Modern, upscale, friendly, flavorful dining experience
This Bethlehem girl has always been intrigued by the sights, sounds and flavors of Easton.
We all know about the friendly competition between The Christmas City and its neighbor to the east. Lehigh versus Lafayette sporting matchups are legendary, while Easton’s colonial heritage measures up well with Bethlehem’s rich history.
And now, the opening of SURV Restaurant introduces a tasty new crosstown rivalry — in the realm of modern and deliciously upscale dining.
For birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and/or special nights out, the smart move is to consider this exceptional Easton destination.
To be clear, SURV is perhaps in competition with itself. The place is run by the owners of Bethlehem’s Edge Restaurant — recent winner of The Morning Call’s Reader’s Choice for “Best Dining.” In fact, SURV and Edge share the same master chef, Timothy Widrick. Widrick brings similar Asian and French influences to SURV which have thrived at Edge, but he is trying out a few new tricks.
To investigate this new Easton rival, I gathered a band of beloved friends and family to accompany me for a taste test. I recommend you do the same. Call your loved ones, put on your favorite outfit and get ready to spend the night at this exciting and creative culinary spot.
Setting and décor
There are two entrances to SURV. My friends and I were a little bewildered. We parked in the lot on the other side of the mall from where the restaurant is nestled.
We confusedly stumbled in through the back, where the massive woodfired pizza oven and one of two bars is located. A floor-to-ceiling mural of colorful graffiti adorns the walls of this back entrance.
Everything happens for a reason, I suppose. Guess who we bumped into by the wood-fire pizza oven? It was Chef Timothy Widrick, himself. He could not have been nicer. His fiery red hair matched the red and orange hues of the walls around him.
As we further entered the space, we gazed up as the ceilings grew higher. The place is upscale, yet casual. Modern art and sculptures are scarcely placed throughout.
There is ample seating. We settled into one of their unique booths — upholstered towers of smooth, sky blue
leather. The dark, walnut tabletops are not covered in white linen. This creates a relaxed feel. The atmosphere generates a special feel where each occasion can become a celebration.
Service
With a busy workload weighing heavily on our group, a festive, midweek night out was in order. So we boldly chose to enjoy SURV on a Wednesday evening. Gasp.
It was a quiet night at the restaurant. There were about two other parties enjoying themselves. The service was extremely friendly, attentive and inviting.
The servers were right there with a refill, just as you realized you should have another sip. The food is not rushed. I believe this was intentional. The staff wants you to come for the night, for the fun, and for the conversation.
Food
The cocktails erased all workplace worries with their fresh charm and names like “Ruby Rose,” “Honey Kissed Cosmo”
(my friend is still talking about that one) and “Golden Fig.”
The therapy in the cocktail menu includes “mocktails” as well. SURV also offers beer — draft and bottled — and an extensive wine list.
Three courses were thoroughly enjoyed. The medium plates were varied and full of flavor.
The beet and burrata salad was deconstructed, which made it perfect for sharing. There was a pure freshness to the red veggies that tasted just like summer. The arugula’s tart/tang was diminished by golden raisins and bright Greek yogurt spread underneath.
The stars of the evening were the entrees: the “Everything Salmon” and “Chicken n’ Waffles.”
The fish was topped with everything bagel seasoning. The savory fillet was contrasted by sweet hints in the roasted cauliflower and followed with a powerful punch of curry mustard.
The Chicken n’ Waffles is a modern twist on an American staple. Since I hate the words “succulent” and “moist,” let’s say that the fried chicken was anything but dry. Its honeyed juices were balanced with pickled cucumber slices. It was presented atop a “waffle” of
mac n’ cheese, melted among pasta shells which were aged cheddar perfection.
Dessert came and conquered. We shared the apple strudel, chocolate cake, and peanut
butter pie. They were the loveliest and most petite portions, so don’t fret to order — even if the epic entrees leave you feeling like you can’t take any more. Have the dessert.
The bottom line
It’s new, it’s modern, it’s upscale, but it’s not intimidating. The food was excellent, and the service was personable.
As I sat there, savoring all,
I felt a butterfly sensation of excitement. I saw a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. There we sat, newly-vaccinated friends, drinking, laughing, sharing food and time together for the first time in far too long.
