http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20090520/NEWS/905200333/-1/newsfrontWHITEHOUSE STATION — Tropical Storm Gordon swept into Hunterdon County last week, and when he was gone, Flamangos Restaurant was no more. The tropical look and Caribbean-themed dishes that were the hallmark of the Whitehouse Station restaurant for the past three and a half years had been banished by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, through a whirlwind makeover that will be detailed in an upcoming episode of his Fox TV reality show, "Kitchen Nightmares.'
"We knew we needed to make a change," says Cheryl Csepi, who owns and runs the restaurant with her parents, Adele and Bill Csepi. They took over the former Spiotta's, which had been successful in the rustic 19th century building that stands opposite the local railroad station, with train tracks between the two historic structures.
With its curved pink walls, leaf-pattern fabrics and wallpaper, rattan chairs, pineapple lights and "lots of bamboo," Csepi says, Flamangos evoked the tropics for a local clientele that "we felt would be comfortable and have fun with it. People around here go to the islands, Florida, the Jersey Shore — why not have that in your back yard? But it didn't work, we started struggling,' she said.
Adele Csepi e-mailed "Kitchen Nightmares," which happened to be casting in the tristate area. "They let us know we were selected only three weeks before they arrived,"' her daughter says.
"What possessed you when you thought up a tropical theme for the country?" Csepi says Ramsay asked her when he saw the sturdy old building with its exposed stone interior walls. He and his team came up with the new name, The Junction, because of the trackside location, and the new decor reflects a simple, whitewashed general-store theme.
So does the new menu. Flamangos featured combinations of every meat, seafood and pasta you could think of, with some specials in the $25-36 range. Ramsay recommended severely paring the menu back to the basics, and with it the prices. The most expensive item on the new menu is prime rib at $20.
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"Light bites" such as crab cakes, wings and spinach dip are followed by comfort-food reliables, including burger variations served with regular or sweet potato fries (one is a buffalo burger from Readington River Buffalo Farm), meatloaf, oven-roasted lemon chicken, baby back ribs, glazed salmon, three-cheese mac-and-cheese casserole with ham and Chicken Jubilee with mashed potatoes. Desserts are also kept classic and simple: banana split for two, red velvet cake, pies and milk shakes.
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"We're probably going to put a few of our most popular dishes back on the menu, though," Csepi says. "The seared ahi tuna, the tilapia, the mahi — some of our regular customers are already busting our chops over taking them off."
The Ramsay team spent just over a week — from May 9 through 17 — in Whitehouse Station. "It was an incredible experience," Csepi says, "doing things like setting tables with Gordon Ramsay was unbelievable. He was greeting customers, serving margaritas." Ramsay worked with Flamangos through three dinners, and "when we closed Friday, they started renovating overnight. When we came in Saturday, Gordon unveiled the new sign, and they brought us into the restaurant to capture our reaction to the new look," Csepi says.
While in Hunterdon, the Ramsay team also visited Valley Shepherd Creamery, Edible Jersey's Food Artisan Local Hero for 2009 — not to tinker with their winning formula, but to select some high-quality cheeses for The Junction.
"The crew shot for hours in our newborn lamb building," says cheesemaker Eran Wajswol, a Tewksbury Township resident. "We tasted lots of nice cheeses with Gordon and later his four sous chefs even came back and joined our Sunday cheesemaking class."
Look out, Philadelphia restaurants; that's where Wajswol says the "Kitchen Nightmares" crew was headed next. The episode in which Flamangos is transformed into The Junction is expected to air on Fox TV in September or October.
"Light bites" such as crab cakes, wings and spinach dip are followed by comfort-food reliables, including burger variations served with regular or sweet potato fries (one is a buffalo burger from Readington River Buffalo Farm), meatloaf, oven-roasted lemon chicken, baby back ribs, glazed salmon, three-cheese mac-and-cheese casserole with ham and Chicken Jubilee with mashed potatoes. Desserts are also kept classic and simple: banana split for two, red velvet cake, pies and milk shakes.
"We're probably going to put a few of our most popular dishes back on the menu, though," Csepi says. "The seared ahi tuna, the tilapia, the mahi — some of our regular customers are already busting our chops over taking them off."
The Ramsay team spent just over a week — from May 9 through 17 — in Whitehouse Station. "It was an incredible experience," Csepi says, "doing things like setting tables with Gordon Ramsay was unbelievable. He was greeting customers, serving margaritas." Ramsay worked with Flamangos through three dinners, and "when we closed Friday, they started renovating overnight. When we came in Saturday, Gordon unveiled the new sign, and they brought us into the restaurant to capture our reaction to the new look," Csepi says.
While in Hunterdon, the Ramsay team also visited Valley Shepherd Creamery, Edible Jersey's Food Artisan Local Hero for 2009 — not to tinker with their winning formula, but to select some high-quality cheeses for The Junction.
"The crew shot for hours in our newborn lamb building," says cheesemaker Eran Wajswol, a Tewksbury Township resident. "We tasted lots of nice cheeses with Gordon and later his four sous chefs even came back and joined our Sunday cheesemaking class."
Look out, Philadelphia restaurants; that's where Wajswol says the "Kitchen Nightmares" crew was headed next. The episode in which Flamangos is transformed into The Junction is expected to air on Fox TV in September or October.
