Jon McCain of The Cascade Room at Durham Springs
There are many reasons to drive down Route 611 South. In any season, this road offers its own particular beauty. The towpath bisects the river and canal, and fades in and out of view depending on shoreline changes. If it’s spring and roll-down-the-windows season, the river smells soft and fertile with the promise of new beginnings. If you get hungry, there are plenty of slanty-floored cafés, and mom-and-pop spots for breakfast and lunch.
If the occasion (or your appetite) requires more than that, turn off 611—namely, just south of Easton onto the wooded, winding Lehnenberg Road. In a few minutes, you’ll end up at The Cascade Room, the restaurant at Durham Springs. It’s a drive—and a turn—you should take, for so many reasons.
As co-owner Dan Fehlig says, “We’re way out in the country, just a few minutes away,” which sounds funny and elicits laughter every time he says it as we are talking, but it’s true. It’s not hard to access Durham Springs, and it only takes a few minutes to find once you get off the beaten path.
Yes, it’s a hidden gem, but as co-owner Ian Humphreys says, “When people find us, they bring great loyalty and come back.”
The Cascade Room at Durham Springs
Set on 33 acres, Durham Springs went by the name Cascade Lodge when it opened in 1939 as a restaurant and boarding house/vacation destination for people from the cities for bucolic summer recreation activities: think swimming, tennis, horseback riding and what used to be called “leisure.” The original structure operated as a farmhouse in the 1730s (no, there are no live animals on site; currently, not even a barnyard kitten). Framed black and white photos in the bar area showcase the restaurant’s heyday, including a photo of the original owner, Captain Ernest Knuth, colloquially referred to as “the Captain,” and his wife, Paula. An ad on the wall boasts what many people in the region already know—proximity to both New York and Philadelphia as an enticement to leave urban dirt and noise behind.
After purchasing Durham Springs in April 2017 and implementing extensive renovations and upgrades, down to the studs, Fehlig and Humphreys reopened the space in November 2018. Yes, they have New York connections, but guess what, they have owned a home in Lower Saucon for 20 years, too. Food runs in both of their blood: Fehlig worked at the Four Seasons and the 21 Club and ran a successful catering biz in New York City called The Upper Crust, and Humphreys’ sister is Christopher Hirscheimer, who, along with partner Melissa Hamilton, operates the well-regarded Canal House in Milford (and the Canal House brand—cookbooks, photography, design, even a local radio show). As Humphreys says, “We’re not some dilettantes who just dropped in from the city and thought, ‘Oh, it would be fun to open a restaurant,’” he says, laughing.
This is just to say these people know food. So much so that they hired a top-notch chef in 39-year-old Jon McCain, who had a career in IT before he realized “I wanted to use my hands and do something that gave me a sense of accomplishment.” That meant enrolling in the French Culinary Institute in New York City.
McCain has worked with so many marquee-named chefs, most notably and recently in Grant Achatz’s restaurant the Aviary (both Chicago and New York locations). Achatz, a James Beard Award winner, is known for his progressive and modernist cuisine—an approach that prizes innovation and, therefore, can run the risk of rendering the food as unrecognizable. But that’s not necessarily what you’ll get on your plate in a very overt way at The Cascade Room. In other words, tuna tartare will look like tuna tartare. The beets and burrata resemble both ingredients, but the beets are layered with flavor (with a beet juice reduction and beet powder), so when you first take a bite of them, the reason why beets go well in chocolate cake becomes apparent: They are earthy and slightly bitter, but with the right coaxing they become incredibly sweet. Putting these beets and burrata on top of a daub of rosemary sugar takes the whole thing to the next level.
The execution and presentation, however, are not esoteric, despite the fact that your utensils are classy silver, not stainless steel. You might not even notice the silver immediately, because the feel of The Cascade Room is not even one iota stuffy. Fehlig’s background is in theater and architecture, and there’s a subtle sense of theatricality at The Cascade Room. In less-deft hands, the more contemporary touches (the bar is mid-century in its vibe) that have been added during renovations, set in what’s basically a renovated, expanded farmhouse, would feel jarring. Instead, they work fairly seamlessly against the new neutrals of gray and white and remind you that yes, you’re in an old farmhouse, but it’s a little bit more special than that.