I started daydreaming about birthday dinners and special gatherings like this that could happen again — maybe soon. And it felt good to know that SURV is here, ready for our return.
SURV
Where: 1800 Sullivan Trail, Easton
Contact: 484-554-0624 surveaston.com
Hours: Sunday-Monday closed; 4:30-8:30 p.m. TuesdayThursday; 4-9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Prices: Medium plates $9-16; Entrees: $18-42
Bar: Full Bar
Credit cards: Yes
Handicap accessible: Yes
Madelyn Dundon is a Morning Call contributor.
In the near present, a woman whose marriage is crumbling lifts a tiny sky-blue vial from the bank of the Thames River.
In 1791, a 12-year-old girl who has helped commit a murder fills that vial with a potion she hopes will change her life.
What links them, besides that bit of blue glass, is the subject of “The Lost Apothecary,” a debut novel by Sarah Penner.
The book’s two story lines are separated by more than two centuries, but both of them center on women trying to control their own lives.
It begins in the past, in the tiny apothecary shop run by Nella Clavinger, on a narrow London street called Back Alley.
Nella inherited the business from her mother, who taught her everything she knows about using herbs, roots, even insects to concoct tinctures and powders that can treat all sorts of ailments. Nella’s mother was a healer, and she specialized in treating women.
Since her mother’s death, though, Nella has taken the business in a different direction. In a scrupulously kept account book, she tells us, she records secrets: “Secrets about the vigorous young man who suffered an ailing heart on the eve of his wedding, or how it came to pass that a healthy new father fell victim to a sudden fever . ... These were not weak hearts and fevers at all, but thornapple juice and nightshade slipped into wines and pies by cunning women whose names now stained my register.”
Why Nella began selling poison, and why she only sells it for use on men, is one of the book’s pivotal secrets.
Now middle-aged and in failing health, Nella will confess it finally to the other person who voices the historical narrative, Eliza Fanning.
They meet when Eliza, a country girl come to London for a job as a housemaid, is sent to Nella by her mistress. Mrs. Amwell has been kind to Eliza, even taught her to read and write. Mr. Amwell, however, is another story. His wife pays Nella for a pair of poisoned eggs, but it’s Eliza who, following Nella’s instructions, cooks and serves them.
You might expect a young girl to be horrified by such events. Not Eliza — indeed, she wants Nella to take her on as an apprentice. But when another order goes terribly awry, Nella and Eliza will be plunged into danger.
In contemporary London, Caroline Parcewell arrives from the United States for what was supposed to be her 10th anniversary trip with her husband, James. But Caroline arrives alone after discovering that James is having an affair. She’s shocked and shattered — they had only recently started trying to have a baby, and she thought their relationship was stable, if a tad boring.
At loose ends, she takes up an offer from a man who’s recruiting people on the street for a mudlarking tour of the banks of the Thames. Mudlarking is a kind of riverine amateur archaeology,
a popular pursuit in London, where the Thames has flowed through a huge, populous city for centuries, carrying with it all sorts of artifacts and depositing them randomly on its banks.
Caroline gets lucky almost immediately, spotting a tiny blue vial marked with the outline of a bear. A decade before, she abandoned a plan to apply for a graduate course in history at Cambridge University because James had a good job in Ohio. She thinks she doesn’t regret it, but that vial sparks something.
The tour guide sends her to his daughter Gaynor, who happens to work in the venerable British Library, and soon the two of them are searching old records, maps and newspaper articles trying to find the bottle’s provenance. Caroline is having a good time in London after all, until James shows up at her hotel room door.
Much separates the lives of Nella and Eliza from Caroline’s world, but there are things they share, and not just betrayal by men. All three are driven by a thirst for knowledge and by a desire for independence. Thanks to a little bottle on a riverbank, Caroline might bring their stories to light centuries later.
ARTHAUS GALLERY, 645 Hamilton St., Allentown. 610-841-4866. Blackboard Veve Painting:
Local artist Femi J. Johnson show features a series of paintings, some on old blackboards, done during Covid 2020. Through March 20.
