Ale House Rock

River Street gem unleashes conceptual consumptions

Gene Padden

When we first met River Street Ale House chef Dave Ciminelli a few months ago, he was excited to join a slew of other local chefs in a charity cook-off down the road in Wilkes-Barre.

So excited, in fact, that he lit a chicken wing on fire for our cameras.

Turns out that hot wing was a metaphor for his fiery approach to cooking, and his crazy (yet delicious) concepts highlight yet another edition of the Ale House's unique menu.

The ordering process at the Ale House takes a few minutes - and that's just the first page. Choices like Chicken Dogfish Head Chowder and Banana Lollipops will spin your brain before you even consider an entree. The lollipops (skewered banana spheres wrapped in proscuitto, broiled and displayed in a warm pool of maple Frangelico sauce with a showering of toasted coconut shavings) are appropriate foreshadowing of things to come.

Who toasts coconut shavings? And where on earth have you ever seen a banana sphere?

Solid questions. And the answer of course is Chef Dave, who is also responsible for the past four years of the Ale House's exotic reputation. That's right - River Street Ale House is known for its high-class menu, not any home-cooked micro brew. Yes, the bar has a selection of more than 250 beers and at least 20 on draft, but the real hook to this centrally located hot spot is the dining experience.

"He just put out a new menu about a month ago with new concepts," said River Street's Steve Fahey. "He just gets bored. He lives to customize food."

The menu also encourages creativity on your part. The Ale House Mix & Match Dinner Menu lists a variety of meats and fish, along with a list of preparations. For example, if you ordered a marinated chicken breast, you could opt to have it prepared seven different ways, including Fruity Pretzel Fusion (sourdough pretzel panko encrusted flash fried and baked, nestled in a chilled pool of raspberry Lambic beer reduction with Lambic-marinated fruit timbale and candied blackened cashews).

Or perhaps The Ale House Staple (pan-roasted with appropriate broth and slathering of carmelized shallot port wine butter with a petite crispy onion tumbleweed nest) or Frito Mole Mojito Style (encrusted with cilantro Frito corn chip crust flash fried, baked, and enhanced with fire roasted yellow pepper puree and rum infused spicy chocolate Mojito mole aioli, crowned with crispy tumbleweed onion nest) is more your speed.

The meat choice will set the tone of your conversation for the evening - no doubt. Be sure to ask for the evening's game meat selection, which could be anything from Yak Ribeyes to elk to kangaroo.

"He loves to be different," Fahey said. "You really want to get away from factory farms. Free-range meat is so much better for you. It hasn't been treated with hormones and it's so much more tender. It costs more, but we've definitely found a market for it."

Interesting sides also reflect the fusion of the restaurant. The Wasabi Potato Pita Tower (whipped golden russet potatoes laced with wasabi powder, horseradish, and toasted sesame seeds piped between Moroccan spiced fried pita bread chips) and Pumpkin Polenta (creamy polenta infused with pumpkin puree, chili powders, cinnamon, ginger, coriander and Gorgonzola cheese served over baked puffed pastry with toasted sunflower and kernels) are must-tries, especially for the price (each side is less than $5).

River Street also has a Personalized Puzzle Piece Pasta Section, where you can mix pastas with seven sauces and 19 toppings.

"People walk in to the bar and they see the pool table, but once they sit down, they see the great casual atmosphere and they're glad they stayed," Fahey said.

It's not to say the Ale House doesn't rock. Monday nights in the Pittston-area joint are known the Valley over as the place to be.

"Two weeks ago, Breaking Benjamin guitarist Aaron Fink sat in with the Ale House Rock Band," Fahey said. "The music here is always hot."