Broadmoor
I say this not to offend any of the countless fine chefs and restaurants I’ve had the privilege to visit during my more than three decades of writing dining features and reviews, but the dinner that Eve and I enjoyed at the Broadmoor at the end of July was one of the most perfectly prepared meals we have ever eaten. Apart from my dear departed grandmother’s home-cooked Italian food, that includes cuisine prepared by world-renowned French chefs, expected excellent food served up at four-star restaurants in Europe and in the States, and surprisingly good meals we’ve experienced at otherwise unheralded, unpretentious neighborhood eateries.
Perhaps we should have expected no less. After all, the simple yet elegant Lambertville BYOB is the brainchild of Donna Painter, a restaurateur in the field for forty years, and her business partner, Alex Cormier, a renowned chef who has worked side by side with other greats during the heyday of Philadelphia’s dining renaissance. Think Jean-Francois Taquet at La Truffe (when Alex was just a boy of fourteen!) and at the Four Seasons, Bruce Lim at Ciboulette, and Georges Perrier at Le Bec-Fin. It was at Ciboulette where Alex and Donna met, soon opening their own bistro called Alex on South.
After culinary experiences abroad, Alex opened his own popular Italian restaurant — Rick’s (2004 to 2016) — an earlier Lambertville standout, with Donna’s assistance for eight of those years. Now he’s back in the kitchen, an open kitchen where guests can see him work his culinary magic, melding the Italian, French, American, and Russian influences gleaned from family and fellow chefs. He still finds time to greet every guest personally at their table and has been known to blow a kiss to an especially happy guest.
Something Donna told us when we arrived on a typically busy Monday night (the chef said that he has to keep the Broadmoor open on Mondays because he wants “people to have a great place to dine on a night when so many restaurants are closed”) struck a responsive chord for us, later, after we’d enjoyed our meal. She said, “Guests often make reservations before leaving.” Amen! And it seems to come naturally to the duo. Donna, whose own personal history includes productive stints at the Frenchtown Inn and other Manhattan restaurants, insists that “all we want to do is to make people feel good, to make them feel welcome.” Mission accomplished!
So now, back to that meal. Because of Alex’s fine reputation, we trusted his choices in an amazing Chef’s Tasting, where everything was prepared to perfection. Not counting the wonderful white bean dip dressed with roast pepper oil Donna brought to our table, the chef started us off with one of the evening’s specials — House-Cured Salmon served with sour grapes, a grain mustard sauce on the side — and a popular item from the regular menu, gently Grilled Octopus drizzled with lemon Parmesan, served with fingerling potatoes and heirloom tomatoes over an excellent bed of organic greens — among the best starters we’ve ever tasted anywhere.
As we awaited the second round of the chef’s tasting, Donna explained to us that the Broadmoor came together for its January 31st, 2018, opening because property owner Bob Toricelli, a man of integrity and taste, “really wanted this to happen. The three of us are good friends, and he knows the amazing symbiosis Alex and I share, so he reached out to us to create, in effect, our dream place. So here we are, and we couldn’t be happier.”
Next up were two of our personal favorites — from the regular menu, Handmade Ravioli stuffed with Short Ribs in a tomato coulis, and, another evening’s special, Fois Gras complemented by mission figs, mascarpone, and honey. Surely an acquired taste, and a dish that we’ve generally found unsatisfying at most restaurants (too salty, too creamy, too challenging to digest) — Chef Alex’s fois gras was, quite simply, one the best and most memorable dishes we’ve ever eaten!
Yet to come was another star of the evening, the special Pork Tenderloin, served in a savory chanterelles sauce with haricots vert. Eve pronounced the tenderloin the best she’s ever had, and when I marveled at the sauce, Donna smiled and said, “Don’t be surprised. Alex is a hunter — a mushroom hunter — and he hunted those chanterelles himself earlier today.”
Shortly after our open jaws closed again, our lovely server, Courtney Utman (who told us that Broadmoor was the name of an earlier restaurant at this site, as well as an antiques shop), brought us a happy dessert plate brimming over with four lovely sweet treats: Coconut Custard Tart, White Chocolate Mousse, Pot de Crème, and fresh sliced strawberries and oranges — the perfect conclusion to a literally perfect meal. We couldn’t have asked for more. But we fully intend to return again and again to this exceptional restaurant, co-owned and operated by two warm professionals: Donna Painter, the consummate front-of-the-house welcoming face, and Alex Cormier, the spontaneous, innovative kitchen magician whose inspiration drives yet another world-class restaurant.
Broadmoor Restaurant is located at 8 North Union Street, Lambertville, NJ 08530; 609-397-1400; www.broadmoorrestaurant.com. The Broadmoor is open for dinner Sunday and Monday, 5 to 8:30 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday, 5 to 9 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 5 to 9:30 p.m. Closed Tuesday. BYOB. Reservations recommended.