BETHLEHEM, Pa. — One of the newest restaurants in the Lehigh Valley already is making a name for itself.
The Wilbur Mansion, which opened in November and also includes a boutique hotel and event center, has gotten multiple honors from OpenTable, an online reservation platform.
- The Wilbur Mansion is a boutique hotel and restaurant
- It opened its doors in November
- It won a 2023 Open Table "Diners' Choice" in several categories
It now is considered among the best in the Lehigh Valley for ambiance, special occasions, its wine list and other designations.
“I honestly we didn't even know we were up for the award,” General Manager Michelle Konish said. “We were just shocked.”
Konis said part of the reason it won the award was the mansion's stunning Gothic Revival architecture.
The mansion once belonged to former Lehigh Valley Railroad President E.P. Wilbur. It was built in 1864 as a family home and became a Masonic Temple in 1925.
It wasn’t until 2015 that it was bought by John and Lynn Noble, who converted the space into a boutique hotel and restaurant.
“They were able to keep all the original woodwork and the floors,” Konish said. The ceilings are high and the doors have stained glass panels. The furniture is simple and modern, with clean lines.
“It's just a good vibe. It's a really, really good energy when you walk in the building.”
Holidays and date nights
Konish said the business' most special nights have been holidays such as Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and Valentine’s Day. It's also exciting when couples get engaged there, she said.
“It's definitely a great place for date night.”Michelle Konis, general manager at the Wilbur Mansion
“It's definitely a great place for date night,” she said.
It also welcomes weddings and has a ceremony site outdoors, where the trees are covered in twinkling lights, and has a wine cellar that can be rented upon special request.
The food changes with the seasons, with ingredients sourced locally throughout the Northeast.
The chef, Jon McCain, describes the food as New American.
“It’s kind of all over the place,” taking inspiration from Italy, France and countries in Asia.
He said that for him, it’s fine dining without the frills.
“It’s a casual atmosphere, but with very nicely plated, visually appealing dishes,” he said.
Best-selling dishes
One of The Wilbur Mansion's best-selling dishes is short ribs, which are braised with red wine for 18 hours, then pressed and sauced. It’s served with a kabocha squash orzo.
The steelhead trout comes from Hudson Vallery Fisheries in New York, and is a local alternative to salmon, which can’t be regionally sourced, he said.
The desserts are made in-house, and rotate with what’s fresh — such as creme brulee, with the current flavor being Mexican chocolate. It also has a cranberry tart.
“That's just beautiful,” McCain said.
He said one of his favorites is a basque-style cheesecake. It comes from the border of Spain and France and is lightly scorched and caramelized on the outside, and gooey on the inside.
Wine list — and even ketchup
Konish though, is proud of the wine list.
“It was thoughtfully picked out to really accentuate our dishes here, and go with the flow of the menu,” she said.
“You have some Old World, but you also have some New World.”
Old World wines usually are from countries such as France and Spain, and have lighter bodies, lower alcohol contents and are more acidic.
New World wines, from places such as California, are known for being fuller and fruitier.
One of Wilbur Mansion's goals is to bring national and global food trends home to the Lehigh Valley, and “give people a place where they can try some cool stuff that they've seen online maybe, but haven't been able to get out here.”
An example of this is a scallop dish with caviar and lentils. There’s also a squid ink chicharron, or cracker, made from tapioca.
Even its ketchup is made with care. It combines tomatoes, brown sugar, molasses and Cantonese five-spice powder, and is baked in a lidded pot. Then it’s pureed and bounded with xantham gum for texture.
“We're just using what some people call molecular gastronomy techniques, or modernist techniques, to create a better product,” McCain said. “As a guest, you'd never know they were happening.
“You don't need to know how we cook the pork chop, just that it’s the best pork chop you ever had.”
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