Carlton Commons, located inside Waverly Heights in Gladwyne, a senior living community, is serving up some truly impressive and praiseworthy cuisine, writes Kiki Aranita for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
With only 32 seats, the restaurant is surrounded by tasteful paintings and a stylized metalwork map. It enforces a dress code of dresses for women and dinner jackets for men. The waiting list already includes hundreds of people, but it is clear the food is well worth the wait.
Standout dishes include osso buco served over tangy goat cheese polenta, a butternut squash risotto with creamy squash woven through the arborio, and al dente rigatoni alla vodka crowned with a crisp chicken cutlet and a billow of burrata.
A tomato aspic is the house specialty, paired simply with a small cucumber slice and a dollop of mayo. Staff members do not know where the dish originated, other than it existed before any of them worked there.
“It was always here,” said Waverly Heights’ executive chef Michael F. Tiernan. “And it is a fan favorite.”
Prices are surprisingly affordable, with a full meal that includes an appetizer, soup or salad, entree, and dessert costing about $37.50 plus tax.
Read more about Carlton Commons in Gladwyne’s Waverly Heights in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
