The Bake Oven Inn has been a longstanding dining fixture, but in the past 10 years, since husband-and-wife team Catherine and Mark Muszynski have taken it over, it's really turned into a destination spot.
Situated along the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail, the bike trail and not far from the Bake Oven Knob and Eight Oaks Distillery, Curious Goods is so aptly named that you might wonder what exactly they cook at this place. Yes, its farm-to-table, from-scratch cooking is appealing for someone touring the area, and its cozy interior of about 60 seats and period-appropriate décor is a reminder that you're dining in someone's home (they live upstairs).
The Bake Oven Inn has a history, and so they were reluctant to totally alter the name. “Plus, the sign is really, really heavy,” says Catherine, laughing. Practical matters often do force decisions—especially in restaurants, where logistics are a full-time job.
But names matter, right? And this one permits chef Mark the freedom and flexibility to follow his curiosity to, say, bake the daily bread service in well-oiled clay pots one might ordinarily use for a small potted plant. Plus, it sounds sort of old-timey and evocative, which befits its location in a building that dates back 125 years. “It's not just French or American—it's basically whatever Mark wants to cook,” she says, laughing.
Chef Mark, 45, grew up in Philadelphia in a Polish Catholic family full of good food. He always wanted to cook—it's an aspiration that he shared in his eighth-grade yearbook. As a child, he would escape from playing street hockey and run into the house to watch Julia Child on PBS. His wife doesn't know how he didn't get teased, but Mark says, “It was lunchtime.”
Catherine, who's warm and ebullient and therefore so well-suited to front-of-the-house duties, grew up in South Whitehall (“Parkland grad!”) and “fell back” on restaurant work, always hospitality, throughout high school and college. She met Mark in Philadephia; he's a graduate of the Restaurant School and worked, among other places, as the opening chef at the French restaurant Tria. When he and Catherine met, they were both working in the business for other people—not themselves. “If we are going to do this, we're going to do this for ourselves, or I am going to back to school full time,” she says.
Their first choice was Cape May, but it was just too cost prohibitive. Lucky for us, they landed in Germansville. The proximity to farmers was the main draw. “They say farm-to-table is within 90 to 100 miles of the restaurant, but we're really five to 10 miles from most of the farms we source from,” she explains.
Over time, as the experience of other chefs in the region who buy locally will attest, the number of small farms has grown. “When we first came up here, we couldn't get an heirloom tomato to save our lives,” says Catherine.
Curious Goods is close to Red Cat Farm and The Good Farm, both in Germansville. Hot dogs and ground beef come fresh from Hartman's Meats in New Tripoli. The close proximity sounds like the restaurant equivalent of being able to run across the street or next door and borrow half a cup of sugar. Their location facilitates an easy exchange of tens of pounds of, say, tomatoes from the likes of Wayne Miller of Epic Acre (Mertztown), well known for his excellent tomatoes among other things—he learned from the best, Tim Stark. It also creates a sense of community, connecting diners to the food and its growers. And rather than source from one farm—even if that were possible, let's just assume for a minute that it is—they opt not to. “We might buy green beans from one farm one day, and tomatoes the next. We like to spread the love out among all of our farmers,” she says.
But this relationship goes beyond just a simple exchange of goods for money and vice versa.
Many chef-owner restaurants forge bonds with farmers, relationships that are increasingly transparent to diners these days (just check that Portlandia skit from a couple years ago). However, what may not be so obvious is the fact that the purple cauliflower or crazy-looking heirloom tomato or some other visually stunning (and delicious) vegetable comes out of conversations. “I like to say to farmers, what do you have? Can you grow something different? How about Romanesco instead of broccoli?” says Mark.
The proximity to farms enables Mark to make quick decisions about menu items based on what's showing up at the kitchen door. The menu can change daily, but you'll always find the pierogis, for example—the restaurant is known for its rotating variety. “His pierogis are the bomb. People freak out when they taste them,” says Catherine. (Alton Brown is among them; he ate and raved about Bake Oven's pierogi when he came to State Theatre recently.) The ones with potato and brisket are incredibly light and flavorful. When the Eagles played in the Super Bowl, the kitchen made cheesesteak-filled pierogis available for takeout. “We are a restaurant and bar without a television, but we wanted to celebrate that.” Pierogis are always available; on Valentine's Day, he made some with beet dough and goat cheese. The secret to their supreme tenderness? It's the sour cream in the dough. And like any item made from a dough that gets worked by hand, it's also in the touch.
Curious Goods shows the signs of a chef who's creative and knows how to make fresh ingredients really shine. Although the fried goat cheese-stuffed beefsteak tomato appetizer is a riff on fried green tomatoes, it really plates and tastes like a riff on a grilled cheese. The breading is thick enough, the tomato substantial enough and the layer of cheese stays intact enough that you can eat this item with your hands, like a sandwich. It's familiar and creative at the same time, without feeling gimmicky. The sautéed shrimp and scallops dish is just well executed, with tender scallops and shrimp, situated atop a risotto with roasted
tomato and wilted spinach. The venison is an item that they didn't expect to sell well, because so many people hunt, but not many people cook deer the way Mark does, served over housemade rye spaetzle (with a very old spaetzle-making device), sautéed beans, grilled peaches and a sauce with both Southern Comfort and red wine.
Although it's perceived by some as a “special occasion” restaurant, such restaurants like these should be celebrated any day of the week. It's also been called a “hidden gem,” but it's hidden in plain sight. Regardless, Mark and Catherine offer a warm welcome and well-executed farm-fresh meal, with a twist of curiosity for good measure. That's hard to resist.
Curious Goods at the Bake Oven Inn
7705 Bake Oven Rd., Germansville | 610.760.8580 | bakeoveninn.com
Hours
Tues.–Thurs.: 5–9 p.m.; Fri. & Sat.: 5–11 p.m.; Sun.: 11 a.m.–2:45 p.m.
Reservations
Recommended for the weekend
Parking
Lot on the premises
Payment
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover
Specials
There's a pub menu, with lighter fare such as marinated olives, steamed edamame, mac and cheese with bacon and sausage gravy, a burger on brioche, pulled pork and more. Locals (and those who follow the restaurant on Facebook) know about the Sunday night wine trail dinners: Bring a bottle of local wine or a growler of local beer for a free dessert.
