Denny K.
Yelp
When I was very young, my friends and I played a silly game called, "Quaker's Meeting;" a type of no blink - stare down game. (It began with the ditty, "No laughing, no talking, no chewing chewing gum, no showing the whites of your teeth.")
I'm sure nobody's gonna win that game at Revolution House because there's lots to smile and chat and chew (albeit not gum).
We found this reinvented, restored, refurbished, remodeled....(well they've done a lot)...1798 former Quaker Friends Meetinghouse to be a great place for lunch. Oh, did I mention that the exterior is rather unassuming (major understatement)? The pale, slightly water-stained and unadorned concrete which hides the original brick facade is accompanied by plain, flat brown doors and windows. It hides a bright and beautifully reclaimed interior...and if you look up, you'll see the building also is home to a beautiful open second story patio.
Drinks: Full bar with decent domestic and imported wines by glass and bottle, some whiskeys, and a mix of great craft brews, plus bottles and cans of standard swill. (Actually, the entire list is pretty good!)
Food: Like the decor (check out the web site and photos for more details--we missed a few) the menu offerings are an hodge-podge with no distinct theme. The selections range from Quinoa Salad to Mac and Cheese to Cheesesteak Egg Roll starters, from Flatbread sammies and Gyros to Jerk Salmon plates and Pizza. Got the idea?
We picked a good hoppy IPA to accompany our Margherita Pizza. The crust was crisp and brown on the bottom (our friends thought it burned...but not us). We thought it was just right; it was topped with a decent sauce and quite a lot of cheese. To my liking, it also had a chewy Neapolitan-style "corniccione" (raised outer edge). All in all good but not outstanding pizza.
Friends ordered and enjoyed the hearty black bean chili (a special) and shared (a bit soggy) fried eggplant flatbread sandwich with a side salad. Both were ok...but texture of the sandwich was a bit mushy; no evidence of "fried."
Take time to walk around the interior, and hopefully appreciate the effort that went into redoing this place. It very well might will make you show the whites of your teeth. And while some descriptions I've read call this place rustic...I think I'd rather describe Revolution House as "Revived Early-American Cool."