An 1860s structure in Lambertville offers an easygoing, moderately priced dining experience of what has come to be pub fare in modern-day America.
By: Pat Tanner
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Inn of the Hawke |
THE Inn of the Hawke in Lambertville has a challenging row to hoe. Not only is it a restaurant serving lunch and dinner daily, but it is also an inn with six antique-filled rooms and a bar that is somewhat of a local hangout. All of which means the Hawke’s food has to satisfy diverse groups, including tourists to Lambertville, area residents looking for a casual-but-good spot to eat and townies who enjoy meeting-and-greeting at the bar.
Inn of the Hawke manages to meet these demands by offering, in comfortable, pleasant surroundings, competent renditions of what has come to be pub fare in modern-day America. While the menu doesn’t provide much in the way of culinary fireworks, it satisfies by offering both light and heavy fare (the menu’s words, not mine). Hearty old-line standards include sausages with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes and sirloin with wine sauce. A nod is given to newer standards such as Asian glazed salmon with fruit salsa, Chilean sea bass with roasted red pepper coulis, and a salad of baby arugula and radicchio with blue cheese, pears and pecans. A third set of choices has a distinctly ethnic bent, offering Mexican pork and hominy stew and hummus. Choices change slightly each day.
Sometimes the Hawke’s pub fare turns out to be unexpectedly good, like the spicy lentil soup with grilled chicken ($3.75), an odd but successful pairing. With lots of diced vegetables and a looser broth than the usual thick, brown kind, it was more like minestrone with lentils, which allowed the chicken flavor to shine.
Other times, though, the dishes prove to be out of balance, like the hummus with grilled pita and raw vegetables ($6.25), a generous portion of fluffy puree overwhelmed by garlic and cumin. But chicken wings ($6) probably today’s quintessential pub food were quite tasty and juicy. Their barbecue-sauce coating can be had in mild, hot, or "wild" versions. Hot proved just right for us.
A seafood potpie is often featured on the menu, and our choice was one made with rock shrimp ($14). Our server cautioned us about its heat level and, as it turned out, for good reason. The dish was full of shrimp flavor, but the startling amount of hot chile did in even the most heat-seeking member of our party. The dish was also swimming in oil. Grilled New York strip steak ($18) came with a deliciously sweet red-onion confit and boasted lots of meaty flavor. But with each bite came a nasty bit of gristle.
Best among the entrées we sampled was a pasta dish, one of several on the menu. The evening’s special was a generous serving of penne with grilled chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach in a creamy tomato sauce ($13). Each component even the sun-dried tomatoes was tasty and of good quality, and they worked well in concert.
The setting more than for the food makes the Hawke a congenial place to dine. (Desserts, for example, are decent commercial versions of key lime pie, cheesecake, apple tart and ice cream balls.) Four small rooms spread across the front of the attractive 1860s structure give the place an intimate feel, and the room we dined in had a warming fire going in the corner fireplace. That same room sports French doors that lead out to the patio, where al fresco dining takes place in warmer months. In the evenings the rooms are lit just enough to give a luster to the nicely worn antiques and informed flea-market furnishings, like the old armoire that graces the room we ate in.
Unfortunately, the barroom holds the central position and not only does the noise from this bustling spot permeate the other rooms, but smoke from it does as well. The bar top itself has a charming remnant of the recent past: set into it are small brass plaques that bear the names and once reserved the favored spots of regulars.
I especially like the Hawke’s selection of beers and wines. The wine list, while modest, consists of solid, modestly priced wines that appear regularly on "best buy" lists, such as Ravenswood Zinfandel ($5.50/glass; $21.50/bottle) and Canyon Road Sauvignon Blanc ($4.50/$17.75). We enjoyed a glass of Cape Indaba Merlot from South Africa ($4.75). Beer lovers are well coddled here, with a dozen on-tap choices ranging from local favorites from River Horse to Paulaner Hefe-Weisen ($3 for half-pints; $4.75 for pints), and even Woodpecker hard cider. Among the bottled beers, I was happy to discover Sam Smith Nut Brown Ale ($5.50), a new favorite of mine.
Lambertville probably has more than its fair share of easygoing, convivial, moderately priced dining spots. Inn of the Hawke is squarely in their midst.
Pat Tanner’s reviews can be heard on Dining Today, Sat. 9-10 a.m. on MoneyTalk 1350 AM and 1040 AM.
For directions to Inn of the Hawke, click here.