Restaurant reviews

The Fox and Hound Tavern

By Robert Gordon

ONE OF THE FINEST restaurants Primetime A&E visited in 2006 was Zoota in Phillipsburg. It was certainly the nicest surprise.

Unfortunately, not long after our visit, Zoota disappeared much to our chagrin. In retrospect, Zoota’s talented Chef-Owner Michael Perselay was a bit too avant garde for the area. His ambitious eatery, Zoota Eclectic Cuisine, a stylish BYOB boasted a menu brimming with bold, clever ideas that translated masterfully into destination dishes.

I was disappointed when Zoota closed its doors. After its demise, I didn’t know what became of Chef Perselay. Our local restaurant galaxy had lost a shining star. Then I heard from Michael. He called me and related that he was doing his thing at a restaurant above Clinton in New Jersey. Perselay’s track record and pedigree merit the jaunt outside our normal hunting grounds. Likewise, Chef Michael Perselay merits Destination Chef status.

The Fox and the Hound Tavern itself resonates a friendly, laid-back vibe. A section of the interior is a beautifully appointed Victorian room, intimate, and cozy. Two beautiful, original fireplaces are centered along the main wall. The remainder of the first-floor interior is a bustling tavern energized with a brisk bar scene.What’s unique about this particular tavern is that there’s no “tavern food.” To be sure, the kitchen will cook up any special-order that the bar regulars might have a hankering for on their nightly stops. However, the bar crowd and tavern customers order from the same impressive, upscale menu as the main restaurant — the genteel crowd seated in the Victorian rooms. That’s unusual. In many taverns, uninspired belly-fillers serve simply to fill the downtime between elbow bends that bring the liquid payload to the mouth. Not at the Fox & Hound. Cuisine rules here. It was unprecedented for me to see a Saturday night “tavern” crowd ordering dishes like Grilled Salmon with Crispy Blue Corn Ravioli or Blue Hubbard Pear & Wild Mushroom Strudel — the same superb dishes, as I noted above, gracing the tables in the Victorian dining rooms. I hasten to add: I’m in no way demeaning the tavern room. Though the main dining room is more elegant, the tavern is spiffy and attractive. Decorum rules. And dining, there can be no doubt, is the main event.

Perselay’s menu as always merits exploring; he still spins the same magic he did at Zoota. He has not lost his penchant for coaxing the utmost in flavor from a battalion of ingredients nor for concocting bright combinations often sparked with a French flourish or two.

Years ago, Michael answered the siren call of his métier.When he enrolled at Fairleigh Dickinson College, he set out to follow in his father’s footsteps as a constitutional lawyer.While working in restaurants during his school days, he decided to change his career path and become a chef. He apprenticed at Westfield’s Chez Catherine and some of the finest French kitchens in northern Jersey. Eventually he opened his own French restaurant, La Maison des Poeles, in Peapack, which rated four stars along with a “Top 10 Restaurants of 1990” award from both The Star Ledger and The New York Times.

At Zoota as well as at the Fox & Hound, Chef Perselay taps into the French tradition without being shackled to it. A few appetizers display wonderful Italian technique.Wild Mushroom Tagliatelle is superb. The long flat pasta ribbons are slicked with creamy pumpkin sauce; however, it’s spinach and duck that’s slow roasted à la française that make the dish sublime. Tender, airy house-made pasta is the platform for delicious Crab ravioli. The crab is rich and sweet and the hefty roasted garlic and truffle cream that coats the ravioli harmonizes the diverse tastes to perfection. Blue Hubbard put earthy punch into each forkful of pear and wild mushroom strudel. The strudel is magnificently light while, the gorgonzola and walnut syrup that brightens the dish is a pièce de résistance. Grilled Shrimp & Mango Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls substantiate the kitchen’s mastery in Asian preparation. The rolls are fork-tender. The mango showers the shrimp with dulcet drops of fruitiness. Tempura salmon roll expands the Asian repertoire. The crispy texture of the feather-light tempura helps bring out the flavorful depth of the salmon.

Entrées are no less creative. Grilled Venison Flank Steak powers up on a few unexpected ingredients that bring the venison to its full flavor potential. A naturally sweet muscovado glaze coats the venison which is served with delicious pozole and juniper stew. Scrumptious Grilled Medallions of Wild Boar are sided with wild mushroom and corn sausage, braised bacon and a hearty red mole that plays counterpoint to the meaty mix. Pineapple li hing mui chutney lends fruity tang to duck breast perked with ginger sauce and finished with sweet & sour bok choy. This dish peppers the senses with nonstop flavorful waves. In another typically punchy combination, sesame encrusted tuna braised with baby bok choy enjoys the depth that forbidden rice and coconut lemon grass sake broth adds.

All in all,Michale Perselay’s Fox & Hound Tavern is a foodie destination. Only two of his entrées lie on the high side of the $30 demarcation line. He and his staff exercise the repertoire marvelously and present each dish tantalizingly. Creative menu, good prices, consistent excellence in execution — that’s the trifecta for a destination chef so it’s a safe bet I’ll be back soon.

This article/review was originally published in the February 2008 edition of Primetime A&E Magazine. Copyright Primetime [PRIMETIME - P.O. Box 120, New Hope, PA 18938 / Voice: 800.354.8776 / Fax: 215.862.9845]

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