By Sue Gleiter, Courtesy of The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa./McClatchy-Tribune Regional News
It's as if the Circular Dining Room never closed.
It was business as usual Tuesday at The Hotel Hershey for the official reopening of the historic hotel's prestigious restaurant after a nearly three-month renovation.
While it operates under a new name -- The Circular -- with a more contemporary, sleeker decor and updated menu, the restaurant still boasts a certain air of formality that harkens back to a bygone era.
Maybe it's the way the wait staff tends to diners, filling their glasses with specially filtered water and bringing homemade bacon cheddar biscuits to the table.
Or the fact that some guests still dress up, even wearing their fur coats on a weekday night. Maybe it's the grandeur of the intricate stained-glass windows or the high domed ceiling.
Whatever it is, renovations to the restaurant -- even if the tablecloths have been stripped from the tables -- haven't stopped diners from taking a seat in the Circular. Over dinner Tuesday, the dining room was more than 50 percent full.
The largely over 50-crowd sipped Prohibition-era cocktails with names such as The Innovator and The Traveler and ordered Colorado rack of lamb and dry-aged New York strip steaks. Perhaps many came just to catch a glimpse of the new look and check out the menu.
"We've been rocking during the soft opening," said the hotel's food and beverage director, John Daly.
Tuesday might have been the official reopening, but the Circular quietly has been in operation for the past two weeks. Guests last Saturday night filled the bar waiting for tables, Daly said.
Still on the formal side
When the resort announced last year it was closing the Circular Dining Room for renovations, many called it the end of a dining era.
After all, it was one of the last formal restaurants in the midstate. It was hard to imagine not celebrating a wedding anniversary or a birthday without a trip to the special dining room.
The decision to revamp the historic restaurant followed along a national trend emphasizing more casual dining. So far, the hotel is reporting a brisk business as it relaunches under its new identity.
"All of the feedback we've heard is 100 percent positive," Daly said.
The dining room is still on the formal side with an updated and modern twist.
At the center of the room is a "theater," an area that doubles as a bar and dessert preparation area, giving the guests a chance to see the hotel's pastry chefs in action. It also carries on the tradition of the original dining room, which featured a dance floor in the center, something for guests to watch in between bites.
As for the menu, it has been revamped. Yes, diners can now order hamburgers. And not just any ordinary burger.
The Circular Burger is composed of 21-day dry-age ground beef, cloth-bound cheddar and bacon. It is served with lettuce and tomato and speared with a pepper.
It comes with a side of house-cut fries and homemade ketchup.
"It's really a lot of the food I like to eat ... If I came to this restaurant, I'd order the burger," said Aaron Fowler, chef de cuisine.
Priced at $14, the burger is exceptional in both flavor and value. Other menu items might elicit sticker shock for those thinking that with the more casual vibe, the restaurant's prices might have dropped.
A Prime Cowboy 18-ounce steak is the highest price menu item at $49. The dry-aged New York strip is $48, veal porter house is $39, heritage chicken is $22, wild striped bass is $26 and wild mushroom wellington is $20.
Sides such as creamed spinach, grilled asparagus, Chester County mushrooms, twice-baked potatoes and house-cut fries cost $6 apiece but are large enough for sharing.
Likewise, guests can pick and choose from a lengthy menu of starters, also meant for sharing. The list includes cocoa-dusted scallops, spring vegetable risotto, baby iceberg wedge and petit lobster Cobb salad.
The braised beef short rib, $10, was tender and flavorful. Although, it was so good, it's hard to want to share. The red snapper ceviche, $8, was light and accented with grilled pineapple, apple relish, radish and crispy onions.
You cannot leave the restaurant without dessert. The chocolate fondue for two, $12, is the dessert menu's centerpiece and comes with an obvious 'wow' factor.
A flaming pot of chocolate is delivered to the table with all of the accompaniments -- blueberry shortcake, homemade cinnamon marshmallows, chocolate chip Rice Krispie treats, strawberries and pineapple.
But it's best to look beyond the obvious. The Double Scotch, $9, was amazing. A butterscotch and macallan scotch pot de crème, buttermilk sponge cake with chocolate chip cookies was served with candied bacon whipped cream. It was pure heaven, and a perfect way to end a perfect dinner.
Of course, each guest is given a sweet parting gift -- a small box containing a salted caramel.
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