We like to give you a sneak peek to what is going on in the kitchen so each season we will post a recipe and a wine that we think is especially delicious. We hope that you enjoy them and if you are ever interested in other recipes or have a culinary question for Chef Chizmar please do not hesitate to email us through this site.


What's the scuttlebutt this month:

Lee Chizmar returns to the 10! Show on NBC

We were invited to be on the 10! Show soon after we first opened and we were thrilled to be back on yet a second time, this time with a beautiful cookbook, Harvest to Heat to promote and more recipes to share!

James Beard House Harvest to Dinner Short Film

On Monday November 1st the esteemed and legendary James Beard House celebrated the launch of Harvest to Heat with a memorable, farm fresh dinner created by select chefs of Harvest to Heat, including ours truly Lee Chizmar. This beautifully shot short film by the book's photographer Darryl Estrine captures the highlights of that evening and brings the book to life! Click to view: http://vimeo.com/17411448

Harvest to Heat

Lee Chizmar Makes his Cookbook Debut

A while back we were asked to be part of an incredible cookbook that would pair up some of the country's most revered farmers, artisans and the chefs who love them. It's no surprise that we chose to be paired up with our friend and oyster farmer Skip Bennett, the man at the helm of Island Creek Oysters. His oysters are so good even the White House has them on their menu!

Well, the book is finally out on shelves! Harvest to Heat (Taunton Press October 2010) is an ode to some of America's most talented farmers and artisans, a celebration of local foods and a tribute to the chefs who have committed themselves to the integrity of their ingredients.

Our very own Chef Lee Chizmar appears alongside such culinary luminaries as Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, Marc Vetri, Eric Ripert and Tom Collichio. We couldn't ask for better company.

Copies of the book will be available beginning the second week of October for purchase at the restaurant for a 10% discount.

Please see our press mentions to see all the exciting things that happened to us this year (our television debut, our Food Network bit, a Three Bells review and more).

As we look to our third year we are excited to grow continue to make you happy and have you return to us again and again.

Lunch Suspension

After much deliberation on the matter we have made the hard decision to suspend our lunch service. As most of you already know, we have a very limited amount of space in our kitchen and a whole lot to do! As our demand for dinner service grows, so to does the need for extra space and extra time to make all the thoughtfully prepared and house-made food we pride ourselves on bringing to you. Our 6-burner stove can only handle so much and there is so much we want to give you! Suspending lunch service will allow Lee and his team to focus their efforts on creating new dishes, sourcing new ingredients and bring their wonderful food to more guests.

We are saddened to let lunch go and we will really miss our lunch folks (you know who you are!), but this decision will only help us serve you better at dinner until we can renovate our kitchen. We hope you can understand and we hope to see you in for dinner soon.

Frugal Foodie — Bolete's version of a gourmet happy-hour. The first and last hour we are open Tuesday through Friday you can have a three course $35 prix fixe menu and half off all wines under $100.

Frugal Foodie Addendum — We are happy that we are still able to offer Frugal Foodie to our guests but due to demand and circumstances beyond our control we are no longer able to offer $1 oysters as a regular part of Frugal Foodie. We will however be making them available on Fridays the first and last hour of service for $1.50 each. Still an incredible deal along with our three course $35 prix fixe menu and half off bottled wines that are under $100. PLEASE NOTE that there is a limit of 18 oysters per person and a limit of one bottle of wine per order. This is so that we may be able to offer Frugal Foodie to all of our guests.

Favorite Culinary Finds in the Valley and beyond:

Ocean, Easton, PA — make sure to ask for our great friends Chip and Devin, when you head in for this modern-style tapas restaurant. A great night scene that serves late (1 am on the weekends!!!), as well as having a great wine tasting the first Thursday of every month. While you are in that neck of the woods make sure not to miss...

Sette Luna, Easton, PA — our favorite little place for Monday dinners. At this Italian gem you can get some of the best pizza that we have ever had (Josh's Bianca is a must!!!). Their cocktails and wine list are superior and on Mondays they do half off all bottles. They also have great little tables for outdoor seating when the weather warms up.

We have just started to discover Philadelphia, a city that is entirely new to me and mostly to Lee, having been out of the area for so long. We had a great birthday meal (almost a year ago now) at James. We had some of the best pasta we have ever had. We also quite enjoyed our lovely evening at Osteria (Marc Vetri's more casual venue). I am also a real sucker for a bistro and had a great day drinking rose champagne and eating oysters and charcuterie at Parc on Rittenhouse Square. I am open to suggestions, so send them in.