So looks like the Sansones have ditched the Fromagerie name. Welcome to Rumson House… I will probably stop in at some stage and give a report… Pricey of course but I don’t mind paying if its good.
Trying to do alot here…Tasting Menu/Brunch/Vegetarian menu/Burger nite… not sure if this is all the same as it was prior to the name change as I never went there after Burke bolted.
From the “About Our Owners” page of the web site:
Join Paul and Enilda Sansone at the all-new Rumson House! As the restaurant’s sole owner and proprietor
So what it looks like is they parted company with Steven Botta of Brando’s and Osteria Cuccina “fame”. He was working the floor on both of my visits to Fromagerie post Burke and honestly his management style didn’t seem to fit the “Fromagerie environment”.
Generally partnerships tend to work out fine when the restaurant is profitable and / or the model is working. It seems they have scrapped everything about the re-boot Fromagerie (post Burke) and are trying to go completely farm to table. This would tend to lead me to believe they weren’t happy with the prior results and are going in a completely new direction.
One interesting touch I notice is they are doing a Sunday Brunch buffet, that could be a big hit for the area. Time will tell…thanks for the heads up!
I look forward to you taking one for the team on this! Ha!
The burger night thing they had before and we went once. It was alright, but I wasn’t blown away and never made it a point to get back.
A friend said she is going to the Sunday Brunch this week so I’ll try to see how it is from her.
yeah the brunch looks interesting…David Burke had one but it never really was enticing to me. Always like a good brunch
I will probably take one for the team sooner rather than later, I would love to like this place again. I was a big fan of the Peter’s Fromagerie, even though I’m not a big French food fan, it was an excellent dining experience. I went to Burkes a few times, including one burger night, and I just didn’t care for the “hip” vibe he was trying for. (plus I was never a big fan of his to begin with)
While this version of Fromagerie they were trying to bring back the excellent dining experience it was falling short in a few area’s and I lost interest.
I ran into Christian Peters about a year ago at the Shrewsbury Car wash, and we spoke for awhile and I begged him to coax his father out of retirement. He said his father loves hearing from past customers and he would pass my comments on to him.
Wow, 60 bucks for a sole dish? Haha! That is nuts.
I wish they said more about what the tomahawk entails. 125 isn’t exactly a cheap steak either, but it could be well worth it.
$60? That’s insane.
Yeah, and the average person wouldn’t know the difference if you served a piece of winter flounder.
Jeez jr, you’re a celebrity magnet! Christian, the situation, Sebastian, Lt Lol
I hope to bump into Christian soon. He is a really cool guy. I haven’t seen him in a long time. I think last time was at foodtown years ago.
Well I was so excited to see the re-revamp of this that the addition of the brunch was a perfect excuse to get me there ASAP. I was fortunate enough to be able to share the experience with the Mrs. and a special guest @seal .
This is about the point that I’ve run out of anything good to say about the rest of the experience. Seldom does dining out actually offend me, well this is the rare occasion.
We were the first to arrive at 11am and we remained 1 of 3 total tables by 12:30. To start they did have shrimp cocktail and oysters (west coast) as part of the cold salads. They offered croissants and bagels but no bread for toast. (You also had to request for them to be toasted) Several items were missing utensils for serving, the meat and cheese platter was obviously pre-made-purchased.
The carving station had only turkey, while they advertise pork loin and ham. The omelette station was generic and they had to special request actual eggs for over easy. (Again although the web site said egg and omelette station all they had were pre-scrambled)
The hot buffet: breakfast potatoes (literally orida frozen potatoes EXACTLY same as I-hop)
Sausage and bacon - both literally diner quality the sausage was the exact same as any good Greek diner. Nothing unique or special about it which is great if your at a diner it what you expect, same with bacon.
Waffles: didn’t even look at it can’t comment
French toast: served cut into 1/4’s of slice again I suspect it was frozen. Nothing unique or special about it.
