Only the best—in food, music and lodgings
The Logan Inn ties it all together
by Maureen Keyte

Stepping off the busy streets of downtown New Hope and into the the Logan Inn, with its colonial, glass-enclosed porches and cozy, fireplace lit dining rooms, is like going back in time to the historic 1700s. Family owned and operated, the inn was originally established in 1771 and is one of the five oldest continuously run inns in Bucks County.

The Gialias family took over the establishment three years ago, expanding their family restaurant business, which also includes the Clinton House in Clinton, NJ. Pete Gialias’s lifelong career as a chef started in his teens in his homeland of Greece and continued as a restaurateur here in the United States.

Pete, with his wife Mary Ann and their son Nick, the head manager, works every day with their many long-time staff members to ensure hands-on service and familiarity with the guests. “We focus on the old school, classic approach toward food with high quality products, simply prepared, using the utmost detail to accentuate the great taste of food, rather than overpower it,” says Nick. “There is elegance in simplicity and our customers appreciate unpretentious fine dining.”

Nick’s academic background in biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon combined with his intuition for this business gives him a unique perspective on the “science” of food and how it is prepared. “My earliest memory of childhood is peeling carrots—I grew up in the kitchen,” he says. “There is a difference between knowing what you are doing and just working in a kitchen, and my father really knows what he is doing.”

Surf or turf
The Logan Inn’s menu includes Mediterranean inspired cuisine with a variety of grilled fresh fish dishes as well as a selection of high quality steaks. All the meat is hand-butchered and inspected on site by Pete; nothing comes in pre-measured or precut. If a piece is not up to his exacting standards, it is sent back to the vendor.

Specialty seafood dishes include Red Snapper—made simply with lemon juice, olive oil, herbs and spices accompanied by fresh greens. The Black Sea Bass is lightly pan seared and served over saffron risotto and topped with jumbo lump crabmeat in a light, lemon cream sauce.

The Logan Inn offers what is sometimes called the “perfect steak” with its exclusive Kobe beef products. Kobe beef is a unique type of meat developed by the Japanese when breeding a particular type of cattle, and known as for its superior consistency and taste.

To “knock the socks off” the busy lunch crowd, the Galias family added their specialty Kobe Burger to the menu. The delicious 8-oz. grilled Kobe beef burger is made with Boursin cheese, sautéed mushrooms and roasted peppers, served on a brioche onion roll with asparagus fries.

Local flavor
New Hope regulars enjoy a sense of camaraderie with the Gialias family and staff. The restaurant caters to these locals by offering a neighbor’s reward program: a $50 gift card for every $500 spent.

In season, alfresco dining on the tented patio is great for people watching. The tavern remains open late with selections from the menu available, and Bob Egan, an area entertainment icon, performs regularly. Live music is performed Wednesday through Saturday evenings with themed nights each week. Egan also books the talent with a full schedule and variety of musicians including Kristian Rex, Barbara Trent and acoustic guitar player, John Ash. Patrons of the tavern can enjoy an excellent value with the weekly dinner specials on Monday through Friday evenings, which include entrées such as prime rib or salmon.

The inn is popular for private parties for small to mid-sized events too. “The atmosphere for our private banquet was so cozy and unique,” says Shawn Coleman, President of the New Hope- Solebury High School soccer team. “Several of the people who attended actually sent a personal thank you to the manager, Maggie, because they felt she and the rest of the staff went above and beyond their expectations.”

Room at the inn
Sixteen guest rooms are each decorated with antique furniture and recently upgraded amenities, such as flat screens with HD TV, HBO and Internet access. “We want to maintain the charm and historical nature, but even when staying at a 300-year old inn, guests want to be able to check their email or watch their favorite shows on HBO,” comments Nick.

This careful blending of old-school family values along with the state-of-the-art amenities and fresh updated cuisine makes the Logan Inn a favorite place to experience the best of yesterday, today.

Maureen Keyte is a freelance writer in Doylestown.
Andrew Wilkinson is a freelance photographer based in Titusville, NJ.
www.wilkinsonmedia.net