Po Le Cucina — Restaurant in Lower Gwynedd Township

This is a fantastic restaurant that I've eaten at several times. The family that owns it is extremely nice, and they are extraordinarily talented at what they do. I apologize for not knowing how to spell any names.

All skills worth having are secretly just art, and all art is secretly communication, and all communication is secretly just math. And math just consist of proofs and proofs are just sources of epiphanies. Eating here causes epiphanies if you have the sort of mind that is likely to have epiphanies.

What kind? Lilly's cookies are correct, and they explain what everyone else whose ever made a cookie with fruit in it does wrong. I believe she uses cranberries not raisins, but that's not the important part. I realized when I tried Lilly's cookies that I'd never had a good oatmeal-raisin cookie before because all of the other ones I've had have been too sweet. When the raisins are sweeter than the cookie, the whole cookie just works better.

The first thing I learned from Philip: Philip has figured out that one way to have much better fish at an Italian restaurant, particularly much better scallops, is to just source them like you're a sushi restaurant. If you want to know why their scallops are so good, it's because they use the kind of scallops that are much more likely to be used in sushi than cooked in an Italian dish. I don't usually like scallops except at sushi restaurants, and talking to Philip I learned why that is. They have good scallops here.

Po Le doesn't realize how innovative he is. I had to eat here several times to figure out why they consider this to be normal Italian food that is not fusion. Their food is extremely good and extremely neutral. What does that mean? You know how British food is bland, that is because, British people try to cook neutral food, but they fail at it. The only people I know who cook good European food that tastes neutral cook Eastern European food, and are Jewish. This food violates some of Europe's strongest food taboos that are so ingrained in Western culture that I didn't even notice they were there. (That's what most taboos are like.) Philip tried to tail me it was just normal Italian food, not any fusion. When I raised my eyebrows, he asked me if I'd been to Italy, and then I explained to him how the combination of flavors in these meals did not match with any combination of flavors that I would expect to encounter in Italy, and he agreed with me that my description of differences were correct. I know. Italians spent much of their history trying to be as anti-Jewish as possible. That's a big part of European culture. This is what Italian food would have tasted like if Italians didn't spend most of their history persecuting Jews to bother to try any Jewish cooking. And it only seems Italian because it's Italian-Italian fusion in a Jewish style. This is aristocrat-peasant fusion. Once I finally figured out the range of meanings stored under "good Polish food" in my head, I was able to figure out why it tasted more like good Polish food, than Italian food. I strongly recommend this restaurant. At first when I tried the food, I assumed it was very, very hard to cook like this because I had never eaten food that tasted like it. But having gone home and experimented a little, I discovered that by just violating all my instinctualized pairings, I could also cook neutral food that tastes good after eating here. Also, ... on a related note... do you know who really, really likes to eat neutral-tasting food to show off how much more sophisticated they are than everyone else? Hereditary billionaires. This is what the food that hereditary billionaires eat taste likes. That's why British people are so fond of bland food; they're trying to pretend to be hereditary billionaires, but they don't know how because they don't realize that hereditary billionaires are always secretly bragging that three generations ago, they were peasants.

It's probably for the best that I'm at my word limit. But I also have nice things to...

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Po Le Cucina, a charming restaurant in Lower Gwynedd, PA, that offers a unique BYOB experience. From start to finish, our evening was filled with delightful surprises.

To kick things off, we savored the Figs wrapped in prosciutto, a fantastic specialty dish that set the tone perfectly. The raw oysters were accompanied by two distinct sauces - a tangy homemade cocktail sauce and a refreshing oil-vinegar-based sauce with shallots, adding a burst of flavor to our meal.

The Calamari Special, featuring fiery sautéed calamari with generous jumbo lump crabmeat in a Fra Diavolo sauce, was a spicy delight, beautifully balanced by the abundance of crab.

The Clams Casino, topped with chopped clams, onions, tomatoes, and bacon, was a standout dish, but the true star of the evening was the Softshell Crabs. Incredibly fresh, perfectly crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside, they left a lasting impression.

I opted for the chef's signature dish, the Seafood Linguine, for the main course. It featured a medley of shrimp, calamari, clams, and scallops in a white wine sauce that was robust and infused with seafood stock, achieving culinary perfection.

For dessert, we enjoyed cappuccinos accompanied by scrumptious cranberry biscotti, a heavenly crème brûlée with its rich, creamy texture and satisfying crack of caramelized sugar, and a decadent chocolate mousse cake that satisfied our sweet tooth.

The desserts truly showcased the chef's skill in creating confections that left us wanting more.

Adding a personal touch to our experience, the chef, after whom the restaurant is named, came out to speak with our table. It highlighted the genuine passion and dedication behind the dishes we enjoyed.

The restaurant's atmosphere was cozy and inviting, fostering friendly conversations among diners. The outside seating under a tent provided a comfortable and intimate dining setting.

A standout aspect of our visit was the friendly and attentive restaurant staff, making it feel like a welcoming family-run establishment. Both the son and daughter actively contributed to our enjoyable evening, offering excellent recommendations throughout our meal.

Overall, Po Le Cucina offers exceptional food and genuine hospitality, creating an unforgettable dining experience where great flavors meet warm,...

Party of 5 on Saturday night, 8pm seating. Competent if unspectacular appetizers. Service a bit slow. 2 of the entrees ordered were filet mignon, 1 medium rare and 1 medium. 4 of 5 entrees arrived and we waited for 5th entree to arrive before we started. (Just past 9pm). Medium filet had no hint of pink as appropriate. Medium-rare fillet was exactly same as medium. No hint of pink at all. But did not discover this until after waiter walked away. Waiter did return and was informed diner wished to have filet medium rare and waiter removed dish. A few minutes later Maitre d came and informed diner, in interest of time, they could butterfly filet to accelerate cooking. Diner declined, asked for filet to be delivered as ordered. Other diners finished entrees and no entree for 5th diner. (9:30) Dishes cleared and waiter finally delivers entree. Does not wait for feedback. Filet is barely rare, cold and raw in center. After a delay, Maitre d comes over to inquire if diner is satisfied and is shown rare to uncooked filet which he takes back to kitchen to cook more. Waiter returns with dessert tray and other diners make selections. At 9:35, Waiter returns with desserts. At 9:40 waiter returns with the filet which is now done perfectly. Diner takes a bite, finds that though it is now medium rare, he has lost his appetite. Waiter comes over to check on diner who asks waiter to remove uneaten entree. 9:45, Maitre d comes over and inquires about entree. Other diners are finishing desserts. Maitre d expresses appropriate apology and informs diner that if he chooses to NOT take home the completely un-eaten entree, he will, of course, remove it from the bill(!!) and diner consents. House is now more than half empty, yet at no time does Chef come out to see diners or to check on and interact with the very, very uncomfortable and disappointed customers in our party. At the price point, our expectations were woefully unmet and would even go so far as to say that though the staff was apologetic, the opportunities to do right by the customers were missed...