Deux Cheminees offers premium dining experience at a unique spot

Deux Cheminees is more than a meal; the traditional and unique French restaurant is a lesson in historical and dining elegance.

The restaurant, located at 1221 Locust St., occupies the first two floors of two adjacent and connected Victorian townhouses. The food, of course, cannot be overlooked one bit, but the true soul of the restaurant lies in its non-restaurant-like location.

Head chef and owner Fritz Blank has transformed the former home of the Princeton-Yale Club of Philadelphia into the extraordinary dining experience. The passion Blank has put into his restaurant has been evident from the beginning, when he left his former post at the Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Burn Unit to pursue his interest in cooking.

While many once doubted the viability of his restaurant, Deux Cheminees (which means "two fireplaces") is now entering its 25th year.

Visitors to the restaurant are treated -- unfortunately at $85 a person -- to a dining experience infused with both new and old.

Beautiful artwork, a tuxedo-clad maitre d' and graceful fireplace are the first signs of what the restaurant offers.

Patrons can be seated in the three "ordinary" dining rooms, or on special occasions may opt for the more unique and intimate locations: the Chef's Library, the Main Library or the Study, which once served as the Victorian parlor in the building's earlier years. While libraries may not seem at home in restaurant, they are in fact the home of Blank's collection of 17,000 historical and modern cook books, a constant source of inspiration for the night's menu.

The menu, of course, is the other highlight of the restaurant.

Patrons choose a soup, salad, entree and dessert from the prix-fixe menu. However, if parents aren't paying for the meal, more spendthrift students can subtract one of the above courses and eat for $65 -- only if seated by 6 p.m. and concluded by 8 p.m.

I decided to try the Soupe aux Fois Haricots. My more sophisticated guest ordered the Soupe au Creme de Brocolis, which was seasoned with a mild curry. Both were good, but paled in comparison to the salad.

Both of us ordered Salade de Poires, a mix of spinach leaves, pear slices and delicious Roquefort cheese. Yet it was the candied walnuts that made the dish spectacular.

Diners can also substitute hors d'oeuvres for either soup or salad for $10. The crab veloute is a local favorite, and it is well worth the extra $10.

Salad is followed by bread and duck liver spread, which may sound strange to some -- including myself -- but apparently the course serves to clear one's palette in preparation for the main course.

I chose the Canard Roti aux Griottes, a well-roasted duck with vegetables and griotte cherries.

My guest, the wiser one, ordered the Tournedos Notre Facon (essentially: "steak, our way"), a beef tenderloin accompanied by vegetables and mashed sweet potatoes. Both portions were surprisingly large and more than filling, and the duck, well seasoned, was cooked to savory perfection.

Yet Deux Chem's desserts were the emergent highlights of the evening.

The lemon meringue cheesecake, encrusted with chocolate and powdered sugar, was superb. My guest played it safe, ordering the gelato sorbets, which came in a thin cookie bowl, with delicious, homemade whipped cream on the side. My favorite dessert, however, was "The Napoleon," a traditional French pastry filled with bananas, custard and the same whipped cream.

All desserts came with strawberries and blueberries.

Sad to see the meal ending, my date and I asked for the tour, a must for any first-timers.

With great service, food and classical Victorian ambiance, is a wonderful -- albeit expensive -- experience.

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