One of the top choices in American cuisine.
THE AMERICAN RESTAURANT, like America itself, is ever-changing.
In New Jersey, a number of restaurants in this category deserve mention, even though they didn't make our list this year. Some are newly opened, with big-name chefs -- Greene Hook in Jersey City by David Drake and a re-imagined elements in Princeton by Scott Anderson. Other significant restaurants have a new chef at the helm, including Washington House in Basking Ridge, with Kevin Takafuji.
Over the next two weeks, we'll be presenting the best choices in American, Asian and Italian cuisine. We begin with the best American restaurants in New Jersey. Today, we offer ...
AGRICOLA
Crawford Koeniger is the first chef we've met who insists on giving credit to his team.
Chef Crawford Koeniger, of Agricola Eatery in Princeton That tomato jam doesn't make itself. It's what? Five or six generations of steps from the farm to your table? You need an entire group of people to make that happen -- with the quality of the tomato being the first step, and farmer Steve Tomlinson deserving of the most credit.
Koeniger is new to Agricola, although the restaurant, in the space formerly occupied by Lahiere's, maintains its strict farm-fresh philosophy. But suddenly, thanks to a different approach in the kitchen, the food feels far less about being pious and wholesome, and far more about being seductive.
Koeniger came here via Eno Terra, which explains much. Eno Terra -- along with Bent Spoon and its crazy-popular, ingredient-driven ice creams and sorbets -- deserves much of the pioneering credit for the culinary renaissance that is Princeton today. (Remember when a Jersey restaurant that grew its own vegetables was a radical notion?)
MONDAY: Ariane Kitchen & Bar, Verona
At Agricola, you'll fall for the gentle, lofty texture of house-made duck sausage, the melt-away richness of Koeniger's soppressata flatbread, the milky Lancaster chicken.
Koeniger professes a true love of Princeton, which is a good thing, because you won't want him to leave. Agricola is reaching its promise.
• Agricola | 11 Witherspoon St., Princeton | (609) 921-2798 | agricolaeatery.com
MORE FROM INSIDE JERSEY MAGAZINE
Follow Inside Jersey on Twitter. Find Inside Jersey on Facebook and Google+