The inn, built in the early 1700s, has a history of embracing art.
STOCKTON INN
1 Main St., Stockton
(609) 397-1250
stocktoninn.com
★ ★ ★
THE VIBE: Renovated historic colonial inn, with warm and scruffy wide-plank floors,
early Americana murals on the dining room walls and seasonal outdoor dining, with a wishing well and waterfall. Craft beer and classic cocktails, plus tavern fare at The Dog and Deer Tavern.
STANDOUT DISHES: Striped bass, rabbit, filet
Of the 30 or so ingredients in the mole, the cinnamon is what sings. And it's the cinnamon that coaxes the most buttery flavor from the lobster, which is perhaps not so surprising when you analyze the pairing.
But before we deconstruct lobster and cinnamon and mole, let's talk art. Because the artists of Stockton are impressing one another.
Executive chef Alan Heckman will discuss -- with apt effervescence -- the historic early-Americana murals on the walls of the dining room at the Stockton Inn. The murals are nearly a century old, painted by Robert A. Hogue and Kurt Wiese (who was the illustrator for Zane Grey and Rudyard Kipling).
Heckman will tell you about Illia Barger, the local artist who restored the works. How, under her care, hidden details suddenly reappeared. How the murals -- which depict the former Flemington Fairgrounds, its race track and an outdoor boxing match -- were brought to life with efficiency and grace. It was a beautiful thing to witness, Heckman says, a brushstroke here and there, and voila.
Barger, meanwhile, had a similar reaction when she walked into the kitchen, catching Heckman and his team in the middle of ravioli-making -- rolling, cutting and stuffing tiny squares of hand-crafted pasta with an artichoke filling. She had no idea the ravioli process was so labor intensive. She was equally impressed with the chef's efficiency.
That the Stockton Inn celebrates the artist is not a fact that should surprise. The inn, built in the early 1700s, has a history of embracing art. It has its quirks -- the slate floor is embedded with silver dollars, and the Prohibition narrative is a matter of debate -- but what stands out in the story of the inn's past is its welcome to writers, musicians and painters. What stands out today is the detail in the renovations. Such attention is reverential and revelatory.
Thank owner Mitch Millett for that, a former aviation executive who clearly does not, first and foremost, define success in financial terms. The money he put into the place? He knows he'll never get it back, says chef Heckman. But he wants the inn to stand another 300 years.
Heckman seems to view his chef's role in the same vein, as caretaker rather than possessor. Thus, he invites, with joy, other chefs to join him, every several weeks, to launch their own signature tasting menu, which he then features daily at the Stockton Inn. Collaborators have included Max Hansen, of Carversville, Pa., whose smoked salmon is shipped to the famed French Laundry in California. And Al Paris, of Paris Bistro in Philadelphia, who is the creator of that already famous lobster mole dish.
It's a unique concept, competitor as collaborator. In Heckman's view, it's cross-marketing and everybody wins. Him especially, because he gets to witness, with regularity, the creative approach of another professional. The 30-ingredient mole that stunned even the chef when it was paired with lobster? It was developed with Paris, who devised a start-to-finish lobster tasting menu. Heckman so loved the mole that he's using it on his winter menu.
On both the tasting and a la carte menus, the choices change frequently. The menu we enjoyed has, by now, given way to braised meats and venison, stews, pheasant and bison. Yet, the umbrella theme is that of a gentleman farmer's dinner, cultured and well-mannered.
You may, in fact, feel underwhelmed, so accustomed you've become to the sriracha syndrome of modern cuisine, that each dish must wow with an unexpected power ingredient. This is not Heckman's way. He likes to woo you with understatement, with the delicate perfume of rose water or the amiable mildness of young rabbit. It's about harmony, he says, the sum being greater than its parts.
Corn bisque ($9) is a velvety, sweet-and-creamy homage to a Jersey harvest, while the tomato tart ($10) entirely surprised. This is no sturdy wedge of summer pie; this is a fairy garden of ingredients, local tomatoes and frisee accompanied by a creamy and pleasantly good-natured goat cheese from Coach Farm in the Hudson Valley. A reduction of rose water is the final accoutrement, applied by medicine dropper, so the essence is barely noticeable.
Salmon roe and farfalle ($14) did not excite as anticipated, the farfalle was too done and the roe did not deliver its expected oomph. Crab salad ($13), though, disappeared.
Striped bass ($32) is a chef's favorite; he counters the minerality of the bass with an earthy combination of Mediterranean flavors -- that ravioli stuffed with artichoke, a confit of tomatoes and fava beans, and an olive tapenade. It wasn't a perfectly harmonious combination -- the pungency of the olives threatened to prevail -- but the ravioli and tomatoes were downright seductive, and the fava beans sturdy and distinct.
Rabbit roulade ($36) is a nod to colonial fare; rabbit loin is wrapped around a mousseline made of the meat from the legs and the offals. This rabbit is more mild, less gamy than you expect; it's because the rabbit is local, says Heckman, and young. Gentle is how rabbit should taste.
Filet ($42) proved an excellent choice, premium meat expertly prepared. Vegetable kababs ($26), given the local produce, should have been better.
Desserts were okay, though not memorably spectacular. The berry trifle ($10) was a bit too boozy, the cheesecake ($9) and the blueberry cobbler ($8) each a fine enough finish.
Ambitions are high at the Stockton Inn, though not everything has yet caught up. You'll appreciate the concept, and the collaborative tasting menus, which have already attracted loyal fans who come to experience each introduction.
In the end, it's worth it for the adventure, the sense of tradition, the celebration of Delaware Valley produce and game. Folks who are preserving history and passionately championing the creativity of others most certainly deserve our support.
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