Rat’s

French country ambiance in a ‘well-traveled French kitchen’ in Hamilton.

By: Pat Tanner

   HAMILTON — Daring to name a fine dining restaurant "Rat’s" is but one manifestation of the unique vision of J. Seward Johnson Jr., the noted sculptor. Eight years ago, he created Grounds for Sculpture, in Hamilton, which transformed the asphalt blight that had been the New Jersey State Fairgrounds into a breathtaking 22-acre outdoor sculpture park. The restaurant, which opened last December, was added in-part as another enticement to the park.
   Mr. Johnson took the name from the very hospitable character Rat in Kenneth Grahame’s children’s classic, The Wind in the Willows. The restaurant is part of a European style "village" that takes its inspiration from the French village of Giverny, made famous by Claude Monet. Hence, diners can sit in the small bar lounge and look out the French doors onto a re-creation of Monet’s garden, complete with arching footbridge and pond.
   A cobblestone path leads to the stucco building that houses Rat’s. Painted an unappetizing bright salmon pink with electric blue accents, it has, bursting from an upstairs window, a life-size painted sculpture of a woman, complete with rollers in her hair, boa around her shoulders and cleavage.
   Mr. Johnson’s work is most often characterized as "whimsical" or "witty." I must confess that such touches put me in mind of nothing so much as Disney World (think "Pirates of the Caribbean").
   But I am a food critic, not an art critic. Happily, I was charmed by the restaurant’s interior, which continues the French country ambiance, marked by wide-plank cherry floors, antique Oriental rugs and wheat-back chairs styled after those in Monet’s house.
   We ate in a cozy back room, one of three dining rooms spread over two floors in this 100-seat restaurant. Each has a limestone fireplace, antique rough-wood ceiling beams and stucco walls. Our room also sported a banquette covered in a plaid fabric in Monet’s palette of red, yellow and blue. Although daylight afforded another view of the pond, it was after dark — by the glow of blown-glass table top oil lamps — that the room took on a truly magical feel.
   The service enhanced this feeling. With so much indifferent service in restaurants these days, it is refreshing to dine where the staff seems genuinely interested in your well-being. Our table was attended by a triumvirate of pleasant, knowledgeable professionals and without a whiff of stiffness or pretension.
   They are also smart. Reuben, who headed our team, noticed that I hadn’t ordered wine, so suggested a glass of Sauterne to go with my appetizer of foie gras (about which more follows). It was a classic pairing and a wonderful match. I only wish I had been advised about the price tag — $18, since the wine didn’t appear on the by-the-glass list. On the other hand, I probably wouldn’t have ordered it at that price and would have missed a fine experience.
   Rat’s boasts a stable of 550-bottles, as well as a wine-tasting room that seats 25. The fine list includes well considered wines by the glass, including choices from California, France, Alsace, Italy and Australia. They range from $5.50 for a Cartlidge and Browne Chardonnay to $18 for the 1995 Clos Pegase Hommage Cabernet Sauvignon.
   Every detail has been attended to at Rat’s, starting with the wonderful breads from Amy’s Bread. The raisin-fennel semolina is not to be missed. Eric Martin, Rat’s 32-year-old executive chef, characterizes his cuisine as "well-traveled French kitchen," and I would add that his emphasis on seasonal ingredients makes it an exceptional one. The spring menu fairly bursts with fresh greenery, including peas, asparagus, Swiss chard, fava beans, baby artichokes, spring onions, fiddlehead ferns and even ramps, those elusive wild-growing members of the onion family.
   Even my foie gras appetizer came dressed for the season with puréed rhubarb, fraise de bois, and a tangle of pale green mache ($14). Small portion sizes here can be reminiscent of the days of nouvelle cuisine, this appetizer being one example. But I thoroughly enjoyed my two tiny, ethereal pillows, especially enhanced as they were by the glass of Sauterne.
   Two seafood appetizers proved exceptionally fresh and clean-tasting. A mixed seafood salad included tender bits of lobster, shrimp, squid and baby octopus in a bracing citrus marinade ($12). Like every dish to follow, it was beautifully plated and was finished with a constellation of flavors, textures and colors that elevated it dramatically. In this case, the enhancements were lemon confit, basil oil and picholine olive tapenade. The other light and toothsome salad featured peekytoe crab and melon in lemon vinaigrette ($14), artfully arranged inside a cylinder composed of wafer-thin cucumber slices.
   Shrimp cured in Tequila ($10) was given real zing by a spicy red curry emulsion with a salad of shaved fennel. Golden raisins provided a pleasant counterpoint. Unfortunately, the dish was marred by the shrimp, which had a decidedly cottony texture.
   At least one dish on Rat’s menu sent me scurrying home to my copy of Escoffier. "Darne of Atlantic salmon" turns out to be merely a piece cut from the center of the fish. Although a tempting presentation, with Chinese five spices and jasmine, among other things, I bypassed the $24 entree in favor of boneless loin of rabbit with gooseberry coulis ($27). I loved every component of the dish except the rabbit itself, which could have been chicken breast for all the indigenous flavor it had. But the surrounding tidbits were spectacular — succulent morels tasting of the woods, perfectly cooked asparagus spears and whipped potatoes flavored with white truffle oil.
   Our admiration of Chef Martin’s way with vegetables grew with every bite. Pistachio crusted wolf fish ($26), identified by our server as a white-fleshed fish from the North Atlantic, similar to monkfish, was good but served as a mere backdrop to the plate’s other features, which included sautéed ramps, hedgehog mushrooms and a gorgeous fresh pea purée. Spring on a plate.
   Only one of the twelve entrees is purely vegetarian, but it sounds like a winner: grilled portabello mushroom with zucchini blossoms stuffed with goat cheese over creamy polenta ($22). Roasted peppers and spring onions complete the dish.
   A run-of-the-mill grilled tenderloin of beef ($32) was perhaps the evening’s biggest disappointment, once again forcing us to turn our attention to the peripheral components. Noteworthy here were the 24-hour tomatoes, sweet and tender slow-roasted Romas Amish chicken breast with an irresistible stuffing of foie gras and forest mushrooms, and Madeira jus ($28) approaching nirvana. The chicken proved far more flavorful than either the rabbit or beef. This perfect dish was delightfully accompanied by creamy, pale green fava beans, sautéed Swiss chard and baby vegetables in a charlotte molded of thin slices of potato.
   Rat’s offers a selection of cheeses for $12, but in one of the only service lapses of the evening, was not mentioned to us. One can hardly complain, though, considering the spectacular desserts that followed, courtesy of pastry chef Peter Max Dierkes. Spring fairly sprung from his light and sassy rhubarb and strawberry strudel with Tahitian vanilla ice cream ($9). A more sophisticated take on the theme was a dish of crepes Romanoff with wood strawberries and Grand Marnier sauce ($9), so good I thought my companion would swoon. Last but not least was the now classic hot Valrhona chocolate cake with the oozing chocolate center ($10). Three frozen quenelles surrounded it, one of rich, dark chocolate sorbet, the others of Tahitian vanilla and hazelnut ice cream, all made in-house.
   With its ambitious cuisine and out-of-the-way location, Rat’s is obviously intended as a destination restaurant. For many, it will be a special occasion restaurant as well. After only three short months it already does many, many things well and offers a unique setting, one in which a personal vision shines through.