"Flemington Chef Redefines 'Home' Cooking at 55 Main"
by SUSAN SPRAGUE YESKE, For The Times
Friday January 25, 2008
Disproving Thomas Wolfe's adage that "you can't go home again," Jonas Gold is very much enjoying his return to his hometown. The executive chef/owner of 55 Main in Flemington grew up there, leaving to go to culinary school. From there, he cut his culinary teeth at upscale restaurants including the Fox & Hound Tavern in Lebanon and Harvest Moon Inn in Ringoes, gathering ideas for the day when he would have his own restaurant.
In September, he came home, opening the restaurant two streets away from where he grew up, on a street where he once rode his skateboard. It was my childhood dream to own my own restaurant," he says. When the location, formerly an ice cream store, became vacant, he was approached about taking it over.
The decision made, he and his mother, Ruth, got to work, he said, choosing contemporary white dishes, white tablecloths and the cool blue color that dominates the elongated room. The menu had been a work in progress for some time. The end result is his own, a cuisine he calls multicultural and eclectic American, with shades of Europe as well as the Old South.
"I try to keep it light and healthy, but still keep the flavor," he says. While the restaurant's motif is designed to be cool and soothing, the subdued tones also create a perfect background for the bright colors of the food, which appear to pop off the plate.
Potato leek soup, $6.50, was a golden shade of brown, due to Gold taking the time to caramelize the vegetables. Thick to the point of almost being a puree, it had little of the traditional cream that often is found in potato-leek soup, and only a minimal amount of broth. An asparagus salad special, $9, was a small explosion of color on the plate, the crisp spears serving as a highlight for the fresh greens dressed in a delightful house vinaigrette.
Calamari, $10, took on a whole new flavor and look, toasted with a sesame glaze and paired with crisp, batter-dipped oysters. It came poised on a butternut squash and applewood bacon hash and drizzled with Gold's maple-bourbon aioli.
While the calamari was outstanding, the oysters paled in comparison, losing much of their delicate flavor in the cooking process. But the inventive preparation of the tender, flavorful calamari makes it worth trying the dish.
Warm goat cheese, $9, came with a crunchy coating, paired with tiny cubes of red and golden beets. The cheese was exquisite, softly warm inside and an antidote to a chilly night.
A tilapia filet, $20, an entree special, was lightly crunchy on the outside and perfectly warmed and flaky inside, while herb-crusted rack of lamb, $27, was cooked to a perfect shade of pink. A black Angus strip steak, $27, also was grilled to a perfect medium. Its surprising companions, two blue cheese potato fritters, were designed for the true fan of pungent blue cheese. Eaten in the same bite with the steak and the lovely red wine demi-glace, they were perfect, but a bite of the fritter alone was not for the faint of heart.
Gold served his skillet-roasted half-chicken, $17, Southern style, with a heaping mound of homemade macaroni and cheese and a drizzle of pan juices over the poultry and macaroni. The chicken was crisp on the outside and moist and tender on the inside, and with the macaroni, a filling meal for any night.
Accompanying vegetables vary according to the dish. Broccoli, asparagus and glazed carrots were fresh, "light and healthy," just as the chef promised.
The list of desserts, $8 each, is short at 55 Main, and all are made in-house. Pumpkin cheesecake was rich and autumnal, while a slice of pecan pie, with its flaky crust, hit a bulls-eye.
Gold said he has received a tremendous early show of support from local residents. More recently, as word has spread, they are coming from farther away to try his one-of-a-kind cuisine.
"They say they come to see 'what Jonas has come up with tonight,'
" he says. Chances are that with his varied and personalized menu, winning touch and knowledge of food, they do not leave disappointed.
The Star Ledger
Friday, December 15, 2007
3 ½ Stars
Whether it's grilled Thai sweet chili shrimp ($10) or beautifully interpreted beef short rib ravioli (8.75), food inspired by a number of cuisines is artfully prepared and presented at this well-run 55 seat stroefront restaurant. Every dish, it seems, has interesting touches, such as the crispy bacon and blue cheese potato fritters with the grilled black Angus strip steak ($25). Desserts ($8) are lovely too; try the lemon tart with a pillow of fresh whipped cream. — C.K.
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