and remove them from the shell with a fork or spoon, or you can do it the old fashioned way, and suck the mussels out of the shells.  I am old fashioned.  I made short work of the mound of mussels because, let us not forget, although there seem to be a massive amount of the shellfish, the majority of what you see is shell and space.  The actual mussels make up a very small portion of the dish.  They were very good, though.  The sauce was light, not overpowering the wonderful flavor of the mussels.  In retrospect, I could have dipped my bread in the sauce, as my server suggested, but that may have overpowered the tastiness of the bread.  Perhaps next time.

My server cleared my plate and refilled my water glass.   It was still early, and the restaurant had not begun to fill up yet.  This, I took it, was the ideal time for a walk-in diner--between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm.  My server soon brought me a very large salad.  I must describe to you this salad.  On a bed of Bibb lettuce and Frisee are placed an assortment of freshly picked lobster, Nueske's applewood smoked Canadian bacon, fresh corn, scallions, and normally grape tomatoes.   This is all tossed with a fresh basil vinaigrette that is absolutely out of this world.  The vinaigrette pulls the various flavors together flawlessly, bringing an herbal freshness to the salad rather than hiding the subtleties of the ingredients in a heavy balsamic.  The use of the corn was exciting, the sweetness serving as a counterpoint to the sharpness of the scallions.  The Nueske's bacon and the lobster served as an interesting combination of flavors in the dish with the smokiness of the bacon against the light seafood flavor of the lobster.  I highly recommend this dish to anyone.

Having thus been prepared, I could not wait for my entree.  With my salad plate cleared and my water glass refilled, my eyes were glued on the kitchen entrance.  At last, my server appeared.  My plate was attractive.  The broiled crabcake had fresh greens decorating it.  The vegetables were bright green and orange.  But the crabcake was of normal crabcake size.  This was not a Jumbo Jumbo anything.  The aioli looks interesting, but seems to be a  tartar sauce.  Well, I shouldn't judge anything  until I taste it. 

The Dauphinoise potatoes were delicious, most definitely the definitive potato au gratin.  I say that because, ladies and gentlemen, that is what they truly are.  But these are delicious.  They use a light cream and cheese sauce to delicately caress the potatoes.  You do not need to add any salt or pepper because to do so would ruin the effect of the sauce and destroy the elegance of the dish.  These would even be magnificent with breakfast, served with an omelette.

The vegetables are a thrilling combination of snow peas, leeks, carrots, and spinach.  Very colorful with the greens and bright orange.  The snow peas are crisp and the vegetables all taste like vegetables.  These are excellent signs that the chef knows how to cook; however, they are very salty, not inedible, but very salty nonetheless.  I realize that the side dishes are probably made by the order, and that this may be a one-of-a-kind instance of saltiness.  Considering the quality of everything else I have eaten so far, I am more than willing to give Darrel the benefit of the doubt on this. 

Now for the star of the show, the crabcake.  First, I am very impressed that the crabcake is broiled, not fried.  It is obviously made of lump crabmeat with almost no filler.  The meat is moist and flaky.  I taste it first without the aioli.  This is delicious.  It is no wonder that this is the house specialty.  Next, I taste the crabcake with the aioli.  The aioli tastes like a spiced up tartar sauce.  There is something else to it, of course, but the difference is  not so great to make me go, "Wow!"  Given how delicious the crabcake is by itself, I really do not want to put anything on it.  The delicacy of the lump crab is to be savored.  Why hide it under a powerful sauce?  This is a true palate pleasing dish.  For the price asked, though, the crabcake should either be larger (the advertised Jumbo Jumbo size,) or there should be two crabcakes on the plate. 

