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Brave the turtle soup at Lulu's

Created: 08/17/2009 10:10:26 AM EDT

Waiter Dennis Frazer resets at Lulu s Grille and Spirits in Abbottstown in order to prepare for dinner last week. (Daily Record/Sunday News - Eric Drummond)

I dodged a bullet this week with my sister - the marine biology major - after tasting the turtle soup at Lulu's Grille and Spirits at the Altland House.

I wasn't brave enough to order the soup, but I got a taste of the snapper turtle, potatoes, carrots, onions and side of sherry.

And to my sister, the ocean-lover in my family and someone who also spent a summer saving turtles, I was in the clear. But only because it was a snapper turtle, not a sea turtle.

Lulu's is the upstairs restaurant at the Altland House, run by the third generation of the Haugh family.

The house was built in 1790 as a guesthouse, and it remains an inn to this day. Now it just has Lulu's upstairs for lunch and dinner, and a more casual restaurant downstairs - Underside Pub and Eatery.

At Lulu's, the tables are perfectly set, and water is filled as soon as the customer sits down. Then, a side of homemade chips covered in parmesan cheese and a balsamic glaze is brought to the table while customers look at the small but encompassing menu.

Lulu's offers a mix of salads, sandwiches, pizzas and, of course, turtle soup. I opted for the day's special - sliced pork tenderloin covered in melted cheddar jack cheese and barbecue sauce on a Kaiser roll with a side of sweet-potato fries.

At first glance, I didn't know how to approach the pork sandwich because the huge slices dangled from the Kaiser roll. I cut it in half and decided to just go for it. One of the perks of eating alone for reviews is that no one notices if I get sauce on my face.

Maybe it's just me, or the fact that I haven't had pork in awhile, but this pork melted in my mouth. And in all honesty, this sandwich was the best meal I've had in a long time. Add on top of that my love of sweet-potato fries dipped in ranch, and I was in heaven.

After successfully eating half the sandwich, I started to pick it apart so I could eat more pork and not get slowed down from the roll.

It wasn't until after my meal that I braved the sample of the turtle soup, which came with a small vial of sherry.

Being from the South, I've eaten alligator but never have been brave enough to try turtle. I'm not sure if I've ever had the option of it before.

But the turtle meat itself blended with the broth, potatoes and sherry and had no defined taste to it. The soup also has a hint of clove, which my waiter said makes the soup something customers either love or hate.

I did not love turtle, but I didn't hate it. I think it's because I couldn't get my mind past what I was eating. It definitely was worth the experience, even if my sister was a little mad and grossed out.

Ticket to Lunch is a weekly column focusing on local restaurants' meals available during the lunch hour. Contact Katharine Harmon at kharmon@eveningsun.com.