Bedford, PA USA.
We stumbled across a truly delightful lunch in a restored farmhouse built in the 1700s, minutes away from Old Bedford Village. A wood-fired oven serves as the centerpiece of an open kitchen in the back of this friendly seat-yourself restaurant. The creative, ever-changing menu features fresh, organically grown seasonal produce, meat and local artisanal cheeses.
Because the selections change depending on what fruits and produce are at their peak, the menu was once written on chalkboards, but is now presented on tablets. The candied jalapeños added just a tad of spice to the Peach Jalapeño Grilled Cheese, featuring peaches, bacon, and a blend of local artisanal cheeses between perfectly grilled sourdough. My daughter enjoyed the Grilled Peach and Ribeye Salad so quickly, I did not get a taste! I had trouble deciding between the 5 cheese pizza and burger, and was pleased to find that the mushroom added a great flavor to the cheeseburger, featuring Buttercup cheese to which I added their house made mustard.
For dessert, we enjoyed the artisanal bread pudding drenched in a light caramel sauce and the lemon glazed pound cake with sour cherry compote. Although the caramel and cherry compote were delicious, the bread/cake part did not stand out as much as the other items on the lunch menu.
The owners Mandi and Jeff Horn, have also run a CSA from their 270 acre organic farm, since 2007. They recently opened a deli for take-out service, and the restaurant is dog friendly. Whether visiting Bedford or passing through central PA, Horn O Plenty is the perfect place to stop for a refreshing, healthy meal — whether your preference is wood fired pizza or salad, vegan or thick cut bacon!
“Freshtaurant” and Deli, est. 2015
220 Wolfsburg Road, Bedford, PA USA 15522
814-623-0522
814-623-0522
Open M 8-3; T-Th11-9; F-Sa 8-10; Su 10-2.
Tip:
🐾 Each dessert was easily large enough for 2-3 to share!
DID YOU TRY EATING AT HORN O PLENTY?
Tag @love2chowblog and hashtag it #love2chow
🐾 Each dessert was easily large enough for 2-3 to share!
All photos and content © 2019. All Rights Reserved. Contact admin@love2chow.com for permissions.
DID YOU TRY EATING AT HORN O PLENTY?
Tag @love2chowblog and hashtag it #love2chow
Horn O Plenty Restaurant
Reviewed by Love2Chow on July 19, 2019
A few minutes later, a glorious wreath of fragrant dough arrived at our table. Cutting its crispy crust revealed fluffy layers of bread cradling thin slices of tender beef. I suggested that they should give that scrumptious bread another name, or simply use the Uzbek words for meat-bread. Although food is a universal language, that delightful wreath deserves something more poetic. For example, the name Kavsar refers to a crystal clear, paradise river. According to their website, "Everyone who plunges into this river, will never thirst and will always be healthy."
Interestingly, the inside of the non or bread reminded me of steamed Chinese flower rolls, or Huā Juǎn 花卷, which are traditionally layered with sesame oil and scallions. Perhaps this should not be surprising given that the Silk Roads funneled right through Uzbekistan and neighboring Turkmenistan, linking northern China with Europe. Several types of dumplings also grace the menu -- chuchvara stuffed with ground beef and onion dipped in sour cream, manti stuffed with beef, pumpkin or spinach, vareniki with sweet cottage cheese or potato-onion fillings -- as well as golden samsas reminiscent of Indian samosas and Greek tiropitas (at least from the outside) and baked piroshkis. Given the time required to prepare manti, we opted for the chuchvara on this trip.
Chuchvara dumplings |
Spicy cucumber salad and Beef borsch soup |
If you are unsure of which items to select, or are deciding between options, it is easy to get enthusiastic advice from Lana. It was clear that she loves the food. Each dish came out piping hot and freshly prepared. According to their website and a Pittsburgh Magazine interview, the dishes are made from scratch when ordered, using ingredients garnered from daily shopping trips. While most items included Halal beef from Salem's Market and Grill in the Strip District, there were also many chicken and vegetarian dishes, including a new mushroom version of the traditional slow-cooked Uzbek Plov served over rice pilaf with carrots, cumin and chickpeas.
We sampled Russian dishes such as borsch soup and beef stroganoff, served over mashed potatoes. The Kavsar versions feature a scrumptious slightly sour gravy unmuted by excesses of sour cream more commonly encountered. We also enjoyed homemade noodles in an Asian spice broth topped with beef and vegetables. This dish called lagman is a traditional Uzbek dish influenced by the Uyghur people of northwest China. Finally, at the recommendation of Lana, we had the Kavsar Special Chicken. This was an extremely flavorful dish, although some of the breast pieces were a tad dry and it might be better with thighs. The chicken seems to have been marinated, stewed and cooked with paprika until the sauce was absorbed, and served with rice, pickled shredded carrots and a fresh garden salad.
Beef stroganoff over mashed potatoes |
Lagman - pulled noodles, beef (or chicken) and vegetables |
Kavsar special chicken |
The three of us thoroughly enjoyed our first tastes of Uzbekistan cuisine, touched by Russian, Chinese, Indian and Middle Eastern influences. Although we each ordered an entree, the dishes are abundant enough to share family style. We ordered fried eggplant rolls stuffed with tomatoes and onions as takeout for my daughter with plans to bring friends and family back to experience the Uzbek tea service and more dishes, including Tahmina's own innovations.
16 Southern Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA USA 15211
412-488-9708
412-488-9708
Open Mon-Sun noon -10 pm.
🐾 Kavsar, on the corner of Southern Ave and Shiloh St, has its own parking lot one block down on Southern across from Natchez St.
🐾 Although not in the heart of the new Shiloh St shopping area off of Grandview Ave, it is definitely worth walking just one block farther down the street.
All photos and content © 2019. All Rights Reserved. Contact admin@love2chow.com for permissions.
DID YOU TRY EATING AT KAVSAR? Tag @love2chowblog and hashtag it #love2chow
Kavsar Uzbek Restaurant
Reviewed by Love2Chow on July 17, 2019