11/21/2016 Dining Around at Sola BYOB in Bryn Mawr, PA

 

Dining Around at Sola BYOB in Bryn Mawr, PA

Sola BYOB is located at 614 West Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr, PA. This small, intimate, white cloth table restaurant (44 seats) owned by Brian Engler, focuses on Executive Chef Scott Morozin’s contemporary American cuisine with French influences. The Chef offers a seasonally inspired small menu of well-prepared and designed dishes taking advantage of a network of local farms, organic producers of cheese, honey, and other items, with daily deliveries of whole fish.

 

“Sola’s been around for over eleven years, and I’ve owned it the last four and a half years, working the front of the house,” Brian Engler said. “Restaurant’s have been in my blood as my Grandparents owned a restaurant hotel in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania.” 

 

Chef Scott began his career attending the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. After graduating, he gained experience in the kitchens of Steven Starr, Jay Caputo, Chef Daniel Stern, and world-renowned Chef David Burke. He took over the Sola kitchen in July 2016.

 

I decided to try Chef Scott’s Prix Fixe four-course menu ($39). I requested a change from Kale to a salad of tender leaves of Red Earth Farm greens. A plus was the salad was accompanied with a small cylinder of roasted duck Confit with warm rolls from Philadelphia Bakery, made with a beer batter.

 

Second course was a picture-perfect creation of coriander-crusted scallops, accompanied with three small spheres of white coconut cream, a dollop of orange salmon roe, three spoons full of black lentils, and a sprinkling of small edible flowers. This dish would have made a perfect subject for an artist’s still-life painting.   

 

The Chef’s third course was pan-roasted filet of Chesapeake Bay striped bass served in a lobster tomato broth, with shaped fennel and fennel leaves, sautéed pearl onions in red pepper glaze, and roasted Maitake mushrooms. I spooned up this delicious sauce and used a roll to wipe up the remainder. If I was home, I would have licked the plate.

 

My dining partner tasted my dishes and then ordered the Creekstone Farm Tenderloin ($39), with herb-roasted potatoes, mushroom puree, roasted Shitake and trumpet mushrooms, over beef jus ordered cooked rare. She ate half of the tender flavorful meat and took the rest home to eat for lunch the next day.

 

We shared dessert of the Chef’s elegant Crème Brulee topped with a large fresh blackberry and a chocolate drizzled Biscotti spear. A perfect end to Chef Scott’s sophisticated, creative dishes made with luxurious ingredients offering enjoyable textures.

Dining hours are 5:30 to 10 p.m., Monday – Saturday, Closed Sunday. For reservations or info, call 610-526-0123 or visit online at www.solabyob.com/site/#/home.

Highly Recommended!

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Photos:

1-    Meet Executive Chef, Scott Morozin. By Dish PR.

2-    Coriander Crusted Scallops. By J. Bloom.

3-    Creekstone Farm Tenderloin. By Dish PR.

4-    Chesapeake Bay Striped Bass. By J. Bloom.

5-    Crème Brulee. By J. Bloom.