Nicholas – Middletown

World-class cuisine (New American with French influences), refined service and exquisite attention to style make this Middletown restaurant a Shore destination of its own.

By: Pat Tanner

   LAST year, when I dined at a restaurant in France that had earned three Michelin stars, I convinced myself to disregard that exquisite experience when it came to reviewing restaurants on this side of the Atlantic. It would be ridiculously unfair and irrelevant, I thought, resulting in no restaurant in New Jersey earning a rating above fair or good.
   That thinking held up until I encountered Restaurant Nicholas in Red Bank/Middletown, which is every bit as comparable, from its serenely modern décor to its exciting, virtually flawless food, professional service and masterful wine list.
   This ambitious restaurant is the work of owner-chef Nicholas Harary, who has the dual distinctions of having been the youngest graduate ever of the Culinary Institute of America (he entered at 15) and of having served as sommelier at Jean Georges in New York. Mr. Harary and his wife, Melissa, also an experienced sommelier (at Tabla, in New York), patrol the dining room with grace and easy smiles.
   The restaurant is open evenings only, offering a number of fixed-price dinners ranging from a two-course menu for $38 to $75 for the six-course tasting menu. Three courses will set you back $55, as will a vegetarian menu of four courses. Every dish is spectacularly executed, each showcasing Mr. Harary’s flair for nuanced, imaginative combinations that are never overwrought or overdone.
   The meal starts with a gift from the chef, in our case, a tiny portion of perfectly seasoned scallop ceviche strewn with toasted hazelnuts. The vegetarian menu’s amuse-bouche was a sprightly purée of English peas and mint served in a vodka glass. We could hardly have picked a better accompaniment than the bottle of Gruet sparkling wine ($35), crisp and grapey, from New Mexico, of all places.
   My vegetarian companion went on to enjoy more peas inside three petite ravioli, which sit at the bottom of a bowl, into which a server pours an intensely earthy wild mushroom broth. Like every dish that contains broth, jus, or sauce, the liquid component is added at table, directly under our noses for full effect, and is accompanied by a detailed verbal description of the contents.

Staff photo by Frank Wojciechowski

The setting of Nicholas is modern but lush, featuring comfortable upholstered chairs and banquettes strewn with loose pillows in soft earth-tone fabrics.

   By the time the second vegetarian course arrived, our entire table was considering converting. This was a gallette of thin, crispy, caramelized potatoes, covered with tangy goat cheese offset by meaty mushrooms in tangy vinaigrette. I was sure the main dish to follow, a fricassee of baby vegetables in an herbal broth, would be a letdown. No way. The tarragon-scented broth has unimaginable depths of flavor. Like many of the dishes at Nicholas, it comes to the table liberally salted. The elixir is poured over four kinds of baby carrots and equally infantile turnips, kohlrabi and fennel, all cooked to perfect toothsomeness in tomato water. A tiny copper pan filled with Tarbais beans, imported from the Pyrenees, provides heft to the dish. To accompany, our server suggested a glass of Gini Soave Classico Superiore 2000 ($9), an organic wine that made us rethink our opinion of Soave. On its own, it is full-flavored and fruity, but with the vegetable fricassee, it positively flowered in our mouths.
   With such impressive wine credentials, it is no wonder Restaurant Nicholas’ wine list comprises about 250 excellent choices across all price ranges, as evidenced by the Soave and by our New Mexico champagne. (From the opposite end of the sparkling wine spectrum, we could have chosen a 1995 Louis Roederer Cristal Rose for $495).
   The wine list has thoughtful selections of half bottles and by-the-glass selections, and is a smart collection of wines from all over the world, although France is certainly given its due. For the first course of my personal six-course extravaganza, I chose three Long Island oysters marinated in a red onion/rice vinegar mignonette topped with chive crème fraiche. The plump oysters stand up, and indeed are enhanced by this treatment. I follow this with more seafood: two big, seared scallops accented with green apple and a truffle vinaigrette that features generous amounts of tiny black dice emanating powerful truffle essence.
   Next came my official fish course. I was blown away by the black bass, whose sweet, nutty flesh is accentuated by a crust of ground almonds and hazelnuts. The Banyuls broth that is poured over it has the kick of black pepper and a hint of citrus in addition to the wine, resulting in a complex-but-balanced flavor concoction.
   All of this was prelude to the pièce de résistance: suckling pig with quince and cinnamon broth. For this dish, the pork is pulled and formed into a medallion, with a thin round of crackling placed on top. I found the crackling irresistible, but the pork mealy textured. The broth — with only a wisp of cinnamon — is a perfect foil though, as are the slices of cooked quince and the accompanying parnsip purée.
   As I worked my way through all this, another tablemate was swooning over a starter of seared foie gras paired with puréed, julienned rhubarb and studded with tiny spiced croutons. Sure, there is a $5 supplement, but the pairing is masterful and the amount of foie gras more than generous. The fourth member of our party started with lobster soup with chanterelle mushrooms and celery root. We all agreed the broth — a perfect marriage of earth and sea — is alone worth the hour drive from Princeton.
   A standout among the entrées is the "tasting of lamb," a hearty Provençale-style dish that includes braised shank and two well-salted loin chops, accompanied by roasted carrot purée and those sublime Tarbais beans. The only dish that seems commonplace among all these wonders is the Arctic char, even though the fish is escorted by three fiddlehead ferns and blanketed by a black mustard seed sauce.

