The Digest | New Jersey Magazine
Issue link: https://magazines.vuenj.com/i/1347392
R at's Restaurant sets the stage for a magical dining experience directly drawing inspiration from classical European art and literature, to further integrate the old-world charm of a proverbial French countryside inn with the colloquial familiarity of the Garden State. Located in the heart of the mystical Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, Rat's Restaurant provides a necessary escape into an enchanted land straight from a fairytale. Coupled with the comforting French-inspired flavors and architecture inspired by French impressionist painter Claude Monet, the mythical imagery and wondrous art of European folklore become a fantastical reality for any visitor. But why name such an exquisite restaurant with an upscale dining experience Rat's? For prolific Jersey-born artist and founder Seward Johnson, Rat's references the cheeky character "Ratty" from the early twentieth-century children's fable The Wind and the Willows by Scottish novelist Kenneth Grahame. Johnson believed Ratty to emulate the vibrant, entertaining traits behind his vision for the restaurant, according to knowledgeable General Manager of Rat's, Michael Kurtz. "Rat's is a fun, whimsical, creative, and exceptional name, which unquestionably grabs the attention of many, as it should, and as Seward Johnson had courageously imagined," said Kurtz after interviewing Johnson's right-hand man, Bruce Daniels, in the development of the restaurant. Nestled within the fantastical, story book realm of whimsical artist Seward Johnson's Ground for Sculpture garden and park, Rat's Restaurant evidently appears to have existed as an old-world architectural masterpiece for centuries. But Johnson, after enlisting the aid of visionary Bruce Daniels, spent nearly a decade after Ground's 1992 opening, meticulously curating his peculiar, yet wondrous vision for Rat's. A whimsical revolutionary of his time, Johnson believed in creating an ageless social space for both artists and guests of the vibrant atelier to convene, exchange ideas, and appreciate art. The idea behind "Rat's Restaurant" grew on itself, coupling the classical European charm with the equally amity of New Jersey. V U E N J .C O M 155