Last month the White Dog Cafe in Wayne, PA opened their outdoor patio for the season so we stopped by for brunch. White Dog’s first location was in University City, Philadelphia. Originally founded in January 1983, by Judy Wicks, social activist, the restaurant inhabited three connecting Victorian brownstones and quickly became a local favorite with the majority of the ingredients for the restaurants being purchased from local farms, located no more than fifty miles from our restaurants. They incorporate organic items as much as they can when available from farms using sustainable farming practices.
In 2009, Marty Grims bought White Dog Cafe to continue the legacy, adding culinary inspiration and service commitment creating a new compelling restaurant model. White Dog Cafe brought its unusual blend of award-winning contemporary American cuisine, civic engagement and environmental sustainability to the Main Line in 2010. Known for warm hospitality, inspiring and award winning food, surrounded with charming and whimsical dog décor and artwork. White Dog Cafe Wayne has four distinctive dining areas that have their own charm and personality, in addition to the outdoor patio.
Dining rooms include the Den and Bar with mahogany wood covered ceiling, needlepoint dog pillows, and a striking wall of oil paintings of your favorite dogs. We sat in the Garden Room which has chicken-wired ceilings with floral prints, antique lighting fixture and wooden shutters from North Carolina. The Library room’s mahogany ceiling has whimsical flying books. And the Kitchen room has reclaimed floors and ceilings with copper pans lining the wall.
With a passion for creating inspiring flavorful dishes, Chef Zach Grainda’s menus change monthly to ensure we are using the freshest local and seasonal ingredients available.
We started our brunch with some tea, and coffee which are Certified Organic and Fair Trade. If you’re looking for a boozy brunch, White Dog has a variety of seasonal cocktails that use artisan distilled spirits, their wines are grown and produced from American vineyards, and they also serve local craft beer.
Since it was a bit cloudy and cool we dove right into a bowl of the Kennett Square Mushroom Soup rich and creamy made with white truffle oil, snipped chives, and Crème Fraîche. We also tried the Smoked Salmon & Latke which is unique to White Dog Wayne. This lovely dish consisted of a large Russet potato latke topped with Sockeye Salmon, Roe, and Crème Fraîche.
Breakfast lovers will enjoy dishes made with cage-free egss like the ever popular Avocado BLT with a fried egg, smoked bacon, bibb lettuce, hothouse tomatoes, and chipotle mayo on sliced brioche. Guests can also choose from the traditional Eggs Benedict with Lancaster smoked ham, cage-free soft poached eggs, and hollandaise, on a English Muffin or opt for the Smoked Salmon Benedict with Sockeye Salmon.
We tried the seasonal crepes, which are now Ham and Cheese Crepes served with early spring asparagus, brie, smoked Lancaster ham, and a marsala cream sauce. And we absolutely loved the Maryland Crab Cake BLT with bibb lettuce, tomato, applewood smoked bacon, caper remoulade, and mixed Greens. This massive crab cake sandwich might have stolen the show at brunch.
In May of 2015, a third White Dog location opened in Haverford. Each location’s warmth and welcoming décor boosts a love of dogs that is both artistic and playful. Executive Chef Zach Grainda drives the culinary creativity and sustainable business practices, while Tamas Szene oversees the service and daily operations. The restaurants even use renewable energy, LED lighting and practice sustainable initiatives that are environmentally friendly.
So make yourself an OpenTable reservation and head over to check out a farm to table brunch at White Dog Wayne sometime soon! The outdoor patio seating is great on a sunshiney day!
philmytummy.com 