July 21-27, 2005

food

Now and Hen

by Tami Fertig

Philadelphia might know good German beers, but forget about schnitzel. When it comes to Central and Eastern European cuisine, old-world grannies and breaded-cutlet lovers must go the distance and cross state lines to Red Hen Café, a Medford shopping center BYOB that serves authentic German, Russian, Austrian and Hungarian fare. The elegant 40-seater has been overfilling stomachs since 1998. But these days, signature dishes like stuffed cabbage rub shoulders with spicy orange blossom shrimp and macadamia-nut-crusted mahi mahi. Goulash and borscht can no longer be found.

What happened? Four months ago, when Red Hen's ownership changed, the beloved restaurant's meaty, saucy personality got mixed up in the shuffle. "We were going to change everything right away and get rid of all the Eastern European food," says 21-year-old owner Nicole Weisse, "but a bunch of devoted customers really wanted to see the old menu." About 50 to 100 over-the-hillers, she says, come in every week, traveling for up to two hours. Now, to appease distressed regulars, Weisse has kept the best sellers, including sauerbraten and beef stroganoff, on the new menu. The recipes seem to be in well-taught hands: Former chef and co-owner Tracey Slack stayed an extra two weeks to "show everyone how to make the food," Weisse says.

Seems Weisse's vision of an adventurous seafood-fusion restaurant has been put on hold. But not for long.

Within two months, Weisse hopes to expand, redecorate, add seafood dishes and change the restaurant name to Coral Reef Bistro. No more quaint Russian dolls lining dark red walls; no more Mozart and Liszt. "We're going to have big canvas paintings of fish and maybe a stone fountain," says Weisse. She also plans to "change this elevator music to something chill." Expect less fine dining, more family-friendly atmosphere. "Since we took over, I've seen maybe one baby in here," she says, getting straight to the point: "People my age are not interested in Eastern European food. Even if I think kids should try different foods, it's not gonna happen. My friends would never eat this stuff."

As seafood sales pick up, Weisse anticipates customers will steer from the old menu and embrace the aquatic theme. Still, she adds, "We're going to keep old items on until people stop ordering them. You can't get this food anywhere else."

Red Hen Café, 560 Stokes Rd., Medford, N.J., 609-953-2655.