Rhonda and I took the boys to Grounds for Sculpture back in July of 2019, nearly six years ago to the day. It was a scorcher, and everyone was eager to find air conditioning. The two of us always swore we’d go back one day, which we finally did. We wanted to experience the sculpture, and have a bite at the bespoke-looking Rats restaurant.

I used Tripsy to plan our overnight getaway; Tripsy nicely organized our room (Courtyard by Marriot in Hamilton), the Grounds’ tickets, which I ordered online, and our OpenTable for the Rez at Rats.

Working Dog Winery

One of my central dilemmas over being the de facto trip planner is making small decisions that can impinge on the entire trip. We couldn’t check in until 3 pm and we both liked the idea of dropping our bag off at the hotel before going to the museum (requiring more driving than necessary, but allowing us to keep our luggage out of a broiling trunk). I moved our tickets for the museum back to 4 pm., tinking we’d need time to check in at 3 pm at the hotel and then drive over to the museum. But we were early to the hotel, and had some time to burn. I did the only natural thing that occurred to me in the moment: look for a local winery. It was easily 4 pm when we pulled ourselves out of Working Dog Winery, having split a bottle of Chardonnay and chatted with each other and the staff. There were two other chardonnays and additional whites were wanted to try, so it’s on our short list of places to visit again.

Grounds for Sculpture

We nearly flaked on our 4 pm admission tickets, having burned up so much time chatting and sipping wine at Working Dog. The gent at the gate let us know that, because there was an event happening, we were free to tour the grounds even though it was nearly 5 pm, the time at which the Grounds closes to the public. Which is exactly what we proceeded to do. We were both a fine mood from the bottle we’d split, and eager to have some dinner, so we split our walk between before and after dinner sessions. In the waning light of dusk, the hard sun gives way to a gentler glow about the property and sculptures. We had a great walk after dinner, an experience I’d recommend to anyone. The grounds would be beautiful just after dawn or as the sunlight wanes. Rhonda took some of my favorite pics.

Rats

One particular fixation for us from our visit in 2019 was Rats: this French-inspired bistro is cleanly integrated into the Grounds themselves, and welcomes the thirsty visitor with a bar aside the Grounds’ koi pond, patio seating, and a flowing collection of dining rooms indoors. I booked a seat outside for us, but we moved the adventure inside because of the heat.

I was concerned about the cocktail list: there was nothing classic that suggested to me that the bartender would be able to make an appropriately proportioned gin martini. I asked for two of the same, 6:1 ratio., up with olives.

What followed was a comedy of mixology, with the waiter returning to confirm what I had asked for. One suggestion he made, after conferring with the bartender, was that asking for a drink “up” meant asking for a drink without vermouth. I responded that that would have been a request for a dry martini, but OK. I explained again what I was asking for, and we were in fact treated to a couple of nice cocktails, evidently stirred and not shaken. Dinner was excellent, although we had some bread pacing issues that were rectified by eating with glutinous intensity. We split some mussels, and then Rhonda had steak frites (made with a hanger steak no less), and I had the pork chop, which joins a growing list of restaurants that are using sous vide to push out some flawless chops.

The gentleman we chatted with at Working Dog said that Rats had a nice wine list, so I opted for a bottle of Hugel reisling. The winery is in Alsace, and I went through an Alsacia Reisling phase back when I was first getting into wine, having read that James Joyce favored the varietal. It was great. We got dessert too and then toured the grounds for a bit.

Vallenzano Winery

Our ride up and back took up north and south along good old Route 206. This is a long and straight road up through the Pinelands and connects the blueberry capital of the world, Hammonton, NJ, with Trenton, the capital of New Jersey. I found a couple of wineries along the route home to try if we were feeling like it, which we were. As was the case with our check in, we were early getting out of the hotel, and our enthusiasm for trying one or more of the dry rosés at Stokelan Estates was foiled by our early arrival. Regrettably they weren’t open yet, so we alighted for nearby Valenzano Winery. We were gifted with a bottle from this place once and it was a sweet wine, but the menu revealed some dry selections.

We tried their rosé, which the server explained was made with Merlot grapes. It was a fruiter version than the Outer Coastal Plains versions we’ve been enjoying, but a solid departure where the others overlap in profile. It was a bit more berry up front, with a bright, fruity nose. Nice and dry on the palate though. Their Vidal Blanc was also very good; described as the Pinot Grigio of the East Coast by Valenzano, it’s a light, dry, drinkable wine, with some citrus and minerality.

Baglianis

We can’t be close to Hammonton and not stop at Bagliani’s for a salami. Which we did. I had to device a circuitous route in, as there’s a big festival going on now that blocks up the middle of town. But we made out just fine.