New Jersey Restaurant Review
The Red Hen Café
Restaurant Now Closed - However, the Coral Reef Bistro, now in the same location, continues to serve some of the old favorite Red Hen dishes.
560 Stokes Road
Ironstone Village
Medford, Burlington County, New Jersey
(609) 953-2655
By The Artful Diner
Special to New Jersey Online
11/26/01
Central and Eastern European cuisines have never fared particularly well on American terra firma. Not only are they thought to provide indiscriminate diners with prodigious portions of innocuous, eminently forgettable fodder, they also enjoy the somewhat dubious reputation as initiators of various forms of peristaltic indisposition among those with less than stalwart constitutions. Despite the bad press, however, in the hands of an accomplished chef, offerings from such diverse countries as Germany, Russia, Hungary, and Poland may easily succeed in tantalizing the palate with a remarkable degree of subtlety and finesse... And this is precisely what one encounters at The Red Hen Café.
This delightfully cozy BYOB is the dream-come-true of Tracey Slack and her husband and co-proprietor, Bill Roka. Ms. Slack, not yet thirty-years-of-age, developed her love of Eastern European recipes while studying for her BS in marketing at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. After graduating from The Restaurant School in Philadelphia, she apprenticed under Olivier de Saint Martin at Cherry Hill's La Campagne and held the position of sous chef at The Garden in the City of Brotherly Love.
While Ms. Slack holds forth in the kitchen, her husband -- who is of Hungarian descent -- manages the dining room and keeps a handle on the restaurant's finances, advertising, and promotional activities. Mr. Roka, a graphic artist, is also responsible for the décor of the homey 30-seat dining room, which features marble-topped tables, bright red napkins, and other charming accoutrements.
The moment you enter, you sense that something very special -- as well as the gentle strains of Borodin, Liszt, and Mozart -- is in the air... and the food does not disappoint. If this will be your first visit to The Red Hen, you must begin with the potato pancakes ($6.50). They are appropriately crispy on the outside, yet completely devoid of grease, giving way to a velvety interior. Homemade applesauce adds immeasurably to the proceedings, along with a dollop of sour cream.
Should you be in the mood to start the festivities on a more decadent note, however, be sure to opt for the palacsinta ($6.50), a Hungarian-style crepe filled with ham and sour cream. On the other hand, if you're feeling light and lyrical of disposition, the mushroom pelmeni ($6.50) provides the perfect prelude to your evening at table. Diminutive, delicately textured dumplings are filled with a mixture of seasoned wild mushrooms and set adrift in an utterly transporting celestial sea of chicken consommé.
Other appetizers, while less overtly ethnic in nature, are equally well executed. The smoked salmon ($6.50), for example, is exquisitely thin, set atop scrumptious slices of homemade brown soda bread, and embellished with capers and red onions. But my favorite among the starters -- nudging out the aforementioned potato pancakes in a photo finish -- is the incomparable phyllo-wrapped bleu cheese ($6.50). Pierce the warm flaky shell and a mellifluous lava flow of semi-melted cheese cascades onto a tangle of mixed greens invigorated with mustard vinaigrette. A garnish of pear slices that have been simmered in ruby port adds just the proper counterpoint of color and texture.
Entrées, particularly those of German extraction, are noteworthy. Wiener schnitzel ($19.00) can be a difficult customer, and most of the representatives that I've sampled in this country have been decidedly tough, heavy as lead, and sabotaged by an insipid coating of soggy breadcrumbs. My vote for the best of the best goes to the rendition served up at the Posthotel Partenkirchen in Partenkirchen, Germany. The veal is wafer-thin and literally melts in your mouth, the breading so ethereal it actually ripples.
The Red Hen's version isn't quite in that class, but it is certainly one of the best presentations I've encountered on this side of the Atlantic. And the jagerschnitzel ($19.50) caressed by a delicate mushroom sauce, is every bit its equal. The spaetzle and rotkraut that accompany both dishes are quite good as well.
Seafood doesn't take center stage here... But, be that as it may, you are sure to find the scallops ($19.00) most memorable. They are seared -- the crisp, lightly browned exterior giving way to an extraordinarily creamy nucleus -- which you would expect; they are then set atop a most unusual seabed of sautéed potatoes -- which you undoubtedly would not. But no ordinary spuds these. Like the Wiener schnitzel noted above, they leap from Ms. Slack's fiery sauté pan exhibiting just the proper flavor and texture... yet without a trace of grease. They are then dressed in a sprightly herb vinaigrette that provides an exciting acidic antithesis to the sumptuous bivalves.
The special veal chop ($21.99) -- dry and tough in spots, excessively fatty in others -- proved to be the only disappointment in several visits. Even this less than ingratiating offering, however, was nearly redeemed by the intervention of a marvelously intense horseradish & onion infused veal sauce and an excellent German potato salad.
Desserts ($6.00), all homemade, are right back on target. The warm apple strudel displays a delicate flakiness and is appropriately garnished with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. The Hungarian gypsy cake -- chocolate cake dressed with chocolate cream and dark chocolate glaze -- is rich yet supernal upon the tongue and encircled by a delicious armada of marinated strawberry slices and dollops of whipped cream. The brown betty almond torte is surrounded by a piquant sea of cherry sauce, as is the Hungarian cheese pie, a celestial, custard-like affair lightly dusted with cinnamon.
Even though The Red Hen Café has been serving a host of loyal and enthusiastic patrons for the past three years, tucked away in a quiet shopping center in rural Medford, it may still be the best-kept secret in Burlington County. I can assure you that this will not be the case for very long, however... Given its exceptional European cuisine, homey, intimate atmosphere, and friendly service, it is surely one of southern New Jersey's most delightful dining experiences.
Cuisine: Central & Eastern European
Hours: Weds - Sun, 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.; CLOSED MONDAY & TUESDAY
Credit Cards: AX, MC, V
Attire: Casual
Smoking: Smoking is not permitted in the restaurant.
Reservations: Recommended
Parking: Onsite
Alcohol: BYOB
Price: Moderate
Handicapped Accessible: Yes
