Marsha Brown

Somewhere between the country and the city is New Hope, Pennsylvania.  New Hope is a quaint, historic town situated on the Deleware River.  On any given weekend, you can find city-dwellers and locals alike perusing the antique shops, restaurants and art galleries along the tree-lined streets. 

  

On this afternoon, we decided to eat at Marsha Brown’s restaurant.  Marsha Brown is located at 15 South Main Street in the center of New Hope – about an hour north of Philadelphia and an hour and a half north-east of Manhattan.  Marsha Brown, the owner, has roots in Louisiana and opened the restaurant as a ‘creole kitchen & lounge.’  I lived in Louisiana for five years and take any opportunity I can to seek out authentic creole cuisine up north.

The restaurant is in a converted 1800’s church that held its last service in 1996.  The street level space has a private dining area and a large, square four-counter bar.  The second level, where the church services were held, is now the main dining room of the restaurant.  The ceiling-to-floor mural and stained glass windows add to the splendor of the decore. 

The main dining room is only open for dinner, so we were seated at the tables in the first floor bar area.  The lunch menu features burgers, salads, Po Boys (Po Boys are to New Orleans as Cheesesteaks are to Philly), and entrées including Jambalaya, Mamere’s Crab Cheesecake, and Crawfish Etouffée.   Soups include Lobster and Shrimp Bisque and Gumbo Ya Ya.  The dinner menu features these creole dishes, plus a raw bar, fish, shellfish, and grilled steaks and chops.

For lunch, I orded the Lobster and Shrimp Bisque for my appetizer and the Crawfish Etouffée for my entrée.  I have had several styles of lobster bisque, and this one was quite unique with chunks of diced shrimp and lobster and a hint of oragano.  It was hearty and enjoyable.  My entrée, Crawfish Etouffée, was a distant variation of the traditional creole dish.  It was made with a thin, tomato base as opposed to the thicker, flour-based roux that I am used to.  The spice was heavy and flavorsome, but overwhelmed the taste of the crawfish.  The dish as a stand-alone had a good flavor, but unfortunately left me longing for the traditional crawfish étouffée that I had grown to love thoughout my stay in southern Louisiana. 

For dessert, I had Granmere’s Comfort Custard, which is a vanilla custard topped with tosted meringue.  It was good, but was better after I ordered a Frangelica to pour over it. 

For lunch, expect to pay between $20 and $45.  Dinner will run you between $40 and $60, but the drinks are expensive (about $10 a pop), so plan your finances accordingly. 

The atmosphere at Marsha Brown is cozy and plush.  It’s a great date destination where you can enjoy and relax to the tunes of Joss Stone and Les Nubians.  

Overall, I give Marsh Brown a “Ca c’est bon!”

Begrudgingly,

BB