Truffle Tasting Menu, Stage Left, New Brunswick NJ

The week between Christmas and New Year's is a favorite one with lots of time to see friends and eat some great meals. With Susan & Rich, we decided to try the White & Black Truffle tasting menu at Stage Left in New Brunswick, NJ. With a 7pm reservation, there were already a decent number of people seated when we arrived but we were still shown to one of the best tables. Right next to the fireplace in one of the small dining rooms. Stage Left has a lovely ambiance with soft lighting and a muted decor. It comes off as romantic and special.

Our hopes were high - the four of us have spent many a dinner eating truffles together and generally agree they are perhaps one of the greatest edible items to ever come out of the earth. In fact, speculating about training Mya & Bacchus (the Lahey bulldogs) to locate truffles has come up on more than one occasion. But that's an inside joke you might not appreciate until you meet the Lahey bulldogs...

Anyway, we all ordered the special tasting menu with one additional item thrown in. In addition to the truffles, the restaurant was also offering wagyu beef served rare on a sizzling 500 degree stone for patrons to cook to their preferred doneness. We asked to have one portion of that special served as our last course before dessert.

Stage Left has the highest food rating in New Brunswick and is ranked highly overall for the state of New Jersey according to Zagat. But it doesn't have the consistency of a good New York City restaurant nor the warmth of service of a Pluckemin Inn or favorite local sushi places (Yumi & Shumi). One of the areas they are missing the mark is their wine list. Sizable with over 1,000 bottles represented, the list is fiercely skewed towards Italians with scarcely anything else represented. And the pricing was off the mark; being high for even well reputed restaurants. So finding a bottle of champagne and a red to go with dinner was harder and took longer than we'd have liked.

One other wine note - once a champagne was picked (rose, Roger Coulon, non-vintage) it couldn't be served to us for a noticeable amount of time as is wasn't cool enough. Not having a large champagne list, they should be able to manage the storage and temperature of their bottles better, in my opinion. I really don't like to have to wait for my bubbles.

But onto the food!
The amuse-bouche served to us goat cheese on raisin, pecan bread with mango. A nice bite with good contrast between the tang of the goat cheese and the sweetness of the fruit. But we found it interesting that they served it on the same bread that was a table side option along with sourdough. We'd come to find out later they seemed to have very little depth when it comes to bread & pastry.

First Course:
Anson Mills White Polenta with nested Suydam Farm Egg Yolk and White Truffles.

This course struck me right. It was lush and creamy with noticeable truffles (you could see them and you could taste them). The egg was well incorporated and enhanced the overall flavor. This was my favorite dish of the evening and I think it went perfectly with the champagne. Alan didn't have the same reaction...he thought it was good, but not memorable.

Second Course:
Dayboat Scallops with Black Truffles

This dish was lovely and very fragrant. The scallops were cooked nicely. But it's the first course that it became apparent that this dinner wasn't going to be TRUFFLES, TRUFFLES everywhere. I had to deconstruct my dish to find the little black truffle pieces. It felt more like essence of truffle than nice big shavings. Nonetheless, the dish was really good. The leeks and scallops went nicely together and the broth was wonderful. I did have to ask the server to please bring me a spoon. Who wouldn't want a spoon to scoop up all that broth?

Third Course:
Open Ravioli of Lobster, Crab and White Truffle

The lobster and crab sat in the middle of this open, delicate pasta and swam in a thick sea of cream. Here again, the truffles were hard to find and even harder to taste. That being said, I truly enjoyed this one. It was decadent and really good, if a bit heavy in the stomach.

Fourth Course:
Duck Breast with Duck Confit and Cipollini Onion Tart and Black Truffles
(no picture)
I don't recall this dish well...except to say that the duck was nicely prepared and served medium rare. The duck confit and onion was in a round pastry tart that was looked and tasted suspiciously store bought and frozen. I didn't eat the tart and accompaniments but was asked by our server if I wanted to take home the leftovers (with no duck, odd question). I was also hitting the food wall thanks to the previous course.

Fifth Course (our addition):
Filet of Wagyu Beef

The four of us split this course (there were eight pieces of beef like the one shown above). The idea - the beef is served on this 500 degree sizzling stone and you take off the meat or leave it on to your particular level of doneness. I kept my beef pretty medium rare and did enjoy the interactive quality of the course and the meat itself.

Sixth Course:
Barely Buzzed Cheese Tartlet with Truffle Honey

See the pastry pictured above? Exactly the same pastry as was served with the duck course. That's just not cool for a restaurant serving a menu at this high of a price point. I had no interest in this course at all...took one bite and stopped. It didn't make any sense to me and the flavors weren't meshing.

Seventh Course:
Black Chocolate Truffles

This final course was four truffles - elderflower, espresso, Irish cream and a pumpkin spice with salt. They were okay...sort of looked like something you get at the Godiva store but hey, the chocolate was pretty good.

It was a memorable night because we got to spend a nice leisurely evening with two of our favorite people but I was disappointed in the dinner overall. And at over $600 per couple, they missed on too many dishes and too many service points to get my vote of confidence. In the past the four of us have done the truffle tasting menu at Nicolas in Red Bank and I for one, will be voting to go back there next year.

Zagat: 27-24-26
Jenn's Rating: 81