Valley Green Inn and its menu spruce up for a gala

By the time the guests of the 90th-anniversary gala for Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW) descend on the Valley Green Inn on Oct. 25, the makeover will be complete. Walls will have been painted, art recurated, floors varnished, lighting installed, bathrooms renovated - all in all, a welcome update for the most cherished landmark of the Wissahickon Valley.

It was an obvious choice for the organization to focus its anniversary efforts on the inn, says Maura McCarthy, FOW's executive director, because the inn has always been a focal point of the park. "We want to show off this amazing resource we have," she says. "Where else in the world can you go to a large urban park and eat dinner overlooking this beautiful landscape?"

Indeed, the inn has been such a presence in its 164-year history that many people refer to the woods themselves as "Valley Green."

"If you didn't grow up going to brunch there with your grandmother, it was your meeting place before a walk or run," says McCarthy, who can remember sitting on the inn's porch as a child, drinking hot chocolate with her family.

FOW has been involved with the inn since shortly after the organization's founding in 1924. At that time Valley Green was the last remaining roadhouse of the many that once lined the toll road now known as Forbidden Drive.

"It was a pretty old structure by the time we were established, and we always had a benevolent interest in maintaining it," McCarthy says. "In the 1950s we were granted the first sublease on the building from the City of Philadelphia." Today, the rental proceeds go back to the park to fund environmental restoration and other maintenance activity.

Since 1998, Valley Green has been managed by Jack Ott, and he has helped transform it into a wedding and banquet venue, now a large piece of the business, he says. "People want to come here and have their wedding in this amazing location."

Yet at the same time, these charming surroundings are notoriously problematic for operations. The coordinates are rarely recognized by GPS, making deliveries difficult. With no direct public transportation into the park, staffing has been an ongoing problem.

That's not even accounting for Mother Nature's curveballs. Set on a floodplain, the building has been continually plagued by mudslides, creek overflow, and power outages due to fallen trees. Last year alone, Ott says, the inn was closed for 11 days during the winter season. Over the years, FOW has invested in infrastructure improvements such as plumbing and drainage. The last major renovation took place in 2002, when the snack bar, outdoor pavilion, and bar were added.

These most recent changes were largely cosmetic, signaling the inn's (and FOW's) move into the present day. "The restaurant scene in Philadelphia had left Valley Green Inn behind but we're trying to alter that equation," says former board member Chris Bentley, cochair of the gala, along with Christine Bamberger.

Bamberger runs a home-staging business, so she worked closely with interior designer Ann Kelly and an array of contractors, artisans, and refinishers - many of whom donated their time and services - to "clean up" the look, from curtains to baseboards.

"It's a lot less South Philadelphia, and a lot more New Englandy," Bamberger says.

Kelly had the unique challenge of trying to preserve the historic integrity of the space while recasting it in the minimalism of a contemporary restaurant. She added locally made Windsor chairs, soft gray tones for the walls, and slate tile in the bathroom, and edited the clutter of art and objets into eye-catching vignettes.

"I wanted to retain the essential feel of the inn, and keep it looking the way an historic inn would look, but also bring it up to date," Kelly says. "It was a good challenge. In many ways it's more historically accurate now than it was, but it has always been a beautiful building in a great location and there's nothing like it."

With the majestic setting, the inn's food has always been almost beside the point. In its original incarnation as the Wissahickon Inn, according to Liz Jarvis, curator at the Chestnut Hill Historical Society, the kitchen specialized in catfish and waffle dinners, which included coffee, steak, fried potatoes, and stewed chicken. It was also "dry," which might explain its survival through Prohibition. In recent years, the inn has favored common-denominator fare such as grilled cheese, chicken salad, and meat loaf, the better for those intergenerational brunches.

That may be changing, too. FOW has brought in Aimee Olexy of Talula's Table and Talula's Garden to design the gala feast in the vein of her farm-to-table restaurants - almost certainly a departure from what the inn's clientele has come to expect. At the same time, Ott says he and executive chef Helen Kang have been working to rehaul the everyday menu, incorporating some of Olexy's ideas and emphasizing local and sustainable ingredients.

For the moment, Ott is coy about those exact menu items, as he anticipates that this new direction might stir strong opinions from the inn's loyal customer base. Ultimately, though, he thinks the changes are for the best.

"Some of the favorite old items will reappear as specials, so it won't be completely unfamiliar, and we hope our regulars will be excited about embracing something new. At the end of the day, we will still have the same casual dining experience that our guests have had since the 19th century."

For now the crew is readying for the big night, with lanterns along the river, live music, specialty cocktails, and porch decor courtesy of Terrain. The stated purpose of the gala is to raise money for the organization, but Bamberger also hopes it will renew sustained interest in the inn.

"We want to show people just how great the inn is, create some buzz, and let them know it's time to come back."

Makes 8-10 servings

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1 pound ground pork

1 pound ground veal

11/2 pounds ground beef

1/4 cup finely diced celery

1/4 cup finely diced white onion

1 tablespoon finely minced Thai chili

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

4 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 eggs

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon chopped thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

15 strips bacon

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1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

2. Line each of 3 loaf pans with 5 strips uncooked bacon, then pack meatloaf mixture tightly into pans, wrapping bacon around it. Set loaf pans into a large roasting pan and pour water into the roasting pan so it comes about halfway up the sides of the loaf pans. Bake until the internal temperature of the meatloaf is 160 degrees, about 75 to 90 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes, then remove from roasting pan. Slice and serve.

Per serving (based on 10): 448 calories; 61 grams protein; 3 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram sugar; 27 grams fat; 212 milligrams cholesterol; 948 milligrams sodium; trace dietary fiber.

Makes 6 servingsEndTextStartText

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and cooled

1 egg

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup finely diced celery

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

1/4 cup toasted and roughly chopped walnuts

1/4 cup dried fruit such as apricots, cranberries, cherries, or pears

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

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1. Cut cooled chicken into large dice and combine in a large bowl with the remaining ingredients.

2. Season to taste and add more mayonnaise as desired.

Per serving: 527 calories; 68 grams protein; 7 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams sugar; 27 grams fat; 234 milligrams cholesterol; 348 milligrams sodium; 1 gram dietary fiber.