...and with the preliminaries behind us, we moved on to the main body of the dinner. We learned that the chefs source organically, sustainably and locally "whenever possible", especially within a 50 mile radius, though they do not limit their search for the best product there, "going to the ends of the Earth" to find special ingredients.
This dish, a take on Sauce Grenobloise - turbot with parsley puree, crispy capers, smoked potato and caper emulsion, spinach, Meyer lemon and brown butter caramelized milk solids, totally knocked me out. It was delicious and one of the best deconstructed dishes I have had in some time. The individual elements shone on their own and together. The brown butter solids ("tuiles") atop the fish had been inspired by Alex's work on milk solids. They were the element that brought the whole dish together. I considered the preparation, a "platelicker."
One thing that surprised me about Elements was the level of luxury within the restaurant. make no mistake, this is an unabashed fine dining restaurant, even if the dress code is relatively casual. From the setting to the chairs to the plates to the silverware to the glasses, everything about the setting is top notch.Though we didn't have wine, the food and beverage program matches and even exceeds the sophistication of the environment. The main dining room is beautiful as is the private dining room, but if one enjoys the action of a kitchen, the kitchen tables at Elements are the place to be. The table and chairs are exceedingly comfortable, set back far enough from the kitchen so as to be unobtrusive, but close enough to get a sense of the action.
While the restaurant has all the creature comforts and is quite sophisticated, the reason to go there remains its culinary cornucopia. From the bar program to the food, the restaurant is a clear original, doing what it does with personality, taste and skill. We did not have wine, so I can not personally speak to the wine program, but I have no reason to think that it would be any less stellar than the rest of the restaurant. In building this restaurant, Principle owner, Stephen Distler, seemingly spared no expense and put together a real winner of a restaurant. The one question I have is, Why couldn't he have chosen Hanover, New Hampshire?
As a graduate of Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., it is exceedingly difficult for me to admit that there may be anything of extreme excellence in Princeton, N.J. Well, I must say that there is at least one institution of excellence in that burgh and that would be Elements, the relatively new creative contemporary restaurant with Ryland Inn alumnus Scott Anderson commanding the kitchen. Elements is a restaurant that I have been wanting to dine at ever since I heard the first glowing reports from my good friends Alex and Aki. I was sorry that I had not been able to make it to either of the dinners that Alex collaborated on with Chef Anderson and determined that i would make it there as soon as i could.
That opportunity came came when I was going to be heading south to attend the Bocuse D'Or USA competition at the CIA in Hyde Park. Why not go a little early and check out Elements? Why not indeed, especially when I would be joined by Alex and two other good friends who I met through food, Shola Olunloyo of Studio Kitchen and and Linda from Playing with Fire and Water!
I drove down to Princeton on Tuesday arriving at the restaurant at 3PM, in time to get the lay of the land and say hello before driving over to Alex and Aki's. I drove back with Alex to find Shola already there. Linda, coming from Connecticut would be a little late due to train issues. Not to worry, as the three of us had a chance to observe the kitchen and chat. Once Linda arrived, we sat down and let the games begin.
Of course, we would have a tasting menu with Chef Scott Anderson and his extremely capable sous chef, Joe Sparatta, selecting our dishes. I had already observed Chef Sparatta prepare some fresh smoked steelhead roe caviar earlier that afternoon as well as break down a beautiful halibut and we saw some other delights as we waited by the kitchen. Elements, befitting its name, handles their tasting menus somewhat differently than other restaurants. Most tasting menus list the individual dishes with the components that comprise them. Not Elements. Instead of describing specific preparations, they simply list the various individual ingredients that will be found throughout the meal, a listing of the "elements" of the meal, if you will. Ours was certainly intriguing, containing abalone, hamachi, shiro dashi, porcini puree, Nantucket bay scallop, sunchokes, zone 7, tangerines, arctic char, series, chile amarillo, foie gras, chocolate, Kindai tuna, bacon & eggs, head cheese, truffle, beets, turbot, apple, house-cured steelhead roe, malt, venison, avocado, 64.5 degree egg, Kagoshima, persimmon, white soy, mackeral, sweet Maine shrimp, sucking pig and smoked maple. In the end, we did not detect all of those ingredients, but there were probably a few that had not been listed either. In either case, those that may have been omitted weren't missed as the food that was brought out made us focus on what was at hand and that was plenty and plenty good.
