Glorious Day Trip to Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve

Inspired by the Delaware Center for Horticulture, we visited the Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve (http://www.bhwp.org) which is nestled in the lovely woodlands outside of New Hope, Pa. We spent the morning roaming the wooded trails enchanted by the spring ephemerals. Swaths of Virginia Bluebells, fields of Spring Beauties, and bright splotches of Marsh Marigold delighted us. We found ourselves getting close to the ground to examine the intricate design of Trout-lily, Jack-in-the pulpit, ferns and trillium while often retrieving old remembrances and confronting gaps in our knowledge. We searched for frogs in the algae covered pond enchanted as children as we spied them hiding in plain sight. There is much to see in this little gem with different flowers coming into bloom each month - all native to the area with over 80 rare or endangered species. We highly recommend taking the time to enjoy a visit.

By 1:00 we were ravenous and went a short way down River Road to Bowman's Tavern, a sprawling establishment with lots of space inside and a small patio outside. Their menu was extensive with a broad range of choices. We began our meal with an appetizer of Wild Pork Wings, pork shanks glazed with soy, ginger, lime, sesame and teriyaki on a bed of spring greens. The pork was tender and very tasty - it was gone within minutes.

Lorraine chose the traditional tavern dish of Fish and Chips. Breaded deep fried flounder served on a mound of french fries with a side of slaw. The fish was good except the narrow edges were too dry to eat, the fries were commercially prepared - good, but not exceptional, however the slaw was very good.

Nanzie also chose a tavern standard, a Po Boy. Four huge deep fried oysters with bacon strips, lettuce, tomato and red onion on a freshly baked roll. Throughout our meal we could hear these small cries of delight as Nanzie took another bite. A definite winner.

Linda chose one of the specials, Tilapia with tomato, mango and spinach served with wild rice and vegetables. She said the meal was very good.

I chose Liver and Onions, a dish I love but rarely make for myself. The liver was breaded and fried, smothered with lots of onions and served on a bed of wild rice with vegetables. The liver was tender and tasty, and the onions were perfect but the breading was a bit soggy. I had difficulty integrating the flavor of the wild rice with the liver...mashed potatoes would have been so much nicer.

In all we enjoyed our lunch and would recommend the tavern as a better than average place to eat. (http://www.bowmanstavernrestaurant.com/)

Written by Nancy M.