This Week at the Herdic House
As we head into this final week in November, and temperatures that seem almost, kinda, maybe seasonable at last, the holiday season is already somehow in full swing. (Hell, the twins even requested Christmas music for dancing last night!) But really, we’ve only just arrived at Thanksgiving Eve, and, here at the Herdic, of course, we’re preparing yet another delicious Blue Plate—and rather a conventional one at that: our favorite Landis Farm chicken and biscuits, made tonight with the leek and thyme biscuits that we loved so much at our Saturday tea. (A fresh batch, natch.)
But we’ll also be remembering Alice Brock, of “Alice’s Restaurant” fame, with a pot of the hot cabbage borscht that’s said to have been one of her hallmarks. (You actually could get anything you wanted at Alice’s Restaurant, as it turns out.) And for dessert, Sam has whipped up a carrot cake just like they make them at her mother’s bakery in Puebla, Mexico—just in case you’re not saving too much room for Thanksgiving! 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 come looking for Pittsburgh salads (or anything else) on November 28! The Herdic House will be closed for Thanksgiving, but reopening promptly for Black Friday…with ample gift certificates, mugs and even Herdic House prints to sell, if you’re looking for a gift for that special someone with a yen for Williamsport history!
Well, we’ve gone another year circling the sun—in the case of the Herdic, it’s been 40 of those long, slow, lazy spins. And the truth is, we don’t really pause often enough to consider how fortunate we are, and how much we have to be truly thankful for. Once a year isn’t near often enough to acknowledge the village and the good luck that have sustained this historic old lady, but at least it’s one moment set aside for a little self-reflection.
So, in truth, we at the Herdic couldn’t do it without all of you: our wonderful vendors who bear with us when we call in our orders late (looking at you, Bob Helmrich!), our open-minded customers who sample all of our flights of menu fancy, our fabulous employees who bring the party year after year, our gorgeous house which just keeps standing strong…and Rick Mason, among others, who keeps documenting us at our finest, as he did in the photograph above. (Liz’s beautiful cloak is on loan from Bob Esposito, see note below.)
But this year, in the spirit of the iconic Mr. Rogers, we’re particularly thankful for our “helpers”, those marvelous and unsung individuals who make a run to Wegmans in the lead up to a busy night, help cart our produce haul back from the farmers’ market on a hectic Saturday, shop in Liz’s stead every Wednesday at the Lewisburg market and generally pick up the pieces when things are close to falling apart yet again.
We have many helpers at the Herdic, and several even, confusingly, double as employees—whether it’s the remarkable Hannah, showcasing her vishnu-like capacities to tend bar, babysit, negotiate with the fishmonger and the deal with broken equipment simultaneously, or our moonlighter Brooke, who also enjoys moonlighting as a benevolent aunt to Liz’s kids.
But two of our most remarkable Herdic aides have never even been officially in the Herdic employ: one is the inimitable Jim Wood, Liz’s dad, Glory’s husband, the man always willing to run to Wegmans, hang up a beaded curtain, erect a Christmas tree, watch some kids, pick up the chickens, you name it—all despite running his own damn business. And the other is our wonderful, kind, constantly curmudgeonly friend Bob Esposito, who specializes in everything from historic restaurant decor to food preparation to refrigeration troubleshooting, and who once helped us chill a walk-in cooler’s worth of food at 1 AM, when troubleshooting just wouldn’t cut it. These men deserve a lifetime of thanks and some sort of solid gold achievement award…but they have to settle for free food and booze, which is mostly what we’ve got around here.
You’ll find them both at the bar this Friday, if you stop in for dinner or drinks. And they’ll likely both be enjoying the fabulous halibut dish we’re prepping for our feature—and happy to raise a glass with you to all the amazing things we all have to be thankful for in our little valley—health, happiness, beautiful woodlands, fertile farmland…and plenty of helping hands to boot!