ast Sunday the Husband and I went for dinner with another couple of foodies to Equus Tavern in Bernardsville, NJ. It was the first time for all of us to this restaurant. The chef is from Le Petite Chateau, a restaurant where we had the misfortune to dine but once. Had we known it was the same chef, I’m not sure we would have tried Equus, but I am very glad that we did.
The booth we were seated in on the main floor was quite comfortable. Once presented with the menus, we realized that making our selections would be no small challenge. Too many things looked too good to pass up! As is our usual MO, the Husband and I order to share, so sometimes it takes us a while to come to a decision. A special for the evening of a chicken and corn chowder was a no-brainer, as he has a weakness for chowders and soups of that ilk. We also had an appetizer of grilled shrimp and guacamole on a corn waffle, which seemed too interesting to pass up. For entrees, the Husband had the bleu cheese stuffed fillet and I had roasted scallops. Our dining companions ordered the roast duck and crab appetizers and then the pork and lamb entrees.
If everything tasted as good as it looked and smelled, we were going to be in for a good meal and we were not disappointed. The chicken and corn chowder was outstanding! So much so that the Husband nearly forgot to save some for me to share. Fresh corn, chicken and potatoes. I’m sure there was other stuff in there, but it seemed like that’s all there was. Maybe some cream, I don’t know; we forgot to ask. The corn waffle was another tasty treat. It was shaped like a waffle made with fresh corn, topped with two roasted butterflied shrimp and some guacamole. I wish there had been more shrimp! They were perfectly cooked with just a little bit of char on the edges. We’re not usually big fans of guacamole and avocado, but this was very good, nice and creamy. Our friends were kind enough to share a piece of her duck with me and it was terrific, some of the best duck I’ve ever had, actually.
Our expectations were high for the entrees and Equus delivered. The Husband’s steak was a perfectly cooked medium, which many restaurants, including steak houses, find hard to get right. The blue cheese filling was oozing out and was served on top of mashed potatoes with diced vegetables (zucchini and squash) ringing the plate. I don’t eat blue cheese so didn’t taste the steak but he was absolutely thrilled, not to mention impressed. The vegetables were delicious and the little bit of the mashed potatoes I had were good as well. I had four perfectly seared, absolutely delicious scallops. For the life of me I could not tell you what they were served with. It was a week ago, I made no notes and the online menu is not up to date. But it was damn good.
Desserts were a tasty way to end the meal. I had a pear tart, the Husband had tres leches, our friends shared an apple dessert. All were excellent.
We were pleasantly surprised when the bill came, as prices were rather extremely reasonable. They have a tavern menu and outside seating. We will definitely return.
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