David Drake's arrival at a new steakhouse puts it in a fine dining category that goes beyond meat.
Who ever heard of a steakhouse serving gazpacho made with strawberries as well as tomatoes?
Enter Rudolph's Steakhouse in Bernardsville, which went from being a standard issue steakhouse to something quite different when chef David Drake took over the kitchen earlier this summer, shortly after it opened.
Drake is one of New Jersey's best-known chefs, having cooked everywhere from the Frog and the Peach in New Brunswick to the Stage House in Scotch Plains, Restaurant David Drake in Rahway and most recently, Light Horse Tavern in Jersey City.
Chef David Drake pulls octopus off the grill at Rudolph's Steakhouse in Bernardsville. At Rudolph's, he's paired with Rudolfo Hisena, a familiar name in the Somerset Hills area who ran Rudolfo's in Gladstone for many years. Drake's new venue is a beautiful space that sadly hasn't made a go of it under other management.
Once a rundown tavern, the 19th-century structure was painstakingly redone with locally quarried stone to open in 2007 as Equus. After shutting down a few years later, it eventually became the short-lived Caballo.
If anyone can turn around the space's fortunes, Drake and Hisena would seem to be them.
"I always wanted to do a steakhouse," said Drake, who is making it happen his way.
"We're doing the prime dry-aged steaks, all top quality, but it's moving more and more toward just what I do, a relaxed version of fine dining," he observed.
Hence the gazpacho that has a touch of sweetness ($9), and an array of delights in the refreshing watermelon/bibb lettuce salad ($10) with peanuts, queso fresco and lime vinaigrette.
Strawberry gazpacho at Rudolph's Steakhouse in Bernardsville.
He sees it as a modern take on an old favorite, noting, "I think it's important to have good fish dishes and pasta dishes, things I'm doing anyway."
The sublime Parmesan gnocchi ($18) is a summer dish served with fresh Jersey corn, butter and lemon playing important roles, as well as chantarelle mushrooms and tomatoes. Phyllo-wrapped branzino ($28) becomes an experience with a stuffing of mushrooms and hazelnuts that seem to be made for each other. Corn succotash and roasted lemon make for a colorful assemblage that's quite a vision as well as a taste delight.
There are four steaks on the menu, but the only one that comes without significant accompaniments is the 20-ounce dry-aged Porterhouse ($44). The other plates are filled out with the likes of roasted vegetables, a sprightly potato and bacon hash or pommes confit.
While traditionally, steak houses tend to focus on the meat and let patrons order side dishes a la carte if they like, Drake prefers to put more on a plate than the protein.
As the chef puts it, "We know what goes together well, and we'd like to do that for you."
There's a suitable wine list and a good-sized bar, for those who prefer that atmosphere.
Desserts ($10) are all by Drake at the moment and they don't break any new ground yet, but they are just fine. At some point, a pastry chef will join the team, but for now, he's taken responsibility for everything.
A pineapple upside-down cake with rum sauce is filling and fun. Drake makes the most of fruit that is in season locally as well. Blueberries, blackberries and mint gave me a new vantage point on creme brulee, which is refreshing instead of annoyingly, cloyingly sweet. Blackberries and peaches dress up mascarpone panna cotta.
Service needs to be polished; staffers should know more about the food (though they will ask if they don't have an answer), but it's still relatively early in the game for this place. What really counts is that the food is vintage Drake and the atmosphere is elegant without being stuffy, a place where you can dress up or dress down and still feel like you belong.
IF YOU GO
Rudolph's Steakhouse
1 Mill St., Bernardsville. 908-766-7979. rudolphssteakhouse.com. Hours: Noon-3 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 5-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 5-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays. Closed Sundays.
Cody Kendall may be reached at CodyDine@aim.com. Follow Cody on Twitter@CodyDine. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.