Oak Hill Inn, Orwigsburg, PA

So, we recently took a trip - just the two of us (the adults in the household, that is) to the Oak Hill Inn, Orwigsburg, on a whim. We initially stopped in to buy a gift certificate for someone else and decided to stay for dinner. It was a Saturday night and we were feeling underdressed by a mile - shorts and t-shirts, but the staff (after asking if we'd be more comfortable out on their new deck) said it would be "fine" if we dined there as is.

We were seated at a cozy booth for 2 and found the cloth placemats and candlelight a beautiful surprise for a Schuylkill County restaurant - don't get me wrong, there are lots of places for a decent meal in Schuylkill, it's just that the ambiance is severely lacking.

The appetizers were a little slow, but worth the wait. As a bonus, in the meantime, we were surprised by the crackers with flavored spread. My husband's coconut shrimp appetizer was a decent size - 4 jumbo shrimp crisply done to perfection, but he was a little disappointed that the pina colada dipping sauce turned out to be more like orange marmalade. All in all, he still really enjoyed them. My artichoke hearts wrapped in prosciutto with gorganzola were broiled to perfection and had all the salty/creamy flavors that I apparently had been craving without realizing it.

Other diners started coming in table by table, and though the sign says "casual fine dining," I guessed that we were the only "street casual" people there. Others were nicely dressed and looked like they were celebrating some occasions.

The salads were mediocre, with splinter-thin slices of cucumbers and what looked like bagged lettuce. The dressings, however, are all homemade and deserved a more worthy pairing than the base on which they rested. The bleu cheese dressing was flavorful and tart.

After the shock of being able to have husband-wife conversation sans kids wore off, our dinner started to arrive -a basket of 3 beautiful homemade, warm yeast rolls that arrived with a larger-than-golfball serving of butter. We thought that they could cut back on wasting this much butter and put the cost into a better salad.

My husband's black and bleu filet mignon over portobello mushroom in balsamic glaze was cooked so well that you could cut it with a fork. It had just the right amount of "bleu" on it and made me satisfied in my decision to not order the trifecta of bleu cheese for app, salad, and dinner entree. (I was a little on bleu cheese overload as it was). Instead, I had a delicious, tenderly broiled seafood sampler. The crab cake was tangy and sweet, and the haddock made me forget I was eating fish. The scallops were buttery and not too overdone.

The sides were done well, too. The cole slaw had a sweet cream base and was shredded to just the right consistency. The roasted red potatoes seemed to be tossed with a little cinammon (?) and complemented the steak entree nicely. Portions were just right and we were full before the end of the meal.

The restroom break proved a little concerning. It seemed like the bathroom would be more appropriately fitted to a grandmother's tastes. The flowered wallpaper/ decor was a little outdated and I think was left over from the previous restaurant/ owners. And, the handle on the paper towl dispenser was broken. It just didn't fit with the overall nice food atmosphere.

Once I arrived back at the table, the dessert list was offered. They all sounded scrumptious, but having no room left meant we opted for the homemade chocolate peanut butter pie and carrot cake to go.

The service was good and the waitress checked in with us frequently to see if we needed anything or tell us how long until our food arrived.

It felt a little strange leaving under the glare of other patrons' eyes, but my shorts and t-shirt exited the front door happier than when we entered.