The Artful Diner - Melange Cafe Restaurant Review Cherry Hill NJ New Jersey

New Jersey Restaurant Review

Mélange Café
1601 Chapel Avenue
Cherry Hill, Camden County, New Jersey
(856) 663-7339

By The Artful Diner
Special to New Jersey Online
2/24/2003

Mélange Café's chef/proprietor Joe Brown sets a mighty impressive table. A graduate of Philadelphia's Restaurant School, and tracing his love of Southern cooking to his Tennessee-born mother, France, Mr. Brown has put together an intriguing and innovative menu of Cajun-Creole creations with an occasional Italianesque diversion. His offerings, which, for the most part, acquit themselves with suitable distinction, are rich and robust of countenance, prodigious of portion, and definitely not for the faint of appetite.

The diminutive dining room is both comfortable and romantic; and even though tables are in rather close proximity, a wall of mirrors still manages to convey quite a spacious feel to the proceedings. In addition, the members of the wait staff are professional, energetic, and knowledgeable... and that is certainly a plus in any restaurant environment.

But there is infinitely more than a pleasant ambiance and snappy service at work here. Given the nature and caliber of the cuisine, and the fact that Mr. Brown himself is of African-American descent, the Mélange attracts quite an interesting and decidedly mixed clientele. And, once again, à la the enchanting film Babette's Feast, I marvel at the not insignificant sacramental power of good food and drink to unite people of diverse races, colors, and creeds in a most congenial culinary camaraderie -- and Chef Joe is the catalyst who brings it to pass with dignity and a delicious sense of style.

You begin with a gift from the kitchen, a mouth-watering plate of roasted red peppers and Asiago cheese, which, I might add, marries extremely well with slices of lusty Italian bread and herbed olive oil... But these are only harbingers of the good things yet to come...

If Mr. Brown has a signature appetizer, it is surely his pecan-crusted crabmeat cheesecake ($12.00), a down-home decadent delight, sporting a mushroom-onion reduction. I must confess, this is one dish that is a bit too luxurious for my palate. I much prefer the lamb salad ($12.00), three perfectly grilled baby lamb chops on a mountain of greens that have been lightly tossed with a first-rate balsamic vinaigrette and sprinkled with shoestring French fries. As with several preludes here, this is one item that could very easily be shared by two.

The Louisiana dirty rice ($10.00) -- white rice commingled with sautéed littleneck clams, andouille sausage, chicken livers, and tossed with green peppers & onions and just a hint of spice -- is also an excellent starter. Once again, the portion is more than ample.

I'd skip the pan-fried oysters ($10.00). The menu reads "lightly breaded," but this is something of a misnomer, as breading clearly predominates... so much so, in fact, that one is forced to launch an extensive expedition in search of the apparently AWOL bivalves. Once discovered, however, one quickly realizes that the hot pursuit was really not worth the effort, as the representatives encountered are inordinately chewy... And this is a shame, as the accoutrements, namely horseradish & cream reduction and tomato corn salsa, are both quite exceptional and certainly deserving of more auspicious company.

Naming my favorite starter is something of a toss-up. The Louisiana sausage and bean soup ($5.00 cup/$6.00 bowl) -- andouille sausage and white beans awash in a heady tomato-based broth -- is simply superlative. There's just enough heat to tickle the taste buds without sending them into pyrogenic spasms. And, like a fine wine with a long and lingering finish, the soup exhibits a lovely "after burn" that continues to hold the palate's attention.

On the other hand, who can possibly resist the considerable charms of the crab ravioli ($10.00)? Tender pasta pockets are filled with shredded crab and topped with morsels of sautéed spinach, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, and fresh lump crabmeat. The "splash" of sherry and cream turns out to be more of a downpour, but the dish is so utterly delicious that you're not likely to hear any complaints from me.

As you might easily surmise, seafood, in a number of intriguing incarnations, is quite prominent among the entrée selections. If you really want to know what this kitchen is about, the jambalaya ($25.00) should be your first choice. Shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, andouille sausage, and ham are set on a mountain of cooked rice and spruced up with just enough spice to invigorate rather than incinerate. The cornmeal-encrusted pan-fried catfish ($22.00) is another exceptional offering. A moist and tender filet is set on a seabed of garlic red bliss mashed potatoes. What really sets this dish apart, however, is the corn mock-shoo, a cream sauce with corn kernels, chopped tomatoes and peppers, and just a hint of spice. The perfect foil for the bland catfish.

If you fancy yourself more of a landlubber, the blackened chicken breast set on a pillow of garlic mashed potatoes and smothered with onions and mushrooms ($25.00) might be just the ticket. Also highly recommended are a luscious herb/mustard-crusted roast rack of lamb enhanced with a first-rate Dijon mustard sauce ($27.00) and an equally sumptuous herb-encrusted veal chop ($27.00).

Desserts, or so it seems to me, are a bit on the pricey side and include indigenous denouements as well as those made off campus. Obviously the former are to be preferred over the latter. In my estimation, the winner in the sweet endings department is clearly the Louisiana bread pudding ($8.00). A more than generous warm wedge is surrounded by a sensuous pool of creamy bourbon sauce. No matter how much you've ingested in the course of your sojourn at table, you will find this presentation completely irresistible. Another star of the show, although infinitely more cloying, is the "Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate! ($10.00). A vertical wedge of chocolate cheesecake is surrounded by golf-ball size dollops of chocolate truffles and chocolate ice cream. Needless to say, chocoholics would do well to postpone their next cholesterol test.

The off campus representatives are not nearly so successful. The Key lime tart ($9.00) is both the wrong color (green instead of pale yellow) and the wrong texture; and the Kahlúa pound cake ($7.50), which holds the distinction of being the pick of the litter, is still not likely to cause any undue excitement.

Despite one or two minor miscues, the food here is consistently satisfying... as the conspicuous presence of doggy bags clearly attests.

In addition to the celebration of Black History Month each year, the Mélange Café also hosts an annual Mardi Gras celebration on Fat Tuesday.

Cuisine: Cajun-Creole/Italian
Hours: Lunch: Tues - Fri, 11:00 noon - 3:00 p.m.; Dinner: Tues - Thurs, 4:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.; Fri & Sat, 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.; Sun, 2:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.; CLOSED MONDAY
Credit Cards: All major
Attire: Casual
Smoking: Smoking is not permitted in the restaurant.
Reservations: Recommended
Parking: Onsite
Alcohol: BYOB
Price: Moderate
Handicapped Accessible: Yes