Elements, Princeton, NJ

The Squirt: Impeccable Design & Exquisite Food
Must Eats: Everything the mixologist & chef could create!
Prices: Expensive

Elements, Princeton, NJ

A few weeks ago, your favorite Two Squirts, (yes, that’s us – Roy & Ren!) ventured down to one of our favorite towns for a special anniversary celebration!  We wanted it to be special, and man, was it ever.  Elements opened in 2008, and we had heard great things about it.  We were waiting for just the right special occasion to dine there, and this evening certainly provided just that!

First, let’s start off with the atmosphere.  Elements is really impressively designed.  You would never guess that it actually used to be a gas station!  Only after you find that out, can you notice the beams where the bay doors used to open!  The restaurant has such a relaxed feeling to it.  The natural tones and stone, along with the delicious food, make the perfect atmosphere for a relaxing dining experience! We actaully spent a good amount of time just looking around, taking in the atmosphere, before we even looked at the menu.  (Thanks to elementsprinceton.com for the interior shot below!)

Dining Room, Elements, Princeton, NJ

The host & waitstaff are all extremely professional and well mannered.  No matter who came to the table, they were extremely friendly! Justin was our server for the evening.  He actually recognized us from one of his prior jobs before he came to Elements!  More on Justin in a bit.  On the way out, we chatted with the hostess, Emelia.  She was very gracious and had even checked out TwoSqurits.com before we arrived!  She was so kind that she even gave us two yummy pieces of pound cake to take home, that we enjoyed the following morning with our Starbucks!  Ah – but we are getting ahead of ourselves, we aren’t ready to leave just yet – let’s get back to all the yummy food!

Grey Goose Martinis, Elements, Princeton, NJ

As we said, Justin was very polished and accommodating.  He brought us our usual cocktails, Grey Goose Martinis, to start off our experience while we soaked in the atmosphere and learned about the menu.  Justin explained to us that the menu at Elements is constantly changing.  The chef, Scott Anderson, uses locally grown ingredients to create new and unique flavors.  He is constantly coming up with new dishes, and therefore the menu is constantly changing.  We will certainly tell you all about the ones we had!  The chef also provides a tasting menu.  Justin knew we were in the mood for sampling & sharing various items on the menu, so we ended up creating our own tasting menu.  Justin presented each of our selections as it’s own course, and divided each entree into two plates, as we were sharing everything!

Another member of the friendly staff, brought over a cute little assortment of breads and oil.  The various breads were all so delicious, light and flaky! The infused oil was superb!  It was so good, we had to have seconds!  The chef then sent out a small sampling tray of three bite-sized creations he whipped up.  We couldn’t even tell you what they were, but they were definitely delicious!

Delicious Breads & Oil

The first course of our self-created tasting menu was up – the Local Potato Croquettes.  These were little fried delights!  They were served atop a Fall Vegetable Slaw, sprinkled with “Old Bay” seasoning, with a bit of Serrano ham, and some tobiko aioli.  Tobiko is a Japanese fish egg, commonly used in sushi.  Aha – now you can see some of the unique flavor creations the chef comes up with!

Local Potato Croquettes

Next course, the Macaroni & Cheese.  Macaroni & Cheese is one of Ren’s favorites, so we had to give that a try!  It was creamy & delicious.  They offered it with optional white truffle shavings on top, but we opted to skip that this time.  We really enjoyed the unique bowls it was served it, as you can see below. (Remember, all of our entrees were split into two, so the portions in the pictures look smaller than they really are!)

Macaroni & Cheese

Next course was one of our main entrees, the Florida Swordfish.  The menu described it as having “pumpkin butter.”  We aren’t sure if they meant the swordfish itself, or the sauces drizzled on top, but one thing we are sure of – it was perfectly prepared and absolutely divine!  It was served on top of a festive fall mix of brussel sprouts, ham, quinoa, & beets, that was yummy, as well!

Florida Swordfish

Our next course was our second entree, the “48 hour” short ribs.  We can only assume by the name, that it takes two days to make these, but man are those two days worth it – they were fantastic!  It is normally served with cauliflower, Swiss chard, maitake, & apple.  But maitake is a mushroom, and as you know from being a devoted reader, Ren is allergic to mushrooms.  So we aren’t entirely sure what the chef substituted for Ren, but we know it was delicious!

"48 Hour" Short Ribs

Now, although we usually will skip dessert, this was a special occasion, so we made an exception this evening.  And were we ever glad we did!  Our final course for the evening was the Chocolate Tart.  It was served with a delicious scoop of vanilla ice cream and was full of chocolatey goodness!  The dish was smeared with the most amazing salted caramel, smoked maple, & malt.  We didn’t let any go to waste, we scooped up every last bit!

Chocolate Tart

We had an amazing experience at Elements.  Not only was the food delicious, the relaxed atmosphere and impeccable staff really made it a wonderful occasion for us!  And although we cannot guarantee you will have the same flavors & dishes we enjoyed, we are certain you will have equally exquisite creations!

Make a reservation today for Elements using Open Table.

Check out Elements’ Website for more information:

http://www.elementsprinceton.com/

Be sure when you visit Elements in Princeton, NJ, that you say that you were referred to them by Roy and Ren from TwoSquirts.com.