ABOUT
THE LAWRENCEVILLE
INN
The Lawrenceville Inn, a Victorian farm
house built in 1892, offers patrons exceptional fare in an elegant
contemporary restaurant. The Lawrenceville Inn is listed on
the National Register of Historic Places.
For interesting information about the
house, the proprietors and the chef abound. Please click on
any of the links below to learn more:
The
Chef ~ The
House
Thank you for your patronage and interest in
the Lawrenceville Inn
Executive Chef - Proprietress
|
| Executive Chef - Elizabeth
Hunt |
Elizabeth Hunt is part of a new breed of women chefs whose
talents can be found not only in the culinary arena, but also
in the designing, decorating and managing of their own culinary
facility.
Also known as “Betsy,” Elizabeth began her culinary
career in the kitchen of her childhood home in New Providence,
NJ where she was inspired by her mother’s daily efforts
to prepare the tasty family meals. At the age of eight, she
developed a strong affinity for the farm effort and the true
essence of food as she assisted her Grandfather in harvesting
fruits and vegetables and selling them at their roadside stand
at his small farm in Middlefield, MA.
It was in 1977, when her parents opened the Meyersville Inn,
located in Meyersville, NJ, where she honed her skills in
every facet of the restaurant business and focused her attention
to thoughts of entrepreneurship. She later opened “Your
Heart’s Desire,” a catering business in Summit,
NJ, and was Chef of the Common Ground Café, also in
Summit. Desirous to gain additional skills in the hospitality
industry, she later headed to Wheeling, West Virginia where
she was the innkeeper and chef of a bed and breakfast.
In 2001, Elizabeth completed her childhood dream of building
her own restaurant when she and husband Jonathan purchased
an old Victorian farmhouse and transformed it into the Lawrenceville
Inn which opened its doors in June 2003 and quickly became
a celebrated culinary icon in Mercer County, NJ.
As of September 2007, Elizabeth, also a lover of education,
decided to close the restaurant and re-open the Inn as a gathering
place in which to present UNIQUE CULINARY EXPERIENCES. Her
goal is to bring the community together by hosting cooking
classes, food demonstrations, food tastings, team building
events, holiday parties, private business meetings and family
gatherings. Elizabeth’s artistic flare and her style
of sophisticated, yet simple and elegant food sense has lead
her to desire more than a restaurant. Her goal is to share
with others her passion for food by nourishing the body, mind
and spirit while offering educational opportunities and a
comfortable environment to have parties and outings.
Elizabeth is the co-founder of both the Lawrenceville Culinary
Partnership and the Annual Pasture Party at Cherry Grove Farm,
which showcases producers of local, hand made artisan foods.
She continues to develop a reputation as a proponent and practitioner
of the “farm to table” concept as the Chef/Owner/Educator
who provides the Inn’s patrons with a delectable introduction
to locally grown and made: clean, pure, simple, whole foods.
The
House
The Lawrenceville Inn
was a Victorian farm house built in 1892. The house is listed
on the National Register
of Historic Places. At that time, Lawrenceville was called
"Maidenhead", and "Main Street" was known
as the "King's Highway." The Hunts purchased the home
in August 2001 while the house was being used as a residence.
It took 2 years to renovate the building from basement to attic,
updating all the wiring, plumbing, heating, and installation
of central air conditioning. While they were at it, they decided
to replace the windows and insulate the walls, install supporting
beams, and refinish the floors.
Interior Lighting
The lighting within the restaurant
is vintage. All the sconces and chandeliers were purchased
at Joyce's Early Lighting at the Tomato Factory in Hopewell,
NJ. Elizabeth and Joyce personally hand-picked each fixture.
Many have been rescued from old house renovations in neighboring
Princeton, Trenton and Lambertville.
Contact Information
Joyce's Early Lighting
The Tomato Factory
Turn Off RT. 518 at Hamilton Street
Hopewell, NJ 08525
Telephone: (609) 466-9833
Furniture
Jonathan and Elizabeth have collected
the furniture at flea markets, estate sales, and auctions
throughout the east coast. A flea market hobbyist, Elizabeth
spends what little free time she may have scouring the local
flea markets and garage sales for much of the china and silver
plated ware you will find on the tables at the Inn. She affectionately
refers to the vintage forks, spoons and knives as "mouth
jewelry."
Five of the tables located in the restaurant
were handcrafted by a gentlemen named Gregg Fackler, a long
time Lawrenceville resident, who designed the tables for two
out of wood from trees that were grown in Lawrenceville. Recognizing
our need for 5 different tables, Gregg cleverly used oak,
ash, pine, maple, and mahogany...one for each tree!
The chairs, after being collected from
near and far, needed the "shabby-chic" look. Mr.
Bill Friedman, a wood shop teacher at a local high school,
also owns Friedman's Furniture Repair. Bill meticulously maintains
and repairs all the Lawrenceville Inn chairs and other furnishings.
Bill's Contact Information
Mr. Bill Friedman
Friedman's Furniture Repair
Telephone: (609) 771-6848
Colors
Many people have commented on the paint
colors. The paint is Benjamin
Moore's eggshell finish from the "Historic Color
Palette."
| Area
of House |
Color
Name |
Chef's table
room |
Quincy Tan |
Parlour |
Chestertown Buff |
Hallways |
Philadelphia Cream |
Boardroom |
Richmond Gold |
Library |
Georgian Green |
Upstairs powder
room |
Ansonia Peach |
Downstairs powder
room |
Van Deusen Blue |
| Trim |
White Chocolate |
Artwork
The Lawrenceville Inn currently hosts
the artwork of local resident artists John McDowell Williams
and Mary Carol Williams.
Born in 1949, John McDowell Williams
is a local Bucks County artist who has been painting in this
area for ten years. Noted for his vivid artworks that each
tell a story to the viewer's heart, John paints in watercolors,
oils, pastels and acrylics. His subjects are diverse as you
can see represented at The Lawrenceville Inn. Williams paints
both plein air and studio landscapes, interiors, and other
subjects of interest. John McDowell Williams has been so fortunate
to see his art placed in private and corporate installations
throughout the U.S.A. as well as in Europe.
Mary Carol Williams, also a local Bucks
County artist, extends the artistic expression at the Inn
with her colorful scenes. Ms. Williams exhibits regularly
and has an extensive on-line following.
All the artworks on display at The
Lawrenceville Inn ARE FOR SALE. Checks can be made payable
to John Williams or Mary Williams.
John and Mary's Website: www.jmwportfolio.com
; their art can also be viewed on eBay.
Phone: (215) 493-0434
Email: info@jmwportfolio.com
Music
The music has been chosen by Jonathan
from his superb collection. Brunch features mostly classical
music from the Baroque and Renaissance period which perfectly
compliments a delicious meal. Classical music calms the spirit
and renews the soul. In the evenings, get ready for some terrific
jazz tunes, a diverse collection including: Ella Fitzgerald,
John Coltrane, Gary Burton, Diana Krall, Chic Corea, Miles
Davis and Pat Metheny to name a few.
If you have a special musical preference,
please mention it when planning your event; we'll try to provide
the perfect musical background to suit your taste.
CLICK
HERE to read the full review.
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Complete text
of the review also available
here in Adobe Acrobat format.
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