The Cascade Room at Durham Springs
Dietary preferences are anticipated and accommodated at The Cascade Room—all vegetarian dishes are also vegan. Some classics are present, such as a creatively rendered Beef Wellington (when was the last time you saw that on a menu?) and a bouillabaisse with a lobster tomato broth. A must-try is the roasted cauliflower “steak”—a very thickly sliced “steak” of cauliflower meets a south-of-the-border execution with mole, tomatillo salsa and a creamed corn that tastes like Mexican street food elote.
OK, let’s stop right here.
I know what you’re thinking: This is some fancy pants place, a “special occasion” restaurant. After all, Durham Springs does weddings and can accommodate large groups for events. There’s a natural spring on site (and inside the building!). The grounds are beautiful, even in November when the earth is beginning its retreat and the landscape can only muster its washed-out palette of browns and grays. The menu is culled from local offerings whenever possible (Rick’s Eggs, Farmer Jen, Trauger’s), and changes to accommodate seasonal items and inspirations. Somehow, this often telegraphs as self-important or super serious, but once you step inside and start to experience the hospitality, you learn that it’s neither of those things.
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The Cascade Room at Durham Springs
For starters, The Cascade Room is not so self-important so as to close when it has a wedding—it’s a pet peeve of the owners—so you can have dinner there at any time they’re open. You can dine inside and outside, which is less enticing in February but ideal when the weather cooperates: Fehlig and Humphreys call the weddings “eye candy” for the diners. “They market each other,” Humphreys says, referring to the restaurant and event space. Plus, you can order from either menu—the café or main dining menu—anywhere in the restaurant.
And the menu does change, but it’s not driven by slavish attention to alter it just because they can. McCain says, “We will change one or two things a week on the main menu. It’s all going to depend on what’s available.” There’s a bonus for the diner, too. Fehlig says, “It keeps people interested. Besides, we didn’t want to have waiters reciting specials at the table all the time,” he says. So yes, you’ll have that classy silver, but you won’t have specials recited at the table. Instead, you have a menu that changes a bit, but items don’t necessarily retire forever. No dilettantes here: These guys have given this process a whole lot of thought.
But the bar area is where you get the real feel of a place, where chit-chat with the bartender and other patrons yields the real feel of a place, during mid-week. From the bar/café menu, you can order a gorgeous cheese and charcuterie board; flat iron steak frites; a burger with dry-aged local beef, swiss, truffle aioli and fries; or a veggie-loaded mezze platter with hummus, roasted eggplant and grilled pita. The biggest indulgence is tarte flambé, which sounds inaccessibly French. Again, it’s not. It’s like a flatbread pizza that’s made with the leftover baguette dough—in France they call it the baker’s lunch. Imagine a crispy, thin crust, topped with smoked bacon, caramelized onion, Gruyère and crème fraîche. If you go and sit at the bar (or the dining room, as the menus for either are available in both places), and ask for their signature cocktail The Pink Drink (or a glass of wine from their respectable list) and have to order one thing to eat, let it be this. And please, don’t apologize for eating the whole thing yourself.
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The Cascade Room at Durham Springs
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The Cascade Room at Durham Springs
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The Cascade Room at Durham Springs
The Cascade Room
at Durham Springs
5065 Lehnenberg Rd., Kintnersville | 484.907.2100 | durhamsprings.com
Hours: Wed. & Thurs.: 5–9 p.m.; Fri. & Sat.: 5–10 p.m.; Sun. Brunch: 10 a.m.–2:30 p.m.
Parking: Plenty of on-site spots
Reservations: Recommended; call or go to opentable.com
Payment: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover
What to order: I’m going to start with dessert first. New Orleans Beignets. Comes with a chicory panna cotta. That just means a velvety pudding that tastes like the coffee you’d get at Café Du Monde in NOLA. Order whatever is happening with burrata on the menu, the Cauliflower Steak, the rock shrimp and leek dumplings appetizer. The tarte flambé will disappear quickly. The dessert list includes a cheese plate, and if it’s half as good as the charcuterie board, with speck and guava jam and a subtle blue cheese when I sampled it, save room.
Specials: Chef’s three-course tasting menu available Wednesday and Thursday nights for $45: appetizer, main course and dessert.
Events: Dine and Dance: First Friday of every month, with Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra (dancing starts 7:30 p.m.)—1920s-style jazz band.
