It’s hard to say where the suburbs end and the countryside begins, or vice-versa, but once you’re in the hinterlands you know it—not only by how it looks, but also because of the certain unmistakable feeling of freedom and freshness one finds at the gateway to the countryside.
Birchrunville, Pennsylvania, is that kind of place.
Situated just eight or so miles west of Phoenixville and located amid the rolling hunt country hills of bucolic West Vincent Township (aka Chester Springs), quiet Birchrunville is an unincorporated village listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a sleepy crossroads where the closest traffic light is three miles away and where a “commuter tie-up” may mean the brief, early spring closure along Hollow Road brought about by the annual amphibian crossing.
This sleepy dot on the western fringe of the Delaware Valley map is unassuming, yet it’s highly sought out at the same time because of the village’s most notable claim to fame: The Birchrunville Store Cafe.
Since coming to this cusp of the countryside in 1999, Francis Trzeciak’s famed 45-seat French/Mediterranean restaurant has become a destination for diners from near (like me—I live just two miles away) and far (from other states and even other countries), who are lured by the cafe’s reputation as one of the very best food and service experiences in the Philadelphia countryside.
It’s that good: Francis’s place has earned a rarified spot as one of the top 5 restaurants in the Zagat Survey for Philadelphia & Vicinity every year since the early 2000s.
When Francis Met Nuy…
Meanwhile, across the suburban landscape, just to the east, Nuy (“Noo-ee”) Kullanna has had her own full plate of patrons and deep responsibilities as the proprietor of Thai L’Elephant, the invitingly exotic Thai restaurant located in the heart of Phoenixville. Nuy and her team have been garnering outstanding reviews and a well-respected reputation since opening in 2009.
Francis and Nuy met about a decade ago, and in March 2015 they quietly married, bonded by love and connected, in part, by their need to please others through great food. “She brings out the best in me,” he smiles beatifically while gazing upon Nuy, the serene and attractively positive yin to the French chef’s now-tempered yang.
And now, the couple’s yearning to collaborate on a project together has come to fruition. After two years of securing permits and untold hours spent extensively renovating the former Richard Wright antiques shop across from the café (circa late 1890s), Francis and Nuy unveiled the Butterscotch Pastry Shop on February 21.
Come in, We’re OPEN
You know you’re in for a charming experience when you pull into the parking lot and are met with cheery gardens and a restored outhouse, original to the property, leaning happily off to one side. (It’s just for show, though.)
To enter the Butterscotch Pastry Shop, one must cross a tiny wooden foot bridge over the burbling Birchrun Creek. Patinated copper piping runs along the railings. Open the front door, and the copper piping follows you in, wending this way and that throughout the quaint, homey spaces and along walls painted the color butterscotch, naturally.
Occasionally, the pipe is punctuated by a series of valves with dials both large and small—just a few of the many displayed treasures the couple found down below in the cellar. Deeply lacquered counters were harvested from 100-year-old black cherry, red maple and box elder trees.
Suspended old PA license plates are mounted purposely askew on a ruddy brick wall. Other displayed knickknacks include a Prohibition-era moonshiner’s jug, an old set of keys embedded like amber into one of the countertops and a giant wooden coin bearing the shop’s name inlaid within the floorboards.
Daytime Food & Drink Arrive in Birchrunville
Word is quickly spreading about this brand new eat-in/take-out option in Birchrunville. Nuy oversees the front of the house and Francis preps, cooks and then reheats with an oven. Perky Jess helps at the counter and with clearing, and Francis relies on trusty young sous chef Harrison to lend a deft hand or two.
Croissants, pastries, fruit tarts, chocolate ganache, milk chocolate banana Croque Monsieur, blueberry swirl cheesecake (in regular and mini sizes), cookies, honey madelines and of course, Francis’s butterscotch muffins, as well as orange cream muffins and blueberry muffins (regular and mini), are all created across the street at the Cafe, as are all of the prepared breakfast and lunch offerings.
In the spirit of supporting deserving local businesses, the duo uses Hobo Ed’s Artisan Coffees for its coffee, espresso, cappuccino and latte. Two Leaves brand is the in-house tea.
Breakfast can be a simple croissant or a light egg soufflé, served with one meat—capicola, smoked PA bacon, cooked ham, Parma proscuitto or vegetables. The quiche is enriched with Gruyere cheese. Fresh organic eggs arrive each morning.
Lunch, served starting at 11 a.m., features open-face sandwiches crafted with Green Lion Breads from Soltane Bridges Café & Bakery in Phoenixville. “They have four or five breads,” Francis expounds. “They use local seeds and flours from Lancaster.”
There might be roasted beef sliced thin with a slather of mayonnaise, sliced tomatoes and a house-smoked mozzarella with arugula one day, or a smoked salmon sandwich the next.
Pungent curried chicken salad is brightened by apples and golden raisins. Roasted beets with feta and aged balsamic is a healthy salad option.
“This was all Francis,” Nuy gestures. “He just comes up with ideas and then he makes them happen.”
Since February, Birchrunville has become even more flavorful and alluring with the advent of Butterscotch Pastry Shop. It’s yet another reason to make the journey to the end of the countryside. Or, here in the hollow, is it the beginning?
Current hours are 8 a.m.–2 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, and 9 a.m.–3 p.m. on Sunday.
Find Butterscotch Pastry Shop at 406 Hollow Rd. in Birchrunville; phone: (610) 827-0900.
- Food photos: Nuy Kullanna
- Remaining photos: Ken Alan
8 Comments