For dessert, I asked a second server for help, just to test someone else's abilities.  I had enjoyed the Irish Cream Creme Brulee last week with lunch (you MUST try this,) and wanted to try something else today.  She unhesitatingly responded that I should order the Neapolitan Cheesecake.  Being an enormous fan of cheesecake, I called my server over and did just that.  When my dessert arrived, I was taken by the level of creativity in its design and presentation.  On the dish was a puddle of strawberry cream cheese mousse, in the middle of which floated a chocolate plate.  Atop the plate was a larger than normal ice cream scoop, half of which was vanilla cheesecake, half of which was chocolate cheesecake.  This was coated with a crunchy topping.  The concept was extraordinary.  The strawberry mousse was delicious, most definitely strawberry.  The chocolate plate was a dark chocolate candy bar, decadent and pleasing.  The cheesecakes were fabulous, both separately and together.  And when dipped in the mousse, the experience sent my tastebuds through the roof!  Had there not been other people in the restaurant, I may have licked the plate. 

Here I grade my dining experience.  I grade on 5 factors:  Atmosphere, Service, Presentation, Taste, and Value.  These areas are scored on a 0 to 10 scale with 0 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.

Atmosphere:  10  The York Blue Moon Restaurant was cozy, warm, relaxing, and unrushed.  There was soft music in the background and comfortable decor surrounding the diners in soothing tones.  The owners have taken the initiative to make their restaurant a non-smoking establishment, noting that if diners wish to smoke, they may step outside to do so.  This is a restaurant where you feel welcome, and places the York Blue Moon Restaurant above the fray.

Service:  10     My server was magnificent.  Not only did he remember me from a brief lunch from last week, he also recalled my drink preference, my interests, and what I had eaten last time.  He was able to suggest a wine  (successfully, I might add,) help me order,  anticipate my needs, and make polite conversation.  When I asked him questions about the restaurant to glean information for the review (he did not know I would be writing a review,) he was more than willing to answer and assist.  His enthusiasm for his job spoke volumes, as well.  The same can be said for the young woman who helped me with my dessert.   She was willing to help and enthusiastic about doing so.

Presentation:  9     The meal, overall, was attractive.  It appealed to the eye and made me ready to eat each course.  I was a little disappointed in the mussels being just a pile of mussels in a bowl, though, and the size of the crabcake.  The former can be explained as a way to make the diner see that he or she is getting just that, a pile of mussels, not a serving of 12.  However, the latter made me feel deceived.  The menu read "Jumbo Jumbo," making me expect some monstrously large crabcake intended to put all of Maryland to shame.  Instead, I received an ordinary sized crabcake.  

Taste:  9.5     The flavors I had a chance to taste at the York Blue Moon Restaurant were fantastic!  Everything from the fabulous mussels to the menagerie of flavors in the salad to the delicate crabcake and Dauphinoise potatoes excited me.  And that's to say nothing of the Neapolitan cheesecake!  But the vegetables were too salty.  I know that they were only a side dish, but they were meant to complement the crabcakes, and instead they had to be almost avoided so as not to destroy the crabcake experience. 

Value:  8      Although the meal was very tasty, it was overpriced.  Even the wine was very high, especially for a new release.  Granted, the restaurant is still new and has to get its legs under itself.  With future menus and with trial and error, Darrell will be able to make adjustments as he sees necessary based upon the public's reactions to the dishes and their prices.  I will not let this deter me from returning to the restaurant, of course, since the menu changes every eight weeks; therefore, I am sure to find new dishes and different prices all of the time. 

The York Blue Moon Restaurant is available for private parties during Saturday lunch, all Sunday, and all Monday.

Normal business hours are Lunch  Tuesday through Friday from 11:30am to 2:30pm  Dinner  Tuesday through Saturday 4:30pm to 9:30pm

Happy Hours occur randomly with free hors d'oeuvres.

Reservations are a MUST on weekends, and are Strongly Suggested during the week.

In the near future (perhaps June,) there will be a patio for outdoor dining with a service bar and a light menu.

The York Blue Moon Restaurant will be Open for Mother's Day from 11:00am to 5:00pm with a Limited Menu.  Make  your reservations Early!

York Blue Moon Restaurant  |  361 West Market Street   |  York, Penna. 17401  |  717.854.6664

12 April 2007