Originally published in 2013 ... Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River are intertwined and anyone who lives or works in the city knows this well. No business in the capitol is more aware of this symbiotic nature than Char’s at Tracy Mansion—the only city restaurant situated on the banks of the river."

1. Fly Magazine | Harrisburg Edition | January 2013 | 21
DININGMain CourseMain Courseby Michael C. Upton
personalities – a bar room; a private room
called The Gallery, where art is exhibited
and for sale; The McKee Library full of
books, which serves as a cocktail lounge
area; a main dining room; and a terrace
overlooking the river for al fresco dining.
Magaro plans to offer outdoor dining
once the weather is fair. Music will fill the
sculpture garden, which offers space for
80 diners. Coming a bit sooner is Sunday
brunch; she hopes to begin serving this
month (although she urges readers to
check the restaurant’s website for details).
Currently, Char’s opens its doors at 4 p.m.,
although dinner service doesn’t begin until
5:30 p.m.The time difference offers diners
a chance to indulge in the restaurant’s
custom cocktail menu, which features
more than 20 tasty concoctions.
On a recent quiet weekday, my wife and
I headed to Char’s for an early evening
dinner. We started with cocktails. I went
for the Ruby Pom, a mix of Absolut Ruby
Red, pomegranate juice and triple
sec in a martini glass with a float of
champagne. My wife opted for
the Cucumber Citrus cocktail
– cucumber vodka, elderberry-
flavoredSt.GermainandLimoncello,
garnished with slivers of cucumber
and lemon. (On my next visit, I’ll
try the English Sour, a blend of
Tanqueray No. Ten, St. Germain,
Cointreau and lemon.)The cocktail
creations are the result of efforts
by beverage manager Sal Pantano,
who’s been with Magaro for more
than 10 years.
The food offerings at Char’s consist
of big flavors that contrast as much as
complement each other.The entrees are far
from simple,yet they focus on the delivery
of one protein or main ingredient.Three of
note are: the seared sea scallops, prepared
with red miso, lemon grass, coconut milk
and red pepper alongside lime basmati rice
and fresh,seasoned vegetables;the poussin
chicken,which is marinated in a blackberry
and ginger vinaigrette and served with baby
vegetables and farro; and a unique pork
tenderloin encrusted with a coffee, cocoa
and herb rub and served with cranberries
and a squash risotto cake.
In an effort to use fresh, locally sourced
ingredients, Executive Chef Ron Canady
changes some menu items daily, including
soup, risotto, fish and pasta specialties.
Canady notes that each du jour dish is
created as a unique addition to the menu.
“All the specials I make are true specials,”he
says.“I order special for each dish.”
Some of the organic produce comes from
Joshua Farm, an urban farm in downtown
Harrisburg that employs at-risk area teens
to help with the growing and harvesting.
It’s one of a few social and environmental
missions Magaro and her team have
undertaken with the restaurant.Also notable
is the fact that the restaurant is completely
wind-powered.
After our cocktails,my wife and I planned
todiveintoaseriesofsmallplatestogiveusa
well-rounded sampling of the Char’s cuisine.
We also ordered a salad and appetizer
round.I had the cool and tangy roasted local
beets and apple salad,served with crunchy
almonds, savory crumbles of goat cheese,
slivers of fennel and a subtle drizzling of
raspberry and coconut vinaigrette.My wife
ordered the equally dazzling (and highly
recommended) buttermilk fried green
tomatoes, served with a crisp and melted
pork belly that plays tricks on the palate.
For our appetizer, we chose the duck pate
– a savory spread served with a truffle,port
wine, Dijon mustard, cornichon (a fancy
name for gherkins) and toasted French
baguette slices.This appetizer disappeared
quickly.
Our collection of four small plates came
next. The lamb meatball was moist and
carried the contrasting theme we had
already become accustomed to at Char’s.
The huge meatball was stuffed with a tangy,
creamy bleu cheese that poured out over
the sides.It sat atop a mixture of wild grain
rice in a succulent veal sauce.
The simple and nearly uniform pomme
frites (fancy french fries) came spiced with
truffle-enhanced sea salt and rosemary;
not a single chip was left on the plate. My
wife claimed the crispy seared trout – our
server’s favorite – which was perfectly
cooked and served with a chipotle cilantro
sauce and spinach risotto.
For the adventurous, Char’s offers a
braised lamb tongue ragu.Canaday outlines
the highly involved preparation:“I put the
tongue in a pan of water and bring it up to a
boil,then I immediately stop cooking it and
drain the stock,” he says.“I put the tongue
into a new pot with stock, carrots, onions
and let it cook until it becomes tender.Then
I drain it, slice the tongue and allow it to
cook in fresh tomato sauce for a couple
hours. I’ve never seen lamb tongue on a
menu anywhere… I decided to try it,and it
is now one of my favorites.”
The result is a tender,sharp-flavored cut of
meat that stands out among the tomatoes,
carrots,rigatoni and sauce.
Char’s is truly unique, from its riverbank
setting to its eccentric array of entree
options to its social and environmental
initiatives.With her new restaurant,Magaro
has taken a great dining destination and
made it even better.
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• 1829 North Front Street, Harrisburg; 213-4002
• Monday-Thursday, 4-10 p.m. and Friday and
Saturday, 4 p.m.-12 a.m.
• Entree prices: $29-$40
• Handicapped accessible, credit cards accepted,
completely nonsmoking, reservations suggested,
alcohol served, takeout available
FLYPHOTOS/EMILYALBERT
Char’s – Tracy MansionA n u p s c a l e d i n i n g i n s t i t u t i o n g o e s u p w a r d a n d u p s t r e a m
HHarrisburg and the Susquehanna River
are intertwined, and anyone who lives or
works in the city knows this well.
It’s a symbiotic nature that local
restaurateur Char Magaro has enjoyed for
the past decade, first with her exquisite
Shipoke bistro Char’s Bella Mundo and,
now, with Char’s – Tracy Mansion, the
latest fine dining restaurant to open on the
East Shore.
“I had Char’s Bella Mundo since 2002 and
I had been flooded out twice,says Magaro.
“But I have been working on Char’s –Tracy
Mansion since 2007.”
Despite the Shipoke neighborhood’s
charm, it was prone to flooding – often. It
also limited Magaro’s ability to grow her
first restaurant. Unfortunately, the road to
opening the new Char’s location was a
rocky one. Magaro started making plans
for the new restaurant when a slumping
economy made it incredibly difficult for
small businesses to find financing.And to
top it off,just as Magaro secured the money
to get her new restaurant off the ground,
her old place flooded again.The river giveth,
and the river taketh away.
SituatedonFrontStreetroughlytwomiles
upriver from Magaro’s original restaurant,
Char’s –Tracy Mansion opened on October
16 and has been drawing regulars from the
Bella Mundo days ever since.
The Tudor revival building that houses
Margaro’s new restaurant was originally
built as a home in 1918 by Charles Howard
Lloyd,the preeminent Harrisburg architect
of the early 20th century.After a history of
adaptive reuse throughout the middle of
the century, the building sat vacant from
the early 1970s until Susquehanna Real
Estate conceived a new vision for it in the
2000s as home for a fine dining restaurant
and other commercial and professional
space.That’s where Magaro comes in.
“I wanted to create a beautiful space
where we can accommodate people in
different settings,” Magaro explains. She
points toTracy Mansion’s cavernous space,
which gives her restaurant its various