GAME ON the menu

West Chester eateries serving some unusual fare

Duck Breast

with baby turnips, Thumbelina carrots, lentils, and cranberry duck sauce at SLOW HAND

Pop Quiz: What is the most widely consumed meat in the world?

A. Beef B. Chicken C. Pork

The answer is C. Were you wrong, like me and almost everyone else I asked this question? Thirty-six percent of all meat consumed globally is pork, followed closely by poultry (33%) and lastly by beef, at 24%, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2019. In a distant fourth place is goat/sheep, with 5% of the global market.

Large-scale factory farming in the U.S. debuted in the 1920s, ushering in a new era of progress and modernity that began with the poultry industry. And it was a game changer. “Prior to then, everybody ate wild game. If you shot a squirrel, you were eating it,” says Ken Van Gilder, avid hunter, fisherman, and longtime past treasurer of West Chester Fish, Game, and Wildlife. He got into hunting after college in 1970, and today hunts primarily upland birds, such as pheasant, grouse, and chukar, with a shotgun.

Consumers embraced the ease of purchasing safe, sanitized, and convenient forms of meat, changing the arduous and time-consuming process of procuring food into a trip to the grocer. Not only was the hunting removed from the process, but so was the post-hunt interaction with the animal. “A hundred years ago, you’d buy a whole chicken, completely intact, and take it home and clean it. Everyone knew how to do it,” notes Ken. Today, we buy chicken legs or pre-made hamburger patties that hardly resemble the creature from which they came and require no preparation other than opening the package and placing them in the pan.

What is remarkable, considering modern advancements in meat production, isn’t that lots of meat is available, but rather, why aren’t more types of meat widely available? For this story, I combed through the regular dinner menus of most of the restaurants in West Chester and found that offerings of anything other than the Big Three farmed meats were few and far between. Surely, as consumers have become obsessed with alternatives to wheat and dairy, the same phenomenon would drive them to seek out the far reaches of creature cuisine. So what is a person who is craving game meat to do? Luckily, we’ve tracked down four restaurants with offerings on their regular and/or specials menus.

Specials at ORIGINAL SPENCE CAFÉ

It is important to note that the pheasant, duck, or venison that finds its way onto your plate at restaurants isn’t the result of a heart-pounding hunt in the local woods. Commercial wild game sales are regulated by the government for safety purposes. And you won’t find many of these offerings on the menu, period.

Original Spence Café

Chef Andy Patten presents the wild boar dish he prepared for the cover of this issue.

Original Spence Café Chef Andy Patten sometimes features a game entrée on the specials menu at Spence, generally sourcing the meat from D’Artagnan Foods in Union, New Jersey, or Exceptional Foods in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey. In addition to stocking restaurants, nearby D’Artagnan Foods makes their products available to consumers online and often show up in specialty retail cases, too because they have a good selection, notes Andy. Their website lists regular availability of all sorts of cuts and preparations of venison, bison, rabbit, and wild boar (which Andy describes as basically a pork chop with a more distinctive pork flavor). D’Artagnan also carries duck, capon, goose, guinea hen, pheasant, quail, squab, and wild Scottish game, and even wild turkey.

In the winter months, Andy enjoys experimenting with elk and venison, flavoring the combination with things that the animal would eat in the wild. Sometimes they’ll make their own sausage, too, with ground buffalo, elk, or venison, smoking it in house. He gravitates toward sauces that go with the native flavors of the meat, often using juniper berries and acorns with venison because it’s what the animal eats. “Additionally, the game meat stands up to heavier red wine sauces because it has more flavor than corn-fed beef we’re used to,” he says.

Deer is the predominant big game species in Chester County, and Ken Van Gilder

High Street Caffe

cites the most delicious wild game meat he’s ever eaten as backstrap venison, a cut which is basically the filet mignon of the deer. “Everybody takes it home, cleans it, and eats it.” Ken’s neighbor typically shoots four deer a year, “which is a lot of meat,” Ken says. Andy Patten agrees “A lot of time people will mix venison with beef, but still, how much chili can a person eat?” he ponders.

“The white tail deer hunted in Pennsylvania are really nice,” Andy continues. He has friends who hunt and provide him with the meat, which he uses himself, but he can’t put that on the menu. For the restaurant, he sources the red tail deer farmed in New Zealand or Australia.

Game can be a tough sell for restaurants. “It’s pricey to buy the better stuff.

You’re taking a chance on selling 20 to 30 orders,” he says. “People might not be as excited about it as the chef. A lot of times people don’t want to gamble their whole meal.” That’s why Spence often offers what Andy calls “odd couple” pairings, such as red tail deer venison or a wild boar chop with a crab cake, for example. “People aren’t out as much, and they’re leery of ordering risky [things]. So, we might do a lamb chop, a petite filet of beef, and then an elk sausage.”

Like everything else, game selections go in and out of fashion. Andy recalls when ostrich was all the rage. “It used to be very popular. We’d pair ostrich medallions with duck foie gras, and truffled mashed potatoes, reinforcing the earthy flavors of the meat and the truffles.”

He also does a wild boar ragout over pappardelle or other pasta, with local exotic mushrooms. “Earthy flavors and heavier wines with more flavor,” he says. “Where white wine burns off during cooking, red wines like madeira or marsala keep their flavor in the dish.”