The first dish was scallop ceviche with pappadews and champagne vinegar. The main element of this dish was clearly the scallop. As with any good ceviche, it was bracing with a nice citrus finish. The Nantucket bay scallop was pristine and sweet. We were off to a great start! It was at this time that i also started enjoying my first cocktail.
Smoked mackeral, avocado and boquerone was a tour de force of balance and texture with a crispy outer shell. Perfect in one bite!
Though the cooking of Mexico plays at most a minimal part on the menu of Cucharamama, there are a number of similarities between this restaurant and Topolobampo/Frontera Grill in Chicago starting with the Chef-restaurateurs, Maricel Presilla and Rick Bayless. Both have academic backgrounds in Anthropology with Presilla also having a doctorate in medieval Spanish history and both incorporate their cultural expertise into their restaurants, their books and their food. Another similarity of the restaurants is the decor. Though with vastly different layouts and spaces, both have similar, earthy color schemes and art showcasing their respective regional identities. One last similarity is that they both happen to have exceptional food.
Finally having the opportunity to utilize a gift certificate, I, along with my family, made a long-awaited visit to this restaurant for a late brunch this past Sunday before traveling home. Hoboken was a bit off the track for us, but it was as good a time as any to get to the restaurant. I am glad that we did, even though our sons were itching to get back home. Our collective mood heading into the restaurant was not ideal as we debated going or heading straight home. The boys preferred the latter, while my wife, who had been to the restaurant before, wanted to go for brunch along with her sister who lives in nearby Jersey City and who had given us the gift certificate. I didn't relish the extended drive home in a cramped and packed car, but I was also desirous of trying this restaurant that had been on my get to list for some time. My wife won out (and ultimately so did the rest of us).
My mood brightened once I found a parking spot in front of the restaurant and we were shown a table with good light and a view of my car. It's funny the difference the little things can make.
The restaurant was not terribly busy as it was already almost two in the afternoon when we arrived. We ordered from the brunch menu that had enough interesting items to make choosing moderately difficult. Nevertheless, we managed to order for ourselves. I started with a caipirinha that was as good as any I've ever had and nearly as good as the best margaritas I've ever had. My sister-in-law also had a caipirinha, while my wife and eldest son had the yerba mate and our two youngest sons enjoyed Venezuelan hot chocolates. The yerba mates came in great ovoid ceramic cups with silver filter straws. That would have been great enough even if the tea itself wasn't so good.
I actually wasn't very hungry when we first sat down, but that unpleasant feeling was quickly forgotten when our waitress placed plates of naan-like bread crisps on the table along with some lightly honeyed butter. These were wonderfully hot, just out of the wood-fired oven. My interest level began to rise as my stomach was stimulated out of its torpor.
That interest continued to increase as we started to receive elements of our order. Some received empanadas de carne, beautifully baked and direct from the wood oven. These were delicious pockets of beef and chimichurri spice, that proved quite popular as everyone at the table had a taste. Others including myself started with flavorful camarones salteados con ajo y cilantro. This dish would have fit equally nicely on a Portuguese table over a bowl of pasta. I seriously enjoyed an order of piquillos rellenos de calabaza y manchego gratinados. Stuffed piquillos smothered in a bechamel, a Spanish classic that really got my digestive juices flowing. This was beautifully and deliciously executed.
Main courses followed, including an ensalada de tamal, a fresh corn tamal on a bed of greens with toasted pumpkin seeds and buttermilk; pastel de choclo Chileno, a pot pie of beef and chicken with olives, raisins and a fresh corn crust; a choripán, an Argentinian sausage sandwich with roasted peppers and onions; sandwiches de chola, a Bolivian pork sandwich with lettuce, tomato and spicy sauce; fried eggs with marinated and roasted slab bacon and pan-fried potatoes with Romesco sauce; and pizza Araucana, a crisp pizza with serrano ham, manchego and parmiggiano cheeses with two eggs on top. Each was delicious and fully satisfying. In addition we had a side order of patacones, fried green plantains. Relative to everything else the plantains were a mild disappointment as they were simply average.
By this time we were getting quite full, but I still needed to try a dessert from chocolate mistress Presilla, so I opted for the chocolate flan, a spiced chocolate treat worthy of finishing this fine meal.
I expected Cucharamama to be good, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how much we all enjoyed it, especially given our collective stress levels and poor attitudes prior to the start of the meal. I just wish that the restaurant was a bit closer to us and more convenient so that I could sample more of their regular menu more frequently.
For more photos please see the album.
I'm a practicing Anesthesiologist and family man who enjoys all things culinary.
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