This Week at the Herdic House
Oy—we’d just turned the page on Thanksgiving, and here it is December already! But the chill, dreary weather has made it definitively comfort food season, so we’ll start the month off right, with a cozy, little Blue Plate that’s perfect for the season: butternut squash lasagne with housemade ricotta and winter herb pesto. It’s $18 at our House, and $20 to go—but, per usual, our number of to-go orders will be very limited. We’ll hope to see you out tonight!
Don’t miss our Thursday happy hours at the bar, from 5-7 pm, with $1 off all beers and $2 off wines by the glass. Plus our Thursday night feature that pretends to be healthy, all while loaded with the tangy umami of ranch dressing: house favorite Herdic Pittsburgh salad, this week served with grilled tenderloin tips, fresh-cut fries, grated cheddar and parmesan ranch. Hannah will be cooking up some mulled cider at the bar, to ward off this winter chill…
Well, we’ve scarcely even had a weekend at the Herdic, post-Thanksgiving, because the House has been fairly crawling with folks each of the three days we’re normally closed. On Sunday, we had Jim Wood and Liz’s long-suffering ex Ben, propping up our long, lean and gorgeous twelve foot Christmas tree in the front window, then Monday the talented Lady Di arrived with her incredible helpers, and the trio bustled around the House like Christmas fairies for two whole days. We would periodically poke our heads above stairs and discover a welter of red ribbon, glass ornaments and garland…before scurrying back to a kitchen and office that seemed almost organized, by comparison.
But the net effect is, of course, magnificent! Our big Victorian House has become the veritable embodiment of Christmas Past, and it’s a stunning and delightful transformation. Beginning this week, we’ll be welcoming a surge of folks, all day, to come bask in the light of the tree…because this week (tomorrow!) marks the start of our annual Christmas lunches. But our lunches are already looking wildly busy, so, if you’re looking for a seat (or several), please call Glory to make your reservations! (Hint: Saturdays are a little less crazy than Thursdays and Fridays, so far.)
But the party doesn’t stop at dinnertime. This Friday, we’ll welcome our friend Holly Patton Shull to our lounge, as she opens her show “Coming Home” from 5-8 pm on Friday evening. In keeping with Holly’s theme, she suggested we do a simple and comforting menu for Friday evening, which suits us just fine…
- Hunter’s fabulous Rhode Island Littleneck clams steamed with roasted tomato and white wine
- Crispy phyllo tart filled with spinach, feta and oyster mushrooms
- Grilled Delmonico from Misty Mountain Farm finished with chili butter and served over fried Carola potatoes, with parmesan aioli for dipping
- Buche de Noël, a classic yule log made with cocoa sponge cake, filled with grand marnier cream, and iced with a frangelico ganache…then served with crispy meringue mushrooms
P.S. A heads up that, one last time in 2024, we’ll need to move our Blue Plate Special to a Thursday evening: Wednesday, December 18 we’re hosting a large party in our main dining room, so those looking to join us for Blue Plate, please book on Thursday, December 19 instead!
P.P.S. If you’re still looking for a charity to which to make your year-end donation this holiday season, there are a zillion great organizations out there—but this year, for Giving Tuesday, we chose the World Central Kitchen, whose mission of providing good food to people in need around the world is near and dear to our hearts. But there are also so many great organizations here in town, many of which we support throughout the year: Lycoming Arts, the James V. Brown Library, Northcentral Pennsylvania Conservancy, the Central PA Food Bank…and we could go on. Don’t forget to spread the happiness around this holiday season!