Avalon’s Pasta Bistro to Open in Downingtown
John Brandt-Lee, chef/owner of Avalon Restaurant in West Chester, will open a second restaurant in nearby Downingtown. The sister restaurant, called Avalon’s Pasta Bistro, will be a festive neighborhood bistro specializing in homemade pastas, flatbreads, salads, a sophisticated cheese program and a 15-item antipasti platter
Avalon’s Pasta Bistro will be located at 78 West Lancaster Avenue (Route 30), Downingtown, PA (on Philadelphia’s Main Line) and is expected to open once remodeling is completed in the spring. It will be a BYOB with outside dining along West Lancaster Avenue.
Chef Brandt-Lee, a self-taught chef, jack-of-all-trades and irreverent blogger, has come up with a non-traditional element to his latest restaurant — sangria and three beers on tap at the BYOB – all complimentary.
“My vision for the second restaurant is to present some of the most popular elements of Avalon in a high-energy, neighborhood atmosphere,” said Brandt-Lee. “I think of the food and festive atmosphere at Avalon’s Pasta Bistro as the ideal place for a first date and the romantic ambiance at Avalon in West Chester as the perfect destination for a second date.”
The menu will feature smaller, European-sized portions of homemade pastas, such as Crab & Lobster Ravioli in a Saffron Tomato Mussel Jus; Veal Cheek Ragu Over Pappardelle Pasta; and Brandy-Soaked Chicken Liver Soffritto Fettuccini Pasta. Pastas will be priced under $20. Avalon’s Pasta Bistro will also offer a 4-course tasting menu that includes the chef’s signature 15-item antipasti platter (with such items as preserved tuna, roasted peppers, white anchovies, chili cured olives, eggplant, zucchini, fried risotto, salumi, artisanal cheeses, roasted beets and white beans), two homemade pasta courses and a freshly-made dessert for $40.
The restaurant will be located in the turn-of-the-century house that was formerly Jasper restaurant. The fireplace and other cozy elements will be retained and it will be modernized with a custom-made wine cork collage with bubble lighting and an antique curio cabinet reborn as a glass-shelved, vertical cheese cabinet. The restaurant will have approximately 40 seats in the downstairs dining room. The second floor dining room will have two tables of 10 and a station for cooking pasta tableside. It will be ideal for groups of friends, families or small parties looking for a dining experience. Both floors will also be available for private parties. Umbrella tables with seating for about 40 will line the outside of the restaurant along West Lancaster Avenue (Route 30).
For more information about Avalon’s Pasta Bistro, including updates on menu items, construction and the opening date, follow Avalon on Facebook on Twitter and on its website at www.avalonrestaurant.net.
Background
Brandt-Lee and his wife, Michelle, took over Avalon Restaurant in West Chester in 2002. When it opens in the Spring of 2011, Avalon’s Pasta Bistro in Downingtown will be his second restaurant. Brandt-Lee’s rustic Italian cuisine emphasizes simple bold flavors from exceptional ingredients and uses seasonal ingredients harvested, when possible, from local farms including Pete’s Produce, Bluemoon Acres and Shellbark Hollow and from Lancaster Farm Fresh, a local farm co-op. In addition, he now serves charcuterie from PorcSalt, a high-quality, local, sustainable product made by Bucks County artisan Matthew Ridgway.
Brandt-Lee’s culinary education began when he was a young adult cooking with his neighbors in West Philly and continued under the tutelage of Chef Clark Gilbert, as well as Chefs Steven Ferdinand, Mike Merlot, David Kiser and Don Applebaum.
Brandt-Lee is originally from the Upper Darby/West Philadelphia area and currently resides with his wife and 4 daughters in Downingtown. In addition to cooking and managing the restaurants, he designed the restaurants’ website as well as the designing the restaurants’ décor and kitchens.
Avalon Restaurant
Avalon Restaurant recently underwent a renovation of everything from the front entrance straight through to the back of the house, which is now open to the dining room. The stylish restaurant glows with backlit blue accents, wood-burning fireplace and strategically positioned candles that cast a warm blush on diners in the bi-level dining room. In the center of the 60-seat main dining room is a hard wood railing embracing a marble cutting board displaying a mouth-watering selection of artisanal cheeses and hand-carved meats. The restaurant also boasts lush outdoor garden dining for 45 around a gurgling fountain and a romantic upstairs room that can be used as a private dining room for up to 35.
Avalon Restaurant, a neighborhood-oriented BYOB serving Rustic Italian cuisine, is located at 312 South High Street, West Chester, PA 19382, at the corner of South High & Union streets, near the heart of historic downtown West Chester. Cash only. Private Dining Room available. Free parking is available at Trinity Church, corner of South High & Union Streets. Open Wednesday – Saturday from 5:30 – 9 p.m. Sundays from 5 – 9 p.m.
Avalon earned a “Very Good” rating from Philadelphia Inquirer Restaurant Critic Craig Laban. Open Table diners voted Avalon Restaurant the sixth “Best Italian Restaurant” in the Philadelphia/New Jersey area. Reservations suggested but walk-ins welcome at 610/436-4100 or on Open Table. www.avalonrestaurant.net.
Avalon Restaurant
312 South High Street
West Chester, PA 19382
610/436-4100
Avalonrestaurant.net
Avalon Pasta Bistro
78 West Lancaster Avenue
Downingtown, PA 19335
