With a name like Harvest Seasonal Grill, you would think fall would be its comfort zone. And you’d be right.
Just past the reach of Philly, in the confines of the suburban sprawl of Radnor, the casually stylish and spacious New-American, farm-to-table restaurant offers up a variety of dishes, catering to a wide range of tastes.
Smaller plates, like those on the flatbread, appetizer and salad menus, offer a lot of flavor, with elegantly simple presentations. The pear and blue flatbread ($10) is light and crispy, with the sweetness of the pears tempering the aggressiveness of the blue cheese. The flavors of the fall salad ($5/$10) are well-balanced as well, with the bitter notes of the frisee and radicchio blending well with the sweetness of the apple, cranberries and walnuts. The seasonal organic hummus ($8) gets an exciting lift from the Israeli apple and celery salad that tops it, adding a cool crunch to the warmer hummus and pita points.
Entrées at Harvest range from New American to Asian-inspired dishes, catering to the tastes of vegetarians and carnivores alike. On the meat-eater front, the grass-fed filet mignon ($33) is a work of art, popping with color and flavor, with a bourbon balsamic and mushroom glaze, a slightly sweet potato and pear gratin and some excellent crispy beet straws.
On the seafood side, the seared sea scallops ($27) were perfectly done, resting on an asiago and pancetta risotto. Displaying an Indian flair, the barramundi tikka masala ($27) had the right aromatic feel with chickpeas, coconut rice and a nice pumpkin curry, but was somewhat lacking in the spice and seasoning one would expect from a curry.
The vegetarian menu at Harvest also displays some wild creativity. The seared beet scallops ($17) nailed the caramelized meaty texture of a nicely cooked scallop while delivering sweet and earthy notes. The pumpkin ravioli ($18) was a warm, sweet and buttery hug of a pasta dish that is perfect for the season. The spaghetti-squash pasta ($14) was complex and brought the garden steaming hot to the plate.
Local farms give Harvest their deepest, darkest fall flavors to play around with, and the restaurant’s expert chefs are definitely up to the task of transforming those ingredients into dishes that really showcase what autumn has to offer.