By David Jones

We had tickets on a recent Friday night for a jazz concert at the Ware Center on Prince Street in Lancaster, so we decided to pick a place nearby for dinner.

Citronnelle is literally right around the corner and sounded like a good choice.  It’s very unassuming from the outside and you could easily walk right past without even seeing it.

There’s little if any parking in the block, but there is a garage very nearby and some on street parking on Prince Street if you get lucky.

The first thing you notice when you enter is the very intimate atmosphere.  This is a very cozy and warm place.  The tables are fairly close together, but the noise is dampened and not a problem.

The chairs and tables are nothing special, but they are comfortable.  Like many upscale French restaurants, Citronnelle has a very small menu.  They do add an appetizer, main and dessert special each night though.

Lin went with the skate special.  It came sautéed, with yellow cherry tomatoes, capers and served over top of pureed parsnips and haricot vert ($29).  It was excellent!

I went off the regular menu with Grilled Octopus A La Basque.  This came with Spanish Chorizo, Fingerling Potatoes, Mini Heirloom Salad, Fried Capers and Fresh Herb aioli.

For $14 this dish was a little disappointing.  It was hard to find the octopus.  I will say it was quite tasty, but for this much money I expected just a little more of the feature.

For my main course I went with Crispy Malaysian-spiced Organic Chicken.  This dish was exceptional in every way.  It came with Confit Breast, Gula Jawa Glazed Leg, Maitake Mushroom Red Rice, Baby Bok Choy, Fried Egg, Crispy Shallots and Crushed Peanuts ($27).

This was actually a much bigger dish than I anticipated and had I known how much food it was, I probably would have skipped dessert.

Speaking of dessert, I had a warm chocolate soufflé with cream.  I had to order this dish when I placed the rest of the order due to the time it takes to prepare.

Since Citronnelle is a BYOB ($5 corkage) we were able to enjoy a bottle of our favorite wine with dinner.

All-in-all we settled on a 3 star rating for Citronnelle.  It is an excellent location for a special occasion.  It is not suitable for kids.  It is a bit expensive.  Our total bill was $114, including tax and a 20% tip.

In addition to Citronnelle, we recently checked out the Mad Chef Craft Brewery in East Petersburg just off the Manheim Pike on Miller Road.  We had just read a rave review in the Lancaster paper about this very new (2 months old) establishment.

If you’re a fan of craft brew pubs as I am, this one is worth the drive.

Although we didn’t have anything to eat, we did try the beer and I would have to say the high praise is well-earned.

We tried “The Oats” a hearty stout flavored with chocolate and oatmeal ($5 for a pint).  We also tried “Black Beerd Oats” (that’s the way it’s spelled).  This is the same oatmeal stout, fermented and aged with French Oak chips soaked in spicy rum and vanilla ($7 for 10 ounces).

Lin and I both enjoyed the regular stout the best, though they are both quite good.  The Mad Chef has a menu consisting entirely of sandwiches and snacks, but as we watched the other tables around us, the food looked wonderful and there were lots of smiling faces.

They also offer a variety of music on the weekends beginning at 6 p.m. and going till 9 p.m.

Citronnelle, 110 West Orange Street in Lancaster, (717) 208-6697

Mad Chef Craft Brewery, 2023 Miller Rd, East Petersburg, (717) 690-2655

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A native of Chester County and a 1968 graduate of Octorara Area High School, David Jones earned a Masters Degree in Medical Ethics from from Villanova University. Mr. Jones served as CEO of both Mayview and Wernersville State Hospitals and later worked directly with then Governor Rendell to modernize and right-size Pennsylvania’s entire state hospital system. Jones and his wife Lynn make their home in Parkesburg and dine out frequently across Chester County and the Delaware Valley.