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BUCKS MAGAZINE

Sweet Whispers

In the quaint seaside hamlet of Spring Lake, NJ, the Hewitt-Wellington mansion has been nestled n a tree-lined street, among other well-appointed Victorian homes, since the late 1800's.  While there has always been a restaurant attached to the hotel, this particular elegant, intimate dining room has been open for only six years - a short tenure for a restaurant that has garnered the kind of praise and patronage that Whispers has.  The New York Times has called it "decidedly special" and Zagat Survey says, "food becomes art" here.  With reservations booked well in advance, the word is certainly out about this BYOB gem.

Owner Nicholas Bruno and Scott Giordano pair exceptional ingredients with inventive flair to create an accessible and interesting menu that changes with the seasons.  "I want to provide my chefs with the best ingredients I can get," says Bruno.  This commitment to quality is evident from the first moments of your dining experience, when a gracious server brings you one of Giordano's specialty amusee, such as a smoked salmon and herb cream cheese pinwheel served on a miniature potato pancake, or marinated swordfish on a cucumber slice topped with chipotle aioli.

Bruno's family has been in the produce business for the past 100 years.  To this day, he still buys his fresh fruits and vegetables from his older brother, who brings truckloads down from New York City.  Although Bruno always has his finger on the global market, he sticks close to home when it comes to locally grown sweet corn and succulent ripe tomatoes.  This past Summer, Chef Giordano featured fresh Jersey tomatoes in a chilled soup thickened with pureed dinner rolls, as well as diver scallop starter served over a fresh Jersey tomato salad.

Other first courses include the seared Hudson Valley foie gras served over plump, grilled black Mission fig and topped with raspberry vinaigrette and blackberries - a lovely combination of sweet fruit and rich, creamy duck liver.  Salads at Whispers can be as simple as a mesclun mix with pecan-dusted goat cheese or as surprising as the grille Caesar, a creative take on the classic; quarter-head of romaine lettuce, barely charred and wilted over the grill, is topped with a creamy dressing, pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes.

Seafood is another notable feature on the Whispers' menu, particularly the lobster special, which has rapidly become a local favorite.  The 1 1/2 pound lobster, poached in saffron beurre blanc, is served with a jumbo lump crab cake in a crispy wonton basket over mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach.

In the sake-marinated sea bass, Giordano brings out the subtle sweetness of a fish that can otherwise be bland.  The sea bass is served in a lemongrass broth over lobster dumplings with generous portions of grilled baby bok choy, spinach, carrots, seaweed and scallions.  Somehow, in the fusion of all those flavors, the sake still brightens the palate, while the earthiness of the vegetables keeps the dish grounded. Despite the lemongrass and the lobster dumplings, both  delightful surprises, this dish is reminiscent of nothing so much as the most pleasing home-cooked Japanese sukiyaki.

It's no surprise that Whispers' fish is excellent; Bruno buys all of the seafood himself, twice a week at the Fulton Fish Market in Manhattan.  "I always get my swordfish from the same guy, from Best Buy Seafood" he says.  "That way I always know it's good."  Bruno is exceptionally sensitive to what's in season, so everything is fresh.  "The Dover sole is flown in from England air freight.  I only use Maryland crabmeat in the summer, when it's best. Otherwise, we're getting our crab from down south." 

It's not just the fresh produce and fish that set Whispers apart, though.  The menu also includes a barrel-cut Angus file mignon, a pork tenderloin and a veal chop for the meat eaters in your group.   The filet rivals any steakhouse's best.  Charred on the outside, tender on the inside, it is served over crunchy potato-and-bleu cheese pancake with steamed asparagus on the side.  However, Giordano's pork tenderloin dishes are his pride.  He pairs the pork with sage-and-corn bread stuffing, roasted pepper and a peach-chipotle barbecue sauce, and serves it over maple-infused, whipped sweet potatoes.  This season he's encrusted the pork with garlic, stuffed it with apples, dried cranberries and walnuts, topped it with a sherry shallot sauce and served the creation along side sweet potato and apple gratin.

Desserts here are as decadent as the rest of the menu and include chocolate ganache cake, tarte tatine, bananas foster, crème brulee and tropical mango cake.  The creations are the work of Whispers new pastry chef Drew Araneo, who is experimenting with pecan tarts for the fall and winter menus.  And don't fret if you forget you bottle of wine.  Local wine shop owner Joe Eagan will be happy to recommend a bottle and even deliver it tableside. - HS