ALLENTOWN ART MUSEUM, 31 N. Fifth Street, Allentown. 610-432-4333. Hope & Healing Juried Art Show: Presented by Healing Through the Arts, high school and college students create healing inspired artwork and provide an inspirational statement about how their piece encourages hope and healing. Artwork is donated to healthcare facilities and providers. Through May 16. New Century, New Woman: Explores American women’s new personal and political freedoms at the turn of the twentieth century through the lens of fashion. Through April
18. Prints and Protest, 1960-1970: Explores artist’s diverse responses to causes such as the Civil Rights and antiwar movements. Through April 25. Rembrandt Revealed: Through a close focus on “Portrait of a Young Woman” the exhibition offers a deep dive into the conservation process, with an appealing and accessible step-by-step understanding of decisions and discoveries and also explores the complexities and uncertainties of the attribution process and invites the public to participate in that conversation. Through May 2. allentownartmuseum.org.
BANANA FACTORY, BANKO GALLERY, 25 W. Third St., Bethlehem. 610-332-1300. The 5x5 Show:
Five artists in five media. Richard Begbie (photography); James A. DePietro (painting); Barbara Kozero (mosaic, sculpture); Jacqueline Meyerson (pastels); and Pat Delluva (drawing, printmaking). Through March 21.
CLAY ON MAIN, 313 Main St., Oley. 610-987-0273. Sentimentalia: Six artists create a cohesive show that delves into the sentimental, more than half find their way to the theme through assemblages or collage work. Through March 24. clayonmain.org.
EAST STROUDSBURG UNIVERSITY, MADELON POWERS GALLERY, 200 Prospect St., East Stroudsburg. null. The Sally Project: Online exhibition features local and national artists, writers, performers, and historians intrigued by women like Sarah “Sally” Hemings, the mixed-race slave woman who had six children with Thomas Jefferson, whose lives have been erased or marginalized. Through May 31. esu.edu.
JEFFREY GROVE, 184 Main St., Emmaus. 610-9674600. Abraham Darlington: Paintings. Through April 30.
LAURA’S CUSTOM FRAMING AND FINE ART, 1328 Chestnut St., Emmaus. 610-928-8622. Shorebird Paintings: Elizabeth Kenny. Through April 30.
LEHIGH VALLEY CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS, 321 E. Third St., Bethlehem. 610-8682971. Faculty Art Exhibit: Virtual look at works by various school faculty and alumni. Through March 31. charterarts.org.
LIBERTY BELL MUSEUM, 622 W. Hamilton St., Allentown. 610-435-4232. Christmas 1945: Shared from the holiday collections of Kathy Dewald of Orwigsburg are examples of patriotically themed period Christmas cards as well as the story of the newly developed American technology of V-mail, short for Victory Mail, using microfilm as the primary and secure method to correspond with soldiers stationed abroad during WWII. Additional WWII era original Christmas cards are on loan from Ann Wertman of New Tripoli. Through April 17.
WWII: Remembering 75 Years Ago: Complimenting the museum’s replica Liberty Bell and Revolutionary War history are exhibit items on display from the personal collection of Retired Major General Gerald Still of Bethlehem, including memorabilia from his late father, a WWII Veteran, including medals, uniforms, letters, photos and documentary on D-Day. Through April 17. LibertyBellMuseum.org.
LOWER MACUNGIE LIBRARY, 3450 Brookside Road, Macungie. 610-966-6864. Paintings:
Catherine Rhoades. Through April 30.
MICHENER ART MUSEUM, 138 S. Pine St., Doylestown. 215-340-9800. Fern Coppedge: New Discoveries: Highlights Michener’s recent acquisition of four winter landscapes by the Pennsylvania Impressionist. Reserved timed tickets. Through April 18. Through the Lens: Modern Photography in the Delaware Valley: Explores nearly 70 years of artistic experimentations with photographic processes and subject matter by artists in the Delaware Valley region. Through Aug. 15. michenerartmuseum.org.
MUSEUM OF INDIAN CULTURE, 2825 Fish Hatchery Road, Allentown. 610-797-2121. Women Warriors: Resilience, Leadership and Activism: Native American exhibit celebrates the formidable women who have fought fearlessly in battle, undertook dangerous journeys, and who continue to serve as committed leaders. Through Oct. 1. museumofindianculture.org.
NAZARETH CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 30 Belvidere St., Nazareth. null. Sue Pettit: Acrylic on canvas and alcohol ink tiles. Through March 21. nazaretharts. org.
