Fine, Homey Dining at PTG Restaurant in Roxborough

PTG Restaurant and Catering has the look and feel of a house that has been altered to offer a fine dining experience. For this reason, the 55-seat BYOB evokes a comfortable, homey atmosphere, albeit one with food too expertly prepared to come out of the family kitchen.

This is the goal, according to head chef Mamadou Baradji, who before coming to PTG last October was working in the kitchen at Le Bec Fin in Center City. "We try to make the customers happy. If they want something a certain way, I get word from the waiter, and we do what we can. I try to make it like home."

Although the restaurant has been a staple in the Roxborough area for over three years, the business actually started as a strictly catering operation. In addition to private events, PTG also serves as the in-house caterer for wedding halls in Bensalem and Conshohocken.

In fact, that's how I found out about it—PTG catered my own wedding. I was a fan of all of the food, and we received so many compliments on it that I thought a trip to the restaurant was an absolute necessity.

My wife had already visited once before, and, significantly impressed, jumped at the opportunity the return with me. With memories of my wedding in mind, along with her ringing endorsement, I arrived with elevated expectations. I did not leave disappointed.

PTG offers indoor and outdoor dining, but since we attended on such a stuffy night, we opted for the air-conditioning. When we first showed up, the room was empty, which gave me a chance to soak in the simple, elegant décor. Faint music could be heard in the background—it sounded like easy listening elevator-type music, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It set a mood without hitting me over the head like "That's Amore" would have.

It didn't take long for the dinner crowd to file in. The clientele was an older set, which I suppose is to be expected in a fine dining establishment. The other patrons certainly came prepared—each table had two to three bottles of wine. Not much for wine ourselves, we brought some champagne, which our waitress was nice enough to pop open and put on ice.

Before we even placed our order, our waitress brought us a complimentary plate of bruschetta—a nice touch that was a good indicator of the care we'd receive throughout the night. Our bread bowl and glasses were never empty, and the waitstaff managed to walk the fine line of checking on us frequently without being obtrusive.

"A lot of people in this country want to go out to eat. They have a long day at work, a long week, so they want some attention. At some restaurants, you have to wait a half hour and you're looking around, wondering when your bread and drinks will come," owner Gil Chavez said.

"I make sure we offer some bruschetta, open the wine and pour it right when our guests sit down, this way, even if we're busy and they have to wait 20 minutes for their meals, they don't care because their eating and talking with friends over wine."

Chavez was also a constant presence in dining area, something he considers essential to ensure patrons are satisfied.

"I try to get around to the tables, and if I can't, my wife and daughters are here to make sure everything is right," Chavez said. "People hear too many bad stories about food, so they're afraid sometimes to tell the waiter, but they'll tell me if there's a problem. We're trying to create a good experience."

My wife isn't much for food exploration, so she stuck with the more routine fair. She started with the French onion soup—a perennial favorite of ours—and we both noticed it seemed thicker than we are accustomed to. A nice change.

I opted for the clams with chorizo sausage in wine sauce, which topped a dozen clams with ground sausage, tomatoes, and two pieces of garlic bread. The wine sauce was the highlight of the dish, so I was quite happy to have the garlic bread for dipping. I was so impressed with it, I asked Chavez for the ingredients, which include shallots, a touch of garlic, chorizo, white wine, and a tad bit of chicken broth.

For the main course, my wife went with another standard dish—chicken Parmesan with spaghetti. It was a big hit, especially the way the chicken fell apart. I ordered the involtini di prosciutto, which consisted of two veal medallions wrapped in the Italian ham and stuffed with fontina and sage served over mashed potatoes with a side of carrots and spinach. Impressively, it was even better than it sounds.

We wound up skipping dessert. The menu was vast and offered an array of options, including cannoli and a three-milk cake my wife tried and loved during her previous visit, but we were just too full to fit anything else.

PTG offers both a summer and winter menu, with slight variations, and Chavez says they just switched over to the winter option. It's worth noting that the restaurant also offers a four-course meal on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays for $30. Unlike at some restaurants, the options aren't limited and include the majority of appetizers, as well as a variety of entrees including stuffed shrimp with crab meat, braised veal shank, New York strip steak, baby lamb chop, and more.

Predictably, Chavez maintains a pretty busy schedule. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m., and on Sundays from 3 to 8 p.m., and PTG caters approximately three weddings each weekend, along with five or so private events throughout the week.

Originally from Honduras, Chavez left in 1976 to work on Costa Cruiseship Lines. He worked on the cruise for 11 years, which had two major benefits. One, he got to travel the world and learn the ins and outs of food preparation and service. Two, it led him to meet his wife LuAnn, a native of Manayunk, who in 1984 took a cruise to get over an ex-boyfriend.

By 1987, Chavez had married LuAnn and moved back here with her, where he worked as a restaurant server. He started PTG catering from his home in 1990, and six years later then business had grown to the point that he moved it to the current Ridge Avenue location, which had previously been occupied by PNS Ravioli Co.

Despite the bad economy, business has steadily improved. Although there was a time when only 10 people would come in during the week, now that number is up to 40. Chavez credits this to good word of mouth, both from his catering operation and the service and food provided in-house.

He says running the restaurant takes a lot out of him, but that he wouldn't have it any other way. That's a boon for local residents, as PTG offers a homey, relaxing destination to spend time with family and friends over the beverage of your choice and excellently crafted cuisine.

Food: Excellent

Service: Excellent

Entrée price range: $14—$29

Atmosphere: Homey

Open for: Dinner

BYOB

Credit Cards Accepted