Stella
by Frank Quattrone
He couldn’t have chosen a more apt name for his latest venture. Stella, after all, means “star” in Italian, and Stella by José Garces clearly shines as the brightest new star on the burgeoning New Hope restaurant scene. Open for just three months on the second floor of the brand-new Ghost Light Inn, Stella has already been drawing rave reviews from ecstatic guests.
Part of the draw is obviously the Garces brand. The region’s celebrated Iron Chef and the 2009 winner of the James Beard Foundation's “Best Chef Mid-Atlantic” award, José Garces has been dazzling discerning diners with his innovative takes on small plates in acclaimed restaurants such as Amada, Tinto, Distrito, Village Whiskey, Volvér, and Buena Onda since he broke onto the Philadelphia-area restaurant scene in 2005.
A fine judge of culinary talent, Garces has entrusted Stella to the capable hands of youthful Nate Johnson, culinary director of the Garces Group. Now serving as Stella’s executive chef, Nate has already worked at or helped open Garces restaurants from Distrito and Old Town Whiskey in Scottsdale, Arizona, to Amada, Distrito, Volvér, and the now-closed Garces Trading Company in Philly. A native of Wisconsin, Nate has been intimately involved with culinary life since he began watching “Yan Can Cook” on TV at the age of six. Although Chef Martin Yan “planted the seed,” as Nate has said, it was his hunting and fishing expeditions with his father and his parents’ love of cooking that set him on the path. He recalls preparing a meal for his family of poached salmon and cauliflower with soy cream — at the age of eight! And although he has “always cooked for fun,” it might have been his formal training at the famed Le Cordon Bleu in Scottsdale and his subsequent immersion in the Garces Group, where he rose to culinary director in June 2018, that sealed the deal.
“The goal at Stella,” Nate says, “is to feel the familial experience of a Garces restaurant. José likes to welcome guests as if into his own home.” And the culinary concept is a flexible, seasonally changing fresh take on American small plates, evolving incrementally and made for sharing. The afternoon of our visit, Eve and I reveled in the taste of two of Stella’s innovative spreads. Served with house-griddled sourdough bread (a stellar upgrade on tacos) fresh from the oven, they were a deliciously smooth Duck Liver Mousse and a mild but flavorful Green Garlic Butter spread, complemented by purple ninja radish and rosy cara cara oranges. Our friendly and knowledgeable server, Jace Kurtz, then brought us Stella’s early favorite small plate, the Maryland Peekytoe Crab, set in a fiery tomato and olive escabeche, with aji amarillo (a Peruvian yellow chile pepper) and serrano cream, with corn masa tortilla chips.
From the vegetables and grains menu, we then tried two excellent dishes. Eve had the Quinoa Tabbouleh, red lentil falafel haloed around a bed of cucumber, fresh mint, okra, and serrano (a chile) laced with a miso and yuzu (a sour Japanese citrus) aioli. I too was delighted with my Fried Rice, too modest a name for the terrific amalgam of shiitake mushrooms, peas, carrots, and kimchi on a lovely bed of Anson Mills Carolina gold rice, ringes with dots of mushroom and teriyaki sauce.
The somewhat larger plated meat and fish dishes came next, and these too exceeded our high expectations. Eve tried the Wagyu Skirt Steak, served with smoky charred strawberries, feta, broccoli rabe, and walnuts, topped with a black pepper caramel. But my personal favorite (despite the unique flavors of the Duck Liver Mousse and Fried Rice) was the Pocono Rainbow Trout. A distinctive variation on a more traditional “surf and turf,” the trout was accompanied by a delectable brick of Benton’s country ham, over an apple and kohlrabi slaw, flavored further by a burnt chile chimichurri and hazelnut vinaigrette. For an exceptional meal, kudos to Nate Johnson and his crack kitchen team, which now includes Chef Michael O’Halloran and Sous Chefs Max Grippo and Kai Reynolds.
As Stella is located next door to the celebrated Bucks County Playhouse (the building was once the Playhouse Inn), be sure to try one of Stella’s imaginative array of stage-related cocktails. I loved the Intermission, a heady mix of blended Scotch, pineapple syrup, lemon juice, and laphroaig, a distinctive smoky single malt whiskey, while Eve tried the Choreographer, a smooth blend of vodka, lime, honey syrup, grüner veltliner (a dry white Austrian wine), and basil. We enjoyed our meal in a high booth in the bar area, with a stunning river view on one side and a colorful bank of great wines on the other.
Now open five days a week, Stella will soon offer weekend brunches and expects to be open daily by the end of September. Stella is also destined to become the go-to destination for couples longing for a romantic Delaware waterfront setting for their wedding, with a world-class meal to remember for a lifetime.
Stella by José Garces is located on the second floor of the Ghost Light Inn, next to Bucks County Playhouse, 50 South Main Street, New Hope, PA 18938; 267-740-7131; www.stellanewhope.com. As of August, open for lunch and dinner, Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 4 to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. to midnight. Expanded hours and weekend brunch coming soon. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Reservations recommended. Available for private events, weddings.