A taste of New Orleans hits Gloucester City

Across the street from Proprietor’s Park and the river, The Mansion House is a little piece of New Orleans in Gloucester City.

Po-Boys, jambalaya, gumbo — the restaurant’s Creole fare isn’t too common in New Jersey.

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“We thought we would have kind of a niche,” said Barbara Fine, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Robert.

The Mansion House building began as an oyster house in 1866, also called The Mansion House, said general manager Bill Roach. “It’s one of four buildings that were built like it and it was the one that survived.”

In the restaurant, the Mansion House team has hung historic photos they found of the building.

Since 1866, it has been through many iterations. Most recently the Fine’s opened it as The Whiskey Barrel, a bar with bar food.

But after a while, they were ready for a change.

“Gloucester has a lot of bars and we wanted to make ourselves different,” Fine said. Also, “we had the opportunity to get a Zagat-rated Creole chef.”'

That chef is Jeff Gilham, formerly of Creole Café in Washington Township. Having been out of the restaurant business for a few years, he was ready to get back in, and Creole food was what he was passionate about. And having worked in New York, Princeton and Hilton Head in his many years, the Deptford native was happy to come back to South Jersey.

“I was looking for a Southern feel, country comfort food,” Gilham said. At the Creole Café, they had exotic meats like ostrich and alligator, and once business builds up Gilham would like to add those to the menu.

In addition to the Creole classics, there are dishes like the blackened chicken fingers, bayou mussels, fried crawfish “Cajun Popcorn" and Cajun quesadillas, more standard fare with a Creole spin.

“It’s funny, a lot of times they come in with his misconception, they just think it’s hot,” Gilham said of customers unfamiliar with Creole food. “It’s full of flavor, it’s not necessarily hot.”

They can adjust the heat if asked. For those who like food with a burn, The Mansion offers some dishes with a fiery “voodoo sauce.”

And for the less adventurous diner, there are burgers, hot roast beef, and chicken Parmesan sandwiches.

“This is what I really enjoy doing. I love experimenting,” Gilham said. “I kind of got away from it for a couple of years, but I’m happy to be back in.”

There’s something for everyone, Fine said, and they tried to make the prices reasonable, with sandwiches around $8 and entrees ranging $12-17. Everything is from-scratch down to oranges fresh-squeezed into drinks and the bread that is served with the entrees along with sweet, herbed butter.

“The food is really good, we feel very lucky to have Jeff,” Fine said. “I don’t think anybody has left unhappy.”

The seafood jambalaya has been the most popular so far, Gilham said, as has the blackened crab cake appetizer.

Don’t skip dessert — Gilham’s wife Brenda makes all of the desserts on the menu, and you never know what might be on it.

“She changes them out periodically,” Gilham said. “She’ll do Key lime pie, bourbon pecan pie.”

Changing the building over from a bar to a restaurant also involved serious renovation. You can still sit at the bar, where the full menu is available, but they put in a wall to divide the space and create a secluded dining space in the front of the restaurant. Upstairs is a private event space with wide windows overlooking the park and marina.

The restaurant is open every day for lunch and dinner. The vibe is fun and casual, Fine said, and they have live music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“We try to make it feel very comfortable and friendly,” Fine said.

Some customers were disappointed when they closed The Whiskey Barrel, Fine said, but she hopes they will come to The Mansion House and give the food a shot.

Shannon Eblen: (856) 486-2475; SEblen@gannettnj.com

If you go

The Mansion House is located at 200 Jersey Ave. in Gloucester City, across from Proprietor's Park and the marina. It offers takeout, catering, and can host private events. It is open from 11:30 a.m. to 12 a.m. Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, call (856) 349-2225.