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Circa

Reviewed by Valerie Sinclair   
Posted December 26, 2007

A first visit to Circa on a Saturday night just after a favorable review had appeared in another publication revealed a scene that was, to say the least, chaotic. Among the dishes ordered by a party of five was a coq au vin that tasted like stewed chicken that had never seen a drop of wine and was so overcooked that the meat fell apart in shreds. Pan-seared monkfish looked fine but was almost impossible to cut because it was completely raw inside. Escargots served on a flat plate came with only a few toothpicks to extract the little gastropods from their shells, and one of the four varieties of mussels on the menu was prepared with mustard, crème fraîche, and so much saffron that the taste was medicinal.

Still, I found some bright spots: a scallop seviche appetizer intensified with lemon, truffle vinaigrette, and chives; and crisp, fried calamari with both tartar and spicy harissa sauces. A few weeks later, a second visit suggested that Circa had righted the ship.

Owned by Chef Michael Coury, whose credentials include stints as chef at Nodo in Princeton, the Jefferson in Hoboken, the Frenchtown Inn, and the Bernard’s Inn, Circa is a small-town country tavern with a spacious bar and a dining room featuring a tin ceiling, dark wood molding, and decorative mirrors above the banquettes.

That second evening at Circa was busy yet calm as diners munched on hummus and flatbread while deciding what to order. Enjoyable appetizers included chunky smoked salmon with all the trimmings, and the charcuterie plate of sopressata, sliced garlic sausage, and salami along with hard-boiled eggs and whole-grain mustard. Also worth trying were the sweet and savory roasted figs halved, topped with blue cheese and served with Serrano ham, walnuts, and mâche. The burnished-orange butternut squash got extra punch from spiced mascarpone, and the combination of shrimp sautéed with fiery merguez sausage is without par.

Apart from the two unfortunate entrées previously mentioned, most other main courses are at least edible. The branzino, which is served whole (avoid ordering this if you don’t like your dinner staring you in the face), is perfectly fresh and delicious, paired with roasted fennel, onion, tomato, and herb-crusted potatoes. But extricating the flesh from the bones is far too much work. The braised short ribs are tender and flavorful, but they lack the deep color, rich flavor, and silken texture of braised meat at its best. By far the most reliable dishes are the beefy, tender strip steak with Madeira sauce and the hanger steak with garlic-parsley butter and French fries, closely followed by the crisp-skinned, delicately flavored sea trout with a fennel-black olive salad and vegetables.

Good news! The lemon pound cake that was hard and dry the first time was merely dry the second. (The apple-and-walnut bread pudding and the pumpkin custard were run-of-the-mill.) Most interesting dessert? Tres leches—a mouthwatering yellow cake soaked with three different creams.

It is surprising, given the chef’s background, that the food is not more attractively presented.