Staff photo by Frank Wojciechowski

Restaurant Nicholas sits right on Route 35, and its boxy beige stucco exterior does not prepare visitors for the lovely, sophisticated interior.

   I usually find icy "palate cleansers" boring or pretentious, but there was no denying the one we encountered at Nicholas pushed all the right buttons. A ball of passion fruit sorbet was surrounded by pale green shards of bracing lime-mint granité.
   A sampling of three artisanal cheeses is included with the tasting menu, but since everyone at our table wanted some, our server selected five for us, which came with wonderful raisin-pecan bread from Eli’s in New York, like all the breads here. Among the perfectly ripe choices were an Italian cheese studded with black truffles and a raw cow’s milk cheese from France with a rind that had been washed in brandy.
   As we waited for dessert, a tray of miniature pre-desserts arrived, studded with homemade raspberry gelées (think Chunkies gone to heaven), mint and dark chocolate bonbons, a wisp of a chocolate chip tuile and other delights. Desserts — we tried all but two — are the spectacular creations of Eric Huber, who is leaving Jean Georges to open a bakery with Nicholas Harary next to the restaurant. Standouts include a warm milk chocolate soufflé with mandarin orange confit and praline ice cream, apple tart Tatin with caramel and cinnamon ice cream, and an airy lemon gratin with spiced blueberries and a shortbread cookie.
   Restaurant Nicholas sits right on Route 35, and its boxy beige stucco exterior does not prepare visitors for the lovely, sophisticated interior, also primarily beige but mixed with every shade of brown from cream and dark chocolate. The setting is modern but lush, featuring comfortable upholstered chairs and banquettes strewn with loose pillows in soft earth-tone fabrics. Seating needs to be comfortable, because dinner at Nicholas is an event that should not be hurried. Dinnerware is a smart, modern pattern by Villeroy & Boch. Cutlery changes with each course, including some pretty obscure pieces that are contemporary versions of Victorian arcana.
   Such attention to style fits with the tone of the service, which is formal but not stuffy. More than anything else, it was the service at Nicholas that put us in mind of that fine restaurant in France. The staff treats their work like the skilled profession it is meant to be. Some diners may be put off by having a team gather around the table to remove, in unison, the shiny cloches that cover dishes, but we enjoyed the show.
   An example of the service grace notes we encountered: When our server realized by dessert that he had forgotten to bring the glasses of port we had ordered with the cheese, he poured glasses of complimentary dessert wine instead, with apologies. Another grace note is the respectful presentation of tea, which is loose leaf, of course.
   I intended Restaurant Nicholas to be my annual recommendation for where to dine this summer when heading to the Jersey Shore. Clearly, this extraordinary restaurant is a worthy destination on its own.
Pat Tanner’s reviews can be heard on Dining Today, Sat. 9-10 a.m. on MoneyTalk 1350 AM.
For directions to Nicholas, click here.