The origin of most items at this spectacular restaurant can be traced to 800 acres farmed by the owners
If you care about each aspect of your food -- its origin, how it is prepared and where you eat it -- Brick Farm Tavern will serve you well.
Nearly everything presented in the circa 1822 brick house converted to a very unusual restaurant has its origins somewhere on 800 acres owned or leased by the energetic Robin and Jon McConaughy. They conjured a vision because they wanted to know where their food came from, and then made it happen at their Double Brook Farm in Mercer County.
''We're a farm-to-table restaurant in its truest sense,'' observed chef Greg Vassos, whose varied two decades of experience include working as sous chef with 3-star Michelin chef Eric Ripert and serving as L'Escalier's chef de cuisine at the Breakers in Palm Beach.
Several of the most creative and visually interesting dishes pay tribute to his gift for combining French and American techniques while highlighting the quality of the ingredients.
The Double Brook Landscape ($12) is a little picture on a plate, a virtual slice of the farm. At the base is a potato puree (because potatoes grow underground). Then comes finely chopped porcini mushroom ''soil,'' topped by diced vegetables.
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Chef Greg Vassos prepares the Double Brook Landscape. It's winter, so most of the veggies served are of the root variety that keep well through cold weather, though pea tendrils grown in a greenhouse on the property are also part of the mix.
Another signature is Egg in a Nest, with the leading player cooked in its shell at 64 degrees until it attains a custard-like consistency. It's served atop Bloody Butcher grits (don't be alarmed; Bloody Butcher is the name of the crimson corn from which the grits are made), flanked by flavorful larded mushrooms in the embrace of more pea tendrils.
A bowl containing these elements arrives snuggled in a nest of toasted hay. No, you're not supposed to eat the hay, but it does impart a visual stimulus to remind you what the farm and your food are all about, as well as adding a faint aroma to complete the experience.
Hay is a big player at Brick Tavern. Cooked and strained, it can be an element in sauce, as it is used with the chicken ($32), set off by a salsify puree, smoked blueberries and feathery Hen of the Wood mushrooms.
Smoked hay also flavors the salt carefully sprinkled on the butter that comes with fresh-baked bread. Like everything else here, it's subtle.
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Egg in a Nest, surrounded by hay. Each element in a dish plays well with others to make a statement, rather than screaming, ''Look at me!"
Just enough goat cheese and cream conspire artfully to create distinction in the butternut squash veloute ($11), a velvety dream of a soup.
A hefty piece of halibut ($39) is artfully matched with mellow sunchoke puree and king mushrooms. The appeal of beef tenderloin ($44) with Bordelaise sauce is extended by a vegetable fricassee and potato croquettes.
Bargain wines are not available, with bottles starting at $40, a tab that's commensurate with the price of entrees. Alternatives include by-the-glass offerings, a nicely selected range of beer and well-thought-out creative cocktails ($12.50), such as Apples and Oranges, with cava adding sparkle to Orangecello, Eden ice cider and Orleans herbal liquer.
For dessert, a long rectangle of custard ($10) topped by a curving ribbon of buttercream is completely captivating. Brown butter ice cream captures a brilliant complementary taste with its perspective from a little mound of chocolate soil.
Pleasant, well-trained staffers under the direction of general manger Mike Lykens offer educated and informative accounts of each dish and are well-prepared to answer questions. The caliber of service matches the level of the food.
The Double Brook enterprise, which also includes a farm market, had its roots in a 2002 magazine article about the life of a beef steer. Reading the piece raised the McConaughys' awareness of where food comes from and how animals destined for human consumption are treated.
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Brick Farm Tavern co-owners Robin and Jon McConaughy and general manager Mike Lykens. The couple is into green energy, utilizing geothermal heat and solar panels. The farm is, as Jon McConaughy put it, ''a closed loop, fully sustainable.''
The McConaughys' dedication to their principles prompted them to open a facility on their property where animals could be slaughtered humanely under serene circumstances without experiencing travel and other stresses that are part of off-site ''harvesting.'' The only animals not raised at Double Brook are cattle.
The bar and several dining rooms are streamlined. Wooden floors, chairs and tables blend, a stage for the food's stimulus. The sparkling open kitchen can be seen across a courtyard from a dining room that formerly was a library.
The Double Brook concept keeps growing. Next will be a brewery, with hops grown on the premises, and a distillery. Brick Tavern is so much more than dining; it's an experience demonstrating daily what research, skill and thoughtful planning can create.
IF YOU GO
Brick Farm Tavern, 130 Hopewell Rocky Hill Road, Hopewell. (609) 333-9200. brickfarmtavern.com. Hours: 5:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays.
Cody Kendall may be reached at CodyDine@aim.com. Follow Cody on Twitter@CodyDine. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.