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The Landing
By: Robert Gordon — April 2007
I DON’T KNOW WHAT the gloomiest thing about summer's annual disappearing act is, but the closing of the Landing's deck is a contender. In glorious weather, the deck affords an incomparable down-by-theriverside al fresco experience, overlooking the wide expanse of the Delaware while looking over to the retro-elegance of twin-city Lambertville. It doesn't get better tahtn that — chilling out on the Landing deck on that rare day in June. And then when our fickle weather suddenly turns sour...well, it's showtime. The Landing staff flashes more fancy stepping than the “River Dance” finale. Dining guests are hurriedly shuttled to dryness inside the restaurant. There they can watch the Landing's Olympic Deck-Clearing Team match the fury of the storm blowing through. This team makes everything on the deck disappear as swiftly as internal memos before an Enron audit.
Here's the good news, perhaps not as widely known as it should be: the Landing is beautiful on the inside too — much like the perfect woman or the as-yet-only-theoretically-possible perfect man (or so I'm told). It's just that the Landing's interior plays soda to the deck's scotch. You know, it's not the heralded component, but it stabilizes the drink and gives it distinction.
Certainly the deck is higher octane and more visible on a summer's eve. Resort get aways have nothing on its charm and festive atmosphere. However, owners Chris and Ellen Bollenbach have expended lots of money and mental capital on the interior.
With the updated look comes an updated menu. The same manu is available all day long, an approach that seems ideally attuned to New Hope rhythms. “We thought our friends would appreciate a swich to an all-day menu,” confesses Chris Bollenbach. “A menu that's available all day long suits our personal lifestyle. Even though we own the restaurant and can get great food anytime, sometimes we just feel like a burger. And we don't always feel like eating at dinner times. We thought our friends would like the switch to the all-day menu, too.”
Customers are considered frieds here. They are treated as friends. The Bollenbachs, two of the more recognizable faces around town, have nurtured that culture for three decades. Their restaurant counts a sizable cadre of local regulars. That's impressive. The reality is that selling a place like the Landing to locals is not an easy sell. Why? Because of its sterling location the Landing is a natural tourist magnet. That deck looks (and is) irresistible to passing tourists. And locals in a New Hope hotspot bristling with tourists are scarcer than Muslim proofreaders in the Vatican.
But the Landing does boast a healthy local contingent. One reason is the resaurant's consistency over the years. Credit the owners' good judgement for that. They always manage to attract and choose outstanding chefs. Stephanie Grubb, Matthew Levin and Jason McKenna have all toiled in the Landing's kitchen. That's quite a trio. And given the New Hope's locals' well deserved reputation as discriminating foodies, the Landing's string of talent in the kitchen makes it a local favorite, “despite” its killer tourist-attraction location. For New Hopers, if you cook it (well), they will come.
The locals have embraced the new menu's new direction. So do I. The all-day menu addresses all the appetite's many moods. Best of all, the more common place items in the food chain benefit from the finesse of a kitchen crew versed in the culinary arts. The zingy barbecue sauce that dresses the pulled pork sandwich with Swiss cheese, red onion, Romaine lettuce, and barbecue sauce treats this standard lunchtime staple to upscale flourish. Ditto for veggie panini with mozzarella on pumpernickel. And the char-broiled hamburger is clearly beyond the ken of the cooke-cutter chains whose main focus is whether or not you want fries. The meatloaf sandwich is a homespun treat, several levels higher than most people's grandmon's. Homey corn bread accompanies flavorful chili. Ceviche crowds scallops, sea bass, and calamari in a bracy broth. Warm pistachios encrust a boule of goat cheese atop mesclun greens studded with lentils and drizzled in punchy balsamic vinaigrette.
I mentioned just a few of the tasty treats on a menu that glides effortlessly from dish to dish and emphasizes no particular cuisine or tradition. Small plates dominate, but the Landing hasn't turned its back on entrēes that have served as its stock in trade for three decades. Sautēed Atlantic salmon plumps atop mushroom risotto sparked with sun-dried tomatoes in lusty fennel cream sauce. Sautēed sea bass in a pool of red pepper coulis and balsamic reduction is buttressed by potatoes and roasted tomato. Ravioli that's stuffed with rich lobster is slicked in lobster tomato cream sauce flecked with Manchego cheese shavings to offer a double shot of the succulent crustacean. Prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus satisfies red-met lust. The less famished carnivore can order prime rib sandwich capped with Gruyere cheese and dripping with mushroom gravy. Veggie lovers will find mouth-watering panko-crusted eggplant over mixed greens and roasted red peppers afor the devouring.
Expanding and opening up the menu suits leisurely lunches and late-night munchies just fine. It works for everything in between too. A decent wine list is stocked mostly with reasonable priced domestics. The bar offers intriguing mixed drinks making for great after-meal lingering. The bartenders passed the chocolate martini test. Their rendition could benefit from a bigger hit of chocolate, but still merits a 7.5 on a scale of ten.
On my last visit, I lingered. I soaked up the quet and class that resides in these redone digs. I relaxed in peace at my table — safe inside, undisturbed, not a hostage to the vagaries of summer weather. I miss the summer, which will be upon us in a few months, same as I miss getting rousted by the Olympic Deck-Clearing Team.
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