NEW ARTS PROGRAM, 173 W. Main St., Kutztown. 610-683-6440. Voices & Visions: Artists of Haiti:
Expansive exhibition and sale of original paintings curated by artist/poet Patricia Goodrich commemorating the 11th anniversary of the January 12, 2010, earthquake that devastated much of Haiti. Through April 17. newartsprogram.org.
NEW HOPE ARTS CENTER, 2 Stockton Ave., New Hope. 215-862-9606. Illusions of Light:
John Spears work has evolved using the silk screen process as a basis to embody a multiplicity of paint color palettes. In person and online exhibit. Through March 21. newhopearts.org.
READING PUBLIC MUSEUM, 500 Museum Road, Reading. 610-371-5850. Billie Jean King: Champion. Activist. Legend.:
75 photographs chronicle King’s life, including her journey toward achieving 39 Grand Slam titles and the world No. 1 ranking in women’s tennis. Through May 23.
Courting Style: Women’s Tennis Fashion:
Explores the intersection of tennis and fashion drawn from the collections at the Museum of International Tennis Hall of Fame. Through May 25.
Storyland: A Trip Through Childhood Favorites:
Transforms seven award-winning picture books (“The Tale of Peter Rabbit,”
“The Snowy Day,”“Where’s Spot?,” “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” and “Tuesday”) into three-dimensional play and bi-lingual (English and Spanish) learning environments that highlight the six pre-reading skills defined by the Public Library Association and Association for Library Service to Children. (Feb. 13-May 23). Through May 23. readingpublicmuseum.org.
STUDIO B FINE ART GALLERY, 39A E. Philadelphia Ave., Boyertown. 484-332-2757. New Day/New World: Juried fine art exhibit in all media. hrough March 21. studiobbb.org.
THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia. 215-299-1000. Permian Monsters: Life Before the Dinosaurs:
Step back in time 290 million years to when bizarre-looking creatures dominated life on land and sea, and dinosaurs had not yet evolved. Through May 2.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year:
100 awarded images from the 2019 entries. Through March 14. ansp.org.
THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE, 222 N. 20th St., Philadelphia. 215448-1200. Crayola IDEAworks: The Creativity Exhibition: State-of-the-art digital interactives and exhibits that provide a personalized adventure guided by RFID wristbands. Through July 18. fi.edu.
ZOELLNER ARTS CENTER, 420 E. Packer Ave., Bethlehem. 610758-3615. Doing Democracy: Photography from the George
Stephanopoulos Collection: Explores the unfolding process of American democracy through an array of photographs that shine a light on significant events of the 20th century and the present, featuring world leaders, the media, politicians, civil rights movements, and everyday Americans. Viewing appointment required. Through May 21. luag. lehigh.edu.
GALLERY 840, 840 Hamilton St. Suite 101, Allentown. 484-866-2972. Light and Hope: Abraham Darlington, Mandy Martin, Barbara Tracy and Wendy Stoudt bring their own unique style to create art that is uplifting, bright and hopeful. Register for private showing or view online. Through April 24. gallery840.net.
Whether it’s the result of record snow storms, wild temperature swings or a solid case of COVID19 fatigue, many of us are ready for a change of scenery. Even if it’s too soon for your family to travel, putting a plan in place can raise spirits all around. Here are ideas to consider:
Make a plan: Picture yourself on a sandy beach, in a cozy mountain cabin or a vast desert landscape. Ponder future family commitments and schedules and consider your options. Browse the websites of your favorite resorts, mountain towns or desert destinations to review deals, protocols and possibilities. Discuss the options with your family.
Bucket lists: Now is the time to create a thoughtful bucket list for the long term. Doing so can make it easier to plan for meaningful vacations. Ask yourself what aspects of the world — geographically, spiritually and culturally — you want to share with your children and grandchildren. Think about which destinations you hope to visit while your children are in the nest and which might best be saved for later.
Connect with family and friends:
Is it too soon to expand your pod or reconnect with those family members and friends with whom you’ve only visited via video chat? Consider checking in with your clan and craft a plan to celebrate a birthday or anniversary, or to honor a family member’s special achievement.
We’ve missed the chance to celebrate many family touchstones. But is it ever too late to celebrate those moments? At the same time, who needs an official event to enjoy the company of your loved ones?