Jean Bonnet Tavern serves up a vibrant history and some unexpected surprises
Stepping into Jean Bonnet Tavern is like stepping back into history. Not the dusty, stale past found in books or the melancholy, romantic world one associates with ruins and relics, but a history that’s vibrant and alive.
It’s hard to imagine that people have been gathering here in some form since colonial times, but on a visit today, the tavern has lost none of its allure. In fact, on the Saturday that we make the hour-long drive to Bedford, the tavern is humming with activity, with patrons filling the downstairs dining room as well as the upstairs tavern bar.
There is a short wait since the restaurant does not accept reservations and operates on a first-come, first-served basis. This is a perfect time to visit the charming Cabin Shoppe, housed in an 18th-century cabin, or visit the goats in the garden.
Once inside, we are presented with a varied menu, as well as the restaurant’s September specials. The selections are a mix of traditional American cuisine with Italian and French flavors and offer something for every taste.
We start off with a shared assortment of appetizers: Creamy Shrimp and Crab Dip, a rich blend of cream, cheeses, crabmeat, and shrimp served warm with toasted French bread; Fried Green Beans, lightly battered green beans, fried and served with a creamy horseradish dipping sauce; and Loaded Potato Crisps, potato rounds topped with barbecue sauce, cheddar cheese, bacon, and scallions, served with ranch.
The large menu can make it hard to choose, as there are many great options, and every entrée comes with your choice of potatoes (sweet, mashed, fried, or baked), a generous side salad, and a vegetable. The end result is a table full of food, further enhancing the traditional tavern experience.
This is the perfect place to stop after a long trip and refuel in a welcoming atmosphere, but according to owner Faith Lambert, diners from near and far find their way to the tavern. We meet some people visiting for the first time, as well as people who make it a regular part of their lives.
You can tell a lot about the quality of a restaurant by how it prepares a steak, so we try the 16-ounce ribeye steak, which comes topped with “drunken” portobello mushrooms. It is cooked perfectly, and the mushrooms are tender yet still have a satisfying bite.
The Jean Bonnet is also well known for its seafood, and we sample the Crab and Shrimp Topped Salmon, which is a generous, oven-roasted fresh Atlantic salmon fillet topped with a rich blend of cream, cheeses, crabmeat, and shrimp, served here with sweet potato fries and green beans.
Another standout in this category is the Lobster Ravioli Topped with Seafood Newburg: lobster and cheese ravioli with shrimp, scallops, and crab in a sherry cream sauce. The indulgent sauce is creamy and provides a perfect accompaniment to the large and flavorful ravioli.
No less satisfying is the Vegetable Lasagna, perfect for those who don’t want meat. It’s a bold dish featuring fresh roasted vegetables, layered with fried zucchini, marinara sauce, and cheeses. Like traditional lasagna, it tastes even better the next day if you leave some to take home with you.
For lovers of pork, Jean Bonnet offers a crispy fried cutlet topped with bacon jam and Cajun honey, as well as a seasonal variation that comes with local apple slices in a ginger brandy and cider glaze. Both make the most of the sweet and savory combination.
Enjoy either with sweet potato fries and green beans or, if you’re in the mood for a more old-fashioned meat-and-potatoes kind of feel, with mashed potatoes and red beets. As mentioned before, the side salads are large and come with your choice of homemade dressing. And have I mentioned the dinner rolls? Baked fresh and served with cinnamon butter, they will make sure you leave full and satisfied.
Whether you finish your plate and lick it clean or save some for the next day, make sure to leave some room for dessert. Jean Bonnet offers a variety of homemade cakes and pies.
Its three signature desserts are the Oatmeal Pie, a delicious, mildly flavored dessert; the Peanut Butter Pie, whipped peanut butter filling in a flourless peanut butter cookie crust, topped with hot fudge; and the Triple Layer Carrot Cake, moist carrot cake with pineapple and coconut, with cream cheese frosting.
Additionally, there are seasonally featured desserts — in our case, the Dutch Apple Pie Cheesecake, a candied pecan- and streusel-topped creamy cheesecake baked with apples and fall spices and drizzled with a butter rum sauce; and a Banana Cream Tart, an individual tart with a shortbread crust, filled with homemade banana cream filling and topped with vanilla wafer crumbles.
We try all five, and they are the perfect conclusion to our meal.
If you want to immerse yourself even further in the colonial atmosphere of the tavern and maybe even encounter one of the friendly ghosts that are rumored to haunt the building, you can book a stay in one of the two historic bedrooms or two-bedroom suites, each with its own private bath.
An overnight stay includes a hearty country breakfast. You can spend the day with a good book in the shade of the upper porch balcony or set out to explore historic Bedford.
From its inception to today, through many different owners and historical events, Jean Bonnet Tavern continues to fill a need for many who visit. It offers something honest and true, something impossible to replicate. It has been built on years of experience, renovation, and renewal while staying true to its roots.
When current owner Faith Lambert and her husband took over the property earlier this year, she had worked there for nine years, and some of the staff members they retained have been there for much longer. It shows in the way the staff navigates the tight spaces in the dining room, in the care they take to serve their guests, and in the welcoming atmosphere they create.
Whether you’re drawn to the history, the culinary experience, or simply in need of a rest and a good meal during your travels, this Pennsylvania landmark is worth a visit.
To learn more about Jean Bonnet Tavern, visit jeanbonnettavern.com. T&G
Sherri Jordan and Luciano Sormani are the ad coordinator/graphic designer and creative director at Town&Gown.
