Restaurant News

Rosie will be on vacation until mid-February—guest blogger Melody Kettle will post in her place. The steep driveway that led up to the Mohawk House was lined with cars: luxury 4x4 vehicles, environmentally friendly compacts, and even a classic Corvette. The valets were hustling to keep up. This must be the most popular restaurant in Sussex County—or, perhaps, one of the few. Either way, the joint was jumpin’.

Photo by Melody Kettle

Mohawk House, Sparta

Perched like a boutique mountain lodge, atop a landscape-lit hill in Sparta, the fieldstone facade of The Mohawk House is indeed welcoming. Upon entering, soaring ceilings, multiple fireplaces, and warm lighting set a cozy mood, while brightly colored chalkboards and signs, like “Soup of the day: Whiskey,” let you know they don’t take themselves too seriously. But make no mistake, the price point is not as light as the humor.

There are multiple dining rooms at The Mohawk House, but service doesn’t suffer for size. Even before we arrived, I had an inkling the service would be good. My GPS (and likely yours, too) was unable locate the address of The Mohawk House, but no worries, the immensely patient hostess steered us away from Lake Mohawk, wove us through a Stop & Shop shopping plaza, and guided us safely to our dining destination. This level of attention continued through dinner, where water was filled, plates were cleared, and all courses arrived timely.

Craft beer rules at Mohawk House. Soon after we were seated, warm, fresh bread and pats of salted of butter arrived. My dining companion and I poured over the extensive beer list that offers more than 50 craft brews on tap—many local and some rare. My mate chose Kane Overhead IPA ($7, 8.2% ABV), which had a great aroma, and malty, bitter backbone. The Mohawk House also offers tempting handcrafted cocktails, like the Mohawk Manhattan with Bulleit Rye, as well as a wine list with wines by the bottle and pours by the glass from $7 to $12.

The first appetizer to catch my eye was the bacon-wrapped wild boar meatloaf ($16) with a parsnip puree, sautéed spinach, warm Lingonberry sauce. The portion was huge, and the plating was diner-esque. It’s a good thing the meatloaf was wrapped in bacon because the loaf of meat was flavorless. The second appetizer, bacon-wrapped scallops ($16) was again plentiful. Three large, fresh, clean, sweet, perfectly cooked scallops were served atop a cauliflower puree, that was topped with frisee, and for some reason sprinkled with clumsy chopped almonds. A boring balsamic reduction meandered around the puree and it looked like a hot mess. Less, in both cases, would have been more.

The Mohawk House is eager to share kitchen’s farm-to-table ethos, both through table service and website. It’s my belief that if farm-to-table is your schtick, a restaurant has a duty to its vegetables. More than an afterthought, the vegetables should be a thoughtful companion that speaks to the protein. The kitchen should make the vegetables sing arias. Unfortunately, the vegetables at The Mohawk House were mute.

Further lack of plating innovation and disappointing use of veg continued. The High Plains Bison Ribeye ($54) with roasted purple potatoes, grilled Belgian endive, yellow-foot chanterelle, and porcini cream demi, was, to put it plainly, pretty ugly. The meat was delicious, tender, flavorful, and cooked as ordered—Pittsburgh rare. The sides, however, again, disappointed. The purple potatoes looked and tasted awful, the endive was slapped on the plate, and not commensurate with the $54 price tag.

The same held true for the horseradish-crusted Australian rack of lamb ($46). Though the meat demonstrated a lovely flavor profile, delicate and slightly sweet, the sides were just pitiful, and detracted from the protein. The boursin polenta tasted like corn porridge and nothing more. Though creamy, I’m not sure what happened to the tang of the boursin. The biggest sin on the plate, however, were the hard, undercooked tri-colored baby carrots. The shiitake and sundried tomato demi seemed an easy way out and unfortunately did little to enhance the dish. The meat deserved much better than this—as did the price tag.

In lieu of dessert, we opted for a cheese plate ($12) that featured a selection of two artisanal cheeses. We choose the lavender and espresso-crusted Barely Buzzed (UT), and a three-year aged Farmer’s Gouda. Though the cheese plate was plenty for two to share, including apples, olives, crackers, almonds (making their second appearance), and particularly delicious honey (unfortunately presented in what appeared to be a diner ketchup vessel) the plate seemed uninspired, easy, and not first rate, like the atmosphere and service. 3 South Sparta Ave, Sparta Township (973) 729-6464.

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