The Weekly Entrée 8-30
The Mansion Inn
Rating: 
The ornate wrought iron fence, etched glass doors, ceiling-to-floor windows and screens are some of the original fixtures that have been carefully restored.
There is a bounty of live plants and a beautiful garden surrounding the mansion. In addition to indoor seating, there is a tented area in the back and tables on the expansive porch. We took advantage of the latter — ideal for people-watching.
The menu is packed with elegant dishes fitting for the venue. General manager Harry Masterson came to the Mansion Inn about three months ago, joining another fresh face, executive chef Ryan Masterson, who started a short time earlier.
I say fresh, rather than new, as it fits their passion to serve fresh food. Sherman and Masterson partner in selecting purveyors within the region. Most of their ingredients are from farms and local growers that are within a 50-mile radius of the restaurant.
Even the milk used in recipes is no more than 36 hours from cow to door. With three years in the islands, Sherman has mastered combining these fresh ingredients for that extra something in the flavor of all of the dishes.
Even our first glances at the food — soups we ordered as a first course — confirmed the fresh theme we heard about. The traditional lobster bisque had large chunks of succulent lobster meat and the tomato basil soup, which contained more than enough freshly grated parmesan cheese, were at their peak of freshness.
We quickly consumed a large bowl of each soup.
The cornmeal crusted oysters I ordered were so fresh, they still had their Long Island accent.
They were especially enjoyable with the freshly grated horseradish and tarragon aioli. The beef cheeks my spouse ordered are exactly that — cheeks of the cow’s face. These were braised for 10 to 14 hours so they melted in your mouth.
They were fantastic with the homemade lemon mustard and crème fraîche.
We also shared a nicely fried soft shell crab over a colorful micro green salad with pineapple chipotle vinaigrette.
Needless to say, our entrées were fresh as could be and equally wonderful. For me it was the duet of game bird, which had pan seared LaBelle Farms breast of magret duck and Manchester Farms quail served over bamboo rice and sautéed greens with a pungent blackberry ginger port reduction. The rice treated with bamboo juice had the flavor of Chinese green tea.
My spouse selected the grilled dayboat-caught New Jersey swordfish. The thick piece of well-prepared fish was served with parmesan risotto and local spring greens with a vinaigrette that contained local bacon.
Our desserts were artfully prepared by sous chef Dan Reilly. We ordered warm sliced peaches and cream that was covered with a puff pastry and an apple, almond turnover.
Each homemade dessert was topped with vanilla ice cream.
The elegant food in this breathtaking mansion rates an AHHHHH (5) out of 5 AHs. E-mail Jim Clark at weeklyentree@verizon.net.
Location: 9 S. Main St., New Hope Cuisine: Continental Alcoholic Beverages: Full-service bar Ambience: Fine dining
Hours: Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Monday to Thursday noon to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday noon to 10 p.m.
Prices: Soups, salads, appetizers: $9 to $14; Entrees: $25 to $34 Phone Number: 215-862-1231 Web site: www.themansioninn.com