New Orleans Alligator at HIGH STREET CAFFE

The first time I walked into the High Street Caffe shortly after they opened in the late ‘90s, I was immediately dazzled by its purple and black groove, complete with the beaded curtains and velour drapes. The menu matched the funky vibe, with blackened alligator and voodoo shrimp quickly becoming two of my favorite indulgences. Today, High Street still serves up its signature sassy Cajun-inspired dishes while returning to its BYOB roots.

High Street offers two alligator dishes, which are both popular, according to owner Donny Syracuse. “Most people love them,” he says, “and they come to High Street Café for a unique dining experience.”

“We blacken our alligator tail meat and serve it with our infamous creole-honey mustard,” he continues. “We also sell alligator smoked sausage served with rice and finished with Creole sauce and crumbled goat cheese.”

The meat is imported from New Orleans, where alligator is on the menu at

Four Dogs Tavern

Duck tarrine served with a crusty baguette, olives, gerkins and mustard.

restaurants everywhere and easy to procure at any meat market. Various preparations are readily available, including ground gator, filets, and meatballs, but why not show up to the next barbecue with a real showstopper, like a whole alligator? A skinned gator weighing between 12- and 20-pounds costs $189 from CreoleFood. com, an online purveyor in Kenner, LA.

Alligator meat is also a nutritional powerhouse, with roughly twice the amount of protein per serving as chicken. Low in fat, high in dietary fiber, and a good source of omega-3 fatty acid, it also contains phosphorus, potassium, vitamin B12, niacin, and monounsaturated fatty acids.

ORDER IT: BLACKENED ALLIGATOR with creole mustard; SMOKED ALLIGATOR SAUSAGE served over rice with creole sauce and goat cheese

Duck Terrine at FOUR DOGS TAVERN

David Cox, owner and chef at Four Dogs Tavern for the past 15 years, knows his craft, having spent every day in the kitchen since he was 15 years old. Born here, he attended Henderson before striking out to cook at illustrious kitchens in New York City, France, Hawaii, and California.

It was during his time working for a chef in Burgundy, France in the late 1980s that he learned everything about terrines. “I kept all of those recipes and still use them today,” he says. “A great marinade with a little bit of time and love.”

The duck terrine requires 48 hours of preparation. First comes readying the duck livers, grade A foie gras from Hudson Valley, which he likes to soak in milk and vanilla beans. “I change it three times a day,” he explains, to remove the impurities. Afterwards, the livers are ground up along with pork fat and combined with onions sweated in cognac, bay leaves, thyme, and mustard. Then everything marinates for 24 hours. After adding cream and egg yolk to form a liver mousse and seasoning with salt and pepper, the mixture is placed into a terrine crock lined with bacon. Finally, the terrine goes into the oven in a water bath for 45 minutes, followed by a period of rest and cooling prior to serving.

Four Dogs’ duck livers come from Hudson Valley in New York. David recalls that when he cooked in Manhattan, all the game used there was imported from Scotland and much less processed. “It came in desiccated, with the feathers still on,” he describes.

David notes that the duck terrine tends to find its way onto the plate of the gourmand. “More of an educated diner. They’ll have the wine, the bread, the terrine,” he says. “They’ll get the shucked oysters, the special, a fatty salad, and the terrine. A little bit of a different crowd who appreciate the simple things in life.”

ORDER IT: DUCK TERRINE served with a crusty baguette, olives, gherkins, and mustard.

Foie Gras and Nuggets at SLOW HAND

“Overall, we execute a ‘scratch’ approach to our products. Our team makes all our products in house,” explains Craig Russell, owner and culinary director at Slow Hand. “Duck offers our guests a poultry option that they may not normally experience.”

The new duck breast entree at Slow Hand is already a crowd favorite. A seasonal addition to the menu, this dish is one of their lighter winter entrees, showcasing roasted turnips and thumbelina carrots, glazed lentils, and a tart yet hearty duck sauce. “The duck breast allows our chefs to exhibit our technique and utilization of seasonal offerings in line with our Upscale American Comfort theme,” says Craig.

Slow Hand sources their duck breasts from Joe Jurgielewicz & Sons, Ltd, one of the leading Pekin duck suppliers in North America. According to the Jurgielewicz website, “These same ducks are descendants of the original Long Island ducks that Dr. Joe’s grandparents raised on their farm in Long Island, and the breed is favored by leading chefs for its perfectly balanced meat-to-fat ratio, giving clients the signature, succulent flavor of the famous JJS Tasty Duck.”

Their other duck offering is the foie gras chicken nuggets, which Craig describes as “familiar with an upscale approach.” Paired

Slow Hand

with a boisterous sweet and spicy dipping sauce, he suggests that the nuggets are great to share (“or not!”) as a bar snack or appetizer. Slow Hand’s foie gras comes from the La Belle Farm in Hudson Valley, New York.

“Without question, the foie gras chicken nuggets are one of our most popular snacks,” he says. “Whether you’re a new customer, or dine at Slow Hand weekly, you’re almost definitely going to order that dish as one of your starters.”

ORDER IT: DUCK BREAST served with baby turnips, thumbelina carrots, lentils, and cranberry duck sauce; FOIE GRAS AND CHICKEN NUGGETS served with sweet and spicy dipping sauce.

photos ERIK WEBER @westchesterviews

story Jesse piersoL @JESSEPIERSOL