55 Main
New Jersey Countryside Magazine
Review by Ernest Jaeger
July/August 2008
I first met Chef Jonas Gold about a dozen years ago at the beginning of his career when he was sous chef to Michael Schlow at La Cucina in Somerville. In the time since we first met, Gold was also as sous chef at the Harvest Moon Inn; an executive chef at the Pittstown Grill after the inn had been renovated, and at the Fox and the Hound Hound Tavern when it opened in the former Cokesbury Inn. He has collected pockets-full of reviewers’ stars and quickly became the toast of Hunterdon County.
Gold had used his Culinary Institute of America education and all that he learned in other great restaurant kitchens to create his own very successful restaurant, 55 Main in Flemington, his hometown.
A former ice cream parlor has become a sleek, contemporary space done in restful pale shades of blue; the lovely contemporary fabric on the back of the banquette running the length of one side of the room adds a splash of color. Well-spaced and well-appointed linen draped tables are topped with contemporary bistro ware and crystal. This is a beautiful simple and cool setting to show off splendid food.
New American is the style here, with Gold drawing from many cuisines and culinary traditions. My wife and I began dinner with an appetizer featuring three silver-dollar-sized, pan-fried crab cakes with a mango salsa and a sauce featuring coconut milk. The crab cakes were terrific with huge chunks of crabs and very little filling. The sweetness of the crab, sauce and fruit was complemented by crunchy pea shoots.
Another appetizer that also worked very well was braised short ribs meat pulled off the bone and assembled on a puree of peas with the entire dish topped with a crown of pea sprouts. It was delicious. The sweet tender meat was greaseless; the pea puree contributed its own sweetness, and the pea shoots added a lovely crunch – all a very successful contrast of textures, colors and tastes.
Our entrees included a trencherman’s portion of top grade grilled beef tenderloin with blue cheese melting into it, presented with a mound of buttery mashed potatoes, a small garden of steamed broccoli florets and a rich demi-glace. Again, this was a beautiful presentation succeeding in taste, color and texture.
An Asian-inspired dish of very fresh wasabi-coated yellowfin tuna was cooked medium rare as ordered. This was excellent grade tuna, presented on a ginger-perfumed bed of sticky rice with Asian sauteed carrots, red pepper and onions. The saltiness of the house dipping sauce added zip to the tuna. This sparkling fresh dish was much like the deconstructed sushi roll.
A dessert special of key lime pie was delicious, the lime flavor delicate and not overpowering; it was served with a quenelle of fresh whipped cream. Whipped cream was also adorned a deep, dark and decadent flourless chocolate cake with a top layer of chocolate ganache and white chocolate ganache decorations. Excellent!
55 Main is a BYOB restaurant, where wine is handled very well. The restaurant has very nice wine glasses, ice buckets and the appropriate accompaniments to wine service. Our server was attentive to pouring. Service here is generally excellent. Obviously Gold has given attention to the training of his servers; they are efficient without being fussy. Our server could speak intelligently of the dishes on the menu and the specials, which she recited. The daily specials complete with prices are also displayed in a holder on the table, a very helpful touch for diners.
We can’t wait for our return trip to 55 Main to try some of the other creations on the menu, such as the Yukon gold potato and foie gras hash served with the pan-roasted duck breast; the pan-roasted scallops with toasted coconut and plantain jasmine rice and the grilled Atlantic salmon with gazpacho salad and crisp string potatoes.
Gold has put so much of himself into this restaurant; he is often on the floor looking over things and talking to diners. He is obviously happy to be in the place where he grew up. “I hope to be here for a long time,” he says. Given the ambiance, quality and creativity of the food and the attentive service, we are sure that he will be.
Read More Reviews about 55 Main
Review #1
Review #2
Review #3
Review #5
Review #6
|