Cheese Blintzes: the best of the hot items but also not homemade
Chicken Francese: per seal who took one bite “It’s ok”
Fluke: I didn’t try it but seal did, he took one bite and said it was bad, spoiled bad.
Potatoes and Vegetables: roasted potatoes (cold) and carrots which were good.
Desert: store bought cookies and cake pops
The website says bottomless Bloody Mary and mimosas, I had 2 Bloody Marys at their make your own Bloody Mary bar. It was good.
We got the check to find I was charged $26.00 for the 2 Mary’s, you tell me what the menu says. The waitress tried to explain how I was wrong but did that then off the check.
I was surprised to see they charged additional for the coffee and tea as well.
For this to be The Fromagerie / Rumson House and paying $37pp I would have been more satisfied with The Grand Slam at Denny’s for $10.95 and gotten the SAME exact food. No joke.
Based on expectations this was probably one of the worst experiences I’ve had. Terrible for what you expect from this location.
Can’t wait to hear from @seal
Reading the menu again NO eggs Benedict either. Leaving seal stopping to tell the hostess his feelings after she asked, was confronted by the waitress again to explain how we were wrong about the drinks.
There’s an expression, “I wouldn’t eat there with your money.” In a nutshell, this is the way I feel about the brunch at Rumson House.
I walk into a $36 pp brunch in Rumson thinking that I will have a cheap ‘Molly Pitcher’ kind of experience. Instead I got an expensive ‘Colts Neck Inn’ kind of experience. Oh and if for some reason you do decide to try this Sysco/RD feast for yourself, know that there is a separate charge for all beverages except water. Also, just a large bird that may have been a turkey for carving, no pork loin.
@NotJrvedivici and I really TOFTT here and you are all welcome.
Goodbye Fromagerie.
OOOOOOOOOOOF.
(extra words to get this to post–one of the few complaints I have about this site)
Wow. Were the shrimp any good? (Not that Im going here for brunch.)
Did you show the server the website showing the Bloody Mary?
Dinging you up for coffee is a low blow
TOTALLY agree. Just reading about the coffee charge made my head go BOOM.
to play devils advocate here- any chance they got caught in the hullabaloo in the storm/weather and maybe didn’t really anticipate being open? Prob very nice but only way I can imagine a spot putting forth that spread? Otherwise this place will die a quick death…maybe finally go through enough purgatory to get a nice upscale spot in here?
Either way- what a truly awful experience. You guys would have been better off taking part in the China buffet thread instead I think.
WOW. I am pretty sure a friend of mine was going there for brunch this morning too! I am going to ask her what she thought!
To finish up the story.
Our waitress was very animated, moving her hands around as she spoke like a catcher giving signals to his pitcher. But she was nice and she also took the charge for the alcoholic drinks off the bill (although tea and coffee were still charged.)
@NotJrvedivici and the Mrs left to get the car and the hostess asked how we liked it. I asked if she really wanted to know or she was just being polite. She took the former choice so I told her. I was rolling quickly through all of our objections so I could leave as I felt ripped off and abused, and our waitress shows up. I wasn’t interested in a debate, just trying to leave and she starts telling me how everything is cooked fresh. Who cares? I think, as heating up a frozen pack of breakfast potatoes does not really qualify as “cooking.” But she was still ‘rebutting’ on as I left.
Gees z, what a fistercluck. Did she think she was gonna change your mind? Was the waitress the former russel and betters manager by chance? That’s when a decent manager steps in. Just goes lock step with the food they put out I guess
You know I was just thinking about it, between the loss of What’s Your Beef and this ridiculous mess Rumson is truly lacking in any home town spot.
For one of the wealthiest towns in nj, probably on the east coast, I agree. There isn’t too much going on there. I just hope I can still get a good cheddar burger at barnacles in the future. There isn’t a place like that around here where you can get a good burger and take in some cool nautical decor. Just sitting at a table and looking at it makes me feel great that I’m not at some crappy chain.
