Pluckemin Inn, Bedminster NJ - Winter Menu 2014

We saw that Pluckemin Inn had made some changes to the menu for winter including bringing French Onion Soup back which had been a favorite of ours years ago. So a few weeks ago (Jan. 18th) we went up for drinks & to meet friends for dinner.

While drinking champagne by the glass at the bar I sampled a dozen Maine oysters with a simple mignonette, cocktail sauce, citrus & horseradish accompaniments. We also had a dozen wild caught shrimp. The oysters - two different kinds - were briny and succulent. Wonderfully paired to the bubbly. The shrimp were quite large and the cocktail sauce had a nice bite to it.

For dinner we ordered two courses including the Lobster salad with castle valley farro, cucumber, meyer lemon, radish and fine herbs see below. Meaty, generous lobster was not overwhelmed by the citrus dressing & herbs but rather supported by them. Quite a nice dish.

In addition, tried the French Onion Soup (Jeff's serving was a better balance of broth to bread than mine both both tasted wonderful), Spanish Octopus with green olive, chorizo, hakurei turnip, pine nuts and salsa verde and the Mahi Mahi with heirloom carrots, hen of the woods, braised lettuce, hazelnut brown butter.

Thought these four dishes were a wonderful additions to the menu. Alan's Mahi was the standout of the evening; cooked to perfection (sous vide?) with a beautiful depth of flavor that can often be missing in fish preparations. The side order of French Fries with trio of dipping sauces for dessert didn't hurt either.